LB Luke Reimer talks more about the adjustment to Matt Rhule this off-season
Coaching changes are seldom easy. Unfortunately, Nebraska has been through five since 2003. For veteran players like linebacker Luke Reimer, that means learning a whole new way of doing things.
The changes can go as deep as how and when you eat breakfast, to simple internal disciplines put in place for being late to a meeting or missing a class.
Reimer said the adjustment to head coach Matt Rhule has been hard for some guys, but as the Huskers open up fall camp on Monday, he likes where this locker room is at right now.
“There were just some guys that it didn’t sit well with, or it took them a little time to get comfortable with it,” Reimer said. “That was part of the goal from Rhule. ‘You are either with us or you are not with us. It’s almost a weeding out process of this is how we are going to do it here. All respects to the previous staffs and previous coaches, but they aren’t here anymore. I’m the head coach now. This is how I’m going to run it.’
“It was a little bit of a weeding out process for as harsh as that sounds. That’s kind of what it was, and who’s here is who’s here. That’s who we are going to roll with.”
When Reimer talks about some of the changes, they are little things, but in the end they all add up.
“You are going to come prepared to each meeting to write things down to do all these certain things. We were never not in the know of what to expect,” Reimer said. “There was always ‘This is what we are doing, this is why we’re are doing it. You better get with the program.’”
Rhule building players for life after football
Reimer added the approach in places like the weight room is an area where things jumped out.
There’s a high level of energy from every single member of Rhule’s staff, and that rubs off on the players.
“Just like everything else in the program it’s so detailed oriented,” Reimer said. “You better do the right thing, you better say the right thing, you better count the right number of reps, do the right exercise, otherwise we are going to start over again. Everybody is on the same page. Everybody is bringing the energy and bringing the juice to lifts.
“You are not just going to show up and do the work and get out. You are going to work and do it at a high level, and show up for more after the workout to get extra work in. There’s a lot of different way to kind of do the same things. You have a specific amount of time to work at the stadium, and they just choose to do it in different ways. Every college team is kind of similar in that you are going to lift, you are going to run, do seven-on-seven and you are going to do these OTA’s. Everybody is pretty similar in the fact they are all doing the same thing, it’s more how you attack these details in those things.”
When Rhule looks at building his program at Nebraska, his mindset is pretty simple.
He’s not just worried about winning games on Saturday. Rhule is looking at the big picture. He talked about things like being on time, and why it’s important to him. It’s his job to make sure the players understand why that is important.
“I think everybody is kind of ‘on time-ish.’ They show up at 8:04, and they are like ‘I’m here.’ No if you have a meeting with me, be here at 8. No, actually be early,” Rhule said. “Because I’m willing to act on it, it seems like a bigger deal. I can promise you our players are way more disciplined than most programs. I can promise you that. If you are going to be late to breakfast three or four times, or you are going to miss breakfast, or something, I’m going to take actions. Not because I don’t love you, but in fact because I do care greatly.
“I can’t have guys leaving our program and going out into the real world and not functioning. I’ll feel like a failure. We are going to treat our building like it’s the real world. When I was with the Giants and guys weren’t (on time) to a meeting, Coach Coughlin wouldn’t say anything. He would fine them. This guy has a $2,000 fine, or if they miss something, they have a $14,000 fine. I don’t want players from Nebraska playing in the NFL and getting fined. I want them to be five minutes early. No actually, get there 10 minutes early. Put your phone down and talk to people and watch how the world opens up for you.”
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