Practice cliffs: Matt Rhule continues to express confidence in offensive line, and Thomas Fidone captures keen interest of the head coach

Nebraska pushed through its ninth practice of the spring season Thursday, and now takes a five-day break from drills. Matt Rhule’s appearance was the highlight of post-practice media availability.

The headlines:

Matt Rhule praises Bryce Benhart and O-line in general

The question was about Bryce Benhart, and make no mistake, Rhule thinks the 6-foot-9, 315-pound Benhart has NFL potential.

“There’s no doubt to me about that,” the first-year Husker coach said of the 29-game starter. “I think what we’re doing, the way we’re playing, is going to turn Bryce loose.”

Nebraska has a wealth of experience along the offensive line, but the group has been targeted as a problem area for the past few years.

Rhule, though, consistently pushes back against that narrative. In fact, he says, the Nebraska offensive line “is as talented as any that I’ve been around in college football as a head coach.”

“I think they’ve kind of been beat down,” the coach said. “The narrative is, ‘The O-line is terrible, the O-line is terrible.’ They hear that a lot. So, I think Bryce, like all those guys on the offensive line, just has to play with great confidence.”

Rhule noted something that will strike a positive chord with a lot of Nebraska fans. That is, the team’s top units square off daily, he said. Doing that can build confidence.

“People always ask me how the season will go,” Rhule said. “We have the coaches, we have the players. A lot of it will come down to confidence. A lot of it will come down to this: at what point do they believe they can really win?”

Thursday nuggets: Rhule recaps Week 3 of Nebraska’s spring practices

Head coach takes keen interest in Thomas Fidone

Rhule said the tight end group “is one of our more talented groups.”

He’s taken keen interest in 6-6, 235-pound Thomas Fidone, a sophomore who’s missed all but one game in the last two seasons because of back-to-back knee injuries.

“I always have a couple of guys that I’m trying to really work with, and Fidone’s kind of one of my guys,” Rhule said. “Man, I really like the guy. He’s so competitive. He’s so driven.”

Sometimes a player can be too driven.

“You just can’t stand when it just doesn’t come right away,” Rhule said. “That’s what I love about him. I’m a little bit wired that way. The best players I’ve been around are wired that way.

“I’ve tried to limit him even more than we’ve limited him (in practice). He fights me every time. So, I just love his competitive nature.”

Fidone has made big plays in the two-minute offense and is a tenacious blocker, Rhule said.

QBs played well in scrimmage, Rhule says

He’s seen the film, and he likes what he sees.

Nebraska’s quarterbacks played well as a group in Saturday’s scrimmage, Rhule said.

“That’s the best they’ve played,” he said. “That’s the absolute best they’ve played.”

Rhule said the group needed “live” reps — reps in which they were tackled as if in a game. The live reps, he said, speed up the learning process.

“A lot of things for us right now are just a little bit off timing-wise,” the coach said. “What I love about our group is they are not making excuses.”

Two questions

***Speaking of talented tight ends, Arik Gilbert, a transfer from Georgia (by way of LSU), needs a waiver from the NCAA to be eligible to play this coming season. Is there any word on the waiver?

“I don’t want to say anything about it. I just don’t know,” Rhule said. “That’s completely out of my hands. I will just say this: When I took Arik, I told him, ‘Hey, this is a long-term play for you and your future.’ If it works out to where he can play this year — which I believe he should be able to — then great. If he can’t, then we’re going to help him get ready for next year or for the NFL.”

***Sophomore Malcolm Hartzog (5-9, 170) started the last eight games last season at cornerback, but is being moved around in the secondary this spring. What does junior safety Myles Farmer see from Hartzog this spring?

“Malcolm’s a ballplayer. He’s an athlete,” Farmer said. “You can put him anywhere in the secondary. You can put him in the box, and he’s going to make the tackle. Malcolm’s a ballplayer, that’s all that is.”

Quotable

“We’re just trying to change the expectation level of our guys. We’re not here to try hard. We’re not here to lose and thank the fans. We’re here to win” — Rhule, on the importance of players mastering their tasks this spring.

Overtime

Led by strong QB play, the offense apparently got the best of the defense in last week’s scrimmage.

However, “(Thursday) was a much better day for the defense than the offense. The defense was significantly better today. Hopefully, we can keep volleying it back and forth, as opposed to one side being more dominant than the other.”

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