{"id":13501,"date":"2023-08-13T11:01:22","date_gmt":"2023-08-13T16:01:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=13501"},"modified":"2023-08-13T11:01:22","modified_gmt":"2023-08-13T16:01:22","slug":"steven-sipple-although-its-far-too-early-to-say-with-certainty-hell-succeed-at-nu-its-easy-to-appreciate-matt-rhules-ways-of-building","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/steven-sipple-although-its-far-too-early-to-say-with-certainty-hell-succeed-at-nu-its-easy-to-appreciate-matt-rhules-ways-of-building\/","title":{"rendered":"Steven Sipple: Although it\u2019s far too early to say with certainty he\u2019ll succeed at NU, it\u2019s easy to appreciate Matt Rhule\u2019s ways of building"},"content":{"rendered":"

Matt Rhule<\/a><\/strong> keeps it real. As real as he possibly can in his position. That much has become apparent about Nebraska\u2019s first-year head coach.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s my read, anyway.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re going to be the type of team we want to be, we\u2019re going to have to win the turnover margin,\u201d he said last week. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have to win the penalty battle. We\u2019re going to have to win on special teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to have to do everything right to have a chance to win games.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right, to have a chance<\/em> to win games.<\/p>\n

Someday, Nebraska might have a level of talent across the board that allows for more imperfections during autumn Saturdays. With ample talent comes more leeway, especially when playing against programs with markedly less talent. It\u2019s just common sense.<\/p>\n

Right now, there\u2019s precious little leeway for a Nebraska program that last played in a bowl game in 2016. The Huskers have a lot of good players \u2014 perhaps enough of them to reach a bowl game \u2014 but lack star power. If there\u2019s an obvious All-American on the roster, he hasn\u2019t presented himself. How about a surefire All-Big Ten first team pick? Is there one? You know the answer.<\/p>\n

Rhule knows it, too. He\u2019s building accordingly, with \u201cbuilding\u201d being the key word.<\/p>\n

\n\n

Day 11 #GBR<\/a> x #WhatsNExt<\/a>! pic.twitter.com\/8tAO7zIueH<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Nebraska Football (@HuskerFBNation) August 11, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/span>\n<\/div>\n

Matt Rhule emphasizes strong line play <\/h2>\n

Nobody can possibly know whether Rhule ultimately will succeed for Nebraska. Many of us size up Husker head football coaches with more caution in the wake of the program\u2019s massive struggles under Mike Riley<\/a><\/strong> and Scott Frost<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

I do know this: I like how Rhule is going about building his program.<\/p>\n

If you watch \u201cA Look N\u201d \u2014 Nebraska\u2019s clean and tidy version of \u201cHard Knocks\u201d \u2014 you probably will like what you see. Go to YouTube and try it. Granted, it\u2019s a NU production, so if you\u2019re a Husker fan you\u2019re supposed to like it. But there\u2019s footage that can\u2019t be faked. Rhule isn\u2019t trying to dupe anyone. It\u2019s not his style.<\/p>\n

If you listen to Rhule\u2019s appearances in front of the media, you hear his philosophies and the way he\u2019s trying to lay a foundation for the program.<\/p>\n

His message is different than the past couple Nebraska head coaches<\/a> in that he\u2019s emphasizing the trenches. <\/p>\n

Heavens, I appreciate that part.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t be the type of team we want to be if you don\u2019t have great offensive and defensive line play,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He includes tight ends and linebackers in the discussion.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a front-seven matter.<\/p>\n

Your front sevens must be stout, he said, \u201cor you\u2019ll just never be built on a solid foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jim Harbaugh surely would agree \u2014 you know, the guy who\u2019s led Michigan to the past two Big Ten crowns.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf your team follows your O-line and D-line, you\u2019re usually pretty good,\u201d Rhule said. \u00a0<\/p>\n

New Nebraska coach also emphasizes special teams play<\/h2>\n

Rhule also emphasizes special teams, something that Frost seemed at times to give only passing interest, until it was too late. Bottom line, Nebraska was 129th out of 130 FBS teams in expected points added on special teams during Frost\u2019s tenure. <\/p>\n

Rhule delights in talking about special teams. <\/p>\n

\u201cOn good teams, their starters play special teams,\u201d Rhule said. \u201cBut at the same time, you have core guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

He means guys that play on all<\/em> the special teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s their life,\u201d Rhule said.<\/p>\n

Rhule notes Nebraska assistant Ed Foley <\/a><\/strong>is a special teams coach who coaches no other position group.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat signifies our commitment to it,\u201d Rhule said. \u00a0<\/p>\n

George Darlington, the former Nebraska assistant, told me long ago there\u2019s no way you can win consistently unless you consistently win two of football\u2019s three main phases on a given Saturday.<\/p>\n

Even if a team lacks star power, it still can be good on special teams.<\/p>\n

If a team lacks star power, it had better be exceptionally detail oriented and always willing to do the dirty work. <\/p>\n

Rhule is all about the dirty work. He\u2019s about all<\/em> the work.<\/p>\n

You get the feeling that Rhule pays attention to everything. If a player goes in front of dozens of media with a towel over his head, the head coach is going to ask someone about it, and it probably won\u2019t happen again.<\/p>\n

Student-athlete recovery from competition emphasized<\/h2>\n

Rhule came to Nebraska and immediately noticed that student-athletes\u2019 recovery from practice and games wasn\u2019t emphasized enough. It\u2019s been addressed. It\u2019s now emphasized in cutting-edge forms. Yeah, it makes sense.<\/p>\n

How can a player be expected to improve 1% every day \u2014 a popular Rhule mantra \u2014 if the player\u2019s body is dragged down after going hard the previous day?<\/p>\n

You frequently hear his players repeat Rhule\u2019s messages, which is a sign he\u2019s getting through to them.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s good because his messages make sense.<\/p>\n

My favorite part of \u201cA Look N\u201d was one of the moments when Rhule gathered his team after practice. He told the group that if any player is blaming his performance on being with the second or third string, \u201cyou\u2019re the worst teammate there is, just so we\u2019re on the same page.\u201d<\/p>\n

OK, then.<\/p>\n

Bottom line, Rhule doesn\u2019t want any of his players ever playing the victim card.<\/p>\n

He told the team he wants guys on his side who say, \u201cThis sucks, it hurts. My legs hurt, my neck hurts, my back hurts, I\u2019m tired, but I\u2019ve got to go through all this to be different than everybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re going to win big in big-time football, there\u2019s a steep price.<\/p>\n

If a player\u2019s heart\u2019s not in it \u2014 as Zavier Bett<\/a><\/strong>s told Rhule before the talented receiver left the program \u2013 college football could be complete drudgery for that person.<\/p>\n

Rhule, you see, wants roaring lions on his team.<\/p>\n

\n\n

Trenches#GBR<\/a> x #WhatsNExt<\/a>! pic.twitter.com\/tcD3fWG61G<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Nebraska Football (@HuskerFBNation) August 5, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/span>\n<\/div>\n

Phalen Sanford says standards are clear <\/h2>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re bought in,\u201d said Nebraska senior defensive back Phalen Sanford, an example of a roaring lion. \u201cWe know what the standard is, and we\u2019re doing what we can to live up to that standard every single day. We know when something isn\u2019t up to par, and we own it. Everyone knows if they took a play off or if they didn\u2019t do their job, they say, \u2018That\u2019s my bad, that\u2019s on me,\u2019 and they fix it.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody\u2019s pointing fingers, but we\u2019re holding each other accountable and owning our own stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sanford notes Rhule is dynamic speaking in front of a group.<\/p>\n

Nobody questions that part of the coach. If you haven\u2019t watched him speak, find time. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe can make about any of us run through a brick wall, for sure,\u201d Sanford said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s more than that, though.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s approachable,\u201d Sanford said. \u201cAnd everything he does, he\u2019s pretty factual about. I like that when he talks to us, he brings stats into it. He always brings numbers to show the \u2018why\u2019s\u2019 and \u2018how\u2019s.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, I\u2019m guaranteeing nothing in terms of wins and losses under Rhule.<\/p>\n

But one can guarantee Rhule has a plan, a well-defined plan, one that appears to make sense on a lot of levels.<\/p>\n

Never miss breaking news or another HuskerOnline article again. Click HERE to sign up for HuskerOnline\u2019s Daily and Breaking News Newsletters.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Steven Sipple: Although it\u2019s far too early to say with certainty he\u2019ll succeed at NU, it\u2019s easy to appreciate Matt Rhule\u2019s ways of building<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Matt Rhule keeps it real. As real as he possibly can in his position. That…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13501\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}