LINCOLN, Neb. – The cold November wind whips around Memorial Stadium as an all too common theme unfolded on the field. The Huskers lose another one possession game in a fourth quarter collapse, bitter rival Iowa moves on to the Big Ten Championship, and Nebraska ends its season one game away from bowl eligibility.
Under Scott Frost, Nebraska made one possession losses a national storyline, while in year one, Rhule fell victim to the same errors that plagued his predecessor, going 0-5 in those games. As a matter of fact, since 2021, Nebraska is 2-17 in games decided by seven points or less.
Iowa kicker Marshall Meeder celebrates after kicking the game winning field goal.
Fast-Forward Four Months
Winter conditioning is winding down as the Huskers prepare for Spring football. A lot has happened since that bitter defeat in November. Nebraska was able to secure the 16th overall recruiting class in the nation, headlined by a late flip of five star and #1 ranked QB Dylan Raiola. The Huskers are picked by multiple publications to have a breakout season in 2024 and confidence is plentiful among the staff and players, especially head coach Matt Rhule.
Recently, Rhule sat down for an interview with J.D. PicKell from On3 Sports to talk about the process of making the jump from year one to year two. Rhule mentions that buy-in from players, more specifically a few key older players that have made the decision to return, have given them a boost towards taking the team to the next level.
When older players buy in to what the coaches are teaching, it really sets an example for the younger guys. That’s how a culture is built and passed on. Rhule stated that the evolution really begins when “it goes from being Coach Rhule’s way or the coaches way, to our way. The minute it becomes our way, immediately the standard is raised.”
This offseason, Rhule had a message for his guys, “It’s easy to be competitive at the things we like…can you dominate the things you hate?” He thinks that really resonated with the players as they attacked offseason harder this year than last. “What was good enough last year, isn’t good enough this year.” Rhule said. “We are trying to get our mindset into a place where when things get really hard we attack.”
Rhule continues, “It will really come down to two thing’s this year, executing the X’s and O’s. Can we protect the ball better and can we take the ball away more, and the biggest thing is going to be do we allow ourselves to be victims of the past. Sitting around waiting for something bad to happen just because that happened in 2021. I wasn’t here in ’21.”
The confidence in the roster additions, player development, and player buy in seems to be significantly higher behind closed doors than it was last year. The trajectory of the program under Rhule and his staff appears to be well ahead of where he was at Temple and Baylor in year two.
The Husker Football Team Performing MAT Drills
Huskers New QB’s
Everyone knows the star of the Huskers recruiting class was the flip of five star QB Dylan Raiola from Georgia. Raiola, a legacy player, came back into the picture in late November and by early December he was on campus helping the Huskers wrap up the early signing period with peer recruiting.
An early enrollee, Raiola has impressed with his approach to the fishbowl of what is the starting QB for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. “I see a guy that just understands that everything that’s happened in the past, all of the recruiting, all of the accolades. None of that really means anything here. I just see a guy that shows up and works everyday.” Rhule said.
Rhule also heaped on praise of the other QB Nebraska signed, three star Bellevue West (Neb) QB Daniel Kaelin, who decided to stick with his commitment to the Huskers after planning a late visit to Michigan State following the Dylan Raiola commitment.
“When we grade our players, Heinrich Haarberg, our Junior quarterback is always in the top five hardest workers on the team. And then you bring in Dylan and Danny, they’re right there along with him in terms of leading through action.” Rhule said.
This offseason will definitely have a quarterback competition after last seasons disaster at the position and the influx of improved talent, but when will the starting QB be solidified? Rhule has an answer for that question as well. “I think when we know, we know. It’s one of those deals where I don’t want to play games with people. If we know, we know.”
That answer also came with a caveat. “At the same time, we also figured out here, it’s gonna take a couple guys. Most years you’re not just going to play one quarterback. Our job is to push them to to be great.” Rhule said.
After playing three different quarterbacks last season, it seems that the Husker staff has a plan in place to have guys ready to go in an emergency situation. It’s refreshing to see a staff proactively addressing situations that hurt the team last year.
Spring Football
The Huskers report to Spring Camp March 24th and the annual Red White Spring Game is scheduled for April 27th. We have less than a month before we get a glimpse of Rhule’s second year Nebraska Cornhuskers. Will they take the next step or will they continue the trend of being victims of the past?
For More Great Husker Football Coverage
Follow me on X @huskermikegbr To keep up to date on the latest NFL and College Football News, click here.
