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Coach Rhule discusses quarterback room, transfers, and early spring practices
Wanted to kind of see how these guys wanted to see what they had and how they were gonna, how they were gonna perform because you wanted to start camp early. What have you seen so far from those guys and how have you liked this early start? Well, I, I’ve really enjoyed the early start. I think it’s been, uh, been good for us, um, you know, we’ve been able to be outside the last few days which, you know, when we weren’t, we were not anticipating, you know, one way or the other, but, uh. It’s been, uh, it’s been good, um, the guys that have come in that are new, the, uh, the transfers, you can tell that *** lot of those guys have played *** lot of football, they’re mature, they know how to practice, they like to practice, uh, the freshmen getting acclimated to what’s expected of them, the guys returning, uh, you can see *** lot of guys making *** lot of jumps. So, um, it’s good, you know, just to be able to install, especially on defense, *** new system and, uh, see who’s learning it and how they’re, how they’re responding and. Um, I’m glad we did it. How, how will you manage your scrimmage dates here, just kind of with the early start and then the spring break coming up ahead? Yeah, uh, we’ll, um, We’ll kind of take it day by day, um, you know, we, we have *** couple of Saturdays left, so we’ll do some stuff on those days and obviously the spring game, you know, we’ll we’ll get some live action there, but, uh, really for me right now it’s, it’s as much, uh, making sure that everybody kind of understands exactly what’s being asked of them, um, so you know we had some competitive periods today at the end, uh, just to sort of see how guys respond when live bullets are flying. I, how do you see those QBs kind of feed off each other. Yeah, I mean they’re they’re they’re, they’re all really good players and all really good dudes, and so I think, I think the quarterback room um. You know, there’s *** lot expected of them, you know, from Glenn and then from Dana. I think that they’re learning each day, coaching each other, um, so I’ve been pleased with the group and, um, it’s ***, it’s *** really solid room. You see *** lot about Anthony last week, but how do you see TJ like taking his starting experience from last year and now pushing it forward? Yeah, I think when you look at TJ, um, obviously like the physical development is really impressive and then. I think once you’ve played in the game, you know, and, and started games, um, the urgency of how fast you have to play and make decisions, you know, with the rush bearing down on you, that’s the biggest transition. So, you know, he had, you know, he got those games at the end of the year to really have that opportunity, and uh he, he’s healthy now, and, um, he knows, he knows what’s expected of him and so I think he’s doing *** great job and, uh, um, uh, I think you could say the same thing for Danny, you know, he had *** chance to start this year at Virginia. So all three of those guys because they’ve started, they sort of know the speed of the game. They know how fast they have to process things and and I think it changes the tempo with which you play in practice, especially when you’re not getting hit in practice. Well, I mean, even when Danny was away, you know, I think some of his best friends were still on this team. I think he, you know, anytime he was home, he was always around these guys, so I don’t think there’s *** person in the building that. Wasn’t happy to see Danny back here, so, uh, he, you know, to me he’s the true definition of *** *** corn husker. He grew up. He loves this program, uh, loves this place, loves the university, loves, loves the state, and, um, you know, he’s, uh, he’s out there competing and um it’s almost like he never left, to be quite honest. If someone’s seeing Calandria practice for the first time, what would be the first things they’d notice? Um, I think the, the energy and um. Sort of the playmaking humility that he has, you know, when they bring pressures, um, he’s able to either get the ball out or, um, get outside the pocket and extend plays. So, um, you know, he, he plays fast. Um, he’s, uh, got *** lot of, you know, when I say energy, you know, it’s easy to be excited, it’s hard to have energy every day, and I think he has *** lot of energy and, uh, um, very competitive player as well. Coach with with Owen Stoudemire, um, played in 3 games last year, had some injuries. Um, what’s the status right now and what’s the vision for him on the defensive front? Yeah, I mean, Owen’s, uh, Owen’s been *** very productive player in college football, comes from ***, *** great program, you know, with, you know, the strength coach, uh, Fitz at Boston College and obviously coach coach Bill O’Brien. So he’s, he’s come from *** program that does things the right way. So he’s. To me he’s *** very mature player. Um, he’s he’s full go. He’s out there playing and practicing and um you know I think he gives us *** big powerful man inside and we’re excited to have him. Coach, you were at the combine, uh, had *** chance. Did you get *** chance to see Emmett and you know, when you guys go out there, what do you, what, what’s like your main focus when you stop in something like the NFL combine? Yes, we finished, you know, Thursday practice. We flew up afterwards. It’s really different. It used to be, you know, you just really went there to support your guys, you know, *** lot of teams might have questions, um, and the feedback I’ve gotten on Emmett, you know, just, just how well he’s interviewed, feedback I’ve gotten on DeSean from the Senior Bowl, how well he’s interviewed, I think is really good, um, as, as you see scouts and. You know, uh, uh, personnel directors and GMs, you know, able to give some insight into who they really are. If there’s anything that’s out there that maybe is negative, you can, um, hopefully dispel it because sometimes that happens, um, so it was, it was great to be there and see, see them. Um, it’s different now in that it used to be I would go every time I’ve had *** player in it. I’ve always tried to go and do those two things. Now, um, you probably spoke with 30 agents. Uh, on Thursday night and Friday during the day because they represent high school players now and so, uh, it was *** business trip for us, you know, I, you know, uh, Pat Stewart went, Keith Williams went, um, Logan Holberson went, um, you probably could argue we could have been up there for 3 days, excuse me, just with the amount of guys that we, that we, you know, who represent pro players and also represent college players, um, able to get *** lot of, uh, *** lot of meetings with those guys, uh, just not, not only for this year but. Um, for years moving forward, what, what I mean, what do you, what do you talk about with, with Uh, with, with the agents, um. Either specific players, so some of them represent guys on our team or specific players that we’re recruiting that they represent, or, um, just more, you know, kind of *** global picture we find out *** lot of what other schools are doing we’re still in an, uh, *** day and age where, um, *** lot of things that are happening are kind of, you know, you hear rumors about, but, but some, you know, you can’t really call up your competitors and other college coaches and GMs say hey what are you guys doing? You don’t get *** lot of information that way, but I’ve been talking to. Agents who rep players, you know, in terms of creative ways other people are doing things, best practices, and, um, you know, I think the one good thing, one of the many good things is *** lot of these agents have been on campus, you know, whether they come on *** portal visit, whether they come in the summer now, um, it used to be, you know, it was just, uh, the player and his family. Now sometimes it’s the player and his reps, sometimes it’s the player’s family and his reps, so *** lot of them have seen the facilities, they’ve seen, you know, how great, uh, uh, Lincoln is, how great, you know, Omaha is, um, so there’s some. You know, they, they can then carry that forward to other players, you know, when there’s maybe some interest in Nebraska, hey, I’ve been there, this is what it’s like, and so, um, I think it’s, it’s really all of the above, to be quite honest. Yeah, I have *** question about Jason Chiggs. How did you guys kind of find him? Um, he was Towson, you know, I know you guys have scouts up there, but, he, how is he looking, and then how did you guys find him? Yeah, so, um, you know, his, his, his high school coach obviously sent Makayi Bear here, um, sent to Justin Evans here. Coach Smokes, one of the best of the best, you know, he’s *** guy I’ve known *** long time. I trust him. And, uh, when he told me he had *** player, um. That was in the portal that hey hey you guys would like you know you guys would like to take *** look at this guy uh just watch the tape he was on his way to another visit and got that visit canceled and got him in with us and uh um I think he’s doing *** he’s doing *** nice job as well, you know, um, I think for for some of those guys who just got here, if the first thing you notice is, you know, just sort of their, their habits, their, their day to day, uh, some of their traits now it’s really about, hey, you know, within this defense, can you execute it? Can you kind of get all the different things done and, uh, he’s learning, he’s growing, he’s developing, but, um. Kind of going back to the previous conversation just sort of *** lot of those relationships with guys that you have over time whether it’s like I said, whether it’s *** high school player, it’s *** 7 on 7 coach, whether it’s *** trainer, whether it’s an agent, um, you know, we’ve we’ve been fortunate to be doing this for *** while so we have, we have *** lot of, uh, friends that we, we trust and so. He brought, he brought him up and watched the tape and really liked what he did and, and you know obviously coming here just the resources, the food, all the things that we have, you know, you can see that sometimes with the guys who’ve come from FCS, you know, um, just the, just the growth that they can make physically almost in in in in what Kristen does and what Corey does. I’m curious, how did your new practice fields hold up over the winter practicing out there in February? Uh, they’re, they’re fantastic, you know, you have to give *** lot of credit to Courtney Gauthier and all the guys who, all the people who do the grass fields. I mean. There’ve been *** couple of springs here where we couldn’t practice outside, you know, because we were doing some work, and I think the, the, you know, there was, there was, I think, snow on the ground as of like Sunday and, uh, Monday, and they’re out there, you know, shoveling the snow off the grass fields, you know, to be able to, to be able to get them clean and like I said, we, we were able to, I could maybe it was through Wednesday, but you’re able to be on the fields on Thursday, and then, you know, we kind of went back and forth today *** little bit, so, um, really ***, really *** good, um. Investment by, you know, by the athletic department, I think to put in, put in good fields like Stoudemire Dexter Foster missed time last year. How, how’s that picture look? Is he, is he full go too? Yes, yes sir. How’s that look to you? Yeah, Dexter’s, uh, he’s *** really good player. Um, he’s physical. He’s athletic. He’s, uh, he’s made *** lot of plays. And he’s doing *** nice job, you know, he’s he’s learning everything, you know, it’s *** different defense for him, and I think he’s learning it quickly and excited about, you know, his prospects. How big is that challenge for Rob? I’ve never asked you how big is that challenge for Rob to implement *** defense in the spring. Um, you know, I mean, I think, you know, he, he, he knows his defense, you know, he knows. There’s not *** lot of gray area, you know, it’s, it’s something that he owns. He’s not putting something new in, so I think he’s able to teach it well, um, I think the coaches are doing *** good job. So it, it’s, and when you think about *** defenses, it’s everything from the X’s and O’s all the way down to this is how we teach tackling. Here. Here’s what we want you to tackle high, when we want you to tackle low. Here’s how we want to, uh, disrupt the ball and cause fumbles and etc. etc. So he’s, uh, extremely detailed, and, um, you know, I sit in, I think I said the other day, I sit in his position meetings just so I can hear. Not the, not even just the overall but just hey, how he’s, you know, how he’s teaching the minute details. I think he does *** great job and uh um I think we’re, you know, pretty far ahead of where I would have hoped to have been. Dana Holgerson said this like right after you had your presser *** couple weeks ago about Jamal Rule that he might run as well as any of your running backs. What did he mean by that? What have you seen from that pressure? Um, I, I’m, I’m not sure what he, he meant. I mean, I mean, uh, um, I think all of us have been really impressed with Jamal. I think he’s, uh, he’s *** natural runner, you know, he’s, he’s, he’s *** freshman, and he’s, I think, probably already, I think he’s already 210, you know, 208, 210, so he’s big, he’s fast, he has good vision, um, very conscientious, you know, he’s, he’s, uh, I was walking out. I was leaving the other night and he was, I think it was Wednesday night, he was coming in to, you know, go back through the install one more time and can catch some balls in the jug, so, you know, he, he wants to play. Um, so I, you know, I think he’s ***, *** really good prospect and *** guy that, you know, is competing to, you know, to play. Does the fact that there’s not another portal window coming up change how you talk with players about where they slot in on their positions or how you guys handle reps in practice? Uh, we, we’ve always, we’ve always tried to be, uh, *** group that in the spring, you know, gives everyone, you know, it goes 3D, you know, because I think our job is to, is to give players reps. So I, I don’t know that it’s necessarily changed that, um, I mean. They could come in tomorrow and say, hey, there’s ***, there’s ***, there’s *** new calendar, you know, I mean things change so fast. So, um, uh, I, I don’t necessarily think it changes that. I think, you know, um, even, even on the first teams, you know, I, I’ve always preferred to see, hey, send these two TD tackles out first, you know, either the next, the next period or the next, you know, practice, send these twoD tackles out first. Let’s, let’s get ***, *** bunch of pictures of *** lot of guys, um, you know, getting reps with both the, the ones and the 2s, or, you know, so. Um, we’re, like I said, we’re in ***, we’re in an evaluation phase of both of trying to teach, uh, teach them their technique, teach them the, the, the X’s and O’s on their side of the ball at the same time also see what they can do and tailor things to them, you know, Joss Whittington, um, he does. Special things differently than maybe Riley Van Popel does, right? So we want to play to their strengths and, um, uh, so, so we want to get *** lot of guys reps so I don’t think it’s necessarily changed. I think it’s if anything it’s kind of reinforced kind of how we’ve always wanted to do it of of uh getting 33 groups reps and giving every player reps every day. What are your thoughts on the, uh, the portal or the targeting penalty, uh, being adjusted potentially? I know that’s something that this week they’re talking about changing where the suspension wouldn’t carry over to potentially the next game. Yeah, you know, um. I, I, I think that, I think the, uh, the, the, it’ll all come down to the detail of it and how it’s, um, how it’s executed, but, uh, you know, you don’t do it in the pros, you don’t do it in high school, you only do it in college where you eject the player, and I, and, and, and when they first did it, I thought I had ***, you know, great cha it changed the game for the better, you know, the, the knockout blowout shots are gone, um, now what you see is *** lot of times where kids just trying to make *** good tackle and the guy, the ball carrier changes his level and, um, it ends up being targeting and so. They’ve had *** lot of over the years, you know, hey, should we do targeting one, targeting two, what should we do? I think this is probably *** really good move in the right direction if, you know, just waiting to see how it kind of plays out, but I, I do think that this is *** good thing if it happens with Whittington specifically, he’s obviously not as big as others in his position, but what did you see from him that makes you think that he can take the next step in his development against like Big 10 offensive lines? Yeah, he’s an explosive man. You know, watching the film of him at Pitt and then seeing him out here now, um. No concerns about his size. He’s got, he’s got great explosive movements. He can move laterally and he kind of plays at one speed. He plays 100 miles an hour and so, uh, so, um, I, I’ve, you know, I, I love this tape and I’ve really liked what I’ve seen so far. What is that? I mean, was today the first time in all pads? No, that was, uh, I think we went to, we went, uh, Tuesday, Thursday, and today all in pads. Nebraska hired um the. football coaches, uh, just what are your initial thoughts about those hires? Well, you know, and I don’t, I don’t, I don’t know, um, both coach Sowers, you know, I, I obviously, uh, shot coach *** text, you know, immediately I was like, hey, you know, we’re here to help in any way, um, but when I saw the hire and heard that that’s where, you know, the direction we were going, makes *** ton of sense to me, you know, I mean, uh, winners know the game at *** high level, have *** tremendous pedigree already of, of, um, of. Playing this emergency sport at *** really high level, so um you know they’ll they’ll join *** great group of head coaches here and um they seems like they’ve done *** lot of great things so far. So to me it’s it’s uh looks like it’s *** home run. Good to see you guys.
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Coach Rhule discusses quarterback room, transfers, and early spring practices
Coach Matt Rhule spoke with the media as spring practices continue for the Huskers. Rhule said the early start has been “good” for the team since it has allowed him to see what he’s working with as well as letting the freshmen get acquainted with everyone and everything. He addressed how several of the new transfers have been performing so far, and he mentioned TJ Lateef has had some major physical developments. Rhule said Lateef is healthy now and knows what’s expected of him.See the whole news conference in the video above.Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
Coach Matt Rhule spoke with the media as spring practices continue for the Huskers.
Rhule said the early start has been “good” for the team since it has allowed him to see what he’s working with as well as letting the freshmen get acquainted with everyone and everything.
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He addressed how several of the new transfers have been performing so far, and he mentioned TJ Lateef has had some major physical developments. Rhule said Lateef is healthy now and knows what’s expected of him.
See the whole news conference in the video above.
Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.
NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
