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Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule gives update on QB battle, spring practice
I think Jamir is probably the best example we have of *** gritty football player, *** guy who shows up every day, same guy every day. No matter what the role is, whether it was blocking *** punt last year or Playing corner, playing nickel, playing safety, he’s tough. He’s physical. He competes every day. He’s everything you probably would want in *** player. And um so now it’s just *** matter for him of getting the football right, finding the right position for him and giving him *** chance to compete, but his intangibles, you know, they make the locker room and they make the sideline better. Have you seen Elijah Pritchett mature and grow over the last 6 months and 12 months? I think probably his biggest growth was probably, you know, 12 months ago, you know, sometimes as *** coach you have to do hard things, you know, we Didn’t always play him um until the standards were right. I’m very proud of Elijah. I think he’ll be *** top draft pick next year. I think he. I was very mature in making the decision to come back. Um, when you go through those moments, right, and you know things aren’t, you’re not getting what you want, you can pout or you can grow. I think he’s grown. He’s *** tremendous talent and, um, he’s combining that with technique, grit every single day, showing up, doing the right things. And uh I think adding some of those guys to the room, you know, have, have also helped grow that for him, you know, Justin, Justin Evans is clearly the leader in that room. There’s no doubt about that. And uh I think uh Pritchard is kind of like right there along with him. Yeah that I. Targeting penalty against Minnesota and you had his back after, after that particular play. Was that ***, was that *** bonding moment for, for him and the coaching staff that, that you guys supported him in that kind of odd play? You, you probably have to ask him. I mean, I didn’t see it that way. It was just sort of, I thought *** tough call, you know, I mean, for someone who’s watches as much football as me, it’s, I think the only time I’ve ever seen that they, they had, they had one other instance. But at the end of the day he was just trying to play hard. He wasn’t trying to hurt anybody. He was just trying to. You know, *** game that wasn’t quite going our way early on, he was trying to establish physical dominance by hitting *** player. Um, they made the call, they made the call. But, you know, what you hope is over time that, um, You know, when you’re, when you’re holding players and staff and yourself to standards that they don’t see it as punishment, they see it as corrective action helping, helping them get better and uh. You know, if you’re able to stay *** place long enough that that those messages kind of get passed on, it’s like, hey, no matter how talented you are, you have to do things this way and Again, tremendous credit to Elijah. He’s done that and he’ll he’ll he’ll reap *** lot of the rewards this year and then with *** long NFL career afterwards because he’s got all the talent and he’s added, he’s, we haven’t done it. He’s done. The discipline and the accountability to get those things done. Uh, coach, Coach Orch mentioned with Donovan Jones that he’s been, been moving around to maybe some safety and maybe some nickel. What, what, how challenging can that be for *** player and what makes you think, um, Donovan could excel at other positions? Coach Orich isn’t used to this media market yet. He keeps saying *** lot. I to tell him, um, yeah, I mean, Donnie’s just *** great player, right? So it’s just like, you know, the hard thing sometimes when you have *** guy like Donnie who can do so much is you wanna let them just settle in. And um um but but you know playing nickel playing safety is really the same thing in this defense so um I wanted to be able to use his man to man ability. Um, he’s used *** corner and also his physicality to stop the run and so I think, um, he, he’s, you know, he’s *** guy that we believe is *** starter caliber player for us and just finding the right spot to allow him to flourish. What you don’t want to do to me is. Take *** player who could be *** difference maker and put them in *** position where they’re less difference making to get the best 11 on the field. Some people believe in that. I want our best players to be in blue dot positions where they can affect the game and then work around it. So I think we’re just trying to make sure Donnie’s in *** position where he can affect the game. To, to that point about Rob, and I think he was asked the other day about the guys on the cheetah squad and said, I better not say, and then he went ahead and named some, named some players. Do his, his way of communicating, like his transparency that he has here and, and I’m sure with the players on the field, like how big is that for him and And gaining the trust of these guys that are that he’s new working around. Yeah, well, Rob’s an open book. There’s, I love, I love being around him. There’s no agendas. He calls it like he sees it. He’s very clear on the expectations. Um, You know, He’ll just have to figure out that when you say these two guys are doing well, there’s *** whole bunch of people that say, well, what about these two, you know, and so you have to be careful calling guys out because there’s *** lot of guys doing really good things right now and so um. Um, you know, sometimes after practice you walk in, you remember like the last two plays of the practice, but you know you want to give an honest assessment of how everyone’s doing, but um. But, you know, I do think from, from us, um, I think they did *** great job at San Diego State in their rush packages of getting unique players on the field and unique positions and, um, so I, I like, I’ve always liked those things. I like having packages for players where. Maybe I don’t fit everything we’re doing, but I can impact the game in one certain area, and, um, um, I think he’s thinking that way. I think he has *** great staff. I think by watching the way they work together, they’re, uh, the staff is doing *** nice job of. You know whether it’s looking at *** guy like Donnie and figuring out what position he’s in or hey, what’s the best way to handle quarterbacks like TJ and uh Anthony who can run, you know, and how do we affect that but they did *** nice job at San Diego State of getting good players on the field to affect the quarterback when it mattered and so they started, you know, we had some. Third down stuff last night and they had some of those groups out there and um it’s good to see but yeah I think um I think Rob’s *** coach that most players would want to play for because it’s it’s there’s no agenda it’s just pretty straight up you guys that you guys sliding Phil Simpson, he’s he’s uh along with the defensive staff like along with the defensive line. So we have, we have two guys with the tackles, two guys with the D ends. Those two ends do *** lot of different stuff, so Phil’s Phil’s in there, him and him and uh. Him and um Royer with those guys. What are the blue dot positions? Uh, it’s just *** thing that one of the GMs I work for used to say like guys who, you know, guys who affect the game, you know what I’m saying, like uh. You know, you can, you know, it’s like if you have Ndama and sue, put him, I wish we did, if you put him in *** position where he can best affect the game, don’t put him in *** position because he’s such *** great player. He also could play this too because another guy’s good at this, and then you have, you know, take your best players and put them in positions where you have to deal with them and then have everyone else fit around them. So it’s just they can be in any position. If you have *** shutdown corner that no one can get open on, then let them lock up their best player, you know, if you don’t, then don’t do that. So just. Just, just the thought of just playing to your strengths. Did, did you, when Ty was here, I mean, he’s an example of somebody who was sort of like that. Did you guys try to figure out ways to get him to be able to dominate Ty Robinson? Yeah, I mean, I think the two years Ty was here, I think we’re in the top 10, and pretty much every defense, and I, I would say it was just Ty. I thought it was like *** combination of Nash and Ty. And I think MJ Sherman. It was *** it was *** guy that no one ever gave enough credit to because he would just absolutely set the edge into the boundary and all those long runs that hit last year, they, they didn’t hit two years ago and. DeSean was the boundary safety at the time, so you, I mean when you college football, the balls usually run into the sideline, into the boundary, and you had some forces in there. And then you had Johnny Bullock, who’s, you know, I think he had 12 tackles, 10 tackles in the NFL this year as *** special team, which is hard to do. And so you had some really good players, um, making *** lot of plays, but Ty could, Ty could disrupt the game, you know, and so, um, that’s another guy like could he go out and play *** 5 technique? Absolutely he could, but his best thing was. You know, we moved *** little less with him and got vertical with him and played to his strengths, you know, you look out there right now like Riley’s one type of *** player, Chair Whittington’s *** different type of *** player. They have to do *** lot of the same things, but I think. You know, you’re hoping that your defensive staff capitalizes on each guy’s skill sets in certain ways with either the call or the positions they’re putting them in. Could those two guys play together at the same time, or do they play at the same position? Who’s that? Oh, no, they, they, they, they, they play. They, they, they, they, they have *** 5 man kind of group that goes in, so they’re not really. There’s not *** ton of like, hey, he’s purely *** nose and he’s purely *** 3. I mean, especially in this defense, you know, they slide the front. You have to be ready to play both, so, um, they’ve done *** nice job in my mind of, you know, I’ve asked them to of not just deciding the depth in the 1st 2 weeks but giving *** lot of guys *** lot of opportunities to play versus the first O line versus the versus the second O line, um, and you know we got *** lot of reps so we can see who can do what and um, you know, we had our first scrimmage Saturday, so when you have that first scrimmage it’s *** chance for guys to come out of the scrimmage and show like, OK, I see what I did well, what I didn’t do well. Like last night and then tomorrow night are really important days for me to see how guys adjust and come out of those that first scrimmage, you know, well, hey, what did I learn and what can I do better? What is that? What was your assessment of the first scrimmage? And I guess the thing I always wonder is how are you with the? Was there *** give and take offense, defense, or with one much better than the other? Um, I think the offense was probably maybe *** little bit ahead of the defense. Out there, uh, but it wasn’t. It wasn’t, you know, Astronomical. I thought the defense was probably *** little ahead of the offense last night. So I think there is good give and take. I think they’re going back and forth, um. You know, but that was really good work. I mean, I think we had, I don’t know what the total number was, maybe 180, 190 reps. There was *** lot of reps. Um, and we had 120 linemen, 12.50 linemen on Saturday because Paul could only Paul Mbanga could only take half reps. Tyler Knox’s, uh, girlfriend had senior night at, she’s *** gymnast at Utah, and so we, we wanted him to go back there with her. Um, some of the guys are banged up, so we were able to get that many reps with, you know, 12.5 alignment was really credit to *** lot of guys taking *** lot of reps, but we needed it for, you know, all the wideouts and safeties and running backs to get reps too. Now that said, are you guys on schedule with what you want to get out of the spring? In terms of just productivity, oh yeah, I think the spring’s been great. I think it’s been great. It’s been, it’s been *** great spring. It’s, you know, Fred’s crushing it right now, wrestling’s crushing it. It’s just kind of *** quiet like. Um, like, you know, just kind of float under the radar, just get better at football, like, you know, that’s really what I wanted from our guys, just want like an industrious show up every day like we started earlier. Um, I don’t know that I’ll ever go back. I’ve loved starting earlier, to be quite honest with you. Um, because *** lot of these guys, I mean, they, you know, they, they, they want football’s their love, right? They wanna do it, so getting them into football, I think it’s been really good. Um, and yeah, I think we’re getting better and better, I mean. Tomorrow night’s practice we’ll have *** red zone period. We’ll have *** coming out backed up period we’ll have. 2 minute, I mean all the situations that you’re gonna hit in the game will hit uh tomorrow night. So, um, I think the football IQ, the amount of guys who came back and then. The experience and the football knowledge of the guys that have come in has really, really been good for us. You look at an extended break after after tomorrow, what You know, what are your objectives there with the staff and I’m sure you, you know, have some thoughts about the the players over that time too, so they’re not. They’re not having to catch up when they come back that week of the of the spring game. What what are your thoughts about the week to 10 days ahead? Yeah, you know, I looked at it like, um, I’ve never done *** spring break over spring ball, but I also looked at it like in this league, you know, you know, we’re going to have one by moving forward, you know, there’s gonna be some short weeks, and long weeks, and we just have to, you know, we’ve had *** team that that’s. That’s really good when it’s comfortable when it gets *** little bit uncomfortable, it gets *** little bit like, um, jumpy, so we just threw something in there that was *** little bit uncomfortable, so they have to go away for *** week. I hope they all go have *** great spring break, see their family. I know some guys will stay here and. Um, as they always do, they just like living in Lincoln. Some guys maybe they’ll go to the beach or something and coaches will get away, um. And then, but I’m, I’m treating it like *** bye week, right? We’ll come back next Sunday night and then we’ll start on Monday and uh. That’s what’ll happen next year, you know, we’ll play *** ball game, take *** week off, and then, you know, I’m sure we’ll be in school and stuff, but I, you know, we’ll take *** week off and come back and we’ll have to go play Washington at home that next, you know, that next week, so. Trying to, um, trying to just make it feel like *** football bye week and then come back, so. Each player is going to have some decisions to make like they can. You know, run *** little bit during the week and make sure they get back they’re, they’re in shape or they can take the week off. I mean, um, that’s kind of position that we’re in, right? We’re, um, we’ve installed kind of ***, *** process and *** system that, you know, that they understand and now they have to bring it to life and take advantage of their opportunities and. Only so many guys can play. There’s *** lot of good players on this team, so if they want to play, they have to be out there to practice. And so, um, just really kind of taking the onus after, you know, 3 years here and putting it back on them like, hey, you know, you know what the final week is going to be. It’s *** full game week leading into *** spring game, and you know you’re gonna have to, uh, you’re gonna have to take care of yourself in the bye week. Uh, what, what have you thought of the quarterbacks so far, uh, particularly Anthony? Yeah, I think Anthony, um. Um, Burning. He’s got like *** burning desire to be great. Uh, he’s unbelievably confident, yet unbelievably approachable and not cocky. Um, I think that rubs off on the guys around him. Um, he can extend plays, so they can make plays with his feet. You know, um, He’s not, he’ll throw the deep ball. He’s he’s, he’s not, he’s not afraid by any stretch of the imagination. He wants the ball in his hands. He wants to make plays. It’s like he plays really fast. I think part of that is. You know, having him make the right decisions at the right times while not slowing him down, um, but I think he’s had *** really good spring so far. TJ, as *** young player, as *** freshman, it’s his second spring, you know, you look at him, he looks like *** grown man, but he’s still really young. Obviously he had the benefit of playing. Um, he had some really good moments when he played and, um, you know, he, you can tell him after having played and now watching Anthony play, you can see him speeding up and getting through everything that he’s doing and then Danny’s *** guy that, um, really smart, his brain processes really quickly. He can see it and uh just keep getting reps and then uh Bodie’s done *** nice job getting reps too, so I think it’s *** really healthy quarterback room. Um, and, you know, like I said, to have 3 guys out there that’ve played as much as they’ve played is, uh, it’s pretty unique, and it’s *** cool thing to see. You, um, you’ve sort of alluded to some of this, but is there anything about the defense that’s jumped out at you? At this point. In terms of alluded to uh. Um. In terms of the structure of the defense or the players players. Uh, I think there’s *** lot. I mean, I think there’s *** lot of guys that um. That want to play, you know, so they’re, they’re competing, um. Uh, you know, I think, I think the additions in the linebacker room. Um, have helped. Like I think, you know, Owen Chambliss is gonna be *** really good football player, um. You know, he’s, he’s got, he got like *** banged up toe and continues to go out there every day, like, you know, doesn’t have to go out there probably but goes out there every day like wants to be great and I think that. You know, you, you play defense, you know, you need to have *** sound defense. You need to have technique, and you need some alphas. That wanna dominate the uh the other team and I think you know guys like Owen bring that um so yeah I’ve been, I mean I’ve been pleased with the defense with where with where they’re at and uh I, I like the teaching. I like how I like how uh Coach Ori and his staff break it down everything from here’s how we’re gonna run to the football to here’s how we’re gonna tackle to here’s how we’re gonna play this call and uh the coaches are doing *** good job of holding them accountable and you know when you bring in *** bunch of new players from *** bunch of new places, you know, new coaches, you just have to kind of rein it all in and like, hey, no this is how we’re gonna do it. Don’t do it the way you did it here. Do it this way, and I’ve sensed *** lot of buy-in on that, which I think is really good. What are your first impressions of Danny Odom and how his transition from high school to college is going? Yeah, Danny’s really talented. Danny’s *** big player for *** freshman. I think he’s 198 pounds as *** corner as *** freshman. Um, he’s competing to play, you know, we didn’t bring him here to sit, um, and, um, he’s humble, you know, he, he, when I say humble, he works really hard. He’s up there all the time. He’s *** gym rat, he’s watching extra tape, he’s trying to meet with Addie. To make sure he knows what to do and then he goes out there he likes to compete and so uh he’s facing good wideouts every day in practice and um he’s certainly got it’s, you know, in the mix and you know that there’s there’s *** lot of great competition for that spot probably opposite Marshall. Uh, *** recruit mentioned that Orich is more of like *** partner and like an authoritarian figure in terms of how he teaches his scheme and how he communicates. Have you noticed that? Um, I don’t, that’s great, that’s *** great comment. Like I’ve, I’ve always believed great coaches should be authoritative, not authoritarian, you know, so I think you have to. You know, he can’t be *** partner in that. Everyone’s deciding how we want to do things, you know, he’s got, he’s gotta be the alpha and this is how we do it. I do think the best coaches though, they explain it in *** way that they explain why, but they don’t justify it, you know, um. So what I like, what I like the most about Rob is that, you know, he’s watching. NFL tape. He’s watching Indiana’s defense. He’s watching Iowa’s defense. He’s watching, you know, Mountain West team’s defense. He’s always looking for new things. He wants to be on the cutting edge and um that’s probably what the recruiter is referring to, but like I said earlier, I think Rob’s the kind of um coach that I would want to play for. In that, um, he’s, it’s just always, hey, what’s the best way, not what’s my way, but what’s the best way, uh, then that’s, that’s probably what that recruit’s uh referring to. Orri kind of also mentioned that when he came in that the scheme’s kind of or he builds his defense around skill sets over, you know, kind of fitting guys into roles. Have you noticed anyone on the defensive side of the ball that you feel like needs to be on the field or like that the they’re making an effort to get on the field even though he’s not *** perfect fit maybe. I think, I mean, I think everyone’s *** fit in some way. I mean, we’re not, you know, we’re, I don’t think we’re doing anything groundbreaking defensively, you know, we’re not like in when we first came here, we went to the 335, and that required maybe some different, you know, hey, you need these people, and I think we kind of did it because of what was, you know, what we thought would be an outlier, um. I think this defense requires people knowing exactly what to do and anticipating things and breaking before, you know, just, just having that and sometimes it takes some time and so I think they’re doing *** good job of. Putting guys in *** lot of reps, putting guys in *** lot of opportunities even in walkthroughs to, to, to make those calls and comments, um. You know, you, you, when you look at our D line, like I said, like to have *** guy like, you know, *** 6’5, 310 pound guy like Riley, and then *** guy at 265 like just here, you know, like, um, you know, I think Robson will do *** good job. Corey Brown’s been really impressive to me of like, hey, let’s, you know, this guy’s gonna play this way, this guy’s gonna play this way within the call, um, so I think that, you know, I think he, I think it’s fair to say that he’s trying to, um. He’s trying to both maximize the players we have, but also look at, hey, how watch *** lot of Big 10 tape, right, and say, hey, how do, how does Big 10 football go? And we noticed it *** lot during the portal, you know, you’re watching like D linemen, you’re watching D linemen in the SEC and there’s one style of football being played in the SEC. There’s *** whole other style in the ACC and Big 12, and then you watch them versus Ohio State and Indiana, and you’re getting double teams and duo and power, and it’s just *** different football here. So making sure that everything that we do stands up to the teams that we’re going to see in this league and the ability to stop the run and so he has core philosophies, you know, the core strategies that match what we have as *** program, you know, the tactics might change *** little bit like, hey, let’s let’s stop the run this way this game, but I think he’s *** really smart coach and so I think it’ll it’ll work out.
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Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule gives update on QB battle, spring practice
Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule shared his thoughts on the Huskers’ progress so far in spring practice during a press conference Wednesday.He discussed what he likes to learn from scrimmages, an update on the quarterback battle and more.See the full press conference in the video player 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 |
Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule shared his thoughts on the Huskers’ progress so far in spring practice during a press conference Wednesday.
He discussed what he likes to learn from scrimmages, an update on the quarterback battle and more.
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See the full press conference in the video player 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 |
