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Nebraska enters a bye week already matching last season’s win total. At 5-1, the Huskers are on the cusp of their first bowl bid since 2016. However, head coach Matt Rhule isn’t ready to celebrate just yet.
Rhule spoke to the media on Monday at the halfway point of Nebraska’s season. While it hasn’t been perfect, he is thrilled with how the team has handled it all.
“I’m proud of our players,” Rhule said. “That’s the important message. I’m proud of their work. I’m proud of the lack of distractions. I’m proud of the selflessness. I’m proud of the growth.”
The team has shared this same commitment, even with some seeing the field less than others. While players deciding to redshirt after four games to improve their stock in the transfer portal is a hot topic in college football, Rhule hasn’t had to deal with any situations.
“I believe in that journey, I believe in the old school process,” Rhule said. “It takes parents who trust you, takes players who trust you, and at the same time if a player says to me ‘Coach, this isn’t right for me I want to transfer.’ I’m not gonna throw them off the team.”
Rhule believes in development and not wasting a year of eligibility by playing just a few snaps a game with defensive lineman Riley Van Poppel is a catalyst for this thinking. The sophomore saw his most extensive playing time of the year against the Scarlet Knights, but can only appear in one more regular season contest to preserve his redshirt.
Van Poppel follows suit to defensive lineman James Williams, who redshirted last season despite recording two sacks in four games. The sophomore has already doubled his production in just the past two weeks alone.
“James Williams is out there, has a big game statistically,” Rhule said. “We made the decision, a hard decision, but the right decision last year to redshirt him down the stretch and now you see a much more developed player in my mind.”
Others up for a redshirt are defensive backs Blye Hill, Amare Sanders and Larry Tarver Jr. Hill looked to be in the running for the starting spot at cornerback in the spring before an injury in the spring game kept him sidelined. With the likes of junior Ceyair Wright and redshirt freshman Jeremiah Charles stepping up, Hill gets more time to evolve.
The Huskers who are seeing the field are playing clean football with the Blackshirts forcing turnovers on one end and the offense keeping the ball out of harm’s way on the other. One of the biggest improvements from last year is Nebraska’s plus-six turnover margin, up from a minus-17 mark in 2023.
“It’s a good example of putting your mind to something and getting it done,” Rhule said. “It’s been months and months of work and it’s also something we were working on last year.”
As for the other two key areas of physicality and discipline, Rhule calls it “a work in progress.” He points out the Illinois game being an occasion where the Huskers lost the toughness battle by being too worried about winning.
Penalties haven’t cost the Huskers too much so far, but that is because their opponents are generating them at the same rate. Through six games, Nebraska has committed 47 total penalties with the other sideline also having 47.
“It’s not like we’re just getting destroyed like we have 11 [penalties] and they have three, but that’s something I’d like to see us approve,” Rhule said.
The Huskers enter their first bye week of the season at a win total fans are used to seeing in November. While Rhule still has nightmares of the overtime loss to the Fighting Illini, he remains focused on getting better every week.
And so is his team. Morale is at an all-time high as Nebraska is bought in on having a successful second half of the year.
“After Illinois, I could just feel our team and our coaching staff wanting to win this game,” Rhule said. “I enjoy this game better where the guys just go and play.”
Anthony Rubek is an Assistant Sports Editor at The Daily Nebraskan. Follow him on X at @AnthonyRubek.
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