Matt Rhule describes Tom Osborne's speech at Nebraska coaches clinic as 'humbling'

During last week’s coaches clinic at Nebraska, legendary Cornhuskers coach Tom Osborne was the keynote speaker. He addressed the group of coaches who made the trip for the event, and Matt Rhule said the 86-year-old Osborne did something he’d never done before.

“Coach was bragging, it was the first time he had ever made a PowerPoint,” Rhule said. “He got up there and just crushed it. Absolutely crushed it.”

Rhule knows firsthand just how important Osborne’s voice is to Nebraska’s legacy. When he took the job, Osborne was one of the first people he met with because of his stature with the program. He’s the winningest coach in program history with 255 career wins and led the Cornhuskers to three national championships during his tenure.

That’s why it was such a big deal for Rhule to get him to speak at the clinic.

“I’ll just say this. Coach Osborne speaking last night was humbling,” Rhule said. “A, that he would do it. B, how detailed and meticulous he was. At 86 years old, it was gold. It was absolute gold. I took notes, wrote it down and really, a lot of things that challenged me. I think most of the coaches felt that way. … Just really grateful to him, and really grateful to the coaches.”

Matt Rhule: We want Nebraska to be a place people come to

Rhule said coaches came from across the country to Lincoln for the clinic, listening to members of his new staff speak. It’s part of his plan to make the program more “open,” and he said he’s made that clear to area coaches, as well.

“We want to be a place that people come to,” Rhule said. “We want to be a destination people come to to come talk about football, so we’re 100% open. I tell every high school coach, you want to come to practice, you come anytime you want. But we also wanted to have a really good clinic. I think it’s really important. I hired some people that the coaches maybe aren’t … familiar with.

“So to sit there and listen to Terrance Knighton, Garret McGuire clinic and the level of detail and knowledge that helps our program. We had coaches from Texas, we had coaches from Albany, New York. We had, obviously, coaches from Nebraska and the Dakotas. People came from a long way. To get close to 400 people here for our first clinic’s great. It’ll just continue to grow.”