Matt Rhule opens up on how special first day of spring was at Nebraska

Spring ball is underway at Nebraska, and the Cornhuskers new head coach Matt Rhule is excited to get the ball rolling at his new program. After the Cornhuskers’ first spring practice, Rhule opened up on just how special the first day of spring practice was for him heading the program.

“Oh yeah, and I couldn’t sleep last night. I probably fell asleep about 1 A.M. (I) woke up about 4:15 A.M. And that’s out of excitement, you know,” said Rhule. “You’ve heard me talk a couple of times about deserving the right. I think the guys have deserved the right to attack spring ball from the work they did in the winter. And so, I was anxious to get out there with them today.”

Rhule was hired on at Nebraska after former head coach Scott Frost was relieved of his head coaching duties early in the season. The Cornhuskers entered the 2022 season with high expectations. But after losses to Northwestern and Georgia Southern in the first half of their season, the athletic department quickly made a change and began their search for a new head coach. Rhule was previously the head coach of the Carolina Panthers of the NFL.

Unfortunately, the Cornhuskers’ new head coach struggled mightily to find a reliable quarterback option, ultimately leading to his downfall in the NFL. Still, Rhule has had a handful of success coaching in the college ranks. At his two previous stops, Baylor and Temple, Rhule was able to turn both programs around. He led the Owls to a 10-2 record in the American Athletic Conference in his final season there. He then proceeded to follow that up by turning around a Baylor program that struggled to be competitive in the Big 12. During his last season there, Rhule led Baylor to an 11-2 season earning Big 12 Coach of The Year honors along the way.

The powers that be at Nebraska are anticipating Rhule to help turn around their once prestigious program. In the 1990s, the Cornhuskers were a consistent threat to take home the national championship. Since those days, Nebraska has struggled to stay consistently relevant and even challenge for the Big Ten crown. But if Rhule can channel his excitement from this first day of spring practice and keep the energy going into and through the regular season, Nebraska has enough talent on their roster to have a turnaround season in 2023. Not only that, but he could lead Nebraska to do something they have yet to do since 2016 — make a bowl game.