Matt Rhule shares unique approach to offseason program at Nebraska

Matt Rhule is in the midst of his first offseason at the helm for Nebraska, and before spring practice begins, weeks of vigorous training must happen. A competitive aspect is common in these workouts, but Rhule added an element of nuance to his first offseason competition among his players.

“We divided up into teams and selected some veteran guys to be captains. We went for seven weeks. It’s everything from daily points for community service, for attending other teams’ events, for competitions,” Rhule explained. “It’s lost points for missing study halls and being late to things so it’s really whereas most football teams are based upon your physical ability, you learn very quickly that your accountability, your ability to do what you say you are going to do, is really important.”

Rhule has mentioned that the team he has inherited and built is a competitive group, but making them compete off of the field as well as on it is certainly a fresh and new idea. Building strength and speed in the offseason is paramount, and almost inevitable, as Rhule looks to focus on building intangibles and camaraderie among his team through their competitions.

“We want to be a team that when we play, we don’t beat ourselves, we’re measured against reward for what gets done. We’re rewarding guys for doing the right thing and going above and beyond,” Rhule said. “What it also does is guys break out of their cliques and their friend groups and start to get to know each other and start to value each other for their contributions, not necessarily what’s physical but also personal. So that goes on for several weeks. Ed Foley runs it, he does a great job.”

The Cornhuskers’ team competition then transitions to what Rhule is calling ‘team commitment week’, which seems to be taking the prior seven weeks of competition up to a whole other level.

“They have re-drafts, you can protect a player, there’s some different things they do. That leads us into this week. Thomas (Fidone’s) team won, came down the stretch and blew it out this past week. On Friday we selected new teams. They all selected a Twitter handle with what we call ‘team commitment week’ from Friday to Friday. It’s one where the only rule is there are no rules. You get points for doing good things, you lose points for missing things. There are team competitions every morning and there is optional team building activities at night. It’s a great chance for us to get to know each other, not just as football players but as people,” Rhule said.

There’s no question that the Cornhuskers’ offseason program is a little unconventional. But if Nebraska has an improved season under Rhule in his first year on the job, it could serve as a point of reference as a piece of their success.