Nick Henrich shares takeaways of Tony White's coaching

It hasn’t taken long for Tony White‘s infectious coaching style to contaminate Nebraska‘s defense. On Monday, Cornhuskers linebacker Nick Henrich revealed his perspective on the new defensive coordinator.

“Coach White is very intense, and he’s not going to let anything go unnoticed. If you’re loafing one play, you’re going to get yelled at. But, he’ll praise you in the next one if you make a good play,” Henrich said. “You know what you’re going to get out of Coach White, and I love it. I love how he always holds everyone accountable, and he does a great job.”

History backs up Henrich’s claims. Before joining Nebraska, White led Syracuse’s defense.
In both 2021 and 2022, Syracuse ranked in the top 25 nationally in total defense. Further, Syracuse held its foes to 20 or fewer points 10 times over his final two seasons while twice ranking in the top 15 nationally in defensive touchdowns.

White is an avid user of the 3-3-5 defense. Unlike most of Nebraska’s coaching staff, White has not worked with head coach Matt Rhule before. Nonetheless, White has the pieces to make Rhule a happy man.

Nebraska returns its top three tacklers from last season: linebacker Luke Reimer (86), defensive back Myles Farmer (73) and nickel Isaac Gifford (70). Additionally, the team returns Henrich, who started in the Cornhuskers’ first five games last season before tearing his ACL.

Despite a few standouts, Nebraska’s defensive cast could not deliver a happy ending to fans in 2022. The team ranked No. 100 in total defense and 108th in rushing defense. White is doing everything he can to turn around the Cornhuskers’ defense before the season opener.

“We’re throwing a lot at them. Coach made the point — this is what it’s about, right? Practices are everything. Games are everything. So we’re throwing a lot at them, especially early on, so we can see what they’re absorbing,” White said. “I’d rather cut it back than not have enough. So right now, it’s full installs for the first couple days. Then we’ll see where they’re at, reassess, and go from there.

“I’m talking from myself to the assistant coaches down to the player on how we’re watching film and how we’re trying to get reps in — mental reps for the guys who are standing in the back,” White said. “Schematics-wise, are we teaching it the right way? Are we doing too much, too little? Are guys absorbing the language? Do we need to change something? Right now in camp, and I keep talking about the operation, we need to make sure we’re giving the guys the best chance to know what to do, know how to do it so that they can do it on the grass.”

Watch Nebraska hit the grass on Sept. 2 in its season opener against Minnesota.