The Nebraska football team held its first spring practice on Monday morning. Following practice, Head Coach Matt Rhule and select players met with members of the media to preview the spring season. Rhule spoke on the excitement leading up to the first practice.
“I couldn’t sleep last night,” Rhule said. “I probably fell asleep at one and woke up at 4:15 out of excitement. You have heard me talk a couple times about deserving the right. I think the guys deserve the right to attack spring ball from the work they did in the winter, so I was anxious to get out there with them today.”
Rhule was asked how he would assess the first practice.
“For me, it is the first time I have seen these quarterbacks throw a ball,” Rhule said. “It is the first time I have seen some of these guys. Practice is kind of chaotic, so I really cannot assess much until I go back and watch the tape. But I will just continue to say I do not know if we are good or not, but we are a very coachable team. I think a lot of it for us right now is just establishing standards. We want to be a team that doesn’t beat itself. We want to be a team that goes out and executes, and for me, that is everyone was in the building by 5:15. Everyone was dressed appropriately. Everyone knew their assignments so that is a great start. If we can establish that basis, that standard that we are all going to be on time, we are all going to practice hard, we are all going to know our jobs then the talent will take over.”
Rhule expanded on the team’s willingness to be coached.
“There’s not a lot of defensiveness,” he said. “Great players listen with their eyes. These guys will turn and listen to you. We are talking a lot about it. This generation of players of young people is under so much pressure. You drop one pass and you can become a meme pretty quickly. There is a lot of pressure so we are trying to reduce the idea of good and bad. You come out and you throw an interception or you come out and bust a coverage…we don’t play until August 31. It is not good, it is not bad, it is just ‘you did something well today, you probably did some things that weren’t to the level you want.'”
Rhule also discussed the depth of the quarterback room.
“I thought they threw the ball well,” Rhule said. “It was windy, and we are not going to throw very often in the indoor. We are going to learn how to throw the ball through the wind, so I thought they threw the ball well. There are a lot of things that I have to go back and watch but that is as talented of a quarterback room as I have ever been a part of, so it was good to see those guys out there.”
The Huskers will continue their spring practice on Tuesday.