Tad Stryker: Matt Rhule Looking More Nebraskan by the Day

The Huskers’ second-year head football coach is setting a solid foundation. Can he build something that lasts?

Oct 28, 2023; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule during the fourth quarter against the Purdue Boilermakers at Memorial Stadium. / Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

Matt Rhule may be the most Nebraskan of any living coach from outside the Cornhusker State. Not bad for a kid born in New York City who walked on to play football at Penn State.

Then again, it’s a bit of a stretch to put Rhule ahead of John Cook, whose cowboy heart belies his West Coast upbringing, much as the self-created “Born on the Bayou” image of John Fogerty disguises the fact that he and his Creedence Clearwater Revival bandmates were born and raised near San Francisco.

With all due respect to Cook, I give Rhule a ton of credit for the 18 laborious months he’s put in to rebuild the Nebraska football program, whereas Cook took over a high-performing Nebraska volleyball machine fabricated by Terry Pettit. Rhule already has done more infrastructure work than native son Scott Frost and his predecessor, Mike Riley, produced in a combined eight years.

Rhule is living up to his reputation as a serious and capable developer of talent. He’s every bit the “grinder” that Trev Alberts sought to replace Frost, who seemed increasingly preoccupied by off-the-field pursuits. Rhule has a plan, and early returns indicate that he will carry it out.

Oct 21, 2023; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule during the second quarter against the Northwestern Wildcats at Memorial Stadium. / Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

Whereas Frost said he would bring back the four-station drills which Tom Osborne used to give countless reps to second- and third-string players, then failed to follow through, Rhule went beyond the talking stage. He built a similar concept into the spring league format he developed, with “Bugeaters,” “Rattlesnake Boys” and “Old Gold Knights” squads going head-to-head. Frost talked about the need to “get old” to win in the Big Ten, then failed to retain players long enough to make it happen, while under Rhule, fourth- and fifth-year players will form a strong foundation this fall in the offensive and defensive lines. What can he build on it?

Rhule is frank, matter-of-fact and more open with the media than even the agreeable, approachable Riley was. He’s got some of Bo Pelini’s fire. He’s more innovative on offense than Frank Solich.

The fact that Nebraska’s roster has lost very few players to the transfer portal since the end of the 2023 season indicates they believe in Rhule, his staff and his system, which are built upon old-school concepts like hard work, friendship, loyalty, cooperation, enthusiasm, initiative and self-control. If it sounds like I’m quoting directly from John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, it’s because I am. Rhule met Wooden while a defensive line coach at UCLA in 2001, and something appears to have rubbed off.

From almost every indication, Rhule has the moxie to be an effective CEO during a turbulent period in college football. He’s not afraid to trust his eyes, his experience and his gut, and appears to be rebuilding Nebraska football the right way. He hires solid assistants, whose recruiting strategy is largely dependent on their ability to analyze, recruit and develop athletes with firm measurables who other major schools have written off or failed to discover. He appears to be re-establishing a recruiting presence in Texas, and is also starting to land a few players who other programs desperately want.

These are all good signs for the future of Cornhusker football. It’s only a matter of time before this plays out on the field.

By the end of fall camp, Rhule will have built the majority of Wooden’s Pyramid principles into his program, although it could be justifiably argued the Huskers are still a bit light on talent. Clearly missing early in the 2024 season will be the three blocks that form the apex — poise, confidence and competitive greatness, which only success under fire can solidify.

At least two gigantic questions surround Rhule. Can he build a major college football team into a consistent Top 25 performer, and will he stay around long enough to keep it there? Recruiting and developing poised, confident players who stick around long enough to find competitive greatness, and doing it year after year, is a job not just for a program builder, but a program sustainer. Does Rhule have the chops for it?

---

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking All Huskers, following HuskerMax on X, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.