Nebraska Head Coach Matt Rhule Pre-Northern Illinois Press Conference
Opening Statement:
“We practiced last night. Jeff (Sims) was unable to practice with the ankle. We’ll know more about him probably tomorrow or later in the week. So Heinrich (Haarberg) and Chubba (Purdy) obviously took the reps behind him. That’s really the one major injury. Blaise (Gunnerson) came out of the game with a banged-up shoulder, but I think we’ll see him tomorrow. Blaise will be able to go. We’re expecting him to be able to go, but that was it injury-wise. Obviously as a team, the guys are disappointed. But I think that they understand that we have a chance to be a good team, and it starts this week with us coming back home. We’re excited to play at home, excited to play in front of the home fans and I’m excited to watch them do that.”
On Jeff Sims’ injury being a high ankle sprain:
“He said that to me on the field. But it doesn't appear to be one of those four to five week - true high ankle - it doesn't appear to be that. He moved around last night. We have that training area for the guys who aren't practicing and he was moving around there. With quarterbacks, I never know the ankle – what that’s going to mean. I’d have to see him before I know much more about that.”
On the gap between Sims and Haarberg/Purdy:
“I just lean back on what I said at the end of training camp. I felt like we could win with Chubba and I felt like we could win with Heinrich. They both can run, so we can maintain some of the things that we’re doing, quarterback run-wise. Some of the plays that we’ve called have been quarterback draws – maybe they’ve been seen as a scramble, but we’ve called some quarterback draws that those guys can execute at a high level. I think both of those guys can run the offense. Obviously, with where we’re at right now, the offense isn’t doing what we want it to do in general. I think all of us, as a team, we have to be better on offense to have a chance to win games. But I have a lot of confidence in both those guys and I think they both bring unique skill sets to the table.”
On if Jeff Sims will be the starter if he is physically there:
“I want to see him practice first. Jeff’s our starting quarterback, so if this hadn’t happened, he’d still be out there. That being said, we can’t keep turning the ball over. There’s that fine line. When you’re the quarterback, not everything is your fault. They snap the ball and it hits a guy in motion – sometimes, that’s the quarterback’s fault, sometimes it’s someone else’s fault. This is a top-down, starting with me ‘hey, we have to be better.’ We can’t be minus eight. It goes without saying, right? It’s just that that can’t be in our building, not out in the world. That can’t be the only narrative in our building. In our building, it can’t be ‘well, we’ll just turn the ball over.’ It’s 13-7 with six minutes left in the third quarter and we lose 36-14. That’s not acceptable either. So, we’re asking everyone just to get a little bit better. All that being said, Jeff’s our quarterback, but Jeff also has to protect the football. When the ball’s on the ground – things are going to happen, especially on the road – we have to dive on the ball and just hold the ball there. I’m obviously not getting that point across. I need to get that point across to everybody, and as best as we can, we move forward. But, I don’t know what he looks like so I don’t want to comment too much. If he was 100% healthy, I’d have him out there with the ones.”
On how they practice diving on the ball:
“I look at it and I get upset about it. Like, why are we not jumping on the ball? And Ron Brown has been a tremendous kind of mentor to me here. I go out to practice every night – Coach Darlington is there and watches practice. Coach (George) Darlington will talk about ‘hey, we had the punters and kickers tackle.’ Coach (Tom) Osborne came to practice last week. I listen to my mentors and my elders and Ron is one of those. Ron said ‘you know Matt, we’re all sitting here saying ‘why didn’t Jeff jump on the ball’, but every day in practice when the ball’s on the ground, what do we tell Jeff to do? We tell him to get out of the way.’ And he talked about a play in the Super Bowl a couple of years ago. Cam Newton is the most amazing competitor I’ve ever been around in my life. My life was changed by being around Cam Newton. Jeff (Sims) is a competitor. So Ron’s point was, why don’t we practice that? Why don’t we practice having the quarterback dive on balls? Obviously, we can’t do it in the flow of a team period. I was at Penn State when Kerry Collins, as a sophomore quarterback, dropped a snap and went down to pick it up and a defensive lineman broke his hand. All of a sudden, he was out for the year. Ron’s point was that we should be training that. I’ve never thought about that, I’ve never had that problem before. My job is to fix the things that are happening. I know Jeff would never not go get the ball. I just think Jeff tried to reach down because he wanted to make a play. The kids want to win so badly, but it’s like ‘hey guys, the ball is on the 32-yard line, you know what I’m saying? Let’s just dive on the ball and kick a field goal. Let’s go up 3-0.’ We’re learning how to win. It’s painful right now. It’s painful. It’s painful. I get it, everything’s painful. We’re never going to waste a crisis. We’re not going to waste these losses. We’re going to learn from it.”
On how Chubba Purdy is doing after the tweak:
“I just saw him this morning at breakfast. I sat down and talked to him and said ‘are you ready to go?’ He said, ‘yeah.’ He had a little tweak of his groin about a week and a half ago. Good enough that he could play, but he hasn’t been full speed, if that makes sense. He could be the emergency third. I think that was in reference to the question of who would be the two. I think he can bring a lot to the game. That’s why he would have been the third guy going in. He went in just because Heinrich lost his helmet. Heinrich has been taking all the two reps with Chubba being a little bit limited. He told me today that he feels good, so we’ll see how the week goes.”
On expectations of the team moving forward:
“This is kinda what you get when you hire me. It’s not gonna be a quick fix, not overnight. It’s gonna be, what we believe, built to last. We take advantage of these painful, painful moments. We sit there and as a coaching staff we say to ourselves, ‘our goal is in three years we'll look back and say that we did our best coaching during these weeks.’ I understand if there’s frustration. We’re trying to learn how to win. That's everything. Obviously, can you turn the ball over four times and win? No. We got that, but why are we turning the ball over? I take accountability to the guys. I did a poor job last week of preparing for the crowd noise. I didn't do a good enough job. And that's not an excuse, that's me. I honestly did not do a good enough job. Why? We were going on silent and we fumbled the ball too many times. Why aren't we just jumping on the ball? Because the guys wanna win so badly. We wanna win so badly but we’re not doing the things it takes to win but at the same time, it was 13-7 with six minutes left, and I'm going to keep saying that. That can't happen. That can't happen where it becomes 36. We're just trying to attack it all throughout the program. We can't punt the ball 25 yards. All these little things come together, but program wise, if everyone takes accountability and blocks out the noise and everyone tries to handle these little things, when it all does come together-cause I think we're still playing really good defense at times, were running the ball ok, if it all comes together I think it'll be pretty hard to deal with. We'll be running the ball about 250 a game, we'll be protecting the football, good on special teams, good on defense. That's the plan, it's just not all together yet. We're going to face an excellent team that came here in 2017 and won. Northern Illinois is a winning culture. Programs are either winning or losing programs in my opinion. Northern Illinois is a winning program led by a man who won there as a player and is now there winning as a coach. They went to Boston College and they won the game at Boston College. They beat an ACC team. Obviously they played a rival game last week and they lost the game and turned the ball over three times. They've got a quarterback who's a power five quarterback. They've got a tough offense. You should see their D-line. It's a good D-line that we've faced. I think we have a good team. We're doing things that are causing us to lose. We have to fix those things. It's just so incremental to me that I’m just right here in the moment right now.”
On how Heinrich (Haarberg) played on Saturday:
“I thought the moment wasn’t too big for him. What I loved was that three times he had a guy coming and blitzing him in the face and he stood in there and threw it. That’s the courage that we need. I thought he looked excellent running the football, which we knew. Even he threw the post to Marcus (Washington) which was incomplete but he knew where to go with the ball. I have a lot of confidence in Heinrich.”
On Coach Satterfield’s confidence in the passing game
“That’s a great question. We called a couple of them in this game and they just played off of us. One he turned and found (Nate) Boerkircher and Boerkicher got a first down. We called some play-action plays in this game and they pressured us and blitzed. The quarterback had to get out. One he scrambled and hit Billy (Kemp IV). I would say we have to be more aggressive probably, pushing the ball down the field. But at the same time when we call them we have to execute them a little better. I think several things can be true. The turnovers are one thing. It’s so obvious that we all know it. But then kind of what you’re saying. Some of the other explosive plays. When we are running the ball and the way at some times we have an explosive play off of that. Marcus (Washington) didn’t practice all training camp with first the hand then the knee. He’s coming around. Really would like see Jaylen (Lloyd) and Malachi (Coleman) come around this week. We are playing them so it’s their time to go. I’d like to see us be a little more aggressive in these areas.”
On other freshman receivers:
Jaidyn (Doss) Has that broken arm. He is back to practicing this week but limited. I don’t know when he’ll be ready. When he is ready I think he’ll play. (Joshua) Fleeks has really come on so he will help us this week. Jeremiah Charles is coming on. We have a kid here from right here at Lincoln High who walked on for us, Kenneth (Williams). I think he can help us. They are kind of waiting for their time. Brice Turner those guys are waiting for their time. Jeremiah is probably the closest. I think our receivers are just going to kind of click. Just staying on the field and getting into a rhythm will help our offense.”
On what he is looking for Malachi and Jaylen to do:
“Their opportunities will come based on the week. How they prepare during the week. They are still freshmen. Learning. Part of it is about being a second-team receiver if you really want to play you’ll have to back up three positions. You need to really kind of know a lot. They’re just not there yet so they’re kind of backing up one position. We took advantage of Jaylen’s skill set in the game by getting him the reverse. Didn’t get anything like that called this week. I think Jaylen Lloyd can play and I think Malachi can play for us. It’s just if we are taking 55 snaps they probably aren’t going to play a ton. We need to have a game where we play 70-75-80 snaps so we can get them on the field a little more. But they have to have really good weeks of practice and preparation. We take a test on Friday. That test has to be excellent. The guys that are freshmen that are playing really well, the ones that came in mid-year, like Cameron Lenhardt and Princewell (Umanmielen), went through the culture and they know everything. When you see the way they’re playing you know the process works. It’s just some of these guys are a little later to the party in that position.”
On if Riley Van Poppel is a four-game guy:
“No Riley is going to play for us. We got Sua (Lefotu) in. We are going to do everything we can to win now. But the way you build the program is taking advantage of guys for four games at a time. We got Sua in a little bit this game. It remains to be seen if he is a four-game guy or not. Good to get him in the game. But Riley is going to play this year.”
On the freshmen defensive lineman:
“I told you guys I really like the d-line group. They are really coming along. I run the defensive scout team. That’s one of my jobs at practice. I like those guys that aren’t really playing yet. I like Leslie (Black). I like (Jason) Maciejczak. They are all going to play at some point. I hope you guys feel like I’m honest with you. You asked me about the d-line depth in training camp. I like it. I like those guys. I just think that some of them are young. That’s going to be a strength for us for a while. You look out there Makai Gbayor. They are showing up and they’re playing. Jamari (Butler) is back so we let him play d-line instead of the jack position in this game. So I think we have a lot of guys that can help us. I think we recruited a good group there. I feel the same way about the receivers. There is just a lot more to know at receiver than there is on d-line. It just takes a little bit longer. Again we just aren’t going to fix things. We are going to develop the guys. Malachi (Coleman) is going to be one heck of a player here. Jaylen (Lloyd) is going to be one heck of a player here. Jeremiah Charles is going to be one heck of a player here. They are going through the process of being a good player. Dwight Bootle II got in the game and played. He is going to be fantastic player for us. He got in against Colorado and played a couple snaps. He is going to continue to accelerate. I think there is a lot of young players. Koby Bretz played in that game and he’s coming on. So I am excited about a lot of the young players that are playing. This was not an easy way to start. Not the record that we want. We see some things from those guys that tells me we are going to be really good.”
On the four game rule with protecting red-shirts:
“That is my job and I have to do a good job at that. I think it is just very simply, who can help us win and who can’t? Does that make sense? So if they can help us win we play them. It is not like we are trying to prepare for the future. That would be a terrible message to send to the (Luke) Reimers of the world. It is just that we are not going to waste guys in games if that makes sense. (Dwight) Bootle is playing and Bootle is playing this year for us. He might only play five or six snaps so far but it is because we think he is going to play for the course of this year so we are playing Bootle. There are some other guys like I look at AJ Rollins and I think he can help us. He has not played a ton yet so I am like let’s get AJ up and going. When it comes to the four-game rule it is very simply about are they ready to help us yet or are they not? If they are not ready, then I am kind of like let’s get them ready for later in the year because we are going to have injuries. I know everyone is like it’s two games in. There’s a lot of football left. The process of trying to get a little bit better as a team, it is the same thing for the players and that is the one thing I pointed out to the guys. I know we are 0 and 2 and I know it’s natural to say, ‘Coach you have us working so hard and we are not getting the results we wanted’ but as a player, ‘Is this process working for you? Are you a better player than you were a year ago?’ Luke Reimer is all over the field. Nick Henrich is all over the field. Nash Hutmacher is one of the best players on the field when he steps on the field. There are players that are working and then just taking that same approach with the freshmen. DeShon Singleton and Omar Brown didn’t even play last year. Those guys are excellent players for us now. We just have to get it for the whole team.”
On Tony White’s teaching:
“I think Tony White is fantastic. He has this amazing gift and I will be honest with you, that tempo was so fast. I was kind of hoping with Big Ten refs that it would slow the tempo down a little bit, like we wouldn’t let them run plays before the chains got set and but it was fast and that is credit to Sean Lewis. He is an excellent coach for them. But I have never seen a defense be able to get into so many multiple looks versus that tempo and that is Tony’s teaching. That is the defensive staff but Tony just stays so calm during the game. He doesn’t get emotional he just sees what is happening and I think that I apologize I don’t have the number but I think we had 20 guys on defense play over 10 snaps so as I told Reimer and those guys, ‘I told you I wouldn’t make you play 80 snaps every game.’ I think Reimer played 50. I think some guys played 40. Nash played 40. I don’t really notice a difference because everyone is playing to the same standard and Tony does such a good job of teaching them and coaching them. I think he is an excellent excellent coach.”
On the home opener:
“It will be amazing. I came here for a reason. I came here because I want to raise my kids here as I’ve said. I came here because I believe in this place and the leadership. I came here because I know what leadership the University of Nebraska means to college football and we made a decision to build it the right way and adequately represent the values of Nebraska. While we’re not getting the result we want right now, it doesn’t mean I am at all deterred, where I know some people are like, ‘It’s been how many years of this.’ For me it is two games. Two games of what we are trying to build so I am so excited to come home. I will just say this, I was almost late like they were panicking because I was just sitting there kicking it with Luke Reimer for like 30 minutes. The fact that he has bought into what we are doing on defense without knowing if it would work or not and with having a lot of success in another defense like I hope people understand what he has done for me. He has helped me make this transition. I absolutely love it here. I hope that we are here for a long time and being there with my wife and my kids it will be special for me.”
On seeing Memorial Stadium for the first time:
“There’s sometimes when we work late or whatever and I walk out of the football offices on the concourse and I make a left and I like to walk down and see the facade of the original Memorial Stadium and I love to look at the team pictures of like 19-whatever. I go with Coach Satterfield sometimes and there’s one gentleman that is in a bunch of pictures in a row. We are not really sure who he is, we have asked people. He looks like the most interesting man. If I am ever walking with you guys, I will show you. That is why I am saying what I am saying right now and the way that I am saying it. I want our players to hear it. There is a right way and a wrong way to do this. What it means to be at the University of Nebraska and the history and the tradition, we have to do everything in accordance with the way that this place was built. It was built on a solid foundation and so that facade still stands. The original stadium still stands. The original seals are still there so I love college football. I love seeing stadiums. On game day I do not really pay attention to it. Keith asked me about the flat irons and I didn’t really notice being at Memorial Stadium. In this job you don’t get to go visit places very often. We came here and you pull in and you see PBA and you see Memorial Stadium and you see the city of Lincoln and you are like this is a special place.”
On going out to the middle of the field before the Colorado game:
“We do it every game. We go there and we pray for blessings. I asked Shedeur (Sanders) if he wanted to pray with us. I pray over every field. I am a public official but I can have my own faith. I say pray, we take a moment as a team. We have Muslim guys we have non-believers. We just take a moment as a team and I want that field to be safe for everybody. At the end of the day nobody is going to tell me who I am. At the end of the game they told me we are going to run right off the field because they were going to storm the field. I said, ‘Absolutely not.’ I don’t care if I get beaten up by a mob. I am running across that field and I am shaking Coach Sanders’ hand. When you are losing people are going to say all kinds of things about you. I know exactly who I am. I am coaching this team with class and I am not changing and I went over and I shook that man’s hand and I whispered in his ear and I have never disrespected an opponent a day in my life and I never will.”
On reflecting today's anniversary of September 11th, 2001:
“Well I grew up in New York City. I grew up taking the subway to school. It’s my home. I’ve had many homes but that is my home. My father was a minister and a high school teacher. Growing up my school field trips were going to the World Trade Center. I was at UCLA when it happened. I was driving to work and I remember hearing it. Obviously it’s something that affected my friends, my family. It was my home and my home was attacked. You grow up in New York City, you take the subway, people are a little bit rude. You don't say hi to everybody everyday, but then something like that happens and you see these amazing people who work for an average salary, who go running into burning buildings to save lives. It is personal to me. It’s my home and something we should never forget.”
On what goes through the mind of a G5 coach trying to beat a P5 team:
“The scariest thing in the world is a team or a man that has nothing to lose. Right now, we’re playing, sometimes as a team, like we have everything to lose because they want to win so badly. And afraid to lose is afraid to win. The owner of the last team I worked for – if there was one thing David’s (Alan Tepper) ever taught me – he’d tell me all the time, afraid to lose is afraid to win. And it’s a message I will carry forward in my life. I’ll tell you, it’s actually his birthday, so that’s a message that I learned from him. Afraid to lose is afraid to win. Again, our guys want to win so badly that they’re afraid to lose right now, a little bit. When I was at Temple, we were playing these teams and we had nothing to lose. We’re going to go back to our conference next week, so let’s go play this game. I just think for us, we don’t play a Big Ten game again for three weeks. We’re playing a lot – expectations and this and that. What a gift we have, coming off of last week, to go play and play this game. That was the way I approached it. And again, Northern Illinois has a long history of going in and beating people because they’ve got really good players and they come from a fertile recruiting area. They have a cool system, so we’re going to have to play really, really, really well to have a chance to win.”