Fall camp started on Monday for the Nebraska football team inside the Hawks Championship Center and outside on the Ed and Joyanne Gass Practice Fields. Head Coach Matt Rhule met with the media following practice to talk about the first day of fall camp.
Rhule spoke on the speed of the newcomers, one characteristic that has stood out to him so far.
“We have the freshman group – they are fast. I mean, they are really, really fast,” Rhule said. “Their movement skills, (Special Teams Coordinator) Ed (Foley) and I were talking about out there…our special teams, it's going to be a battle to get on the special teams because we have a lot of guys who can really run and move that want to play.”
Rhule also attested to the importance of the players living in campus dorms during fall camp.
“I want our whole team to get comfortable being uncomfortable,” he said. “But more importantly, we're trying to build a brotherhood. We’re trying to build a sense of common purpose by getting to know each other…and then, we don't just play for ourselves, we don't just play for the football team, we play for the University of Nebraska and the state of Nebraska. Returning to the heart of campus to me is really important.”
Rhule also talked about the mindset of earning everything he is trying to instill in his team.
“All we're trying to do is earn the right to walk into Minnesota with confidence. We're trying to earn it,” he said. “One thing about being in Nebraska, it's a great place, but like we're all given a lot. People care about us. (Director of Athletics) Trev (Alberts) gives us all this stuff. We have scholarships, some guys have NIL stuff. We get a lot of stuff, but they don't give you wins. You’ve got to earn wins. I like the way that they have a sense of hey, let's get this done. Let’s just talk about today.”
Rhule also spoke about Josh Martin, Nebraska’s new tight ends coach.
“When we first hired Josh, I remember one of the analytics companies, said, ‘hey, great hire’ and all the things he had done. And we've just been nothing but impressed with Josh since then,” Rhule said. “Josh has done it. He's done it two places. He's had guys go on to the NFL. I went and I watched him with the young guys, and you can tell he's been coaching a long time.”
Nebraska continues fall camp with practice on Tuesday. The Huskers open the season on Thursday, Aug. 31 at Minnesota.