Nebraska Head Coach Matt Rhule met with members of the media to preview Saturday’s game against Northwestern. Rhule discussed the play of Phalen Sanford, the freshmen wide receivers and the kicking game.
“Phalen has played great,” Rhule said. “He is an example of what we try to do. He proved it on the practice field. It’s a competition. You go into Tuesday practice and if you don’t practice well, you might not start on Saturday. If you don’t practice well on Wednesday, you might not if there is someone practices better. It’s just all fair. It’s all competition. We have a bunch of good players, but Phalen has stepped up. He has maintained his excellence on special teams as well. He is really a valuable member of the football team.”
He also spoke on the young wide receivers group.
“Great week of practice. Great really two weeks,” he said. “They are ready to go. I know this. They might be young, but they are as fast as any group of receivers in the country. Not very often you have 10.3-10.4 guys out there. They have each made a play. Maybe not Jaidyn (Doss) but Jaylen (Lloyd) and Malachi (Coleman) have each made a play in games. Alex Bullock has made a couple big plays in games. Ty Hahn has made big plays. Billy (Kemp IV) is a baller, so they’re ready to play.”
Rhule discussed the kicking performance overall and the trust he has in Tristan Alvano.
“The thing I love about Tristan is I don’t really feel like ‘oh man I’ve got be careful here.’ I don’t feel a drop in his confidence because when he does miss it’s just technical. He missed the one kick last week but it was a bobbled snap and hold. For him to get the ball as close as it was, was really a challenge. I’m happy with where he is. I love the fact that when young players struggle to go through some adversity we see them not cracking but getting stronger. Either you crack this thing or you get cracked. He is at the precipice of something great. He is handling it well. He will only get better and better. I have confidence in him and even in that game we put him out there a third time to make it a three-score game. He’s handled it really well and I think he’ll play well.”
Kickoff between the Huskers and the Wildcats at Memorial Stadium is set for 2:30 p.m. (CT) with live television coverage from BTN. The game can also be heard across the Huskers Radio Network.