Spring check-ins: Rhule's Nebraska project
How are things progressing in Nebraska for Matt Rhule?
Matt Rhule doesn’t really do things fast. As I noted when he signed a massive contract to come to Nebraska that offered him tremendous leverage and time, there was little chance he was going to use the transfer portal to completely overhaul the Cornhusker roster in pursuit of quick wins.
Sure enough, portal additions for the Huskers have typically been more about adding talented upside than proven production and the team started a freshman quarterback in just year two of the Rhule regime. You don’t win big with freshman quarterbacks, especially these days in college football, but Rhule doesn’t care.
His process is all about development and the trick to his style that has always given him a chance to actually be successful at Nebraska is his knack for developing defenders and the ultra-important D-tackles in particular.
Quarterback Dylan Raiola is still just in year two and the Huskers just put Ty Robinson into the NFL in the 4th round and had nose tackle Nash Hutmacher signed as a free agent. Both of those guys were on the roster when Rhule arrived and few people thought either would be anything. If you go back to his teams at Temple and Baylor it was similar, he had an amazing knack for finding and developing talented D-linemen and building terrific and physical defenses. Still, they’re gone along with most of the top wideouts and a few other pieces.
So what’s the prognosis for year three? Can the Huskers make a big leap with players developed by Rhule or are they still a year away?