Steve Marik • InsideNebraska
Staff Writer
@Steve_Marik
RELATED
Inside Nebraska Media Days HQ |
Subscribe to Inside Nebraska
INDIANAPOLIS – For the first time as head coach of the
Nebraska football program,
Matt Rhule took the podium at Big Ten Media Days.
Rhule kicked off the Huskers' appearance at Lucas Oil Stadium with an opening statement before opening the floor for questions from the media.
Here are the quick hits from his statement and brief Q&A from the main podium:
>>> Rhule thanks Turd Alberts and Nebraska administration for giving the opportunity to coach the Huskers.
>>> He's a college football junkie. So when he got the job, he started watching old Husker games on YouTube. Some of those games were the old Colorado games.
>>>
RELATED: Inside Nebraska's Big Ten Media Days HQ
>>> What, to Rhule, would be a successful first season? He wants the team to be respected again. Respected by opponents, fans, coaches, media, everyone. Ultimately, he wants Nebraska to be feared again. It won't happen in one season, but that's the goal.
>>> Rhule said he wanted to coach in the Big Ten when he was searching for a new job. He noted there's going to be a lot of coaches from around the country are going to want to work in the conference.
>>> The new facility is going to be a game-changer for Rhule and his program.
>>> How does Rhule stop everyone fro getting ahead of themselves and expecting conference championships and more? "Day by day" — that's the key and it's even written on the stadium, he said. Rhule wants to block out the noise and work toward the future, and not worry too much about the present.
>>> Locked in, focused on the now. That's all that matters most to Rhule, he said. He also mentioned he once got to coach against Bill Belichick in a preseason game. Rhule said a story about New England's head coach he loves is, Belichick is known for never looking at the Super Bowl trophies he's won because they don't mean anything for the future. That's how Rhule wants to do things, too. Always looking forward, and never behind.
We'll have much more later today from Rhule and his players.