Rhule on the pod circuit: 'You know that there's an expectation. This fan base, they've seen it.'
ByBRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON 74 minutes ago
Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule continues to make some media rounds, checking in with an appearance on "The Next Round" podcast out of Birmingham, Alabama.
It was explained that Husker offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield started listening to that podcast when he was making recruiting trips while coaching at Chattanooga and kind of got Rhule hooked on it as well. So Rhule popped in for a chat on Tuesday, pretty enthusiastic about the passion for the program in Lincoln.
"If I would have known how cool this would be, I probably would have not been so hard in the process of trying to make this deliberation," Rhule said of his initial experiences as the head Husker.
Here's a rundown on some other items covered.
ON HUSKER FAN LOYALTY JUMPING OUT TO HIM
"I went to my first gymnastics meet and there were 350, 400 people there. I went to men's and women's basketball games, track meets. These fans are loyal. They care about the kids and care about the university. I can't wait for the Spring Game. I can't wait for next fall and getting out there on third down and having the other team's quarterback not be able to hear. I can't wait to on the road and turn it into a home game. I've never experienced anything like this. It's really cool."
DID HE MISS THE COLLEGE GAME WHILE IN THE NFL?
"Yeah, I love the college game. My whole life from a very young age, I wanted to be a Division I college football coach. Had a great experience with the Giants as an assistant O-line coach. So when the chance came, I went and did it. But I'm wired for this. I'm wired for this age group, these kids, for recruiting. And you know what? I love Saturdays. I love the bands, I love the student sections, I love everything. When I was in the NFL, I would spend most of my Saturdays watching college football. It's kind of a different game and it kept me I think prepared to come back. I'm really happy to be back."
WHY DOES HE THINK PROGRAMS WITH PASSION USUALLY RISE BACK UP?
"I look at it like this. It's one thing to go to a program and try to take it to somewhere it's never been. I've tried that. I've done that at some places. It's another thing to come to a place that's done it before. Because you know that it's possible, and you know that there's an expectation. This fan base, they've seen it. They've hoisted trophies. Twice they've been back-to-back national champions. That's part of the ethos of this state is people grew up seeing that. There's not a person in this state that won't do whatever it takes to watch Nebraska get back on top. Because they've experienced it and what that does to the state, what that does to people at work, what that does to your family reunions, man, it just makes everything a little bit better...
"It's a tremendous honor, but also an obligation to make sure I do it right because these people deserve it."
HOW DID GROWING UP THE SON OF A PASTOR INFLUENCE HIS DAY-TO-DAY LIFE AS A COACH?
"My dad was so unique in that he was a high school teacher and coach, and also a minister. So what I learned at an early age is the good Lord gives all of us gifts and He wants us to serve. Like, my mom and dad right now, they're in Rwanda working in an orphanage for three months. That's their way of doing it. ... I serve with the gifts that I was given. When your dad is a pastor, he learns to be out there, he learns to be around people. He knows everyone's name. He's there every day knowing that people have all different kinds of things going on in their life and he's there to support them. So people are sometimes surprised they come to a basketball game and see me sitting there, or see me at the women's tennis match, or see me at a restaurant.
"But I'm not here to be a celebrity. Just like my dad, my dad was there to serve the congregation, I'm here to serve Nebraska and be present and be around. Be there for the other student-athletes. My mom and dad are really special people and I'm trying to do the best I can to be like them."
WHAT HE THINK ABOUT USC AND UCLA JOINING THE CONFERENCE IN 2024?
"I'm a traditionalist. I miss the old conferences I grew up on, but that's not where we are. It is what it is. I think it's a really good thing for the Big Ten moving forward in that we're kind of like the NFL, we're kind of a national conference that stretches from the West Coast all the way across to the East Coast. For me, it kind of positions us in a good place in that we're in the middle of the country. So we go out to UCLA and USC, it doesn't tax our bodies too much. ... It'll be interesting to see what the Penn States and Rutgers and USCs and UCLAs, the accommodations they have to make going across the country. But Lincoln Riley is a great coach, Chip Kelly is a great coach. Those programs are up and running. It will only make our conference better as we head into the 12-game playoff era."
IS IT THE SAME THING, JUST DIFFERENT LOCATION, IN BUILDING HERE THE FIRST FEW MONTHS?
"I think it's the same steps: it's getting the right people, coaches, recruits, staff. Getting everybody on the same page. Having really high standards and trying to build relationships. The difference here is when I got to Temple they were moving up in the American Athletic Conference, so it was a step up in conference. When I went to Baylor, we were coming off a scandal. We had 45 scholarship players or so. We had three scholarship offensive linemen, four scholarship offensive linemen. We're certainly further ahead here. But it's been several years now with three or four wins, and so I don't want to minimize that.
"The thing I'm trying to get our guys to do, what I did at those other places, was just work every day. Let's not tweet about how good we're going to be, let's not talk about bowl games. Let's just show up today and work, and kind of be a little old school. If we do that, these kids love Nebraska, they'll find a way to have success."
THE HOSTS SAID THEY'D LOVE TO SEE THE HUSKERS WIN BIG
"I don't want to start guarantee wins, or that has a way of coming back at me," Rhule responded. "But I will say this, and I believe this with all my heart: College football is so much better when the Nebraskas, the USCs, the UCLAs are good. (The) Texases. So this is a place that should be really good. We're going to fight, man. We're going to scratch and claw to get Nebraska relevant again. I'd put my money on us."
Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule continues to make some media rounds, checking in with an appearance on "The Next Round" podcast out of...
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