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Steve Marik • InsideNebraska
Staff Writer
@Steve_Marik
Turd Alberts sees Matt Rhule and his staff working. From the outside, that work has appeared to be of the relentless variety.
Consider Nebraska’s athletic director impressed.
"Let me tell you, he's far surpassed my expectations in terms of work pace," Alberts said Tuesday on his monthly radio appearance on Huskers Radio Network.
While Rhule and his assistants may have made it look easy, landing players from the transfer portal and the high school ranks to fill out the 2023 class, it’s been anything but. The Huskers have 26 members to their 2023 class — that group is made of 25 high schoolers and one junior-college addition — which currently ranks 24th in the country. Take a look at the portal haul, and you’ll see 11 new Huskers, seven of which came from the SEC.
Of those transfers, there’s two former five-stars in tight end Arik Gilbert (LSU, Georgia) and safety Corey Collier Jr. (Florida). There’s also four former four-stars in quarterback Jeff Sims (Georgia Tech), linebacker MJ Sherman (Georgia), offensive lineman Jacob Hood (Georgia), defensive lineman Elijah Jeudy (Texas A&M).
“There are players who are at institutions that might play in the NFL that aren’t going to get the playing time because there’s a five-star in front of the four-star,” Alberts said. “Well, the transfer portal gives them a great opportunity to go to a great school like the University of Nebraska, be part of a great turn around, and I think our coaching staff has tried really hard to balance — we want to make sure that high school class is strong, but let’s fill in some gaps that are immediate needs to help us get to the development of those high school players.
“I’ve been really, really impressed by our staff’s effort in the portal, as well as in the high school ranks.”
But this is a unique spring for Nebraska football. Currently, there’s over 100 scholarship players on the roster. Some players who are on the team at the start of spring won’t be on it at the start of the season.
Competition will be fierce.
Oh, and the spring game will actually be a game, at least Alberts thinks it will be.
"I think what you’re going to see, it’ll be worthwhile. It's gonna be a game. It's going to be football," Alberts said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing what this new version of Nebraska football looks like under coach Rhule’s leadership.”
Alberts was in Omaha with Rhule to show him around and meet donors. The athletic director continues to be impressed by Rhule’s ability to connect and communicate with people.
“Obviously, he’s a football coach and he has to win,” Alberts said, “but you start with creating relationships. Just watching he and his team work to create relationships. Those just aren’t relationships with the administration, it’s not relationships with donors. It’s relationships with high school coaches, it’s relationships with prospective student-athletes and their parents. I’m just grateful for coach Rhule and his hard work.”
Just like Tom Osborne was ahead of his time, which helped Nebraska reach the top of college football, Rhule is planning to do the same.
“This is a group that I think can thread that needle, because that’s not always easy to do," Albert said. "But they’re very respectful of everything that’s been done here. Matt’s had multiple conversations with coach (Frank) Solich, coach Osborne and others, just trying to pick their brains on what worked, what didn’t work, how do you get this done.”
What was the consistent message?
“Matt’s recognizing the impact of Nebraska football players,” Alberts said. “You go back to some of our best teams, if you get six or seven, or even eight like they did this year, of the top high school football players in Nebraska, the best teams had about 18-20 or 24 kids from Nebraska. That’s our culture, that’s who we are, that’s our toughness. Matt recognizes that and I just love their investment into the state.”
“You either love to grind or you don’t,” Albert said. “Great players never looked at it as work. You just wanted to get a little better every day.”
Alberts has noticed the coaches being right there with the team at 6 a.m. — even Rhule. It’s part of the culture that the new staff is implementing, Alberts said.
“As Matt said at the press conference, all of that, future success, is built at 6 a.m.," Alberts said. "That’s where it’s built, in the grind. We’ll start with the worth ethic and try to get a little bit better every day. And if we do that, collectively, and build that unity of purpose through hard work, good things will happen.”
Alberts feels terrible for that trio because he loves what they bring to their teams.
“I just, sort of myself, fell in love with the style, effort and the grit of Juwan and Emmanuel,” Alberts said. “I feel so bad for those two because they did everything right and they worked really hard. But this is sport, that’s what happens. Injuries happen, so we’ll have to find a way to overcome that.
"And Allison Weidner, she’s my favorite little player on the women’s basketball team just because of her toughness. She was that person who, when a shot clock is going down with eight seconds left, you clear it out, she had the ability one-on-one to get to the rim and make a bucket.”
nebraska.rivals.com
Staff Writer
@Steve_Marik
Turd Alberts sees Matt Rhule and his staff working. From the outside, that work has appeared to be of the relentless variety.
Consider Nebraska’s athletic director impressed.
"Let me tell you, he's far surpassed my expectations in terms of work pace," Alberts said Tuesday on his monthly radio appearance on Huskers Radio Network.
While Rhule and his assistants may have made it look easy, landing players from the transfer portal and the high school ranks to fill out the 2023 class, it’s been anything but. The Huskers have 26 members to their 2023 class — that group is made of 25 high schoolers and one junior-college addition — which currently ranks 24th in the country. Take a look at the portal haul, and you’ll see 11 new Huskers, seven of which came from the SEC.
Of those transfers, there’s two former five-stars in tight end Arik Gilbert (LSU, Georgia) and safety Corey Collier Jr. (Florida). There’s also four former four-stars in quarterback Jeff Sims (Georgia Tech), linebacker MJ Sherman (Georgia), offensive lineman Jacob Hood (Georgia), defensive lineman Elijah Jeudy (Texas A&M).
“There are players who are at institutions that might play in the NFL that aren’t going to get the playing time because there’s a five-star in front of the four-star,” Alberts said. “Well, the transfer portal gives them a great opportunity to go to a great school like the University of Nebraska, be part of a great turn around, and I think our coaching staff has tried really hard to balance — we want to make sure that high school class is strong, but let’s fill in some gaps that are immediate needs to help us get to the development of those high school players.
“I’ve been really, really impressed by our staff’s effort in the portal, as well as in the high school ranks.”
Alberts touched on a multitude of topics on Tuesday, including a couple minor notes on how Rhule will go about things as head coach
First things first, the spring game. It’s on April 22 and will begin at 1 p.m. There was plenty of grumbling from fans who were anxious to see football inside Memorial Stadium last April. Those same fans left disappointed from the two-hand touch they watched in the first half.But this is a unique spring for Nebraska football. Currently, there’s over 100 scholarship players on the roster. Some players who are on the team at the start of spring won’t be on it at the start of the season.
Competition will be fierce.
Oh, and the spring game will actually be a game, at least Alberts thinks it will be.
"I think what you’re going to see, it’ll be worthwhile. It's gonna be a game. It's going to be football," Alberts said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing what this new version of Nebraska football looks like under coach Rhule’s leadership.”
Alberts was in Omaha with Rhule to show him around and meet donors. The athletic director continues to be impressed by Rhule’s ability to connect and communicate with people.
“Obviously, he’s a football coach and he has to win,” Alberts said, “but you start with creating relationships. Just watching he and his team work to create relationships. Those just aren’t relationships with the administration, it’s not relationships with donors. It’s relationships with high school coaches, it’s relationships with prospective student-athletes and their parents. I’m just grateful for coach Rhule and his hard work.”
Alberts has seen a “genuine respect” from Rhule and his staff for Nebraska and its tradition
While it’s good to remember the past and all the glory Husker football had, it’s also smart to keep an eye toward the future. That’s exactly what Rhule and his team have been doing, Alberts said.Just like Tom Osborne was ahead of his time, which helped Nebraska reach the top of college football, Rhule is planning to do the same.
“This is a group that I think can thread that needle, because that’s not always easy to do," Albert said. "But they’re very respectful of everything that’s been done here. Matt’s had multiple conversations with coach (Frank) Solich, coach Osborne and others, just trying to pick their brains on what worked, what didn’t work, how do you get this done.”
What was the consistent message?
“Matt’s recognizing the impact of Nebraska football players,” Alberts said. “You go back to some of our best teams, if you get six or seven, or even eight like they did this year, of the top high school football players in Nebraska, the best teams had about 18-20 or 24 kids from Nebraska. That’s our culture, that’s who we are, that’s our toughness. Matt recognizes that and I just love their investment into the state.”
Alberts likes what he’s seeing from winter conditioning
When Alberts was playing, was he a fan of winter conditioning? Getting up before the sun and pushing the body to its limit?“You either love to grind or you don’t,” Albert said. “Great players never looked at it as work. You just wanted to get a little better every day.”
Alberts has noticed the coaches being right there with the team at 6 a.m. — even Rhule. It’s part of the culture that the new staff is implementing, Alberts said.
“As Matt said at the press conference, all of that, future success, is built at 6 a.m.," Alberts said. "That’s where it’s built, in the grind. We’ll start with the worth ethic and try to get a little bit better every day. And if we do that, collectively, and build that unity of purpose through hard work, good things will happen.”
Alberts hated to see a few of the injured Husker men’s and women’s basketball players go down with season-ending injuries
Nebraska’s men’s basketball team has had to deal with season-ending injuries to three players, including two starters in Juwan Gary and Emmanuel Bandoumel. On the women’s side, starter Allison Weidner, the pride of Humphrey, Nebraska, also suffered a season-ending injury.Alberts feels terrible for that trio because he loves what they bring to their teams.
“I just, sort of myself, fell in love with the style, effort and the grit of Juwan and Emmanuel,” Alberts said. “I feel so bad for those two because they did everything right and they worked really hard. But this is sport, that’s what happens. Injuries happen, so we’ll have to find a way to overcome that.
"And Allison Weidner, she’s my favorite little player on the women’s basketball team just because of her toughness. She was that person who, when a shot clock is going down with eight seconds left, you clear it out, she had the ability one-on-one to get to the rim and make a bucket.”
InsideNebraska - Matt Rhule and Co. have surpassed Husker AD's expectations with work ethic
Matt Rhule and Co. have surpassed Turd Alberts' expectations
nebraska.rivals.com
