Butler Talks Spring Practice Progress

Nebraska defensive coordinator John Butler met with members of the media following the team’s practice on Tuesday. He discussed the importance of playmaking.

“Like everything, it’s a work in progress, but it’s something that we want to measure and then reward. Our staff is doing a good job of making sure that when the player does make the play, he’s given an ‘atta boy’ for that, but when he doesn’t, we want to coach him on how to make the play and put him in a better position. At the end of the day, all these games, all these close games and high level football – whether you’re in the NFL or big time college football – they’re going to come down to the best possession of the game. You have to train yourself to win in those moments. Every single day, every time we meet with them, every time we practice them, we’re trying to harp on that as well as the other things.”

He talked about the new assistant coaches and his first year at Nebraska.

“I think it’s been awesome. It’s been an unbelievable growth opportunity for me. I obviously have great direction with Matt (Rhule), an experienced head coach. He provides a clear vision on exactly what he wants everything to look like on offense, defense and special teams. I follow his lead in that regard. I have a great confidant in Phil Snow. That relationship has been awesome for me. We spend a lot of time talking football, talking philosophy, talking things that are on my mind. So that’s been great. Obviously, all the coaches we added, whether it’s a different position or a new coach, they’re hungry to follow the lead of Coach (Rhule) and then obviously to follow my lead. It’s been great. There’s a lot of energy, a lot of appreciation of those guys for being here. They’re doing their best to get us better one day at a time.”

Butler spoke on what it’s been like to have Javin Wright and Deshon Singleton back.

“It’s kind of like free agency in pro football. You’re kind of like ‘oh man, is that guy going to leave us?’ And then all of a sudden, they decide to stay. It’s just an analogy, but it’s similar in that you feel like you have two players who might have opportunities to go to another place, which would have been the NFL, and because of the culture and the program that Matt (Rhule) has created and built, they want to stay here. Which I think is an awesome testament to what’s going on here right now. You have an opportunity to go play in the NFL, which for most people, that is your dream, and both of them decided they still want to be part of this and help us build this thing on defense. I’m obviously very excited that they’re both back. They’ve both had very good springs, they’ve been good in the preseason with strength and conditioning, good with our younger players and spending time with them. It’s been awesome for us and obviously, we’re very appreciative that they’ve decided to do that.”

The Huskers will continue with spring practice on Thursday. The Husker Games, presented by FNBO, are set for Saturday, April 26. Fans will have the opportunity to get a preview of the 2025 Husker football, volleyball and soccer teams as part of the Husker Games events.