Rhule Speaks On Position Groups

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule met with members of the media following the team’s spring practice on Saturday. He discussed the chemistry between receivers and Dane Key’s presence on the team.

“The chemistry is fine. We have a really good secondary. The battles have been good. Daikiel (Shorts Jr.) is coaching them hard. I think we’re a work in progress. There’s a lot of guys that are new to this system and they’ve picked it up well. Dane (Key) has done a good job in terms of coming in. He’s the veteran guy in the group, he’s played the most football. He’s asking guys to walk through the plays and do a little extra. Me and Wish (Jarrett Wishdon) and Satt (Marcus Satterfield) were in the sauna every day and Dane is in there every day. He’s a machine. He just loves to recover, train, work, and I think he’s brought a veteran presence to that room. I think they’re all doing well.”

He spoke on the offensive line and how young players have stepped up. 

“I think the offensive line has been one of our highlights this spring. As people have come in and visited, especially people who have been here before, they see the physical growth of our guys. Guys who were once 290 are now 310, and a good 310. Not ‘hey, we’re putting on a bunch of weight.’ They know how to practice, they know how to handle the work volume. At center, we have a lot of guys working there. Justin (Evans-Jenkins) is doing a really nice job when he gets reps there, Sam Sledge is doing a really, really nice job. Other guys rotate in there – Jason (Maciejczak) can go there. I’m probably forgetting some guys. I think overall, it’s been a really good group and it’s really fluid. We move guys around and to your point, Henry (Lutovsky) isn’t there, Teddy (Prochazka) isn’t there, Turner (Corcoran) isn’t there and Gunnar (Gottula) isn’t there. Those are four guys who started a lot of games. We’re definitely improving and like I said, it’s one of the high spots right now for us.”

Rhule also talked about players taking lessons from playing on the scout team last year.

“I think, in the old days of playing football, when you went somewhere and redshirted and got on the scout team and got your face beat in, you learned to fight back and fight for the football. You progressed. Some people want to skip that part now. They’d rather go down a level. I think there’s nothing better than playing against good players. If you’re Mekhi Nelson, last year you were running against a top 25 defense. You ran into a top 25 defense everyday and you made explosive plays. It only makes you better. There’s a lot of guys that have been through that process. Sometimes we take our twos and they take scout reps when we get into the season. We try to rotate it in a unique way.”

NU will continue with spring practice on Tuesday. 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.