84HuskerLaw

Just a wild guess but first play will be a kickoff. Just to shake em up - on sides with the dense returning it for the first TD. Lol. He promised some ‘special things’ in STs.

I’m certain that fans will burn the new facilities to the ground if Neb loses this game. I will be the first to predict the score - Neb - 31 NU 27. Trev is sweating bullets already. Rhule is unaware of the peril he is facing, but he really wants to put a great display of REAL tough clean fundamental football on for Husker nation. it’s bound to be a sloppy, turnover and penalty filled mess as it has been for most of the past 50 years. But they’ll be blocking and tackling. After only half a dozen or so practices of such stuff, it is only to be expected. Like the famous Zapruder film, this live game will reveal the ultimate and final answers to all of the questions. It will give us those desperately sought after bits of data that help us all know that Nebraska football is back and here to stay!

Good sign. Team is getting competitive! GBR. And gassers are the reward for winning the day. The offense needs to hit back ! Toughness is earned never given. The defense is getting to know the new 3-3-5 ‘organized chaos’. It’s designed to create bad plays, turnovers and so forth. But the offense is finding a few cracks. That’s the idea. Those guys want to win the game and the day and every play. Id take a wild guess and say the guys are 50% prepared to play a real game. With about 4 to 5 weeks of practice left til Minnesota, they’re still on schedule. Get 80% of the offense and 70% of the defense and we have a chance. GBR!

I think this young man maybe one of the best we’ve ever recruited. Fred has a shot. His family is Big Red N. Fred lands the recent guys and there is a real shot to take a big step up in hoops. It’s almost inconceivable except as some of us have suggested, we need to get a couple real BB greats that are born Huskers (legacies or local kids). Everybody may want him but there is a chance here, imo!

Apparently Rhule is actually practicing full contact football some anyway. But there are some very limited restrictions on how much hitting (blocking and tackling which IS football essentially). With new schemes, techniques, strategy, etc., it will almost inevitably mean more missed assignments, penalties and so forth. It only stands to reason. As the season progresses, that should get better. But the margin for error with teams of similar talent is small. That suggests a continuation - for a while at least - of close games and struggles to find wins vs losses. The spring ‘game’ typically doesn’t reveal much but it will be closely watched. We need to see some new things imo if the 2023 season will be reason for hope versus mostly more of the same. It’s hard to show much without showing too much to our opponents. However, Rhule can give hints which can be indicative of change without necessarily giving away the entire plan. It also can suggest the potential for the present roster’s ability to adapt and change schematically.

I’m more concerned about the defense early on than than the offense. But both may not be nearly ready to run what Rhule & Co really want in the future. For those of us who are hoping for something new and different than we’ve seen the past 7 years, on both sides of the ball, we may not see that for awhile. Wholesale systemic changes won’t be easy when the entire program is new. I expect the defense to be faster but inconsistent. A hit & miss performance which may take time to develop. As the season goes along, errors should be reduced. By year 2, improved execution should come. Similar issues can be expected on offense but if the offense is quite similar to recent teams, we may not see many basic mistakes but will likely struggle to score much more. I hope I’m wrong and we truly implement a new, different offense. But I’m not betting on it. We have to have a serious run game. Perhaps it will be there but I will have to see it this fall. I think better special teams and more turnovers produced by a more aggressive, gambling type defense can help. But if we can’t win the line of scrimmage it may not lead to more wins beyond 6-6. Talent and speed can get us that far.

I have been generally pleased with Rhule thus far in his words and actions. Seems to be saying and doing all the right stuff to get the program reorganized and moving forward positively. I am withholding judgment on his offense and defense until I see it. However, recent player remarks in pressers have been less encouraging - the first ‘alarm bells’ I’ve noticed. I’m getting a sense that the changes to the offense may be only superficial, somewhat Frost 3.0 perhaps. This is scary to me. I suppose Rhule might be thinking that major scheme overhauls could be too drastic for the shaky O line and the QB room coupled with the minimal experience in WRs, in year one with limited practices and conference opener on the road. Coach Satt utilized much of the same or similar stuff as Frost at SoCar. But indications of fullbacks, being physically tough and running the ball more devotedly sounded so positive before. Now I am getting uneasy again. 2023 needs to be a rebuild and reconfiguration not just a reboot with more of the same which seems to be the idea coming from the players. I know Rhule has year one as a new beginning with less demanding expectations from many fans but I think ‘more of the same’ won’t cut it. The fans can accept some struggles early on with a new system and new players. But I’m not sure I can be too accommodating IF we see more of the same.

Listening to Rhule describe the scrimmage, it sounded a lot like what you should expect from a defense learning a new scheme. At times you’d expect some missed assignments and so on. Guys eyes wrong, over pursuing, errors in coverages, etc. Even for returning players, it has been 4 months away from tackling live in meaningful game like reps. That’s the negative but, it is not a surprise. I won’t be surprised to see some miscues in September but after just film and 6 practices, it is probably a net positive (for the defense). The offense, on the other hand, must have been a big surprise to him. A new system, plays, players, etc. Expectations can’t be too high. But apparently the guys did well. Rhule doesn’t seem like one to blow smoke. He seems to be positive but honest and frank. It sounds like he knows what he wants and demands it. He runs a tight ship. Everything in order down to the shoelaces and etc. The details. That’s where the devil is - but one can get lost in details and miss the big picture. I’m guessing it is the discipline and his strict Rhule’s rule following that will really make a difference. But there will be some players that may not buy in and or tend to stray from the path. Those will get in the dog house, no matter their position or stars. So far, Rhule is what he first seemed to be, and more. He has a serious job to do. He is taking it seriously. The team - so far - is cooperating well.

Amen. Rotate. Develop. Hit people. Husker Power.

To be a contender we need 9 or 10 wins a year. We average 4. That suggests we need 5 wins a year or 25 more wins over 5 years. Winning just 2 more would make us a ‘contender’ for a bottom tier bowl but that’s about it.

Helluva good strategy. Let’s just sign the top 400 players. Keep all of them away from everybody else. It’s amazing to get this many visits - unofficial mostly I believe - all during spring football. Kinda Rhule’s version of ‘rush week’. He wants to take advantage of every bit of new coach excitement and curiosity. You gotta get em to look and listen to sell em. It’s all a long shot - shoot the moon - deal we all realize ! GBR!

Very interesting. A bit surprising but I’m sure all three are trying to resurrect the program in any way by any means possible. This comes as spring game tix are sluggish, don’t know about season tix renewal rates, and the massive recruiting effort next week, all following 6 consecutive ugly, losing seasons. Desperate measures. I’m glad they all can sit together and discuss amicably. I don’t believe TO has done this previously. It’s good as TO has probably not many seasons left. He maybe hopes the program gets better before he departs. He can’t do anything but help keep some fans in support. Trev knows he needs to keep the fans a few more tough years. It won’t be restored in one or two years, although if he could get about 25 high quality athletes in ‘23 class, the roster will be 3-4 wins better than it’s been lately - imo. A big IF but Rhule is hustling and bird dogging recruits like never before. Gotta sign em up and retain 125 of the best across all positions accordingly. He recognized the talent deficit.. Rhule has exceeded most expectations- thus far. I think Rhule would like to stay in Lincoln a long time. These 3 and move stints probably get old.

I hope the decisions on who plays when and where are made by smart, informed coaches. Not fans. Lol. Casey T is not a great QB yet by any reasonable standard. May never be. But, I do feel he played better than any recent QB at Neb in a long while. It seems unlikely Sims will be better. He’s a former GT QB who left for a reason(s), right. He showed signs of playmaking ability, especially running. But I got too much deja vu Adrian in there. I’m sure it was mostly all the play calls (swing passes, jail break screens, picknplays, etc). In the highlights they worked a tad better than in Lincoln. But again, run in a lesser conference. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be happy with any of our QBs who can muster wins. I’ll still need to judge based on performance in Lincoln. I’d like to hope one or more of the six QBs can be adequate. But who knows. Frost recruits, before Casey at least, pretty much failed. A lot of issues were other players, play calling, execution and errors, scheme, imo. I didn’t like much about the whole Frost offense personally but I’m a run the ball guy. I hoped Frost would be too when he was first hired. Alas! Nothing but history and painful memories. The question we all want answered is what kind of team can we expect this fall? They may play hard. But recent teams seemed to do that.

Amen!

Nice team effort. Great coaching. Best team lost to a better coached bunch of hard working, confident young men.

Big W. !!!

Wants to give Neb to final ‘bid’ opportunity $$. Likely he’ll get the best offer $ from USC and then NU will have to match it. Better get the checkbook ready. Probably $1 million.

Everybody can feel the strain IF the have experienced “The Diaco”!

Frost was all about fixing the culture. Looking back in hindsight, I’m not sure he truly was in touch with the program and team as a whole to assess ‘the culture’, much less fix it. Ive never read a definition of the term in a cfb context. If there is one, not sure there is a certain magical one ‘culture’ that fits all. I’m not sure that there is only one certain one the befits DONU particularly. My impression is we need a program that systematically brings in good athletes that want to play the game at its highest level, get better over time, be great teammates who care for each other deeply, get a good education to prepare for life after playing football, learn the right ways to be good citizens as adults, and in the process have some fun doing it. With NIL we’ve made the financial motive front and center as athletes are now hired guns or mercenaries in many ways. If the program was adrift and without a focus or direction, Rhule seems to have a detailed, systematic plan. But recruiting may now be more about hiring with compensation packages than selling a cultural fit. In fact, being a Husker football player may now be mostly a job, not an adventure. Are players now ‘coworkers’ and ‘temps’ as opposed to becoming lifelong members of the Husker family? Can you have that camaraderie and ‘culture’ in a 9 to 5 job? Free agents? The song Come a runnin boys is all about the essence of the culture for winning in a Husker uniform. You do it for pride and your fellow Huskers. One team and one purpose - compete for championships. A strong will to win. It’s now about $$$. Can money be used to get the recruits ‘hired’ but passion and hunger for team goals and ‘the program’ be instilled as the overriding motivation? I don’t know. Rhule has seen both the amateur and professional organizational foundations. He seems to be a driven HC who loves his job. His is a career. A consummate professional salesman. He certainly ‘gets ‘it’ in that he can talk a great game. He identifies problem areas and focuses on how to fix them. He’s a ‘fixer’. Is he an outside consultant ? Yes. Can or will he someday become a true believing Husker for life? That’s an essence of Husker culture that is missing, perhaps. Or does it even matter anymore?

Not sure the overall coaching can be that much better this fall than it was in Nov. the revamped staff and MJ weren’t great, but it was much better than the Frost headed crews. We were all sort of mesmerized by what we imagined Frost could / should have been. Almost nobody expected what we got instead. It will take time to correct the problems . Enough talent returns but will they buy- in soon enough and remake themselves ? Idk.

He’s not lightning fast but he runs like greased thunder. Very hard to tackle, never gets hit really hard. Kind of like B Sanders or Joe Washington. I can see the long list of offers. I’d say we got a real shot. He’s visiting. Tex ties may help too.

On all of that? Rhule may sign a top 15 group in Dec ‘23. Maybe. But those don’t sign until he proves he can build something first. This fall he needs to have a winning season of some kind. He’s got most of the ingredients to start a team but the O line is very ify at this point. We needed three good transfers with starter ability. Obviously, NIL and the tremendous emphasis on recruiting (staff) is amazing. But this team is a long way from rebuilt or remade. It will be young in many respects which is promising for the out years. The track record for Rhule is year 1 is a struggle. We have a tough schedule as nobody will be intimidated by Neb until we earn that by real power football dominance. It’s been so long I don’t remember.

Not moving as well as might be expected for the all new (and improved?) Huskers. But it is two months away. Hm.

If you take out the WR recruits, the classes probably end up near the bottom of the conference and so the teams may have played about where the recruiting ranking would have been. His 4 star WRs were barely 2 stars in reality.

I have not seen anyone argue fringe top 25 is “good enough” that I recall. I think most agree top ten is the target zone. But some of us feel you don’t go from fringe top 40 classes with bottom forty team results for five consecutive seasons to top ten with the signing of a new HC. That was only hoped for If Urban Meyer was hired. He wasn’t and obviously isn’t a HC candidate anywhere. We need to recruit better balanced, all around, classes and then play like a team with top 40 talent ((I.e. win 6-8 games at least, not 3 or 4). Show real progress with competitive games vs teams with top 40 talent and defeat the bottom half of the competition consistently. Step 1 Was finding a HC with the desire to earn his pay (at least as much of it as any HC actually does anyway). Hire him and help him recruit and coach the team up so we can actually play top 40 football. After a couple successful seasons demonstrating that Nebraska has a real HC with winning football in the works, better recruiting results are possible. Perhaps top 20 instead of top 40. Step 2 Recruit and recruit some more, with renewed vigor, restored facilities, NIL cash, continued Ath Dept support and improve the weakest areas of the team, motivate and play better football. Step 3 Over time, the natural order of things can return Neb football to its rightful place as a blue blood top tier, perennial top 10 program. But this process of restoration is a 3-5 year timeline, minimum. Even a Cinderella season in 2023 and or 2024 won’t mean the order is restored. I don’t expect 10 plus wins anytime soon but I do expect the ‘eye test’ and wins and losses and recruiting and development to indicate positive progress, team wide. One difference maker at QB or WR is fine but not a solution. Rhule needs to improve every position significantly. The Raiola obsession crowd may be quite disappointed even if he turns out to be the best QB Nebraska ever had. I’m not so hopeful I guess but he will be the most ballyhooed one. I like the things Rhule has already done in recruiting and he sure talks a good game. I’ve heard prior coaches say some good things but never follow through. He and his new staff are working harder than previous ones, per reports and observations. I had hoped for top 35 recruiting and we did better in just a few weeks. They’re still bird dogging 2024 & beyond. They’re bringing in guys by the planes, trains and automobiles! Many of them appear to be better suited to help the team get better over time. I think we can safely say Rhule has a plan and he works very hard with focus, details matter greatly, and by all accounts he is honest, sincere, frank and is appears to be happy and excited in his new job. That’s a great start, imo. Ultimately, does he know how to coach a team to win games? It appears he can assemble staff and players. Can he teach them the fundamentals and the X & Os stuff? Can he motivate, encourage and discipline young adults in 2023? Are they willing and able to play hard and smart and make the sacrifices needed to be teammates not individuals? Can Rhule judge character as well as speed and toughness? Time will tell but so far so good.