Nebraska Coach Matt Rhule Confronts Tampering & Softness With Ultimate Contrarian Culture

A Big Red Push to Greatness  

College football fans tired of the tail-wagging the dog should start ordering Nebraska swag in bulk. Rhule wants nothing to do with portal-obsessed players. Best of all, he refuses to hide it. Rhule accepts the current state of college football for what it is and refuses to blink. Rather, he doubles down on his demanding ways, and it is exhilarating to observe.

The portal opened up this week, and Rhule was bold, aggressive, and unequivocal about it at Tuesday’s press conference. 

“If anybody on our team wants to go in the portal, it’s open today,” coach Matt Rhule said. “That’s their right.”

So far, nobody on the Husker roster this spring exited.

“I just don’t think it’s really prudent for me to coach guys thinking about the portal,” Rhule said. “The worst thing you can ever do for a young person is not have high standards for them and push them to greatness. So, if you’re afraid of pushing them because they might go to the portal, you probably don’t have the right guy.

“If something happens, it happens.”

Rhule freely admitted that he and the Nebraska staff had already heard from Big Red players contacted by other schools. Yet nobody is worried.  

Getting Physical in a Bubble Wrap Era  

Continuing his contrarian ways, Rhule has emphasized that the best way to get better at football is to practice football. He said lifting and running are fine, but, ultimately, players have to practice specifically at football to get better. Rhule takes the opposite approach of most programs in that he believes the more physical a camp is, the fewer injuries it will produce.

The Big Ten is known for its physical style of play and the accumulation of bumps and bruises by the time November arrives. Rhule believes his approach will have Nebraska ready for that crucial final month of the season.

In relation to getting better, Rhule and his staff are focusing on the elimination of turnovers. In 2023, Nebraska was 5-3 and seemingly bowl-bound. However, turnovers played a role in the Huskers going four and out to blow bowl eligibility with a final 5-7 record.  

Matt Rhule – College Football’s Ultimate Tough Love Coach  

Rhule’s fearless quest for toughness and accountability is refreshing in this world of timid coaches. But his style should not be equated as uncaring. Rather, Rhule is the ultimate tough-love coach. He demands his players live a full life, which includes earning at least one college degree, if not more.

What Rhule offers is the ultimate ideal of college football culture. He is building a culture that will set his players up for life and prepare Nebraska for football glory while contributing to society and making the state proud. Once upon a time, that was college football.

Nebraska continues to have a nationwide following and an attractive brand. But it’s undeniably on the brink after a decade of futility and 23 years of being out of the national championship conversation. An entire generation of fans lacks the experience of Nebraska's historic greatness. But that is likely to change soon.

The next time a college football fan bemoans today’s state of the sport while yearning for a return to the roots of what the game was supposed to be, you can refer them to Matt Rhule and the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Indeed, they are college football’s last and best hope on Earth.