Scott Bruhn photo/Nebraska Communications
Tad Stryker: The Stabilizer
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An old proverb says a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Although the record doesn’t lie (Nebraska has six consecutive losing seasons, something I never thought I’d live to see), I remain optimistic. I believe Nebraska football had enough talent on the roster to win at least seven games in 2019, 2021 and 2022, and I don’t think the Cornhuskers really have quite that arduous a trek ahead of them.
Newly hired coach Matt Rhule invigorated a sellout crowd Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena — 25 years to the day after Tom Osborne announced his retirement as head coach — when he talked about playing not just 12 games in a season, but “13, 14 or 15.”
Does that seem nonsensical? Under good leadership, the Huskers can get there from here. Nebraska is the only Power Five team that hasn’t played in a bowl since 2016, not because of lack of talent, but because the talent hasn’t been retained and developed, and because Mike Riley frittered away a winning mindset and Scott Frost could not get it back.
For years, Nebraska football fans have longed for a return to greatness. Most still cling to that dream. Their sheer persistence in the face of unforeseen, profound ineptitude from the last two head coaches is one of the best things about Husker Nation. That’s appropriate, because it can happen, but not until the entire organization signs up for a more urgent, but less exciting prerequisite, and passes it with flying colors. Nebraska football needs to begin the journey toward stability.
The journey does not need to be long, but it does need to be circumspect, systematic and unwavering. It doesn’t mean Nebraska has to become Wisconsin or Iowa. However, it does mean a perpetual emphasis on discipline and fundamentals, a recommitment to being a physical football team in the fourth quarter, and a steadfast determination that offensive linemen will once again be able to effectively pull, trap and block downfield.
Back to basics. The first step sets the direction for the future. In signing Rhule to an eight-year contract, Trev Alberts chose substance over style. I like Rhule’s emphasis on development and I like his steadiness, the way he fits the state’s character. Nebraska football has had some good years under steady coaches. Although I cringed a bit at all the frippery that surrounded his introduction press conference Nov. 28, in general, I like the absence of flash and bling in his deportment. There’s been way too much drama surrounding this program for far too long. I’m convinced Rhule is a step in the right direction, and I hope he recruits linebackers and defensive backs who run like hell and hit like a truck without flapping their mouths, who wait until victory is locked down before they start pounding their chests. Rhule is eloquent without being flashy, and I hope his team follows his lead.
Nebraska doesn’t have stability yet, and it won’t for a while. A few postseason spasms of chaos and disruption were inevitable, even before the disastrous news about Mickey Joseph and domestic violence-related charges, and they will be the norm for the next few weeks. Hopefully they’ll prove to be nothing more than the death throes of the Frost years, as transfer portal decisions take their natural course.
Rhule and his staff have hit the ground running when it comes to recruiting, including his current roster, those who recently jumped into the transfer portal and the class of 2023, with the early signing period looming. That’s while still recruiting his final three assistant coaches.
With his coaching staff 70 percent complete, it’s a good time to analyze the beginnings. My first response is that most he’s chosen seem to be good recruiters. As it further pertains to his assistant coach hirings, I am:
• Most excited about: Tony White, a defensive coordinator who appears to prefer an attacking style. It seems to be the type of defense that a dynamic linebacker could thrive in. (See “Ernest Hausmann” below.) I hear people grumble that Rhule is only hiring his buddies, apparently believing that other head coaches rarely hire men they have experience with and confidence in. But here’s evidence that Rhule will hire outside his own inner circle. White has never coached with Rhule. We’ll find out how well they mesh.
• Least excited about: Donovan Raiola, offensive line coach, and likely the only holdover from Frost’s staff. After the coordinators, the strength and conditioning coach and offensive line coach were the two most important hires. I don’t know enough to comment on Corey Campbell, but I was surprised (actually, stunned is more accurate) to hear that Rhule decided to retain Raiola. My hope is that Rhule plans to do a lot of hands-on work himself in the o-line room. There’s no denying this was the major weakness of the team last year. But hey, this is more evidence that Rhule doesn’t exclusively hire his buddies, right? After a season where Raiola oversaw almost no perceptible improvement from Fan Day to Black Friday, I have to think Rhule believes the main problem with the offensive line was outside of Raiola’s control. That would be nice, if true. I get it that Raiola never got to work with Cam Jurgens, who would have been an all-conference performer in 2022, and that he lost two other starters to injury and suspension. I tend to think that if a guy’s got it, there will quickly be at least a small amount of evidence. There is precious little of that linked to Raiola thus far.
• Most hoping to see: Rhule setting crystal clear parameters for his offensive coordinator, Marcus Satterfield, emphasizing a power running game to set up the play-action pass. Satterfield threw the ball almost as much as he ran it at South Carolina last year. That has never worked out well in Lincoln. I think Rhule will do what he says he’ll do — be physical and emphasize the run and that Satterfield will follow his lead. Frost’s concept of combining “Oregon speed and Nebraska power” never worked out. I don’t see Rhule sending mixed messages.
To expedite a journey to stability, the best short-term signs would be:
- No more returning starters leaving for the transfer portal.
- The return of Ernest Hausmann at linebacker for his sophomore year.
- The recommitment and signing of two four-star recruits — edge rusher Cameron Lenhardt and Malachi Coleman.
I’m encouraged by the shift in the culture of the Nebraska basketball program, which appears to be shifting to “diva-free” status under Fred Hoiberg, a possibility I was beginning to despair of. If Hoiberg can do it, Rhule can. In football, it just takes more steps.
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