Nebraska

Nebraska's Matt Rhule is solidifying his vision entering year 2: 'It's been night and day'

Published

2 years ago

February 23, 2024

Nebraska's Matt Rhule is solidifying his vision entering year 2: 'It's been night and day'

LINCOLN, Neb. — Hints of spring are here. The ice and snow have disappeared. The NFL combine is on deck. One month from Saturday, players at Nebraska return to the practice field.

Until then, or at least until spring break arrives in two weeks, the Cornhuskers remain stuck in the most grueling period of their offseason. It’s also the most revealing and perhaps the most important time on the football calendar, according to coach Matt Rhule, before the season begins.

“Don’t tell me you want to beat Iowa after we lose to Iowa,” Rhule said. “Tell me you want to beat Iowa today with your actions.”

He’s talking about culture. It’s the buzzword that will not go away. Fans hear it. Players hear it. The media repeats it. But what is culture, really, and how can it help the Huskers when every head coach at every program preaches its significance?

An impactful culture, Rhule said, requires complete belief.

“I think we’re headed in that direction,” Rhule said. “It’s been night and day, significantly better than it was last year.”

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The culture around Rhule’s program last year was not poor, the second-year coach is quick to mention. It was just something new.

“Now everyone knows what to expect,” he said.

Anxiety levels drop when expectations are understood. Performance, in theory, improves.

With these steps forward comes added responsibility. The reshaped culture of Nebraska extends beyond the glow of Memorial Stadium.

The work doesn’t stop#GBR x #WhatsNExt! pic.twitter.com/zWaJPjvfiZ
— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFootball) February 22, 2024

Wednesday night, Rhule met with more than 100 high school coaches in a room with seating for 70 on the Sandhills Global campus in northwest Lincoln. He offered a few words and introduced quarterbacks coach Glenn Thomas and secondary coach Evan Cooper.

Rhule then drove to Omaha for a similar event with coaches from the Metro Conference.

Half of his staff went to the Lincoln engagement, the other half to the one in Omaha.

Among Rhule’s messages? Don’t make excuses.

Instead, make football enjoyable. Many coaches in attendance Wednesday have seen participation numbers decline in sports at their schools, said Jim Hansen, an organizer of the gathering and treasurer of the Lincoln Football Coaches Association.

“Let’s create football programs that kids want to be a part of,” Rhule told the high school coaches, according to Hansen.

Another Rhule message during this offseason: Culture isn’t measured solely by attendance or performance. It’s measured by what happens in the quiet moments.

“I know guys are watching the quarterbacks,” Rhule said recently. “We lost five games (last season) by three points or in overtime. So we’re fighting for every single point. We’re three points away from being a good team in our brains.

“So am I going to follow a quarterback that doesn’t win all the drills, that’s not out there throwing at 6 a.m., that’s not there on the weekends? I’m not following that guy.”

Likewise, the Nebraska coaches expect that they’re being watched. Wednesday in Lincoln, Thomas and Cooper impressed the high school coaches with their knowledge and attitudes. The program started at 7 p.m. The Nebraska assistant coaches stuck around until 9:45.

Coaches in attendance ranged from some of the largest schools in the state to Parkview Christian, which plays six-man football.

After some fluctuation over the past two decades at Nebraska, Hansen said “adults are back in the room.”

A former assistant coach at Lincoln Pius X, Hansen said he recalls years ago when a Nebraska coordinator scoffed at him for seeking insight on the Huskers’ scheme. Hansen told Rhule the story. If anything like that happens at Nebraska with this coaching staff, Rhule said, find him and let him know.

“This staff has just been different in the sense that they’ve really tried to connect with us,” Hansen said. “It’s great to see that the guys you watch on Saturday are going through the same things that we do on Friday night. They are one of us. They really are.”

As Thomas said last week in an introductory session with the media, Rhule’s process of building a culture has worked with multiple college programs. Rhule directed Temple to four-game improvements in his second and third seasons. Baylor went from one win in his first year to 11 in Rhule’s third.

“There’s a lot of value in that,” Thomas said. “But he’d be the first to tell you, every day we come in the building, we’re looking for the best way.”

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The best way might be a new way. Rhule and his coaching staff stay involved during winter with the Huskers’ mat drills. Two weeks remain of the culture-growing exercise.

“You do the offseason so you can get in better shape,” Rhule said. “But I want to see who shies away from competition and who attacks it. When things really get hard, that’s what I want to find out.”

In this time of year, Rhule said, “you show your teammates, ‘Hey, I’m a playmaker, I’m someone to watch. I’m going to compete in everything. I’m going to be tough.’”

Next season, with a strong culture in place, when Nebraska drives into scoring position tied late in the fourth quarter of a November Big Ten game — see Maryland in 2023 — Rhule said he doesn’t plan to hear complaints about how he made the wrong call to go for a touchdown.

“Those days are over,” he said. “Every team in the country throws touchdowns on those plays. And on our team, we need guys who will go get the ball. We need guys to throw the ball.”

The guys they need are made inside the football complex in February — and outside of it as the culture expands through the outreach on display this week in Lincoln and Omaha.

(Photo: Dylan Widger / USA Today)

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Nebraska

Nebraska State Patrol troopers find 242 pounds of cocaine during commercial truck inspection

Published

9 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Nebraska State Patrol troopers find 242 pounds of cocaine during commercial truck inspection

LEXINGTON, Neb. (KOLN) – Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol arrested one person after finding more than 240 pounds of cocaine during a commercial vehicle inspection.

On Tuesday afternoon, an NSP Carrier Enforcement trooper conducted a commercial vehicle inspection on a semi tractor/trailer driven by Arwinderjit Singh, 30, of California, near mile marker 254 on Interstate 80.

Arwinderjit Singh mugshot(Dawson County Jail)

During the inspection, the trooper became suspicious of criminal activity. An NSP K-9 detected the odor of a controlled substance inside the cab of the semi, troopers said.

After searching the cab, troopers located 242 pounds of cocaine concealed underneath the sleeper bed, NSP said.

Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol arrested one person after finding more than 240 pounds... — Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol arrested one person after finding more than 240 pounds of cocaine during a commercial vehicle inspection.(Nebraska State Patrol)

Singh was arrested on suspicion of possession of cocaine, possession with intent to deliver, possession of an open alcohol container, no drug tax stamp and displaying a fictitious license plate.

Singh was lodged in Dawson County Jail, and his bond was set at 10% of $2 million. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 12.

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Nebraska

Athlete of the Week: Creighton Prep boys wrestling’s Zaiyahn Ornelas

Published

21 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Athlete of the Week: Creighton Prep boys wrestling’s Zaiyahn Ornelas

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Creighton Prep senior Zaiyahn Ornelas won his fourth consecutive Nebraska state wrestling title on Saturday.

According to NSAA records, he joins 39 other wrestlers in state history to accomplish the feat.

“It’s a great feeling,” Ornelas said. “It’s a feeling everybody wants.”

The senior ended his career as the 39th four-time state champion in Nebraska history, winning three at Wilber-Clatonia before joining the Jr. Jays.

Ornelas won three Class C state titles at Wilber-Clatonia at 106, 113 and 120 pounds before transferring to Creighton Prep for his senior season, where he competed in Class A at 126 pounds.

“Three state titles there and then just thought I could bump up my competition,” Ornelas said.

“Zaiyahn is one of the cleanest technicians I’ve ever seen. That’s a huge testament to his coaching staff at Wilber,” Fisher added.

Ornelas was one of four Creighton Prep wrestlers to win state titles this season, helping lead the Jr. Jays to the Class A team title. Teammates said his presence in the practice room raised their level of competition.

“I could never slack off just because my competition in the state was easy. I always had to come in this room and get better or else I was going to get beat,” said sophomore Cruzer Dominguez, a two-time Class A state champion at 106 and 120 pounds.

Sophomore Kameron Green, the Class A 144-pound state champion this year, also credited Ornelas for aiding in his development.

“Zaiyahn being a training partner has helped me in tremendous ways,” he said. “When he wrestles, he’s not the nicest or shyest kid, but he’s tenacious and tough.”

The sophomore won his first state title after finishing as a runner-up at 126 pounds as a freshman.

Junior JT Smith, a two-time state champion at 175 and 190 pounds, said the achievement carries weight for the entire team.

“It’s something really special to have a teammate that’s a four-time state champion,” he said. “That’s something everyone wants to be.”

The junior finished the season as a back-to-back state champion after winning a gold medal at 175 pounds as a sophomore.

Fisher said Ornelas’s attitude set the tone from the start.

“He has so many skills and then coming into our room, he’s extremely coachable. Every time he came in here he was humble, ready to work, wanting to get better and that’s why he is as good as he is,” Fisher said.

Ornelas signed to wrestle at the University of Nebraska in November. He said the move to Creighton Prep delivered what he was looking for.

“This is the reason why I came here. I went out to explore, to find the best, and this is the territory that I found. If it wasn’t for these guys — the push — I would have not been there,” Ornelas said.

“It’s hard to believe. That’s kind of what I wanted since the beginning, freshman year,” he said.

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Nebraska

Nebraska Chamber taps former state senator to lead during leadership transition

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Nebraska Chamber taps former state senator to lead during leadership transition

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – The Nebraska Chamber of Commerce & Industry has selected a former state senator and longtime board member to lead the chamber while it searches for a new president and CEO.

Board of Directors Chair Pat Keenan said Thursday that Matt Williams of Gothenburg agreed to serve as interim president.

ALSO READ: Nebraska Chamber president and CEO resigns after less than a year

“The Board is grateful to Matt for stepping into this role during a very active and productive time for the Nebraska Chamber,” Keenan said. “He has steady leadership, strong relationships and trust from his many years of advocacy for economic development, and decades of experience working with the legislature and state government on tax policy and economic development incentives.”

Matt Williams(NE Chamber)

Williams represented District 36 in the Nebraska Legislature from 2015 to 2023.

The chamber said Williams has had a lifelong career in banking and serves as chairman of Flatwater Bank. He previously served as chair of the Nebraska Bankers Association and the American Bankers Association.

His long involvement with the chamber includes membership on the Board of Directors; he currently serves as director for District 6. In 2025, he was named to the Nebraska Business Hall of Fame.

“The Nebraska Chamber is on rock-solid footing, with the clear vision of the Board, and talented and hard-working staff hitting its stride in legislative policy and advocacy, technology, manufacturing, leadership-development, fund-raising and membership. The success of cutting-edge initiatives like 6 Regions, One Nebraska, the launch of the Go Big Future series, and the strong member engagement across the state demonstrate the success and strength of this organization. I’m excited to lend my support in whatever way I can for the Chamber. I know how strong businesses and communities make for a stronger Nebraska, and I’m glad to be part of that.”

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