Matt Rhule addresses Nebraska’s spring game, special teams, revenue sharing

LINCOLN, Neb. — In his first meeting with the media since the aftermath of Nebraska’s victory in the Pinstripe Bowl, coach Matt Rhule answered questions for 30 minutes Saturday. He could have gone an hour before the topics might have grown stale.

An illustration of the abundance of business to address: The name of Nebraska’s returning starter at quarterback, Dylan Raiola, was not mentioned until the final two minutes.

Dana Holgorsen, the offensive coordinator who received a two-year contract after his trial run at the end of 2024? Not mentioned. John Butler, the defensive coordinator elevated in December from secondary coach, came up one time in passing.

Developments continued Sunday as interior offensive lineman Rocco Spindler, a 23-game starter at Notre Dame, gave Nebraska its 16th portal commitment.

Rhule came off the road late last week to celebrate his 50th birthday Friday and squeezed the Q&A session into his morning before he rushed away to welcome a group of approximately 20 prospects to campus for a recruiting event.

The third-year coach was operating on perhaps a half tank of fuel. His fatigued voice told the story of his five-week schedule since the football season ended.

“We’re not going to win here without working,” Rhule said.

The next two weeks afford a bit of downtime for Rhule and his staff. But there is a stack of pressing matters before Nebraska starts spring practice in late March.

Here’s a rundown of three key topics addressed by Rhule on Saturday — with a dose of perspective:

The cancellation of Nebraska’s spring game appears imminent

What Rhule said: “Fundamentally, I hate to say it like this, but it’s really because last year, we were one of the more televised spring games, and I dealt with a lot of people offering our players a lot of opportunities after that. So to go out and bring in a bunch of new players and then showcase them for all the other schools to watch, that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. The word ‘tampering’ doesn’t exist anymore, it’s just absolute free, open, common market. And so I don’t necessarily want to open up to the outside world. I don’t want these guys all being able to watch our guys and say, ‘Wow, he looks like a pretty good player. Let’s go get him.’”

Perspective: This storyline blew up on social media and in the news cycle during a quiet weekend on the football calendar, but there’s more to know than simply that Nebraska looks set to cancel its traditional, open-to-the-public scrimmage at the end of spring practice.

Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen made an announcement last week about the spring game. It didn’t cause an uproar, but Rhule fanned the flames with his comments on tampering. How much the Huskers fended off bids to poach their roster after the spring last year, we don’t know. But just six players entered the portal last spring at Nebraska — two who had left the program months earlier, two walk-ons who didn’t land at Division I schools and two reserves from 2023 who would have likely played similar roles in 2024.

Rhule has grown frustrated, like many coaches, with the rampant tampering that exists in the sport. A televised spring game does little to impact the toxic climate. But Rhule used his stage Saturday to lament the prevalence of roster interference.

Notably, Nebraska will still hold an event at the end of its April practice sessions. It will invite fans. They will show up. And a newly imagined spring showcase might provide more entertainment value than a spring game, which typically lacks substance.

Spring games are dying across college football. For some schools — not Nebraska — it’s because they lose money. For others, a spring game no longer makes sense in this era of NIL, revenue sharing and the portal. Put Nebraska into that category.

Nebraska is in a better place than most ahead of revenue sharing

What Rhule said: “We don’t take money from the (university). This is all through our budget. So it’s sustainable. A lot of other schools, rev share’s not going to be sustainable. So they can float a big number now and disappoint a kid later. We feel like we can stand on business. This is what we said, and this is what we’re going to do.”

Perspective: Rhule said he talks to coaches at other Power 4 programs who’ve not yet raised half of the $14 million they’re expecting to pay football players in the first year of revenue sharing, which is expected to begin July 1. Nebraska has no such concerns. And it has fewer concerns in years ahead about meeting the increased cost than nearly all of its Big Ten rivals that also benefit from gaudy TV payouts.

The Huskers intend to use this strong financial position to their advantage. “I think we all saw in the College Football Playoff,” Rhule said, “the people who spent the most got the most. I’ve been saying that since I got here. It’s kinda real, right?”

Not only can Nebraska tout that it’s prepared to pay well without concerns about sustainability, Rhule said, but its players also benefit from a support system that helps them manage resources.

“I think it’s important for people to see what we do,” Rhule said. “You guys walk through the parking lot. You don’t see Lamborghinis and Ferraris. Our guys are investing in their futures and taking care of people back home.

Special teams remain unsettled

What Rhule said: “I’m always very protective of our players, but I’ll be quite honest … I don’t think anything we did was wrong schematically last year. I think a lot of our problems stemmed from the snapper position. And once that happens, you’re trying to compensate for things. And I love those guys, but it just was not a good year from that perspective.

“You think about scheme. You think about all these things. But really at the end of the day, it comes down to technique and fundamentals. When something at the very core is not right, then the elements all around it aren’t right.”

Perspective: If Rhule sings the same tune after spring practice alongside a yet-to-be-hired new special teams coordinator, I’ll see more cause for concern. In the first week of February, the coach deserves to receive the benefit of the doubt, having just finished a whirlwind two months of recruiting in the portal and at the high school level while reshaping his coaching staff.

Rhule has handed control of vetting candidates to run special teams to Phil Snow, his longtime confidante and new associate head coach. With the support of Snow and Rhule, time exists for the next coordinator to lead the “overhaul” of special teams that Rhule said he sought after last season.

Undeniably, Nebraska’s problems at long snapper led to some — but not all — of the breakdowns that allowed opponents to block eight kicks in 2024. The long snapper wasn’t on the field when a botched punt return swung momentum in the second half against Iowa. The long snapper didn’t design or call Nebraska’s ill-fated fake field goal near the goal line against Boston College. The Huskers ranked no higher than 92nd nationally in returning and covering punts and kickoffs.

“I don’t think we can put any more time into it in terms of practice,” Rhule said. “I don’t think we can put any more time into it in terms of meetings.”

But the Huskers can make better use of the time they spend on special teams. They can get more of the top players on the team invested in it.

Rhule said he views special teams as an aspect that can be “net neutral” or that can sway the outcome of games toward winning or losing. Nebraska lost games last year and in 2023 because of poor special teams play. In this Big Ten environment, with so many contests for Nebraska decided by one score — 13 of 25 in two seasons under Rhule — it needs a net positive from special teams.

Rhule is leaning on Snow to help in this first phase of improvement.

“I think you guys will find that I trust Phil immensely,” Rhule said, “because it always goes back to the same core values of technique, fundamentals, effort, preparation, just looking at things from that perspective.”

(Photo: Dylan Widger / Imagn Images)