The Nebraska Huskers are shaking things up by returning to afternoon practices for the first time since 2017. This isn't just a spring experiment; it's the game plan for the fall as well, according to head coach Matt Rhule.
During a recent press conference, Rhule explained the shift. "We've studied a lot of people and I think there's a large part of us that likes the morning practices," he said.
"But this league's a lot different now. There was twice last year that we went to the East Coast and came back and played a Friday game.
That takes a toll on your body that week and certainly the weeks after. So we're just chasing edges, we're chasing sleep."
Rhule also pointed out the temperature differences between morning and afternoon, noting that it’s not just about the cold but how the turf feels. This change wasn't made lightly; Rhule's staff examined what other successful programs were doing. Among College Football Playoff teams, practice times were split about evenly between morning and afternoon, but more successful Big Ten teams leaned toward afternoon sessions.
Consulting with team doctors and the sports science department was part of the process. Rhule shared insights from his friend, Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire, who made a similar change recently.
While there are pros and cons, sleep emerged as the biggest factor, emphasized by offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen. "It's the No. 1 thing in recovery is sleep," Holgorsen said.
"If you are waking people up at 5:30 to 6 o'clock in the morning, then they don't get as much sleep. They're going to go to bed at the same time."
This new schedule gives players more recovery time and coaches additional prep time before practice. Holgorsen added, "I don't know.
We've done mornings, we've done afternoons. We've done mornings and afternoons.
To me, it doesn't matter what the schedule is. Just roll with it."
While daily practices will start later, spring ball kicks off earlier this year. The team begins on Saturday, with the semester starting a week sooner than in past years. This timing allows players six weeks of lifting before spring ball, which is crucial given the roster turnover in college sports.
"We wanted to get all these players really mainstreamed into the football," Rhule said. "We didn't want to go eight, nine weeks of them not being around the coaches. So we wanted to get into the fundamentals of football, see what we have."
The Spring Game is set for March 28, leaving six to seven weeks of training for the rest of the semester. Rhule sees this as a prime opportunity to install offensive, defensive, and special teams strategies while giving players a chance to assess their progress and continue training.