Matt Rhule likes what he sees from Nebraska’s new-look defense, and he’s not trying to dress it up.
With Saturday bringing Rob Aurich’s first game inside Memorial Stadium, Rhule said the Huskers have spent practice turning up crowd noise and music so coaches and players can get used to the communication demands that come with the place.
For the head coach, the early read is simple.
"Feels right," Rhule said. "Looks right."
That doesn’t mean he’s expecting the first game to be clean. Rhule pointed out that tackling can be uneven early in a season, especially when players are still calibrating angles and learning not to chase where they think a runner is going instead of where he actually is. He said that tends to settle down by about Game 3.
The challenge is making that adjustment in a fall camp world where teams are allowed only nine full-pad practices.
"It's the only sport where you practice more than you play," Rhule said. "From what I've seen, our guys are trying to run the right angles.
They're using dominant contact. They're getting off blocks.
They're playing connected. But you have to see the first games."
That word - connected - is the thread Rhule kept pulling on. In his view, the best defenses aren’t just a collection of players handling separate assignments. They function as a unit, with everyone feeding off everyone else.
"I want everyone to be themselves, but you got to be the best version of yourself," Rhule said. "There's me at my best, there's me at my worst ...
We need 11 guys to be at their best on Saturday. But I do believe when you start doing that, man, 1 plus 1 doesn't equal two, it can equal 11.
You bring people together, they connect."
Rhule said he doesn’t buy the idea that a defender should just handle his 1/11th and leave the rest alone.
"I believe in Metcalfe's Law that when three people connect, it produces many more connections," he said. "The power of a group is exponentially greater than the amount of people that are in it when we're all connected to each other."
He drew a clear line between ordinary defenses and the ones that hold up when the game starts moving fast.
"Great defenses connect to each other," Rhule said. "They understand that like, hey, I'm going to spill this to this safety who's spilling, who's then going to trust that the guy on the back side is running.
Bad defenses start saying, 'I better do this, I better do that.' Great defenses stay connected.
They play together. That's communication."
Aurich will be on the field for his debut calling the game, and Rhule said that’s where most coaches want to be now anyway, with iPads making it easier to work close to the action and talk through specific details with players.
He also said Aurich is the kind of coach who belongs there.
"Rob's a guy I think rallies his players really well ... and he definitely wants to be down there."
In Other News...
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Athletic director Troy Dannen and coach Matt Rhule have both pointed to ticket sales and the atmosphere around home dates as part of what makes Nebraska such a difficult place for visitors. The calendar also has a little extra flavor coming, with a themed game against Bowling Green built around America 250 and a drone show, plus a concert by Cole Swindell adding to the event feel that has become part of the Husker experience. [Read more 🡒]