Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule has made clear that he is expecting a stronger season from his special teams unit this year. While discussing the upcoming campaign and the numerous changes he has made this offseason, Rhule outlined how, though nothing has drastically changed schematically on special teams, he expects the “technique and fundamentals” to improve this year.
What Did Matt Rhule Say About Nebraska’s Special Teams Unit?
Rhule is a longtime college and NFL coach who has various levels of experience in almost every aspect of the game of football. Throughout his career, he has coached on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, including as the head coach of the Carolina Panthers. This offseason, Rhule and the Cornhuskers hired former Tennessee Volunteers special teams coach Mike Ekeler as their new special teams coach.
Rhule outlined how certain aspects of the Cornhuskers special teams unit contributed to the struggles last year. The popular account “HuskerOnline” posted the interview on YouTube earlier in the week.
“I’m always very protective of our players, but I’ll be quite honest. I think even in the interviews, I don’t think anything we did wrong was wrong schematically last year. I think a lot of our problems stem at 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,” he stated.
However, Rhule also clarified that he believed improvements would be coming this season from the special teams unit.
“I don’t think we can put any more time into it in terms of meetings. I think our roster this year will be better than our roster last year,” he added.
Nebraska Cornhuskers 2024 Season Review
Rhule and the Cornhuskers struggled in the Big Ten and will be looking to drastically improve their record next season. Nebraska finished with a 7-6 overall record this past year, but it went 3-6 against conference opponents.
Though special teams was a problem, as alluded to by Rhule, the offensive and defensive sides of the ball were nothing to write home about either.
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The offense only averaged 23.5 points per game, something that ranked the program 104th in the nation. Defensively, the program was the 17th best unit in points against per game, with an average of 19.5.
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