Matt Rhule’s insistence on confidence, and why it matters at Nebraska

As the “Legally Blonde” protagonist played by Reese Witherspoon says to close out her Harvard Law School commencement speech, “You must always have faith in people. And, most importantly, you must always have faith in yourself.”

The latter is what resonates this week.

Unlike everyone’s favorite pink-clad lawyer, Nebraska football needs to work on its confidence.

Former interim coach Mickey Joseph talked about that last season. As did former offensive coordinator Mark Whipple.

“I don’t know if they (Nebraska players) really think we can win every game,” Whipple said in October. “We’re good enough, I think. OK, I’m no genius, but we could win seven games. We can win these games. We already threw away three of them.”

Joseph added: “Look at it now. They hadn’t won a lot of games. So if you were on this team and you lost nine straight, would you think you can win every game? No. It’s human nature to doubt yourself.”

As I wrote back then: “With each loss, the confidence eroded away. It’s not something that happened overnight, and it’s not something that can be built back up immediately, either. But the Huskers are taking the steps to get back to where they believe.”

So it’s not surprising that the topic has reared its head in spring ball under Matt Rhule.

What was a little surprising for fans, though, is where Rhule’s inspiration came from on the topic.

It came after an open-ended question on Bryce Benhart, the junior offensive lineman who has anchored the right tackle spot since 2020, and what Rhule envisions for him.

The answer there: Rhule believes without a doubt that Benhart is an NFL player. How NU will play this season, he believes, will turn Benhart loose.

“A lot of those guys, I’m not throwing anybody (under the bus), probably a lot of them have been beat down,” Rhule said. “The narrative is the O-line’s terrible. They hear that a lot. I think Bryce, like all those guys on the offensive line, just has to play with great confidence, right?”

OK, how does Rhule define confidence?

It’s not telling kids that they can do anything in life. No, he believes that mindset backfires a lot — leading to misinformed expectations.

“To me, confidence comes from elite preparation, right, and doing it day after day,” Rhule said. “That’s why we go one on ones every day. We don’t go ones on twos, ones on threes, we go one on ones, so that Jimari (Butler), one of our best pass rushers, or (Elijah) Jeudy or whoever is working on Bryce every day and working on (Ethan) Piper every day, so they all keep saying, ‘Hey, we’re getting better because iron sharpens iron.’”

Rhule doesn’t shy away from the public. He’s out and about, mingling with fans.

Naturally, the questions he receives the most are about recruiting, but also expectations for the fall. It’s early. It’s far too early to know what the record is going to be.

As of right now, though, how that ultimately shakes out will pertain to confidence.

“We have the coaches we have. We have the players we have,” Rhule said. “A lot of it’ll come down to confidence. A lot will come down to, like at what point do they believe they can really win? When I say believe, we all say we believe, but when you’re down 17-7 in the second quarter. The great teams that played here probably laughed and took it 70 yards and made it 17-14. The other team added a lot of pressure on them.”

We all know Nebraska’s record over the last three years.

A 3-5 record in 2020 with a 7-point loss to Northwestern, a 6-point loss to Iowa and a 7-point loss to Minnesota. In 2021, a 3-9 record with single-digit losses to Illinois, Oklahoma, No. 20 Michigan State, No. 9 Michigan, Minnesota, Purdue, No. 5 Ohio State, No. 15 Wisconsin and No. 16 Iowa. In 2022, single-digit losses to Northwestern, Georgia Southern, Purdue, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

How long does it take to undo the confidence issues? When will Nebraska feel good in its own skin?

Each person will have to figure that out on their own. Then, from there, a collective confidence could emerge.

“When we start playing with confidence, whether that’s next week or in two years, we’ll be a good team,” Rhule said.

And through all that, circling back to Benhart.

“I look at him, I see an NFL player,” Rhule said. “I see an all-conference caliber player. The question is, what does he see? I say that for a lot of guys, not just him. Piper, Nouri (Nouili), all those guys. That offensive line is as talented of one as I’ve been around in college football in terms of as a head coach.

“But are they gonna believe it? Are they going to put it together?”

Fortunately for Nebraska, it’s still spring. There’s plenty of time to figure it out.

As Elle Woods says: They have all the equipment. They just need to read the manual.