Rhule, Nebraska bring reasons for confidence to media days

This — Big Ten Media Days — was no time to mince words. And the Nebraska coach didn’t during a 40-minute session that made clear any talk of Big Red rebuilding is a thing of the past.

“I expect us to be good,” Rhule said. “I expect us to win. I expect us to be relevant in the conference.”

The 49-year-old chatted with reporters from an elevated table — Podium 11 — on the 10-yard line in the southeast corner of Lucas Oil Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. This, after time on the main stage, both a literal one and a BTN national broadcast. He and Husker player representatives Ben Scott, Ty Robinson and Isaac Gifford made the morning rounds on radio row and portal TV studio sets.

Nobody hedged. Nobody wondered. Nobody shied away from talking about more than ending a bowl drought at seven years and counting.

“The sky’s the limit for us as a defense and even as an offense and as a team in general,” said Robinson, NU’s sixth-year defensive lineman.

“I don’t like putting a cap on something,” said Gifford, a senior defensive back. “You hear all these people talking ‘7-0, then they’ve got their last five.’ Why not all of them?”

What perhaps set apart these media days from optimistic Nebraska preseason sessions of the past was a consistent ability to ground confidence in fact. Start with turnovers — the Huskers were minus-17 last year, second worst of 133 FBS teams nationally — where Rhule said such a “ridiculous” margin made clear the place to begin attacking offseason improvement.

An offense that ranked 123rd in scoring offense at 18 points per game can be potent now, Rhule said, adding that his outlook is “not necessarily” based simply on better quarterback play. The receiver room is transformed — young players like Jaylen Lloyd and Malachi Coleman now have Big Ten experience, veteran Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda is healthy and portal adds Jahmal Banks and Isaiah Neyor will be threats. Freshmen like Carter Nelson and Jacory Barney are in line to make quick impacts.

Running backs have depth too, the coach pointed out, starting with Rahmir Johnson and Gabe Ervin back from injuries and Emmett Johnson more proven. Oh, and the offensive line is old and the Blackshirts return a majority of their starters from a unit that was among their best in the Big Ten era.

“I expect us to be great on defense,” Rhule said. “And I expect us to make a real jump on offense.”

Nebraska’s beefed-up staff — reflective of more resources and a different approach within the football program under Rhule — filtered around on the turf as a reminder of just how extensive the team effort is. The coach huddled up with chief of staff Susan Elza, director of cinematography Jordan Litten and director of football creative media Warren May before ascending eight steps to the main stage a few minutes after 12:30 p.m. eastern time.

Multiple NU media relations officials directed players from place to place. Athletic Director Troy Dannen held court with reporters, reminding that his role is to empower coaches. Much of his chat centered on Memorial Stadium shifting to grass as soon as 2026 in a to-do requested by Rhule that he sees as a potential competitive advantage.

Another is name-image-likeness funds. Nebraska has them, Rhule said, though not on the level of many college football powers.

“To win, you’ve got to spend money,” Rhule said. “Balancing the checkbook does not equal winning. Having the money and spending the money on the things it takes to win, wins.”

Rhule slipped in a “when” for Nebraska going to a bowl game in December or beyond, a footnote in a thought about the team’s academic success. He’s coached other teams that made a turn in year or beyond and a telltale sign, he said, is body language. The Huskers have shown it all summer rooted in a belief in process.

Scott, Gifford and Robinson all could have been on NFL rosters by now but chose one more year with NU. Could the upcoming games really be more of a grind than the last seven months?

“We’re just going through the dirt, basically,” said Scott, set for his second year at center. “We’re grinding our butts off and we’re lifting heavy. We’re running a lot and doing stadium stairs and all this. We just want to be a tough team and it builds confidence when we go onto that field. We know that we worked harder than anyone else this offseason.”

Rhule flipped the thinking on two trends — turnovers and one-score defeats — that have hounded Nebraska for years. If Big Red had just broken even last season with giveaways and takeaways, he said, it might have won nine games instead of five. Just “eliminating the bad” lets the rest flourish.

Meanwhile, the Huskers are embracing the notion that games will be decided in the final seconds and minutes. Said Rhule: “The narrative about close losses, we’re going to turn that into close wins.”

Quarterback talk was an exception to the straightforward outlook from those wearing ‘N’ lapel pins. Rhule fielded only a few questions about freshman and former five-star prospect Dylan Raiola as well as the QB position in general. Raiola has been “one of the guys” since enrolling in January, he said, while preparing in such a thorough way that the teenager appears ready to handle the mental rigors of a season.

Other quarterbacks including 2023 starter Heinrich Haarberg and true freshman Daniel Kaelin also deserve the chance to show their summer gains in fall camp, Rhule said. The timetable for announcing a starter isn’t imminent.

The ramp-up to the season is. The Huskers are approaching it like a test for which they’ve studied.

“I don’t want to put numbers on things,” Gifford said. “I just want to focus on winning each game. It’s just knowing that we can do it.”