Rhule notebook ahead of UTEP: Updates at kicker, RB and injuries
Matt Rhule held his final press conference ahead of Nebraska’s season-opener against UTEP on Saturday.
Kickoff between the Huskers and Miners is slated for 2:30 p.m. with Fox getting the broadcast. Jason Benetti, Brock Huard will get the call with Allison Williams manning the sidelines.
Here’s a quick rundown of what Rhule talked about
LSU transfer TE Mac Markway is eligible to play this season
After much speculation, Rhule announced Mac Markway, a former four-star tight end who played his true freshman season at LSU in 2023, will be eligible to play this season after enrolling at UNL and joining the team Monday.
There’s a “unique kind of a thing” with Nebraska’s kicker situation
The Huskers’ kicking situation hasn’t been settled yet with returning starter Tristan Alvano and John Hohl continuing to battle.
“We have a unique kind of a thing,” Rhule said. ” I John would kick some maybe a little further out. Tristan maybe would kick something closer.”
Alvano is still working to get back to full health after undergoing a minor groin surgery in the offseason, but has been kicking field goals at practice. Hohl, a transfer from Iowa Western Community College, arrived this summer and earned a spot on the roster after a couple successful summer camps in front of special teams coordinator Ed Foley and assistant special teams coach Josh Martin.
“That could still change based upon today’s results. That’s Ed’s decision. I get involved in everything obviously, I’m a control freak,” Rhule said with a laugh, “but I do trust the coaches to make those types of decisions, so Ed and Josh are charting everything, so I could see you seeing both of those guys kick.”
Rhule also added Hohl, who has a big leg, will be the kickoff specialist on Saturday.
Rhule wants to see all four RBs get action in the first half
Along with kicker, running back is the other position that isn’t settled right now. There are four backs who will take that competition into the season: Emmett Johnson, Rahmir Johnson, Gabe Ervin Jr. and Oregon transfer Dante Dowdell.
Rhule has said previously there’s time for the battle to play out and that he wants to see someone emerge by the time Big Ten play hits, which would be Sept. 20 against Illinois, a Friday night game inside Memorial Stadium.
On Thursday, Rhule said he expects all four guys to see action in the first half against UTEP.
“I’m gonna want all four guys to play in the first half,” Rhule said. “I don’t think it’s fair to say, ‘Hey, come in the second half.’ So we’ll ask all four guys to play.”
All four backs have their own unique traits, Rhule said, so there will be factors that come into play when deciding who gets the carry, like field position and the situation. Rhule said Rahmir Johnson and Emmett Johnson are the third-down backs.
“Rahmir has to be treated as a receiver in my mind because of his ability to run routes,” Rhule said. “So that would be primarily their (Rahmir and Emmett) job, whereas, you get to third-and-1, third-and-2, maybe it’s more of the bigger backs. When you have two 220-pound backs that run behind their pads (Ervin and Dowdell), you’ll go with them. So I think it’s situational. And I think it’s also by play at times, but not all the time. And then if a guy hasn’t gotten in, then it’ll probably go a little bit more by the series.”
Rhule also said that, with the temperature for game time expected to be around 85 degrees, that usually equates to 100 degrees on the field. So a heavy rotation would be smart.
Rhule doesn’t want Nebraska’s kickoffs to go through the end zone — he wants to cover them and challenge opponents
Rhule said he doesn’t want his kickoff team to kick the ball through the end zone and give the opponent the ball at their own 25-yard line. He wants to be more aggressive than that.
The head coach said he goes home at night and listens to other head coaches talk about the game. Some of them say they don’t want to practice kickoff return anymore. Rhule couldn’t disagree more.
“If they fair catch it, I can’t do anything about it,” Rhule said. “But I want to put the ball to the 2 (yard line) with a great hang time. And I want us to cover. I want us to play football. We’re not here to not play football.”
Gunnar Gottula won’t play Saturday, but Blye Hill and Henry Lutovsky will
Earlier this week Rhule mentioned a handful of players’ statuses were up in the air for Saturday due to injury: offensive linemen Gunnar Gottula (ankle) and Henry Lutovsky (calf) and cornerback Blye Hill (knee).
On Thursday, Rhule announced Gottula, who is listed as the backup right tackle on the depth chart, won’t play Saturday. Lutovsky and Hill, however, will be available.
Lutovsky is listed as the backup left guard behind starter Justin Evans while Hill is listed as the third corner opposite starter Tommi Hill, behind starter Marques Buford Jr. and USC transfer Ceyair Wright.
Rhule also provided an update on defensive lineman Brodie Tagaloa, who hasn’t played football since being injured in a car accident during fall camp 2023. The plan is for Tagaloa to get game snaps against Northern Iowa.
“He’s worked so hard, so I can’t wait,” Rhule said with a smile while talking about Tagaloa’s journey to get back to playing shape. “So I just shared with him every day, like, ‘My vision is to see you come back and play.’ So I think Northern Iowa.”
You must be logged in to post a comment Login