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Matt Rhule on LNK Today: “I don’t believe that we have to lose”

By Kaleb Henry Feb 7, 2023 | 9:59 AM

In his first local radio appearance since taking over as the head coach of Nebraska football, Matt Rhule joined KLIN Radio’s “LNK Today” Tuesday morning.

Jack Mitchell and Kaleb Henry asked Rhule about a number of topics, from being out and about in the community to the logistics of moving families to the size of the support staff.

Rhule said people are still getting used to him being seen around Lincoln, including walking home from Husker basketball games.

“I’m renting a little apartment downtown and I walked home afterwards. People were kinda shocked that I’d be walking with the people home. I’m like ‘well I’m a person and I need to get home.'”

Rhlue said Husker fans should get used to see him out and about, if they haven’t already.

“I’m gonna go enjoy living my life. I’m gonna go enjoy living my life. I’m gonna go to dinner and see shows and do what everyone else does.”

Rhule said the work is “fun” and that he enjoys recruiting. The toughest part so far is being away from his kids.

“I did this three years ago and now I’m back away from them for several months at a time. Every time you see them on FaceTime, they’re a little bit bigger or a little bit different. That part’s not fun but we have to make sacrifices in life. I’m hopefully doing it for the right reasons.”

As for the football, Rhule called the situation “definitely a rebuild”, but noted how Nebraska is different than his previous rebuilds at Temple and Baylor. With the Owls, they were changing conferences and needed to adjust the roster. With the Bears, the team was coming off of scandal.

“To me, this is a team that won four games, could have won six, that has some good players. I’m excited about where we are. I don’t believe that we have to lose. I don’t believe that we shouldn’t have high expectations. We shouldn’t have any expectations other than today.”

And, of course, the quarterback situation was addressed.

“You look at the teams that are winning at a high level right now — the Georgias, the Alabamas, the Ohio States — they recruit the best of the best and there’s elite competition then they let it rip.”

Rhule added that he believes Jeff Sims in an NFL player and that Casey Thompson looked really good last year. Rhule also name-dropped the rest of the room of Chubba Purdy, Logan Smothers, Heinrich Haarberg, and Richard Torres, calling the situation at quarterback as healthy as a room as there is.

You can listen to the full interview below.