LINCOLN, Neb. — Matt Rhule leaves no room for interpretation on his stance about the importance of visiting coaches and former players to Nebraska football.
“This is their program,” the second-year coach said.
Nebraska players stand on the shoulders of the people who helped train them and competed before them, according to Rhule. The Huskers hear his message during times like last week when more than 900 supporters, observers and recruits gathered in Lincoln amid the second week of spring practice and the annual coaching clinic.
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We cap off an unbelievable weekend with 905 visitors in attendance for our annual X&O’s Clinic 🙌 🏈#GBR x #WhatsNExt! pic.twitter.com/91J4K86gzO
— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFootball) April 6, 2024
Among those who came from a distance was Mike Minter, the former All-Big 12 defensive back at Nebraska who was a 10-year mainstay in the Carolina Panthers’ secondary and head coach for the past 11 seasons of the Campbell Camels, an FCS program in Buies Creek, N.C.
Minter, 50, stepped down in December to assess the coaching job market and consider pursuing a move to a staff position at an FBS program. As part of his research, he visited multiple programs.
Before the trip to see his alma mater, Minter said he watched film of Nebraska’s 12 games last season. It told him plenty about Rhule and the coaching staff — observations validated by Minter’s time around the Huskers.
“I know what to look for and see when somebody’s being trained right,” Minter said. “By Game 2, I could see that guys were never out of position. That’s hard to do. And it’s one thing to be in position. It’s another to go strike somebody. They were not afraid.”
Minter’s takeaways suggested that the Huskers believed in Rhule’s message about toughness.
“The only way you can put that on film is if you believe it as a football program,” said Minter, a 2006 inductee into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame.
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Defensive coordinator Tony White and the assistants on defense especially impressed Minter, who owns a defensive pedigree. He met secondary coach Evan Cooper and D-line coach Terrance Knighton before last week, but watching them operate around Nebraska players elevated Minter’s opinion of both coaches.
He was eager, too, to watch Rhule. They met individually as part of Minter’s stay. Rhule opened the doors of his program, Minter said.
“He’s really putting people around him that he trusts,” Minter said, “people that treat the program like they’re the head coach.”
Rhule’s attention to detail impressed Minter. If a name was spelled wrong on a list of the visitors, Rhule noticed.
“But it’s not overbearing,” Minter said. “Some people could be in the weeds so much that they couldn’t even see what’s going on. From a high-level standpoint, he can go back and forth pretty easy. And my thing, the first time coach Rhule got a chance to build a (recruiting) class, he got the No. 1 quarterback in the country.
“(The QB) has got ties to Nebraska, I get it. But at the end of the day, you’ve still got to make it happen. You’ve still got to beat out Georgia.”
Regarding Dylan Raiola, that five-star quarterback from Buford, Ga. who switched his commitment from Georgia to Nebraska in December, Minter sees a player who can help flip recent losing ways into successful seasons.
“The youngness is going to show up,” Minter said. “That’s what people are going to see when he makes a mistake. But this man is elite. He’s Patrick Mahomes. I mean, literally, not Patrick Mahomes 10 years down the road (from college).”
But at 18 years old, according to Minter, Raiola is better than Mahomes at that stage of his development.
“To me, it’s about the mindset,” Minter said. “Does Dylan have the mindset to develop himself year in and year out? Because that’s the key. You can come in great, better than Patrick, but Patrick kept working to become what he is today.
“And he’s still doing it.”
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On Tuesday in an early practice period open for viewing to the media, Raiola traded series with fellow freshman QB Daniel Kaelin and junior Heinrich Haarberg, the returning eight-game starter. Kaelin’s squad appeared to win the drill as the Bellevue West (Neb.) graduate completed a deep pass to another early enrollee, wide receiver Jacory Barney, and hit Texas transfer Isaiah Neyor on a fade route in the end zone.
Penalties at the line of scrimmage slowed Raiola’s unit. He threw long on two throws and hit Wake Forest transfer Jahmal Banks on an intermediate strike to move the chains.
More observers took it in. Among them was former Nebraska center Cam Jurgens, now with the Philadelphia Eagles, and Omaha Central coach Terrence Mackey, who brought multiple FBS-level prospects from his high school program.
Rhule continues after their busy week to welcome the visitors.
“I am just entrusted (at Nebraska) for a short amount of time,” Rhule said. “I’m trying to do the best job that I can. I know that someone will be here after me, and I want them to say, ‘Matt left it in a good place.’”
Rhule said he hopes that coaches and former players walk away with the belief that “everything was done at a high level.” He wants them to understand that Nebraska acts intentionally. If a light bulb burns out inside their football complex, Rhule said, his staffers feel an urgency to replace it.
“If we’re intentional about that,” he said, “then we’re intentional about the players. And that tells these high school coaches, ‘Hey, I can send my young people here.’ That tells people, if I send players to the University of Nebraska, no stone is going to be left unturned.
“Everything’s done on purpose. That’s the message I want out there.”
Minter received the message even before he traveled to Lincoln. He’s learned enough in his time around FBS programs this year that Minter has decided he wants to find a home in the FBS, even if not as a position coach.
Would Nebraska interest him?
“Come on, right? It’s my home,” Minter said. “To come back and help these guys any way I could to get back where we should be, that would be cool. If the opportunity came up, of course, I would help these guys in a heartbeat.
“It’s just really about getting in a program. My work will take care of the rest.”
(Photo: Mitch Sherman / The Athletic)
