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Matt Rhule reflects on Carolina tenure while helping Nebraska’s special teams regroup

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

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Matt Rhule has seen it all as a head coach. He knows all about the highs of success and the lows of epic failure, including his NFL stint with the Carolina Panthers.

However, those low points make Rhule uniquely designed to help young players cope with low moments of failure.

On Thursday, Rhule was specifically asked about the progress of the special teams unit after a pair of blocked field goals vs. Purdue. He says things have looked impressive in practice, but it’s undoubtedly a situation where the Huskers will have to translate that work onto the game field.

“It’s looked great in practice, but it’s one of those deals where we’ll see how it looks in the game, right? Sometimes you walk through the valley of the shadow of death and you’re going through these hard times,” said Rhule. “It’s the great thing about where I am in my life.”

Rhule went on to say his time in Carolina was “the hardest time I could ever imagine,” but his time in the NFL prepared him for his current job in Lincoln. Now, he’s helping the Huskers cope with those failures with an empathy for the players because he understands what it means to fail.

“I can share with the guys that I went through the hardest time I could ever imagine in Carolina… and it was preparing me for this amazing part of my life here I have here. And the empathy I have for players,” Rhule explained. “That feeling where you have a bad game and you’re almost embarrassed to see people, and I’m like none of that. We’re not doing that. Because I know what that feels like, ‘Can I even go to the grocery store’?”

Rhule specifically called out John Hohl and said he’s told the players they have to embrace the moments of growth that are going to come about. Hohl is 1-for-5 on field goals so far this season while Tristan Alvano has also missed a kick, bringing the Huskers to 5 missed kicks through the first 5 games.

Hopefully, Nebraska gets that straightened out with special teams looming large against Rutgers. The Huskers are a slim 7-point favorite at home against the Scarlet Knights per bet365, and you can bet Greg Schiano’s group is looking to wreck things in that phase of the game.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.