Fall Practice No. 1 – Quick Hits from Matt Rhule

The rain was falling Monday morning in Lincoln as the Husker football team began fall camp at the Hawks Championship Center and the freshly-made grass fields outside of it.

Well, rain might be a bit of an exaggeration. It was more of a light sprinkle. Still, football is upon us once again as Matt Rhule starts his first fall camp as the head coach of the Huskers.

Following practice, Rhule and a select few players met with the media. Here are the quick hits from Rhule:

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>> Rhule started off by clarifying recent roster moves, both with players and his own coaching staff.

>> Rhule said he was grateful for the time he got to spend coaching with former tight ends coach Bob Wager, who resigned Friday after being cited for a DUI in downtown Lincoln.

"It's an unfortunate situation and I know he took responsibility for it, and I appreciate him for doing that," Rhule said. "Not a lot of men would handle it the way he did. I don't judge people by their tough moments or worse moments, I always judge them by how they respond. I really appreciate him and I'm thankful for him. It was a short time, but he brought some recruits here, he brought some of his kids here. So I appreciate him and wish his family the best. He's a great coach. I know he'll do great things."

>> Rhule said defensive lineman Brodie Tagaloa was in a single-car accident about a week or two ago. Tagaloa is home in California with his family rehabbing his injuries, which Rhule said included a cut to his face and a knee that needed surgery.

"We expect him to miss the year unfortunately," Rhule said. "Brodie was coming along great. But he's got a bright future and good things will happen for Brodie. He's with us, he's just home with his family recuperating post-accident."

>> Offensive lineman Jacob Hood, a transfer from Georgia, is dealing with "chronic ankle stuff" and is in "rehab mode right now," according to Rhule. He was meeting with medical personnel while his teammates were at Fan Day on Sunday.

>> Returning starting safety Myles Farmer was suspended to end the summer by the staff, Rhule said.

"It was for simple things, nothing major. Just wasn’t meeting some of our standards. He was not a member of the 120," Rhule said. "We'll wait and see how that all plays out."

Rhule said he didn't know about a timetable with Farmer and a possible return.

"I love Myles, he's a competitive kid. It's so hard when you have a new coach, right? They have different standards than you're used to," Rhule said. "So I get that. We've been patient with a lot of guys. We'll see what happens with Myles. The ball's in his court. We'd love for him to be here, but whatever he wants to do, I respect him as a man. So whatever he wants to do, I understand."

>> Marcus Washington has a broken bone in his right hand and was wearing a green no-contact jersey Monday. Rhule thinks the cast might come off next Monday and he'll be in a splint that Tuesday. But next week Washington should return closer to full-go.

>> Receiver Josh Fleeks, a transfer from Baylor who played for Rhule, reported on Sunday but was "significantly over his weight, so he was sent home to make his weight."

>> Sights & Sounds: Highlights from Huskers' first fall camp practice

>> Rhule said he's talked about finding a replacement for Josh Martin, the special teams analyst who is taking over for Wager as tight ends coach, but hasn't landed on a decision yet.

Rhule has already seen Martin, a former special teams coordinator himself, coaching the special teams units on Monday along with coordinator Ed Foley.

"I don't want to rush. Ed's been doing this for a long time, and now he actually has Josh helping him on the field, so it's a little bit of a blessing special teams-wise, whereas Josh before couldn't talk and now he's out there coaching the punt team with Ed," Rhule said. "But we'll probably at some point, whether it's someone internally, we'll probably hire somebody."

>> When Rhule made the hire of Martin, an analytics company reached out to Rhule to commend him for the addition.

"We've been nothing but impressed with Josh since then. We've had Christian Ellsworth in that room, and Christian is a really talented young coach. So it's been a blessing to have him in there," Rhule said. "But Josh has done it, he's done it at two places and had guys go off to the NFL. I watched his indie (individual drills) today with the young guys, and you can tell he's been coaching a long time."

>> That was Rhule's plan all along, to bring in potential fits for assistant roles in case a spot opens up.

"Our whole plan when building the staff, a little different than maybe it's been done here before, is having a bunch of guys waiting in the wings so as guys have opportunities and move on, we're fortunately in a situation like this, we have guys here," Rhule said. "We don't have to go out and hire someone new. He can hire guys within the organization who know our systems and understand our way of life."

>> Photo Gallery and Practice Highlights: Nebraska opens fall camp

>> Rhule touched on why he split the roster into two groups — older guys and new guys — for practice. Jeff Sims and Heinrich Haarberg were the two scholarship quarterbacks throwing to the older skill players while Chubba Purdy was leading the younger players.

"The most important thing to me is reps," Rhule said. "As I told the young guys at the end, a lot of places in the country, the freshmen showed up and they got five reps at practice today, but our guys all got 40," Rhule said. "So it's kind of what coach (Tom) Osborne told me, 'Make sure they all get reps.' It's a little bit of a strain on the coaches and the staff because you're having to be out there a little longer, but it's fun."

>> Rhule has his team and coaching staff staying in the dorms on campus for the first couple weeks of fall camp. It's to get his team comfortable with new things and to build a brotherhood and camaraderie.

The coach said he's impressed with the dorms he'll be staying in. And no, he does not have a roommate like everyone else.

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