John Bullock talks scholarship, Tony White's defense: "As good as it gets"

For the first time since he was awarded a scholarship shortly after spring ball, Nebraska linebacker John Bullock commented on how impactful that honor has been.

During an interview aired on Huskers Radio Network on Wednesday night – a conversation that was conducted a couple weeks ago as the Huskers were gearing up to record pregame introduction videos and do photoshoots at Memorial Stadium – Bullock spoke about the fact that Matt Rhule and Co. put him on scholarship.

“It means the world to me,” Bullock said. “I’ve been working for this day ever since I got here. It was awesome to be able to share that with my teammates, and I’m very appreciative of Coach Rhule for that. … Growing up as a Nebraska kid, that was my team. That’s all I watched. It means the world. It was my dream to play here. I don’t take it for granted at all. It’s a dream come true for me.”

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Bullock burst onto the scene very early on in spring ball. After just three practices, defensive coordinator Tony White mentioned Bullock as one of the players making a position switch (Bullock moved from safety/nickel to linebacker) who had caught his attention the most. That carried itself throughout spring ball and afterward, which culminated in Rhule labeling Bullock as “a starting caliber player” and “one of the best players on our team this spring.”

Rhule said that the move from safety to linebacker “unlocked a whole future” for Bullock. The fifth-year Husker agreed during this recent interview that he feels at home in his new position. When asked how he earned the coaching staff’s attention during the offseason and during spring ball, he had a fairly simple answer.

“I just try to work as hard as I can all the time,” Bullock said. “It sounds very cliché, but that’s just the truth. I just try to go out there and give my all, play for my teammates and that’s just my mindset going through it – give it my all for me and my teammates.”

Bullock also peeled back the curtain a bit on the scene during that day in early May when Rhule gave him the news that he – along with tight end Nate Boerkircher – were being put on scholarship. He didn’t know what was coming for him when Rhule called a team meeting. He simply followed instructions, showed up, and boom. Life-changing day.

“I’m not gonna lie, I had no idea,” Bullock said. “I was just there, Coach Rhule wanted to meet so I’m just like, ‘OK, I’m there.’ He brought it up, and I was excited. … It was great. I didn’t expect it. I’m not the one to really expect anything. I’m just here to work and get better every day, and hopefully we can come out and win some games on top of that.

“I’ve just always been taught, my dad and my parents growing up, just told me to work as hard as I can, listen to coaches, be coachable and everything will work out for itself. I’ve just been living by that ever since I was young, and it’s just stuck with me through college. Now I’m here today. It’s awesome. It’s been a journey.”

Seeing the reaction from his teammates made the moment a bit more special

“I go to war with those guys every day, so it’s all love with them,” Bullock said. “It was amazing to share that moment with them. It was very enjoyable.”

Bullock has only made one media appearance at Memorial Stadium since he joined the program out of Creighton Prep as a walk-on in 2019. During that April 6 press conference, Bullock showed himself to be a straight forward guy and talked pretty succinctly. He gave off a vibe that he doesn’t care about the flash or the cameras. He’s just there to hit people and play football.

That’s the same aura he had over two months later. He may have leveled up to scholarship status, but that isn’t going to change his personality or his approach. Now, though, he recognizes that it’s time to kick things up a notch.

“It doesn’t change my mindset,” Bullock said. “I’m still gonna be the person I am. Nothing changes. I’m always gonna keep working for them. But now that I could be taking a bigger role and bigger step, now I probably need to pay a little bit more attention to how I’m going about things and being a good role model for other players and the younger guys.”

Bullock is set to compete for a spot on the two-deep during fall camp, perhaps even a starting linebacker job. That opportunity was earned, and it was also good timing as he enters his fifth year as part of White’s 3-3-5 defense that tailors to his strengths seamlessly.

“I’m just a guy that likes to fly around a lot, and that’s what his defense allows you to do,” Bullock said. “So I love just being able to run, being able to hit, make a hit, just be physical, knowing your assignment.”

White was hired in early December to be the Huskers’ defensive coordinator. Bullock came away excited when he was first made aware of the news and looked into White’s schemes. So far, that’s proven to be a good gut feeling for Bullock.

“When I heard about it, I was just like, ‘OK, yeah, this sounds like a defense I could play in,’” Bullock said. “And then I actually started getting reps in it and was like, ‘OK, I really like this a lot.’ It’s unbelievable. I love it. It’s about as good as it gets.”

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