Rhule gives post-spring evaluations at every level of Nebraska defense

Matt Rhule spoke to the local media for about 12 minutes immediately following the April 22 spring game. On Monday night, Rhule made his second media appearance since the official end of spring ball and this time talked for about an hour on Huskers Radio Network.

Among other discussion points – like transfer departures – Rhule shared his post-spring thoughts on his personnel. He wasn't asked about the receivers, but he touched on every other position group heading into summer workouts that begin on May 30.

The following is a rundown of his evaluations on the defensive side of the ball. Be sure to check out his thoughts on the offensive position groups.

It's the dawn of a new day for the Husker defensive line, and part of that new day features some brand-new players – or some brand-new roles.

The latter became one of the most prominent spring storylines to emerge as two players – Brodie Tagaloa and AJ Rollins – switched from tight end to defensive line. Each of them shined well enough to garner praise from Rhule, who watched as both made plays throughout spring practice and in the Red-White game.

“I’m a big Brodie Tagaloa fan," Rhule said. "He plays the game with a relentlessness. I told Terrance Knighton, ‘Hey, don’t coach it out of him, man. Let’s not overcoach this guy.’ He just has a natural feel. Great D-linemen, they have the ability to just kind of change their body. They can turn sideways, they can raise and lower, and Brodie has all that. He was a guy that was injured, he wasn’t there during the winter program very much – at least not full – and wasn’t there the first part of spring. Really excited about him.

“(Rollins) has the ability, as a defensive lineman, to always have his feet moving. He’s a guy, to me, the sky’s the limit. I think he’ll leave here as a 265-270 pound player as he continues to grow. Like any move, there’ll be some highs and some lows, but I was happy that he had some success so that he can confirm what he hopefully already knew – that he can do this.”

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Both of those decisions, and the one to move Janiran Bonner from receiver to hybrid tight end, were the result of a Rhule program staple at past jobs – an internal audit to determine if guys would be more successful at a different position.

"At the end of the day, as a coach you can sit around and say, ‘We don’t have this, we don’t have that,’" Rhule said. "Sometimes the best place you can look is on your own roster, there’s guys that can help you. I’m really proud of this team. They were willing to try new positions.”

While Tagaloa and Rollins have a chance to carve out a bigger role for themselves by parlaying a strong spring into a stronger summer, the veterans of the D-line need to step up in a big way for the group to improve into a well-rounded unit.

“I thought Nash (Hutmacher) was really special all spring, and there’s a bunch of young guys that we know can play," Rhule said. "We need the older players – the Blaise Gunnersons, all those guys – to lead the young guys, and we need the young guys to come along. We’ll play a lot of guys on defense, and we’ll play a lot of guys on the defensive line and try to just keep throwing waves at people. We’ll get better as the year goes on and hopefully hit our stride – hopefully on the 31st – and just keep working to be one of those teams that keeps getting better and better and better and better.”

Hutmacher is one of the core veterans who already did some stepping up throughout spring ball. Another (Ty Robinson) will get his first chance in fall camp after being sidelined following offseason shoulder surgery, and Rhule is amped up to see his fit in the new schemes.

“Ty, when I got here, he was just a pretty special player," Rhule said. "I think this defense allows him to have the versatility. He can be a zero-nose, he can be a three-technique, he can be a five-technique. As guys look at, ‘How do I expand my NFL options when I’m done,’ that versatility’s really important. Ty is a guy we’re expecting to be a leader and be a really good player on our defense.”

We're burying one of the premier leads of Rhule's entire radio appearance.

All the talk of a certain Omaha walk-on out of Creighton Prep was never just a fun spring storyline written to pass the time. The guy can play. He proved as much after an offseason position switch that eventually resulted in a starting spot in the spring game.

“John Bullock was one of the best players on our team this spring," Rhule said. "John Bullock’s a starting caliber player. He’s a guy that will have a future, hopefully at the next level. Making that move for him from safety to linebacker unlocked a whole future."

Bullock's rise into a prominent role is one piece of a large puzzle at the linebacker spot, where veterans Luke Reimer and Nick Henrich are set to return to a group nipping at their heels.

"You saw some glimpses of MJ Sherman, Jimari Butler, Chief Borders, Garrett Snodgrass," Rhule said. "We have a lot of guys that I know can go out there and play. Mikai (Gbayor's) another young player. I don’t mean to single anybody out or forget anybody, but there’s gonna be a lot of competition at linebacker heading into the fall. The way that we practice will give guys an opportunity to show what they can do.”

The Huskers' secondary is the largest personnel group in terms of numbers. That resulted in some battles during practice – notably at cornerback, where two guys picked up where they left off and continue to hold the reins at the No. 1 and 2 outside spots as the Huskers look for depth to emerge.

“You have a couple guys that are really established like Quinton Newsome," Rhule said. "To me, Malcolm Hartzog’s why you get into coaching. He’s a guy who won (Outstanding Male Freshman Athlete) at the Lied awards. Excellent student, he’s great in the weight room, takes care of himself on and off the field. He played really well last year. We have some really good pieces like that.

"There’ll be a lot of competition. But competition is good. Competition breeds confidence, it breed success. The summer will be important for those guys, and then we’ll get into the season. It’s gonna take more than just a couple guys. Like every team, we’ll have some guys get banged up, we’ll have some injuries. I’m not working in one-year cycles. I’m trying to do this thing the right way for the long term. So those young players and those older players, just get them on the field, let them develop, and I think we could have a really good defense for a long time.”

Secondary coach Evan Cooper said in December during his first Husker press conference that he felt there were "NFL players" in Nebraska's defensive backs group. He never gave names, and he later side-stepped a question about having NFL-caliber players on during his second presser in March. Rhule, though, backed Cooper's initial winter assertion of the talent in that room.

“Quinton’s an NFL player. We have NFL players in there," Rhule said. "We just have to get them to play to their potential here in college. That’s the biggest thing is letting them know, ‘Hey, we see the potential. We have a vision for what you can be, but this is the expectation and the standard for how we expect you to play now.’ The expectation in the NFL is to play really good in college. Sometimes guys don’t believe that. They think they’re just gonna go run fast at the (NFL) Combine, do this and do that. I’ve sat in those (NFL) rooms. They look at your film. They don’t look at how many catches you had, they look at your film. So getting guys to play at the highest level so that they generate a lot of interest. And then we play Nebraska defense.”

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