3 things Nebraska fans should want to hear from Matt Rhule at Big Ten Media Days

Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule will address the media for the fourth time at Big Ten Media Days on Thursday at 11:30 AM CST on the Big Ten Network.

Rhule will give a short intro speech, then he will field questions before going out into more breakout sessions. That’s when the players will be asked questions, too. Andrew Marshall, Justin Evans, and Luke Lindenmeyer will accompany Rhule to Chicago.

It will be interesting to see the vibe of the program. There is plenty of optimism inside of it, but not much on the outside. Many expect another 7-win season, or even fewer wins than that.

Talking about football doesn’t matter as much as playing football, but Big Ten Media Days feel like the unofficial start to the 2026 season. Fall camp starts next week, and here are three things Nebraska football fans should want to hear from Rhule.

The status of Mehki Nelson

Nebraska AD Troy Dannen said that Nelson doesn’t face any punishment from the athletic department. He did clarify that it is different from the head coach. In the past, Nelson has been suspended two other times.

Even if Rhule decides to impose another suspension, one wouldn’t think it would be more than a game or two after the charges against Nelson were dropped, and the athletic department isn’t going to impose any punishment.

Surely, Rhule will be asked about Nelson’s status. Hopefully, we actually get an answer.

Stay away from bold proclamations

Rhule is pretty good at this, but he will go off about how Dylan Raiola wasn’t getting enough attention. He will say things that go viral. It might not matter, but he does need to avoid making predictions about his team.

Fans are tired of hearing it. They don’t want to hear that this is Matt Rhule’s best team. Husker fans want to see it. Tickets are getting harder to sell, and fans need something to cheer for.

Rhule should talk about what the Huskers need to do, but avoid any kind of attention-getting statement.

No more Frost talk

Beyond anything else, I don’t want to hear Rhule evoking the Frost era as an excuse. He said Nebraska football was a “dead program for 10 years” earlier this offseason when a reporter suggested that firing both of his line coaches, getting a new quarterback, and a new DC was a reset (Steve Sipple).

Rhule does the thing that presidents often do — he blames the guy before him. It works for a while, but it’s year four now. Some of the players he recruited to Nebraska are seniors.

Frost left a mess. No question about it. However, what happens now is on Rhule. He’s been given plenty of runway and resources,  and I, for one, am sick of looking backward.

Beyond that, take everything with a grain of salt, and let’s move on to fall camp.

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