Nebraska football: Don't worry about closed practices, Husker fans (2024)

Nebraska football fans have been in a frenzy for the past 48 hours after Matt Rhule announced that practice would be closed for the remainder of fall camp.

The reason? Rhule told his team that they haven't been showing up "when the lights come on." They lack the attention to detail needed to close out close games. It's a problem he's determined to fix.

He's serious about that:

With 18 days until Nebraska faces UTEP, some fans are understandably concerned about Rhule closing practice. Should they be? On August 13?

Should you be worried?

Hardly.

If there's one thing we know about Matt Rhule, it's that he's a master motivator. The man has a way with words. I mean, "If we die, we die"? C'mon on now.

Make no mistake: when Rhule publicly called out his team for their struggles in close games, it wasn’t just for show. It's exactly what he would tell them behind closed doors. But we know he uses these public moments to send a message to his team. He's told us as much.

Rhule’s concern is that his team freezes when the pressure is on—when parents are watching, when the media's cameras are rolling, when scouts are evaluating. The irony is that the team now finds itself in the spotlight, with an entire state watching, waiting, and hoping because their coach called them out.

It's exactly what Rhule wanted.

But why close practices? If the team struggles under bright lights, wouldn’t the solution be to turn the lighters brighter—more fans, more media, more scrutiny?

Not necessarily.

Closing practice is a chance for Nebraska to focus on Nebraska. No distractions. No hype. Just football. Nebraska doesn't need to start smelling itself. They don't need to worry about top 25 rankings. They don't need bystanders to fawn over how fast or strong they look.

They need to focus on their process.

"Day by day," as it says somewhere.

Fans often think that the point of fall camp is to install plays or discern the depth chart. That's a part of it. But to think those are primary is a bit shortsighted.

Those are indispensable elements to be sure. But there's something more foundational at stake.

Ultimately, fall camp is about leadership.

It goes from the head coach to assistants to the players. This time is designed to cast vision and create alignment so things like off-tackle runs, corner blitzes, and fake field goals make sense in any given context in late October.

Are Nebraska football players aligned with head coach Matt Rhule?

I can hear you objecting now: Wait a minute. Are some players not aligned? You don't think they all share the same vision?

Here's what I know: people are fickle. It's why groups need great leaders.

Then there are college students. Have you ever met one? I spent almost 9 years of my life working with them. Their frontal lobes aren't developed, which means they tend to be impulsive, lack the ability to regulate emotions, and struggle to plan for the long-term.

Sorry for the science lesson. But it's a fact that college coaches deal with on a daily basis. With 120 college students in a program, you'd be naive if you think there is 100% alignment on August 13. Or ever.

It's why Matt Rhule came back to college. He loves investing in young people. And he knows what buttons to push and when to push them.

This time he pushed the "closed practice" button. Was it on a whim? My gut says he knew he was going to do this before fall camp even started.

I can't prove that, of course. But Rhule doesn't do anything by accident. And he doesn't strike me as the type to do something because of one bad moment or practice.

He knows his team. He wants to get the most out of them. He's ready to show the country what he sees when the lights are off and the cameras aren't rolling. And he's using every leadership motivational strategy in his book of tricks to make it happen.

There's only one question. Are the Nebraska football players ready for it?