New Husker coach Matt Rhule on quarterback Jeff Sims, his offensive philosophy, fan support and more

THEIR FINAL NINE. WELL, THERE’S A REASON. MATT RHULE WELCOME. JEFF SIMMS WITH OPEN ARMS TO NEBRASKA. THE TRANSFER QUARTERBACK FROM GEORGIA TECH IS JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING RULE WANTS IN A STARTING QB AND HIS RULE TOLD ME HE JUST ABSOLUTELY LOVES MOBILE QUARTERBACKS. I MEAN THINK IT’S VITAL THINK YOU KNOW IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS TAKING SATURDAYS TO WATCH COLLEGE GAMES AND SEEING HOW MANY HOW MANY PLAYS ARE CONVERTED, HOW MANY THIRD DOWNS ARE CONVERTED WITH THE QUARTERBACK, WITH HIS LEGS. IT’S NOT ALWAYS WHEN HE DOES IT, IT’S JUST THE THREAT THAT HE COULD DO IT RIGHT. YOU HAVE TO RUSH DIFFERENTLY. YOU HAVE TO ATTACK DIFFERENTLY. SO JEFF IS A DYNAMIC ATHLET. HE’S A HE’S AN ACCURATE PASSER, BUT HE CAN REALLY RUN AND HE CAN HE CAN ATTACK DEFENSES. AND SO WHETHER IT’S HIM, WHETHER IT’S HEINICKE, WHETHER IT’S CHUBB, THEY ALL HAVE THAT ABILITY. IDEALLY, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR IDENTITY TO BE? YEAH, WE WANT TO FIRST OF ALL, WE WANT TO PROTECT THE FOOTBALL. I MEAN, WE WANT TO RUN THE FOOTBALL WITH POWER AND ESPECIALLY WHEN WE NEED TO. AND THEN WE’D LIKE TO BE EXPLOSIVE, YOU KNOW, THINK WE HAVE THE TYPE OF GUYS ON OFFENSE THAT CAN BE EXPLOSIVE IN THE PASSING GAME. WE’RE NOT AN AIR RAID TEAM. WE’RE NOT GOING TO COME OUT AND THROW IT 60 TIMES A GAME. BUT WHEN WE THROW IT, IT NEEDS TO MEAN SOMETHING. AND THEN FOR ME, I THINK OUR SEASON WILL BE DICTATED ON THE SITUATIONS, HOW WE ARE ON THIRD DOWN, RED ZONE, SHORT YARDAGE, GOAL LINE, AND THEN THE FOURTH QUARTER, YOU KNOW, YOU LOOK AT OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, JUST GAME GETS TO THE FOURTH QUARTER. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LEAD. CAN WE HOLD ON TO THAT LEAD? YOU KNOW, YOU’RE BEHIND YOU. YOU HAVE THE BALL WITH A CHANCE TO GO DOWN AND SCORE AND WIN. IT CAN WE DO THAT? SO THOSE ARE THINGS I THINK ARE REALLY IMPORTANT. BUT AT ITS CORE, YOU KNOW, WE’D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO RUN THE BALL WITH POWER AND TAKE SHOTS. YOU OKAY WITH YOU? CAN SEE MO

There's a reason new Husker coach Matt Rhule welcomed Jeff Sims with open arms to Nebraska.The transfer quarterback from Georgia Tech is just about everything Rhule wants in a starting QB — and as Rhule told KETV NewsWatch 7 — he loves mobile quarterbacks."I think it's vital. The last couple years taking Saturdays to watch college games and seeing how many ... third downs are converted by the quarterback with his legs," Rhule said. "And it's not always when he does — it's just the threat that he can do it. You have to rush differently; you have to attack differently. Jeff is a dynamic athlete, he's an accurate passer, but he can really run. And he can attack defenses. Whether it's him, whether it's Heinrich (Haarberg), whether it's Chubba (Purdy) — they all have that ability."Rhule also said he wants the Huskers' identity to be a team that protects the football and runs the ball with power — "especially when we need to.""We'd like to be explosive. We have the type of guys on offense that can be explosive in the passing game," Rhule said. "We're not an Air Raid team, we're not gonna come and throw it 60 times a game, but when we throw it, it needs to mean something."The first-year coach also said he wants Nebraska to be good situationally."For me, I think our season will be dictated on the situations — how we are on third down, red zone, short yardage, goal line," Rhule said. "Game gets to the fourth quarter, we have a lead, can we hold on to that lead? You're behind, you have the ball with a chance to go down and score and win it, can we do that? Those are things that I think are really important, but at it's core, we'd like to be able to run the ball with power and take shots."Rhule can't wait to have the support of Husker Nation both in Lincoln and on the road."I've never truly had that sort of home-field advantage where the road team can't hear, it's third down, they're having to call a timeout," Rhule said. "I've never experienced that. I've been on the other side of that. I've taken teams in to play at Notre Dame, play at Penn State — that's tough. So to have that on our back at home is awesome. To know that we probably don't have to use the silent cadence too often on the road because our fans are going to be there — that's unbelievable. You don't have that luxury very many places and we have it here. Very excited to have those moments."See more from Matt Rhule on a special edition of Chronicle this Sunday morning on KETV NewsWatch 7.Get the latest headlines from KETV NewsWatch 7

LINCOLN, Neb. —

There's a reason new Husker coach Matt Rhule welcomed Jeff Sims with open arms to Nebraska.

The transfer quarterback from Georgia Tech is just about everything Rhule wants in a starting QB — and as Rhule told KETV NewsWatch 7 — he loves mobile quarterbacks.

"I think it's vital. The last couple years taking Saturdays to watch college games and seeing how many ... third downs are converted by the quarterback with his legs," Rhule said. "And it's not always when he does — it's just the threat that he can do it. You have to rush differently; you have to attack differently. Jeff is a dynamic athlete, he's an accurate passer, but he can really run. And he can attack defenses. Whether it's him, whether it's Heinrich (Haarberg), whether it's Chubba (Purdy) — they all have that ability."

Rhule also said he wants the Huskers' identity to be a team that protects the football and runs the ball with power — "especially when we need to."

"We'd like to be explosive. We have the type of guys on offense that can be explosive in the passing game," Rhule said. "We're not an Air Raid team, we're not gonna come and throw it 60 times a game, but when we throw it, it needs to mean something."

The first-year coach also said he wants Nebraska to be good situationally.

"For me, I think our season will be dictated on the situations — how we are on third down, red zone, short yardage, goal line," Rhule said. "Game gets to the fourth quarter, we have a lead, can we hold on to that lead? You're behind, you have the ball with a chance to go down and score and win it, can we do that? Those are things that I think are really important, but at it's core, we'd like to be able to run the ball with power and take shots."

Rhule can't wait to have the support of Husker Nation both in Lincoln and on the road.

"I've never truly had that sort of home-field advantage where the road team can't hear, it's third down, they're having to call a timeout," Rhule said. "I've never experienced that. I've been on the other side of that. I've taken teams in to play at Notre Dame, play at Penn State — that's tough. So to have that on our back at home is awesome. To know that we probably don't have to use the silent cadence too often on the road because our fans are going to be there — that's unbelievable. You don't have that luxury very many places and we have it here. Very excited to have those moments."

See more from Matt Rhule on a special edition of Chronicle this Sunday morning on KETV NewsWatch 7.

Get the latest headlines from KETV NewsWatch 7

New Husker coach Matt Rhule on quarterback Jeff Sims, his offensive philosophy, fan support and more

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