Steven Sipple: If there’s a Lincoln-Omaha divide in Husker Nation, Rhule wants to eradicate it

Things I know, and things I think I know: Nebraska football was responsible for a pleasant scene Saturday in eastern Omaha.

“The best players are the ones you have to tell things to the least,” Husker second-year head coach Matt Rhule told a gym of young players on hand for his program’s Omaha Youth Camp (grades 3-8) at Norris Middle School.

Rhule, seemingly always full of energy, emphasized the importance of “listening with your eyes.”

“Always look at the coach,” the 49-year-old Rhule told a group of sixth-through-eighth graders right before they took the field on which Husker great Ahman Green once excelled. “Look at the person giving you directions. Take in the information, and then go do it.”

He told the kids — a total of 390 in two sessions — it was an honor for him to be there.

What a beautiful thing to say, and you know he meant it.

“You know, we do the youth camp at our place (Memorial Stadium), right?” Rhule told me during a break in the action. “I just thought that when you start thinking about Omaha, specifically getting into North Omaha, it seemed important for us to do. As I talked to some people, there was talk of doing something like this for years, and (they) hadn’t done it. So, I said we should break that barrier down.”

The camp was initially set for Omaha Central High School, but NCAA rules dictated a move to Norris.

“There should be no Omaha-Lincoln divide at all,” Rhule continued, addressing a topic that’s cropped up in recent years. “We should all be one accord, which we have been. We have some great things going already. But I wanted to get here and wanted to show that hey, we’re here and giving back. It’s been fun.”

Nebraska cornerback Blye Hill will likely return in time to see action in 2024, Matt Rhule says

Rhule praises Keith Williams for organizing event

Rhule praised former Nebraska offensive lineman Keith Williams, the Huskers’ director of player personnel, for organizing the camp. Williams runs recruiting for NU’s program under Rhule.

“This is really just long-term recruiting,” Rhule said. “Someday the kids that are here, maybe we’ll recruit them. Maybe they’ll be fans. We want them all to be Huskers.”

Said Williams, “It’s always good to get back in here, in the inner city of Omaha, and have relationships with former players like Abdul Muhammad. I’m able to build those relationships and come down here and talk to these kids.

“It’s big for us. One thing coach Rhule wanted to do is reach out to everybody in the state of Nebraska. I feel like us coming down to Omaha, it shows we really mean what we say. We want players to stay home, and this is how we do it.”

A total of 32 of Nebraska’s current players volunteered to help at the camp. Standout receiver Jaylen Lloyd , a sophomore from Omaha Westside, was among several Huskers who shook hands with campers right before Rhule addressed them prior to the afternoon session. That sort of personal interaction is something a kid might never forget.

“Think about Jaylen Lloyd,” Rhule said. “He’s playing football. He’s on the track team, getting ready for the Big Ten meet. And here he is, obviously giving back to his own community.

“These players do it on their own.”

Rhule posed for photos with campers. His face had to be sore from smiling.

That’s a good kind of sore.

I took the coach’s advice and listened with my eyes. To be sure, this was a pleasant scene in Omaha.

“It’s nice to see them on this side of 72nd street,” a parent of a camper told me, referring to a main Omaha thoroughfare that runs north and south.

Your ears pick up interesting things, too.

Rhule shares one of Blye Hill’s positive traits

The news Rhule shared Saturday on Blye Hill — that the cornerback likely will be able to play at some point in 2024, perhaps even in September — was a jolt of positive energy for Husker Nation.

By the way, Hill is an example of a player you don’t have to instruct over and over.

“You say, ‘Hey, line up one yard inside (the receiver) and four yards off,’ and he does it,” Rhule said. “Some guys are 10 yards off. Blye is one of those guys who does what you ask of him. So, instead of having to remind them what to do, you’re going to help them take the next step.”

Which helps explain why Hill has ascended so quickly in the program.

Plus, “He definitely has a lot of ability,” Rhule said.

Even Rhule surprised by lack of portal attrition

Nebraska lost only four players to the transfer portal in the latest open period. Yes, four. That’s a very low number.

Even Rhule was surprised it was that low.

He noted only two of the four were scholarship players — linebacker Chief Borders and offensive guard Ru’Quan Buckley , a pair of reserves.

“I love the walk-ons, but I don’t ever count that because the guys who were walk-ons, they might want to go play,” the coach said. “I’m always like, ‘Hey, if you want to look and come back …’ Some of these guys maybe are looking for an opportunity to get a scholarship at a smaller level.

“But the two scholarship players who left, Chief and Ru’Quan, both graduated. This wasn’t, ‘Hey, I didn’t finish what I started.’ They both finished. They’re both Huskers through and through. They’re alums.

“Both handled it the right way.”

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