Nebraska Football has a special coach on their hands in Rutledge.
Very often, assistant coaches do not get any love. Nebraska football special-teams analyst Jonathan Rutledge certainly deserves some. After the week he has had, he definitely deserves a bit of praise.
Rutledge began his recruiting week on Monday. He was instrumental in getting punter Daniel Cerni to commit to Nebraska football. He ended the week playing a part in Nebraska getting kicker Connor Culp. In any event, it’s safe to say that he had a big week.
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When Nebraska hired him, I thought he would be used more for in-game adjustments on the special teams front. That would certainly have been a bonus if that was his singular job. Nebraska struggled on special-teams last season.
I didn’t expect him to be instrumental in getting players for special teams. I thought he would comb over data a little bit more than help recruit. Apparently, he is in Lincoln to do more than just crunch numbers.
He has managed to help revamp Nebraska’s special teams in the course of a week. To do that under regular circumstances is tough in of itself. To do that in the circumstances we are dealing with right now is both tough and impressive. This already looks like a great hire by the program, and we have not even gotten to game action yet.
Rutledge’s special-teams units have been known to have success. Now, it is very evident he is trying to build something successful at Nebraska. As noted in a report by Sam McKewon of the World-Herald , Rutledge sold Nebraska to Culp very well. Given that Nebraska football’s special teams have not been solid as of late, there is an opportunity for Culp to play right away.
"“Coach Rut thought I could help out in the kicking game, I know the reputation of the school in both football and academics and wanted to be a part of that,” Culp said."
At the end of the day, it’s all about production. However, there is no denying that Rutledge has identified ways to try and make Nebraska football better on special-teams. He identified the needs of the program, and went out and got two players that will be able to help Nebraska immensely. There is certainly something to be said for that.
It will be interesting to see if his role expands with the program. My personal guess is that he will be a behind-the-scenes type of individual. So far, he has done great work. Special teams are huge