Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule believes he has a prime NFL candidate in the form of offensive lineman Bryce Benhart.
When the Nebraska football head coach made that proclamation on Thursday after practice, more than a few eyebrows were raised. That’s because Benhart has become a favorite punching bag of some Husker fans who saw him as a weak link of an offensive line that was pretty weak as a whole for most of the 2022 season.
At the same time, it shouldn’t surprise people all that much that the new Nebraska football coach believes there’s talent on this roster. Most people believed there was a great deal of talent on the roster before Rhule arrived. It’s worth pointing out that before he was fired, former head coach Scott Frost had himself some very good recruiting classes.
The Huskers were routinely among the best 25-30 recruiting classes in the country. It’s true that Frost never had the kind of class rankings that Bill Callahan did, but talent was perceived as coming to Lincoln. That is one big reason why Frost was fired. The outcomes didn’t seem to match the talent coming in.
"“I think Bryce is an NFL player, there’s no doubt to me about that. With what we’re doing and the way we’re playing, I think it’s going to turn Bryce loose.”"
Nebraska football has an NFL offensive lineman?
Rhule’s comments don’t sound like a head coach who is coming to the defense of a maligned player by the way. That’s one of the things that has made Rhule such a breath of fresh air this winter and spring.
Rhule seems to say things because he believes them. He doesn’t make braggadocious comments about how many times a player is puking. He says things in a a way that comes off as honest. He said this about Bryce Benhart in a way that belies any awareness of how many eyebrows would be raised by the comment.
For his part, Benhart is said to have reshaped his body over the winter in ordere to be more in line with what the new Nebraska football coaching staff is looking for from its offensive linemen. Now Husker fans will just have to wait and see if this version of Benhart can make Rhule a prophet.