Some Nebraska football family business was shared on social media on Wednesday and nobody really came out of an exchange looking good.
Of course, not looking good while in the middle of a Twitter feud is the norm. Social media is not the best place to argue about anything. It’s also not the best place to offer up an opinion that’s pitched as “a fact” but that doesn’t stop anyone either.
On Wednesday afternoon, former Nebraska football star Josh Mitchell and current Huskers DB coach Evan Cooper got into it over the fate of a young player who seems to be on the struggle bus of late.
Things got going when freshman Nebraska football defensive back Syncere Safeeullah took to Twitter to post a few pictures of himself along with a George Bernard Shaw quote saying, “Two things define you: Your patience when you have nothing and your attitude when you have everything.”
Huskers defensive backs coach Evan Cooper then quote tweeted the post and added his two cents:
Just show up to lift and meetings on time. https://t.co/vx7WDK9nut
— Evan Cooper (@evancooper2) October 18, 2023
This particular response seemed to spark former Nebraska football star Josh Mitchell to weigh in. And when he did he didn’t hold back, claiming that he can “confirm” that the coaches don’t like Safeeullah.
Nebraska football infighting goes public
That tweet prompted Cooper to fire back at Mitchell in no uncertain terms saying, “Don’t do that. He is mine and I love him. No false narratives here brother.”
Mitchell then responded to Cooper with a one-word answer:
Respect
— Focus on the process (@J_Mitch05) October 18, 2023
While the fight between old and new generations of Nebraska football could have ended right there, it soon became clear that Mitchell was at least a bit ticked off by the entire exchange, including Cooper responding to his players tweet in the first place.
https://twitter.com/J_Mitch05/status/1714735707368095750
He later “asked for a friend” how many meetings a Nebraska football player has to be late for before one of the position coaches puts a player on blast.
Finally Mitchell tried to put the exchange to rest, though he did seem to confirm that his “confirmation” that the coaches don’t like Safeeullah was just his speculation.
"I’m not in the building. Idk the kid or the coach, just based off what I read I was expressing what that meant in my perspective. He said it’s not like that so we move on"
The exchange was interesting for a number of reasons but right at the top of the list is that there seems to be some legitimate friction between Matt Rhule and his staff and some former Nebraska football players.
Last month, another former Nebraska football defensive back in Kieron Williams took to Twitter to air his grievances after visit to his old stomping grounds during the Louisiana Tech weekend.
Williams said that he felt the culture around the Huskers these days was “too corporate.”
Not long after that, former Nebraska football great Irving Fryar said that he didn’t feel as appreciated as he should.
And then of course, there was former Cornhusker Scott Shanle who made it clear he was against the Matt Rhule hiring right after it happened.
The latest exchange of barbs between Josh Mitchell and Evan Cooper stands out because it’s the first time a former player and a member current Nebraska football regime have so publicly exchanged some less-than-friendly words.