Matt Rhule has never been shy about talking up Nebraska as an ideal location for him and future recruits. Recent comments made by the Nebraska head coach reiterate his love for Cornhusker state, while at the same time failing to close the door on the Penn State job. While his comments following the firing of James Franklin sounded like predictable coach speak, they merely suggested that he does not intend on commenting on prospective job possibilities elsewhere, publicly.
Rhule’s name as a possible coaching candidate for Penn State came in large part to his ties to that program. Coach Rhule was a walk-on at Penn State during the Joe Paterno era. In addition, Rhule met his future wife at Penn State and is good friends with Athletic Director Pat Kraft. Rhule and Kraft began their relationship 23 years ago when Kraft hired Rhule at Temple four years before Rhule would make a name for himself at Baylor.
Rhule has been a welcomed addition to Nebraska, and the feeling has been mutual. Rhule is 17-14 with Nebraska, including the 5-1 start they are currently on. Rhule’s resume wouldn’t preclude him from consideration with Penn State but it does fall short of frontrunner candidate status. In recent comments made by Rhule, he reiterated his affection for Nebraska but doesn’t exactly address the Penn State job specifically.
"I absolutely love it here,” Rhule said, "and I just want us to continue to take the steps needed for us to turn this thing into a beast and have players all across the country want to come here with the best facilities. We have elite fans. I’m just looking at the future, but again, I love that place (Penn State), I love Pat (Kraft), I love James Franklin and am sad that came to an end. I wish him the absolute best. But I’m really happy here."
Rhule’s Cornhuskers are 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten. With quality wins against now ranked Cincinnati and a close loss to Michigan, Nebraska is a good but not great position within the Big Ten standings. Just on the outside of the top tier of Ohio State, Indiana, Oregon and USC. Nebraska travels to the USC in a few weeks and their penultimate matchup vs Penn State is looking very different than it did a month ago.
Next on the schedule is Minnesota before taking on the same Northwestern team that just beat Penn State prior to the James Franklin firing. Nebraska at Minnesota kicks off at 6:00pm eastern on Fox.
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