LINCOLN, Neb. — The task for Nebraska football players and coaches over the next five months, aside from the training and the preparation that happens from April through August, is simple: Tune it out.

Turn off the noise. Put your heads down and move forward.

I’ve had a look outside. It’s not inviting — by Nebraska standards — for anyone who isn’t actively winning a game. And until Sept. 5, that’s impossible. Based on my interactions with members of the Huskers’ famously loyal fans, some 40 to 50 percent of them have heard enough.

Nothing but wins in the fall can lift their malaise. Welcome to the dog days of an offseason filled with restlessness and impatience.

Spring practice came and went in March without the normal hype. With some help from a Huskers men’s basketball team that shattered ceilings and advanced to the Sweet 16, Matt Rhule’s team largely avoided the big stage — just as the fourth-year coach envisioned and planned.

“Float under the radar and just get better,” Rhule said halfway through spring practice.

He said he wants the Huskers to “show up every day” in an “industrious” manner.

Rhule possesses a keen understanding of the temperature around his program. I’ve wondered if he monitors it too closely. Undoubtedly, his read helps shape his demeanor in public.

This winter and spring, Rhule appeared less often on TV and radio. He made fewer cameos and stayed in the shadows when he attended NCAA Tournament games in Oklahoma City and Houston.

Social media activity from the program slowed and did not call out attention. The Huskers didn’t manufacture viral moments. This is new for Nebraska football, accustomed to cooking up spring and summer wins.

Rhule was subdued in media sessions.

“I thought they had a really good spring,” he said of the Huskers after their 118-play scrimmage Saturday at Memorial Stadium. “I thought it looked like football out there.”

“He’s got the same last name, no ‘H.’ But he does not have my genetics, I can tell you that.” 😆

Jamal Rule breaks free for the 75-yard @HuskerFootball TD while Matt Rhule is talking to our crew. pic.twitter.com/7GUyEI0V3y

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 28, 2026

He got slightly more specific about the big picture.

“Right now,” Rhule said, “we’re less looking for leadership and more looking for good football, to be quite honest. We’re looking for production. We’re looking for grit, looking for gritty guys who show up every day and want to be part of a brotherhood.”

This is not a coach who’s worried about his team. Rhule is refocused, recognizing that no goodwill or big gestures can erase the disappointment of three losses by big margins to end the season in 2025 — 37-10 at Penn State, 40-16 in Lincoln against Iowa and 44-22 against Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Yes, Nebraska played in the postseason and won seven games for a second consecutive season after seven years without doing either. But the year ended on a sour series of notes.

Whatever Rhule says about improvement is met with more skepticism than he faced in the months ahead of his first three seasons in Lincoln.

All he can do is grind. Nebraska started spring practice a full month earlier than last year. On Monday after the spring game, the Huskers held a 7:30 a.m. meeting. Their spring work is not done. It turns back to conditioning for six weeks until the semester ends, then a short break before organized team activities on the practice fields in June.

“We are in a sprint,” Rhule said.

In a vacuum, there’s reason for excitement. New quarterback Anthony Colandrea brings a degree of swag that is not contrived. He matches well with offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen, whose play calling stands to benefit from a QB with natural tendencies to take risks.

The running backs might be better than imagined after Emmett Johnson’s departure left a group with minimal experience. Colandrea’s receivers are legit. The offensive line is revitalized and more versatile, with three transfers in line to start.

Defensively, new coordinator Rob Aurich and his assistants appear more aligned than staffs in the past two seasons. The Huskers added at least two potential difference-makers among a group that is maturing up front. They reloaded nicely in the secondary.

“I think this group is pretty good,” said safety Dwayne McDougle, who arrived with Aurich after starting last year on the No. 12-ranked defense nationally at San Diego State.

McDougle paused mid-answer.

“We’re not pretty good,” he said. “I think we’re going to be great this year. I think we may be the best defense in the Big Ten. That’s my opinion.

“I think we can compete with anybody.”

Nebraska on defense last year ranked 10th in yards per play allowed (5.44), 13th in scoring (24.6 points per game) and last in rushing touchdowns allowed (30).

But McDougle likes what he sees. It’s part of his job, as a veteran defender, he said, to instill teammates with confidence. So what is he supposed to say?

“I feel like I need to be a vocal leader,” he said.

Problem is, the Huskers don’t operate in a vacuum. The people who fill Memorial Stadium — or could elect not to fill it in the fall — have perspective. Whether it’s a mature and measured perspective, that’s irrelevant.

What they think matters.

Man….Are yall gonna let us rebuild or keep criticizing every little thing , then calling yourself a “ fan” ??🤣 ! #gbr

— Antayvious “Tay” Ellis✝️ (@AntayviousEllis) March 30, 2026

Fans have seen offseason hype fizzle. Many of the Huskers and their recruits have not. The players’ and coaches’ best course of action is to turn off the noise. They’ve got plenty on their plates.

“We’ve got to train,” Rhule said. “We’ve got to get stronger. We’ve got to get healthier. And each guy knows what they have to work on.”

Tunnel vision. Otherwise, five months could get long.