Tag: ed foley

Huskers coach Matt Rhule outlines kicking plans for Saturday

The Huskers will take a dual-kicker approach on Saturday.

Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule offered some clarity regarding the team’ kicking situation on Thursday afternoon. He told reporters that the program could use two kickers on Saturday. John Hohl could kick from farther out, and Tristan Alvano could handle shorter kicks. Rhule expects Hohl to handle kickoffs, as reported by the Omaha World-Herald’s Bland.

Discussions about the kicking battle continued throughout training camp. Hohl impressed both special teamteam’sches, Ed Foley and Rhule.

Alvano has been battling injuries over the course of the past couple of months. Foley indicated that Alvano would probably be ready for SatuSaturday’sner, although that would be decided prior to game time.

At the very least, this gives the Huskers the opportunity to see what they have in both kickers. It also does not force Alvano to rush back as he recovers from injury. Kickoff for SatuSaturday’se is set for 3:30 PM

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Husker coach Ed Foley discusses emergence of kicker John Hohl

Ed Foley is pleased with the progress of John Hohl.

Nebraska football special teams coordinator Ed Foley met with the media on Tuesday and gave some updates on his unit. This included sophomore kicker Tristan Alvano, who has been battling injuries.

Foley noted that the kicker has been kicking the ball this week and should make it in time for the August 31 opener.  He was also impressed with the way John Hohl has been kicking the football.

Hohl has been discussed quite a bit over the past couple of days, with Matt Rhule giving him props earlier this week.

It appears that Foley also likes what Hohl brings to the table. He discussed his progression from when the Huskers first recruited him to now.

He was on our radar and we knew him for probably a year,” Foley said. “With really seeing him do what he can do, our camp. He came in for the camp, and was working with our guys during the Matt Rhule Football Camp that second week in June. He was a monster in that workout. He just looked really good. It’s not as random as ‘see how he does, through the course of that camp.’ He actually came to two camps. We watched him make pressure kicks and he did the circuit, so he’s out there with guys like Jamie Kohl. We’ve seen him in some high pressure situations in addition to what I saw with my own eyes. But, to equate that to 87,000 in the stadium, that’s something we have to see like what we did with Tristan (Alvano) last year.”

It will be interesting to see how Hohl figures into the equation, especially given how Alvano had such a big role in the kicking game last year. Depth is never a bad thing when it comes to special teams, and it could prove useful, with Alvano still recovering from injury.

Hohl’s emergence also goes back to the coaching staff’s recruiting strategy. This staff never seems to leave any stone unturned when it comes to recruiting, and this is a situation where it could pay big dividends.

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Recapping Ed Foley’s recruiting trip across Nebraska

Nebraska special teams coach Ed Foley continues to remain aggressive on the recruiting trail

Nebraska special teams coach Ed Foley remains aggressive on the recruiting trail. The second-year Husker coach has been making visits to high schools all across the state of Nebraska.

Recruiting never stops, even after a player commits to a school. A coaching staff has to remain in constant contact with prospective recruits and committed players.

In their first year under Foley, Nebraska’s kickoff return defense was ranked No. 42 in the nation, surrendering 18.19 yards per return while ranking No. 14 in kickoff returns with an average of 23.92 yards per return.

The Cornhuskers punt return defense ranked No. 64 in the country while giving up 7.58 yards per return. The unit that struggled the most in 2023 was the punt return game, which averaged 3 yards per return for a national ranking of No. 121 overall.

Find a recap of Ed Foley’s trips around Nebraska below.

Nebraska to announce starting kicker Tuesday

Nebraska has yet to name a starting kicker for the season opener at Minnesota.

Nebraska has yet to name a starting kicker for the season opener at Minnesota. Junior Timmy Bleekrode and freshman Tristan Alvano are battling the top position on the depth chart.

Special teams coach Ed Foley said that head coach Matt Rhule will name the starter on Tuesday.

I have a good idea of who it’s going to be, but I’m going to let coach talk about that position tomorrow from a final standpoint of the decision. We still have one more day, and we’re going to look at a couple of things. We’ve got it down to where we need it to be.

Last season, Bleekrode went 9 of 12 on-field goals while converting 34 of 35 extra-point attempts. Alvano made headlines earlier this year when he went five-for-five on field goals in Omaha Westside’s 43-41 win over Gretna in the NSAA State Championship game.

During his senior year, Alvano was 16-20 in field goals with a career-long of 57 yards. He also received scholarship offers from the Air Force, Army, and Boston College.

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What we learned from Steve Wilks’ 1st presser as Panthers interim HC

Who fired Phil Snow? Will Sam Darnold be the starting QB? And is Luke Kuechly joining the coaching staff? Panthers interim HC Steve Wilks answered those questions on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Steve Wilks took the podium for the first time since being named interim head coach of the Carolina Panthers. And, of course, he had some doozies to answer to.

Here are the top takeaways from Wilks this afternoon.

Panthers fire DC Phil Snow

Two of Matt Rhule’s longtime assistants, Phil Snow and Ed Foley, will also be joining the former Panthers HC on the unemployment line.

The Carolina Panthers may be moving towards removing all traces of Matt Rhule.

Just a few hours after the team announced Rhule’s firing from their head-coaching position, we’ve learned defensive coordinator Phil Snow is on the outs as well. As first reported by Ellis L. Williams of The Charlotte Observer, and later confirmed by NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, Rhule’s righthand man has been dismissed.

After working under Rhule as a defensive coordinator for seven years between Temple University and Baylor University, Snow made the jump to the Panthers alongside his buddy in 2020.

With Snow then at the helm of Carolina’s defense, the franchise saw some encouraging results from its young unit. The group ranked 18th in total defense in 2020, second in 2021 and currently sit 20th through five games in 2022.

As noted by Williams, the team also parted ways with assistant special teams coach Ed Foley—another of Rhule’s college disciples.

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