What are Huskers are getting with Jonathan Rutledge as our special teams analyst....GBR

[CatColumbia]

Salts is a super positive guy (or gal, I don’t really know) but I guess our clustertuck of a season didn’t give him/her a reason to come back to this board. I miss the recruiting recaps from Salts.

 

[Reditus]

In the b1g our rating was..
14th (last) in Kickoff coverage.
13th in Punting. Had one blocked.
8th in Kick returns.
2nd in punt returns (and gave up a 1st dwn by not checking the punter.)
2nd in Field Goals.
We were rated 4th in PAT's but we were 20 for 20, You cant get better than 100% so really it's a tie for 1st.

A little improvement but we have a lot to fix yet. Kickoff coverage was bad. Punts not so good and coverage worse. Getting a stronger leg at Kickoff and Punter will help a lot. I wish we would pick one kick returner and go with that guy rather than potluck. The main issue is with blocking and decision making on whether to return or fair catch. Our kick returns rated better than I thought but 8th is not good as that's lower half of the league. Punt returns surprised me. I thought we would be way lower. I want to be top 3 as a goal for all categories.

https://bigten.org/stats.aspx?path=football&year=2020

 

[HominidHusker]

In the b1g our rating was..
14th (last) in Kickoff coverage.
13th in Punting. Had one blocked.
8th in Kick returns.
2nd in punt returns (and gave up a 1st dwn by not checking the punter.)
2nd in Field Goals.
We were rated 4th in PAT's but we were 20 for 20, You cant get better than 100% so really it's a tie for 1st.

Some improvement but we have a lot to fix yet. Getting a stronger leg at Kickoff and Punter will help a lot. Not sure why our Kick returns were bad. I think our returners are fine. It's something with our blocking. Punt returns surprised me a bit. I thought we would be way lower.

Giving up two 4th and long runs by a punter was inexcusable. The first one was beyond awful, but when it happened again was one of those moments for me where I genuinely questioned the competency of our coaches.

 

[leodisflowers]

I think part of the problem was Rutledge was over-ruled a lot. Heard he is legit, but not getting a legit shot to implement his plan.

 

[TruHusker]

I think part of the problem was Rutledge was over-ruled a lot. Heard he is legit, but not getting a legit shot to implement his plan.

Not sure if this is true or not but it makes zero sense. Why hire a guy and then not listen to him only to get embarrassed by the ST results. They hired him because the ST was so pathetic last year. IF he is good and IF this is true, he won't stick around long. When you read all the stats they put out on coaches who are hire they could make Bo look like a guru for this year at LSU. No coach wants to stay at a place where they are not listened to and their stock potentially goes down.

 

[MITCH492]

On the whole, all I see from special teams is "a pool of watery butt porridge". Hopefully things improve going forward.

 

[Rick.Shaw]

Jonathan Rutledge (former Auburn Tigers Special Teams analyst) and what he brings to our Huskers special teams. For those that haven’t looked him up yet....

“Rutledge came to Nebraska after spending the past four seasons as a special teams analyst in the SEC. He guided Auburn’s special teams the past two seasons with impressive results. Football Outsiders ranked the Tigers’ special teams among the nation’s top 15 units in each of Rutledge’s two seasons, including 13th in 2019 and 14th in 2018.

“In 2019, Auburn was especially strong in the return game. Christian Tutt averaged 13.6 yards on his 23 punt returns, ranking fifth in the country in punt return average and first among all players with more than 20 returns. Noah Igbinoghene averaged 35.2 yards per kickoff return. Igbinoghene fell just short of the required minimum to be included in the NCAA statistical rankings, but the 2019 national leader averaged 33.2 yards per return, two fewer than Igbinoghene.”

“In Rutledge’s first season at Auburn, the Tigers led the nation with seven blocked kicks, including four blocked punts. Auburn also boasted the nation’s most improved punting unit, ranking fifth nationally in net punting in 2018 after ranking 115th in the same category in 2017, before Rutledge arrived. A big reason for Auburn’s improvement was a punt return defense that ranked ninth nationally by allowing fewer than 3.4 yards per return. Individually, punter Arryn Siposs was a Ray Guy Award nominee and kicker Anders Carlson ranked 11th nationally in touchback percentage.”

“Rutledge joined Auburn after spending two seasons as Missouri’s special teams analyst. In 2017, Missouri dominated the punting game. Punter Corey Fatony was a Ray Guy Award semifinalist, and the Tigers’ punt return unit ranked third nationally, averaging more than 16.5 yards per return. In 2016, Missouri ranked 13th in the country in net punting and 14th in punt returns.”

“Prior to his four seasons in the SEC, Rutledge spent two seasons as a graduate assistant in charge of wide receivers and special teams at North Carolina. The Tar Heels’ special teams were ranked as the No. 2 unit in the country in 2015. North Carolina was nearly as good in 2014, when it ranked 10th nationally in kickoff return defense, 16th in blocked punts and 18th in punt return defense. Individually, Tar Heel kicker Nick Weiler was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award in 2015.”

“Rutledge also served as a graduate assistant at Memphis for two seasons, coaching the tight ends and overseeing the special teams. Memphis’ kickers excelled under Rutledge, as punter Tom Hornsey was the 2013 Ray Guy Award winner as the nation’s top punter, while Jake Elliott was a Lou Groza Award semifinalist the same season as a freshman.”

“Rutledge began his coaching career at Ole Miss, his alma mater. After serving as a football manager for the Rebels as an undergraduate, Rutledge was hired as an offensive quality control specialist upon his graduation, working with the Ole Miss quarterbacks in 2011.”

“A Mississippi native, Rutledge graduated from Ole Miss in 2011 with a degree in secondary education with an emphasis in social studies. He and his wife Kaylon have an infant daughter, Harper. Kaylon earned both a bachelor and master’s degree from North Carolina.”

Jonathan Rutledge Huskers.com

About the same as they are getting from me and I don’t work for the University of Neb. In fact I really don’t have any influence on special teams or any other aspect of the FB program. But in reality Jonathan in 2020 = me. If that makes any sense.