LINCOLN, Neb. — Annually since Nebraska’s postseason drought began seven years ago, its fans have received one opportunity between November and August to watch the Huskers in a football game. Or something that resembles it.
It’s here. The spring game weekend has arrived. Let’s play football. On Saturday at 11 a.m., Nebraska will scrimmage in front of a crowd of larger than 55,000 at Memorial Stadium. And second-year coach Matt Rhule will not minimize this moment.
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It’s not a throwaway practice or a celebration, according to Rhule.
“The goal is to play a game,” he said. “There are two teams. … I’m looking for a high standard of football.”
Quarterbacks will not take hits. Veteran players held out of most live action this spring will get at least one repetition of work, Rhule said. Offensive linemen will likely wear grey jerseys that allow them to switch between the Red and White squads.
A consistent Rhule message of this offseason still stands: The Huskers remain a 5-7 team until they prove otherwise. Rhule expects clean performances from the first-, second- and third-teamers.
“If it’s ugly,” Rhule said, “then we didn’t accomplish what we wanted to this spring.”
Day 14 ✅#GBR x #WhatsNExt! pic.twitter.com/CdKIoJfpje
— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFootball) April 25, 2024
Here are five items to keep an eye on Saturday:
The QB shuffle. Rhule played coy last week when asked to reveal the identity of the quarterback who directed a 99-yard drive in Nebraska’s second major scrimmage of the spring. He said he did not remember. Unprompted, the coach answered Thursday, saying Heinrich Haarberg and Dylan Raiola both led touchdown drives that began at the 1-yard line.
Rhule is looking for more of the same on Saturday.
“I can’t change the name, because the marketing department would kill me,” Rhule said, “but this isn’t like the Red-White game for me; it’s like the red-and-white shootout. I know we’ll be able to run the ball. I want to see if we can throw the ball.”
Look for Haarberg, Raiola and Daniel Kaelin to split work on Saturday, without a hint provided by the coaching staff of a top candidate to start in the fall. Rhule said last week that he wants the race to extend into August.
Raiola and Kaelin, early enrolling freshmen, have impressed the Huskers through the winter and 14 practices of spring. Rhule dismissed the notion that Saturday would serve as a launching point for Raiola, the five-star-rated newcomer.
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“Fans I meet, I’m sure they’re excited to see Dylan play,” Rhule said. “But they come to the warmups here because they want to see all the players. We don’t love any one player more than anyone else.”
No player faces more scrutiny than the starting quarterback at Nebraska. Rhule said he’s eager for the freshmen to learn about the pressures that Haarberg managed in starting eight games last season.
“You want to be the starting quarterback at Nebraska? You better be ready to deal with the heat,” Rhule said.
“You guys (in the media) don’t talk to (Isaac) Gifford after every game. You don’t talk to Nash (Hutmacher) after every game. You talk to me and the quarterback. And so the two people with the most pressure are me and the quarterback. If a freshman’s starting, they better learn it now.”
GO DEEPERHas Nebraska found clarity at QB and RB this spring?The Huskers’ handling of big moments. Last year, Nebraska too often mismanaged the end of games and came up empty in key spots.
“The Tuesday-Wednesday Huskers last year were better than the Saturday Huskers,” Rhule said.
When players made mistakes in practice, Rhule said, they shrugged it off and moved on. In games, mistakes led to feelings of doubt and fears of failure.
It’s Rhule’s job and the job of his staff to fix the Huskers’ mindset. He’s doubled down this offseason to integrate competition into every aspect of their work.
“That’s also our players’ job,” he said. “So I’m very much excited to see us play in front of a crowd.”
His challenge to the Huskers? “Do what you’ve been doing all spring.”
For instance, Nebraska practiced extensively with the headset-to-helmet communication system recently ruled legal by the NCAA. It will use the technology on Saturday to simulate a real-time game.
“I want this operation to flow,” Rhule said, “especially at the end of games.”
The recruiting impact. It’s significant. The weekend efforts received a jump start on Thursday with the commitments of 2025 prospects Bear Tenney, a 6-foot-5, 226-pound tight end out of Lehi, Utah, and athlete Tanner Terch of Littleton, Colo. Their pledges bring the number to seven for the next class at Nebraska.
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In a strategic change from last year, Nebraska plans to use several official visits this weekend. It saved officials for June a year ago, creating a barrage of commitments that continued into early July. Five-star athlete Michael Terry of San Antonio is set to visit this weekend in addition to T.J. Lateef of Orange, Calif., the Huskers’ top 2025 target at quarterback.
Four-star offensive lineman Alai Kalaniuvalu of Las Vegas Bishop Gorman is using an official visit for the spring game. Teammates Douglas Utu and SJ Alofaituli, also both offensive linemen, will visit with Kalaniuvalu.
The top uncommitted prospects in Nebraska, four-star linebacker Christian Jones of Omaha Westside, four-star tight end Chase Loftin of Millard South and tight end Reiman Zebert of Platteview will also be on campus this week.
“What an unbelievable time to be in Lincoln,” Rhule said.
GO DEEPERWhat to expect from Nebraska football in the spring transfer portal windowThe turnovers. Last year in the spring game, Nebraska fumbled eight times, losing six, and its quarterbacks threw a pair of interceptions in the 125-play scrimmage.
In hindsight, the sloppy play should have raised more red flags, but much of the attention understandably involved the transition to a new coaching regime. In the 2023 season, Nebraska committed 31 turnovers to match the highest mark in the FBS. Its turnover margin of minus-17 ranked second to last.
Ball security has improved this spring. But clearly, it remains a sensitive issue.
How is Nebraska progressing on limiting turnovers?
Marcus Satterfield doesn't want to jinx it.
"I don’t even want you to ask me stuff like that. We’ve improved," he said before knocking on the podium. "There’s not enough wood to knock on. We’ve improved."@WOWT6News #Huskers pic.twitter.com/eqTqvrfKeA
— Clayton Collier (@ClaytonJCollier) April 23, 2024
“We’ve improved,” offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield said.
Saturday ought to offer some evidence.
The defensive response. The scrimmage last Saturday provided a definitive win for the Nebraska offense. Rhule described the performance as “dominant,” featuring eight to 12 touchdowns.
Naturally, the defensive players and coaches did not take it well.
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“It was not to our standard,” senior defensive lineman Ty Robinson said.
Robinson and Hutmacher did not scrimmage. Nebraska’s top cornerback, Tommi Hill, also sat. Still, Robinson said, the defense entered this final week of practice intent to “make sure that doesn’t happen” again.
He said he saw a 180-degree turn on defense this week. The defenders’ job this spring, though, is not done until after Saturday.
“If you don’t take it seriously like a game day,” Robinson said, “I don’t think you’ll perform like a game day.”
(Photo: Dylan Widger / USA Today)
