Dylan Raiola and 5 more Nebraska football camp storylines

Nebraska football opens its 2024 training camp this week. It’s coach Matt Rhule’s second year at NU. His Temple and Baylor track record shows improvement from Year 1 to Year 2.

As NU tries to make the leap from 5-7 to a bowl berth, here are six camp storylines to watch:

When Rhule and offensive coordinators Marcus Satterfield and Glenn Thomas decide to name a starting quarterback — and a backup.

True freshman Dylan Raiola should win this race — he brings the arm talent and poise the Huskers need — but keep an eye on how long it takes for Rhule and Co. to make an announcement.

Do they drag it out until Aug. 26, game week? Do they name it Aug. 16, just before 2025 five-star offensive tackle David Sanders, a close Raiola buddy, is set to announce his commitment between four schools? How long does it take for Raiola to differentiate himself from Heinrich Haarberg, Daniel Kaelin and Jalyn Gramstad?

Speaking of Gramstad — does the NAIA All-American have enough short-term juice to win the backup job, allowing the Huskers to use Haarberg in a variety of on-field offensive roles?

Rhule had an incredulous look on his face at Big Ten Media Days when recounting the conversations he has with other college coaches.

“What do you mean,” he said, “you don’t believe in NIL?”

NIL is the law of the land — the rule of the sport.

So, given that players can make money from collectives, Nebraska is going to embrace 1890, Nebraska’s oldest and primary collective. As such, 1890 is holding what amounts to a fundraiser practice on Aug. 3, where fans who want to pay $25 can head into Memorial Stadium and watch the Huskers work out.

Can Nebraska draw 10,000 in 90-degree heat? That’d be $250,000 in gate receipts.

Nebraska would like to rely more on a four-man rush and less on the cat-and-mouse game of blitzes.

The Huskers have decent interior pass rushers in Ty Robinson, Nash Hutmacher, Elijah Jeudy and Jimari Butler play inside and outside.

Can the Huskers get a little more from edge rushers like Cam Lenhardt, Princewill Umanmielem, MJ Sherman, James Williams and more?

Again: Nebraska defensive coordinator Tony White knows how to manufacture pressure. NU wants to more often generate it with four guys and play a variety of coverages behind it. It’ll help with takeaways.

If you hear special teams coordinator Ed Foley holding back on effusive praise of either punter Brian Buschini and kicker Tristan Alvano, it could be more of the same in 2024 as it was in 2023, when both had consistency issues.

Nebraska has some guys in camp — Kamdyn Koch at punter, John Hohl and Nico Ottomanelli at kicker — to push the incumbents.

Let’s presume Nebraska football escapes the injury bug that bit the receiver and running back rooms in 2024. If so, Rhule and his staff feel good — exceedingly so — about the options at both. NU’s staff also can’t put seven of ‘em on the field at once. Expect the battle at back, tight end and receiver to be fierce.

“They’re going to have to go battle for what they want,” Rhule said at Big Ten Media Days. “Everyone won’t be happy every day. We won’t be able to spread the ball around to everyone. But the best guys will play.”

At wideout, Jahmal Banks and Isaiah Neyor arrive with their 6-foot-4, 220-pound frames and immediately provide a challenge for Malachi Coleman, who grew mightily as a true freshman but lacks the season of Banks and Neyor. Isaiah Garcia-Casteneda is smooth after the catch, Janiran Bonner was a blue-chip receiver out of high school. Jacory Barney and Jaylen Lloyd will do battle as the take-the-top-off guy. And while Carter Nelson is all the rage of the media, how many plays can he get with what’s in front of him?

At back, Emmett Johnson finished the 2023 season and likely starts 2024 as the frontrunner. Rahmir Johnson — featured in the “Chasing 3” documentary — could catch Emmett Johnson quickly. Rahmir has grit, smarts, a sweet tooth for contact — but he gets hurt. If he’s truly put the bad luck behind him — and sometimes guys do — he can be a weapon. Gabe Ervin and Dante Dowdell are the big backs. Ervin, off a torn hip, may not be at top form when camp starts.

Again, it should be a heck of a camp competition. They won’t play equally. Who emerges? Who falters? Late August will have all the feels.

Nebraska has one starting cornerback, Tommi Hill, and signed FCS transfer Blye Hill last winter to become the second starter. Then Blye Hill got hurt, prompting the Huskers to sign another corner, USC’s Ceyair Wright, this summer.

Wright started for the Trojans and probably didn’t come cheap to the Big Red. But he’ll be one of the favorites to play corner opposite Tommi Hill.

Provided he fits John Butler’s vision of a good corner.

Under previous defensive backs coach Evan Cooper, Nebraska stockpiled nearly 30 scholarship or scholarship-in-kind players to battle for playing time at five spots.

Not only does Butler have to manage a giant room, but that group of players will have to adjust to Butler’s personality and position preferences.