Friday Night Lights: Camp No.2 Breakdown

While a few hundred athletes worked out at Memorial Stadium during the second Friday Night Lights camp, the real show was happening in the Hawks center.

2024 quarterback Dylan Raiola, son of former Nebraska center Dominic Raiola, threw balls for a group led by head coach Scott Frost, quarterback coach Mario Verduzco and offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Matt Lubick.

Raiola has been rising through the ranks and has turned the heads of Georgia, TCU, Clemson, Washington State, Florida State and Texas. He received his first offer from Georgia on June 10.

For a young quarterback, Raiola is very accurate, has good footwork and a strong powerful arm. Of all the quarterbacks at the camp, Raiola was the clear star and once he gets the attention of coaches, it will be hard for him to shake it.

Naturally, Raiola’s performance earned him an offer to Nebraska.

2024 wide receiver I’Marion Stewart announced his offer to Nebraska a few hours after Friday Night Lights concluded. Stewart already has offers from Missouri, Arizona State, Penn State, Tennessee and Washington.

Safety Watts McBride also earned an offer after his performance on Friday. Nebraska was McBride’s first college offer. Watts also plays rugby at a high level in Iowa.

2023 quarterback Tommy Mooncotch had an accurate arm and is capable of putting some heat on his throws. He connected with several receivers with good ball placement. He made some of the receivers look good but throwing the ball perfectly into their hands.

Lincoln Southeast never disappoints. On the offensive line, Cooper Tracy did a good job of keeping his hips underneath him and defensive lineman and linebackers in front of him. He held his ground with the vast majority of pass rushers that were sent his way.

After one rep, offensive line coach Greg Austin pursed his lips and nodded his head with approval, clearly impressed. He got a low high from Austin after another rep against a defensive end that was making impressive work of most of the other offensive linemen.

Ben Brahmer couldn’t pass up another chance to get face time with his future coaches and show them what they’re slatted for. Brahmer, just like he did at the Friday Night Lights camp two weeks ago, displayed his incredible use of his lengthy body and hands. He caught maybe a dozen balls from Raiola and it was a connection that would have Husker fans weeping with joy, especially with both players in red on a Saturday in the fall.

Bellevue West’s Kyrell Jordan was a pleasant surprise on Friday night. The 2023 wide receiver showed off his incredible speed and good hands. During the one-on-one portion, Jordan leaped up, twisted around and caught a pass beautiful in his numbers, the defensive back was so turned around he almost fell over.

Garrett Oakley worked out one-on-one with outside linebacker coach Mike Dawson but stayed around after the Big Red BBQ to show Nebraska why he prefers to play tight end at the next level. Oakley is tall, fast and has great hands. The Northern Illinois commit outran several defensive backs and created a few yards between them because easily catching the passes.

2024 Bellevue West wide receiver Deavonn Hall got his first extensive opportunity to meet head coach Scott Frost and staff on Friday. It’s easy to see why the Huskers early offered the 2024 standout. Both Frost and offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Matt Lubick spent a lot of time talking to and working with Hall.

Jalil Martin was the other player that earned an offer from Nebraska. He was one of the few receivers that caught balls for Raiola and Hall while they practiced in the Hawks center.

**** Nebraska quarterback Heinrich Haarberg took a picture with his former teammate at Kearney Catholic 2022 tight end Brett Mahony after Mahoney participated in the camp.

**** Lincoln East wide receiver Malachi Coleman participated in the first Friday Night Lights camp but spent this camp on the sideline talking with the coaches and Nebraska players