Nebraska football hosts thousands of fans for paid practice

Downtown Lincoln was buzzing on a Saturday night.

Fans clad in red flooded into downtown, eagerly lining up outside Memorial Stadium for a glimpse at the Nebraska football team.

No, it wasn’t a game day — but it sure felt just like it.

Nebraska football practiced in front of roughly 3,500 fans on Saturday night as a major fundraiser for the program’s NIL collective, the 1890 Initiative, which sold tickets for the event.

“In college now, this is the new normal,” head coach Matt Rhule said. “On our end it’s a good faith gesture, 1890 has done so much and have stepped up so much, and the fans and the donors, the people who give to 1890 have stepped up so much. I’m a football coach, I don’t want anybody watching my practices, but I can’t sit there and ask and not give back.”

Husker supporters packed into the West Stadium on a warm, 95-degree night where fans blew on the Nebraska sideline to keep the players cool.

Geoff and Dawn Stone, of Beatrice, typically attend several Husker games every year. They, like many other fans in attendance, said they were excited to see freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola throw on the Memorial Stadium field

“We thought it was a cool way for them to raise money for NIL, so helping out with this was a fun way to donate and see some of the practice,” Geoff Stone said.

Those in attendance saw a semi-typical Nebraska practice. The Huskers experienced some space constraints, running position-specific drills on just one field rater than the three they typically spread across at the Hawks Championship Center, but went through their practice setup as normal.

The offense wore white jerseys, the defense wore red and Nebraska’s quarterbacks sported their green non-contact jerseys. Some players, like Raiola and defensive lineman Elijah Jeudy, opted for full-length black pants while the rest of their teammates wore shorts.

And once the drills began, it was business as usual.

“With thousands of people out there, we have to go out and do what we do,” Rhule said.

During an early portion of practice that included 11-on-11 action, a veteran-heavy Nebraska defense challenged the Husker offense.

The first unit included defensive linemen Nash Hutmacher, Ty Robinson and Jimari Butler with MJ Sherman, John Bullock and Javin Wright as linebackers. In the secondary, Isaac Gifford, DeShon Singleton, Malcolm Hartzog, Marques Buford and Jeremiah Charles spent the first series on the field.

Raiola led the first-team offense and Heinrich Haarberg worked with the second as wide receivers Jahmal Banks and Isaiah Neyor appeared right away alongside tight end Thomas Fidone as the Huskers’ top pass-catchers.

Raiola soon threw a back shoulder touchdown pass to Banks in the corner of end zone, immediately sprinting over to exchange helmet taps with his wide receiver. Both during team and individual work, fans’ eyes remained trained to Raiola as Nebraska undergoes a camp competition at quarterback.

“The quarterbacks, that’s who everybody’s here to see and hopefully they play well tonight,” Rhule said.

The quarterbacks spent several minutes throwing over an eight-foot-tall net to Fidone in the back of the end zone. Some passes ricocheted off the top of the net’s metal frame, but trial and error was necessary as the players made sure they got their angles right.

Elsewhere, Nebraska’s running backs went through a ball security drill while wide receivers coach Garret McGuire fired passes at his wideouts from a close distance. The running backs practiced juking left and right as they dodged cones, trash cans and a medicine ball rolled by a NU staffer in quick succession.

After redshirt freshman Kwinten Ives failed to run the drill correctly, running backs coach EJ Barthel immediately pulled him back into the line to repeat the rep. And when the unit progressed to a pass-catching drill, Gabe Ervin experienced his coach’s displeasure after stopping his out route short of the goal line.

“What are you doing? Get outside!” barked Barthel in response.

The night mostly went without a hitch for Nebraska with two notable exceptions. An interception off a tipped pass briefly led to a small scuffle early in the practice, and freshman defensive back Roger Gradney suffered an injury during a kick return drill.

Multiple trainers and Rhule came over to surround Gradney, who clutched at his knee or lower leg after hitting the turf. He was then carted off the field late in the practice.

Players who didn’t take part in the evening practice included defensive back Tommi Hill, linebacker Princewill Umanmielen and wide receiver Jaylen Lloyd, who Rhule said were dealing with minor injuries. Offensive lineman Henry Lutovsky, however, has a calf injury which may keep him out of practice for two to three weeks.

Before the evening program concluded with Nebraska players signing autographs for fans, the final drill of the night was on punt returns.

Both the offense and defense were told by Rhule that each successful catch would be worth one fewer set of sprints. Hutmacher, Butler and defensive line coach Terrance Knighton each let down the defense before analyst and former NFL player Rashaan Melvin came down with one.

Offensive lineman Tyler Knaak dropped his return attempt, but the safe hands of Bryce Benhart and Barthel kept the unit from having to run. Despite that, however, Raiola joined his defensive teammates in running the final set of sprints.

The evening marked a fine balance for Rhule, who wanted fans to see the progress the Huskers have already made without allowing opponents a major scouting opportunity. Media were limited to a brief shooting window while fans were encouraged not to take videos of the event.

“For us, it’s a normal practice, and it’s great for our fans to see (us practice),” Rhule said. “Everyone sees the final product, I want them to see the moving parts, all the things that happen.”