Nebraska football needs passing game to match its runs

The Nebraska football team’s Spring League is now in full swing, to the point that players have begun changing teams. The three-field competition setup has been a hit among the Nebraska roster, and fans have also been able to remain updated on the action.

Nebraska has shared daily updates and selected practice highlights on the football team’s social media accounts, while its documentary series for the spring — “Chasing 3” — is sure to dive into the setup in depth soon enough. Let’s drop into coverage:

It should be no surprise Nebraska is seeking improvements to its passing game this spring. The Huskers’ struggles in that area of the field in 2023 often held them back from winning, sometimes even overshadowing the things NU did well.

“You look back to last year, we have to throw the ball better, and we can’t be minus-17 in turnover ratio,” head coach Matt Rhule said Saturday. “We ran the ball well, we stopped the run well (and) we were pretty decent on third down in some areas, so really a true focus on throwing the football has been important.”

Co-offensive coordinators Marcus Satterfield and Glenn Thomas have worked closely with Nebraska’s quarterbacks all spring long, and Rhule said the position group is ahead of schedule. Whereas junior Heinrich Haarberg has been working on his throwing mechanics, freshmen Dylan Raiola and Daniel Kaelin have been learning the ins and outs of the offensive playbook.

The Nebraska coaching staff clearly feels it has a strong offensive foundation running the ball — and to reach the next level, a passing game is needed.

“We have to be able to throw the ball,” Satterfield said. “I think we’re always going to find a way to run the ball, but as you saw last year, you can run the ball well, but there’s going to come times when you have to win a game, you have to throw the ball.”

When Thomas provided his first appraisal of Kaelin and Raiola’s progress earlier this week, he identified several areas in which the freshmen excel.

“They’re both natural passers, they’ve got great rotation (in their) upper body, they use their lower half really good which creates some arm strength, it comes off their hand and they throw a really catchable ball, which I think goes underappreciated sometimes,” he said.

Underappreciated? Not by wide receivers, especially those who’ve worked with a quarterback who fires full-speed passes without a second thought.

As a longtime quarterbacks coach, Thomas is well-versed in what it means to throw “a catchable ball.” Quarterbacks who’d throw a 10-yard slant pass over the middle of the field and a 30-yard back shoulder pass to the sideline don’t last long, while those who adjust to the situation and their receiver tend to find success.

Some might call it “touch” or a feel for the game, and it’s crucially important to success at quarterback. An instinct for the windows they’re throwing into and knowing the exact type of throw needed to get the ball there is exactly what Thomas wants to see from his young quarterbacks — and Raiola and Kaelin have lived up to that expectation so far.

Given how well Tommi Hill played in the Nebraska secondary down the stretch in 2023, it’s a little hard to fathom that the Huskers considered moving him to wide receiver early in the season. Hill has skills at that position, too — but he’s going to be relied upon in a bigger way than ever moving forward.

For several seasons, Quinton Newsome was the dominant cornerback in the Nebraska defense capable of locking up an opponent’s top pass-catcher one-on-one. Following Newsome’s graduation, Nebraska needs someone to fill his role as a lockdown boundary cornerback — and that player is likely Hill.

The most experienced corner on the Nebraska roster, Hill’s behind-the-scenes work is as impressive as his on-field growth. Teammates routinely complimented Hill’s growth as a leader and his commitment to meeting the program’s standards last fall, a contrast from some of the areas that slowed him down early in his collegiate career.

Defensive coordinator Tony White said Hill is an example of a player who’s benefited from Nebraska’s changing culture. Because of that, his expectations for Hill will be higher than ever this season.

“He’s set the bar, he’s showed everybody what he can do,” White said. “If you want to be one of the best DBs in the country, than we’re going to hold you to the standard. Period.”

On Friday and Saturday, the Nebraska campus was temporarily home to hundreds of high school football coaches. They traveled to Lincoln from a wide variety of states — Rhule listed Hawaii, California and Texas — to get a glimpse at how the Nebraska football team operates.

“I think it’s really good when we can show off Lincoln, show off our staff, show off our facilities and most importantly, show off our players,” Rhule said.

Rhule said over 800 coaches took part in the clinic, with those participants hearing from two coaching greats. On Friday, former New England Patriots head coach and eight-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick met with the NU coaching staff and also spoke during the coaching clinic.

Rhule said Belichick spent 4 1/2 hours just talking football with the Nebraska staff Friday.

“He’s talking about football in a way that just illuminates things and makes things so simple that you’re like, ‘Oh my goodness,’” Rhule said. “It was an unbelievable experience to spend that amount of time with him.”

Former Nebraska head coach Tom Osborne also spoke during the clinic’s final day. Alongside former players and current recruiting targets who were also present, high school coaches who attended the clinic were able to watch Nebraska’s Saturday practice, its sixth of the spring.

One notable former Husker in attendance was Dominic Raiola, father of freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola. 2025 commits Tyson Terry, Caden VerMaas and Conor Booth also visited NU’s Saturday practice.

Conventional wisdom in the recruiting world is that getting high school recruits to visit campus on gameday will lead to a more rewarding experience than simply taking in a practice. However, Nebraska and Rhule see things differently, with the head coach saying Saturday that he prefers recruits to watch a practice.

The reason is because of Nebraska’s intense practice setup this spring with three fields constantly in action and position groups rotating between drills throughout the practice. With many unofficial visitors expected on campus later this month, Rhule is hoping to showcase NU’s hands-on coaching and widespread athletic support.

“We had a big-time recruit and I said, ‘Just imagine with your talent, if you came to a place that had an unbelievable weight room, unbelievable recovery area, unbelievable staff, unbelievable meetings rooms, best facilities in the country and where no one stands around at practice. Where everybody has a chance to master their craft,’” Rhule said.

Rhule also said he asked that recruit if he’d seen any other team practice this way — and Georgia was the only other program’s name the prospect could come up with.