Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola impresses at Spring Game

One year after Nebraska scored 28 total points in its annual spring scrimmage, the Huskers combined for 46 points on an offensive-centric day at Memorial Stadium.

Freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola impressed in his first appearance in a Nebraska uniform, tossing two touchdown passes as the White team secured a 25-21 win in Nebraska’s Red-White Spring Game on Saturday.

“I thought there was a lot of positive energy in terms of the way the offense conducted themselves, got in and out of the no-huddle or sometimes got in the huddle,” Rhule said. “Just the overall feel from the field where I was felt really good.”

As Nebraska’s three scholarship quarterbacks rotated between the two teams, each had opportunities to lead long touchdown drives — it was Raiola who seized the opportunity from the start. Raiola threw the first touchdown of the scrimmage, a lofted 16-yard pass to wide receiver Janiran Bonner in the corner of the end zone to set off a high-scoring first half.

On the freshman’s second series, this time with the White team, Raiola fired a well-placed pass into a tight window that junior wide receiver Alex Bullock hauled in for a 22-yard gain.

“I was just getting the ball to my playmakers and they made me look good, honestly,” Raiola said.

The third-down conversion kept the drive going as Raiola repeatedly looked to redshirt freshman Demitrius Bell on ensuing plays.

Raiola targeted Bell on three consecutive throws, completing one before his final pass attempt deflected off Bell’s hands. Defensive back Ethan Nation collected the interception, marking the game’s first turnover.

On Raiola’s third offensive series, it took just two plays for the freshman to lead a touchdown drive.

After completing a screen pass to senior wideout Isaiah Neyor, Raiola showcased his strong arm on a deep pass to Jaylen Lloyd. The sophomore wide receiver completely outran his coverage, hauling in Raiola’s long throw for an eventual 64-yard touchdown pass.

Raiola said when Nebraska practiced that play earlier in the week, he’d opted to check the ball down rather than throwing the deep pass to Lloyd. But after rewatching the practice film, he knew what to look for in the game.

“As fast as he is, I knew once he got up on the corner’s toes that it was over with,” Raiola said. “He made the rest happen, catching and scoring.”

Raiola flashed his ability to make different types of throws throughout the scrimmage, lofting a slow rainbow pass to Bullock on the sidelines before slinging a 12-yard bullet pass to freshman Jacory Barney Jr. in tight coverage over the middle.

“He’ll throw it where he needs to throw it and then trust those guys to make those plays,” Rhule said of Raiola. “You can’t play quarterback and receiver; you can only play quarterback so you gotta throw the ball away from the defender and let the guys go make the plays.”

Raiola threw for 239 yards on 16-for-22 passing, while Nebraska’s other scholarship quarterbacks, Heinrich Haarberg and Daniel Kaelin, also led touchdown drives.

Haarberg and Barney connected perfectly in stride for a 41-yard touchdown pass in which the freshman Barney outraced his coverage.

Later in the half, Haarberg fired a completion over the middle to tight end Nate Boerkircher for a 61-yard catch-and-run. A different tight end, junior Thomas Fidone, capped the drive with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Haarberg.

Haarberg completed 8 of 13 passes for 163 yards while Kaelin went 9-for-16 passing with 91 yards.

“I think we have our starter sitting in that room, we have three guys that we believe in,” Rhule said. “… I think the quarterback play is significantly improved from last year.”

Rushing attack: Sophomore running back Dante Dowdell scored two rushing touchdowns, the first being a 1-yard try off the back of a long kick return from Barney. If not for a touchdown-saving tackle from sophomore kicker Tristan Alvano, Barney would’ve taken the kickoff from one end zone to the other.

Dowdell also showed his speed in the open field during the second half, taking an inside handoff then bouncing to the sidelines as he accelerated for a 49-yard rushing score.

Nebraska totaled 181 rushing yards throughout the scrimmage, 76 of which Dowdell gained on his seven carries. Sophomore Emmett Johnson led the White team with five carries for 25 yards.

Defensive personnel: A youthful Nebraska defense hit the field on Saturday. Key veterans such as linebacker John Bullock, defensive back Isaac Gifford and defensive lineman Jimari Butler still wore their uniforms and stood on the sidelines — but with no shoulder pads and no helmets, they did not enter the game.

Redshirt freshmen defensive backs D’Andre Barnes and Dicaprio Bootle were the most active defenders Saturday, with Barnes recording a game-high six tackles and Bootle following with four.

Turnovers: After Nebraska turned the ball over eight times in last year’s spring scrimmage, the Huskers committed just two turnovers this time around. Both came via interceptions, with Raiola’s deflected first-half pass quickly being followed by a Kaelin interception. His pass over the middle was snared by redshirt freshman defensive back Mason Jones.