Tad Stryker: A Five-Star Premiere

They came to pass late Saturday morning at Memorial Stadium, and that’s exactly what they did. There’s no doubt in my mind, the passing game will be back on the table for Nebraska this fall.

The biggest open question in Lincoln — the one about who will be calling the signals this fall — was not answered during the Red-White game, but all I can tell you is that Dylan Raiola already throws a receiver open better than any Nebraska quarterback I’ve ever seen, including Vince Ferragamo, the only Nebraska quarterback to ever start a Super Bowl. Raiola threw a couple of impressive pinpoint completions into tight coverage in his first large-scale public viewing. If he can resist the urge to try to win every single play, he’s going to have a good freshman season.

So will Raiola be the starter against UTEP on Aug. 31? I wouldn’t be surprised. Then again, Heinrich Haarberg was noticeably better than he looked in 2023 (eight of 13 for 161 yards and two touchdowns isn’t shabby), and Daniel Kaelin shows a lot of promise and maturity for a kid who could still be in his last semester of high school.

I’m tempted to say Nebraska will look this fall a lot like Frank Solich’s first team in 1998 did, at least on offense, except that Raiola and Kaelin are passers with mobility, not elite runners who can throw, like up-and-comers Eric Crouch and Bobby Newcombe were back then. Monte Christo, the Huskers’ older quarterback back then, had less than one-fourth as much as experience as Haarberg returns with. There were flashes of brilliance that year, and plenty of unsettled moments. But who in Husker Nation would be disappointed with a 9-4 season this fall, like many of us were a quarter-century ago?

But this was a day for looking ahead, not backward, and even more so than the typical spring game. As coach Matt Rhule has emphasized all spring, Nebraska is a 5-7 team until it proves otherwise. But it’s evident that this team has enough talent to easily surpass the six-win mark if it plays fundamentally sound football and can stay out of its own head. The psychological aspect looms large. Teaching the Huskers how to win the mental game will be Rhule’s most important duty this season. After all, the 1998 team went into the season knowing how to win tough battles. The 2024 team needs to develop that trait as quickly as possible.

On this day, however, Rhule wanted to emphasize his team’s throwing game, including its two-minute drill. There were 60 passing attempts, well over 500 passing yards and four passing touchdowns during the scrimmage, which was deliberately shortened (12 minutes on the clock in the third quarter and 10 in the fourth).

Shotgun and pistol formations dominated the day, and huddles were infrequent. It was a day for pass receivers, including Jalen Lloyd (three catches, 97 yards and a touchdown) , Thomas Fidone (three catches, 45 yards and a touchdown), H-back Janiran Bonner (four for 58 yards and a touchdown), Texas transfer Isaiah Neyor (two for 26) and Jacory Barney (three for 66 yards and a touchdown). Wake Forest transfer Jahmal Banks, who didn’t catch a pass, still loomed large. Banks and Neyor will undoubtedly beef up Nebraska’s screen game; both appear to be able blockers.

Barney, a 6-foot, 170-pound freshman from Miami, can be electric. He caught a 41-yard TD pass from Haarberg, had a 78-yard kickoff return, although he was inexplicably tackled by kicker Tristan Alvano (Rhule noted that Barney may have been confused because Alvano was wearing a similar colored jersey to his own, so look for the offensive line and kickers/punters to wear a different color in next year’s spring game). More importantly, Barney showed he can catch a ball in traffic, snagging a 12-yarder over the middle before being rocked by defenders. He made a rookie mistake, fielding a kickoff five yards deep in the end zone, fumbling the ball, having trouble picking it up and then running past his teammate’s “stop sign” at the goal line before getting stuffed inside his own 10. There’s no better place to learn that lesson than in your first spring game.

Coming off a dismal offensive showing in 2023, there were just enough offensive fireworks during the game (a 25-21 win for the White squad) to make it interesting, although it’s unlikely the crowd of 60,452 was as loud as Rhule had hoped, to help his team learn to communicate in loud situations with the newly installed quarterback helmet radios. The fact that only 46 points were scored shows the defense played relatively well with many starters sitting out.

A few observations: I expect NU to line up under center more this fall than it did Saturday when, even with a first-and-goal from the 3, it stayed in the no huddle/shotgun and handed the ball twice to Dante Dowdell, who scored from 1 yard out. And Rhule will not move too far away from his “body blows” power run style, although I do look for about a 52/48 split of run vs. pass if the Huskers have consistent success with their screen game.

Bonner is a fullback/H-back who is listed as a wide receiver in the Huskers’ spring roster. He likely will see the field a lot in short-yardage situations. Dowdell, who caught four passes, also had a beautiful 49-yard touchdown burst in the third quarter and led all rushers with 76 yards. He will improve the Huskers’ run game, as will a more experienced Emmett Johnson. Rahmir Johnson, who hardly saw the field on this day, could be a real asset on third down and in the return game if he can stay healthy. Kwintin Ives showed some promise, but is unlikely to see the field much this season. Any contribution from chronically injured Gabe Ervin Jr. will be icing on the cake.

The biggest disappointment of the day was sophomore placekicker Tristan Alvano, who missed two of three field goal tries. His 32-yarder with a 10 mph wind at his back sailed wide left, and his 44-yarder against the wind on the final play of the first half was wide right. He nailed a 40-yarder against the wind in the third quarter. Nebraska has no shot at winning eight or nine games without significant improvement from Alvano and senior punter Brian Buschini this fall.

With Ben Scott, Turner Corcoran and Bryce Benhart being rested most of the day, Teddy Prochazka, Micah Mazzccua, Justin Evans, Henry Lutovsky and Tyler Knaak got a lot of first-team snaps in the offensive line. Redshirt freshman Gunnar Gottula and true freshman Grant Brix played a lot of second-team tackle. If experience and continuity help this team anywhere, it will be felt most in the o-line, with third-year coach Donovan Raiola. Will they be able to adapt to a NFL pocket style of pass pro while finding the ability to maul opponents on running plays?

That said, there’s no doubt the quarterbacks were front and center in what Rhule referred to as the “Red-White Shootout.”

Dylan Raiola at times reminded me of Patrick Mahomes in his style, timing, mannerisms and ability to keep his eyes downfield at all times. Cycling in for both teams, as did the other quarterbacks, Raiola completed 16 of 22 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns. He made one bad throw, slightly behind Demitrius Bell, which deflected off the receiver’s hands and was intercepted by Ethan Nation. Kaelin was nine-for-13 for 91 yards with no touchdowns, and also threw a pick.

Haarberg is improved. It would be foolish to count him out. He was the only one of the three who had no turnovers. His passing motion looked better and unlike Raiola and Kaelin, he threw no interceptions, although he got away with one in the third quarter that could have been picked. I think we’ll see plenty of Haarberg this fall, possibly in preset packages that take advantage of his running ability.

I think we’ll see Kaelin also (he will be an excellent college quarterback, and I can’t imagine him being kept off the conference game travel roster this fall) but I continue to think he will benefit a lot from a redshirt season.

The Huskers don’t have enough offensive juice, or depth, to sit a prospect like Raiola for long periods of time, even as a true freshman, so I look for him to play the plurality — and probably the majority — of snaps at quarterback this fall. As most of us suspected, the first appearance of the five-star phenom leaves us all wanting a much longer look.