Why Matt Rhule also sees Danny Kaelin with ‘it factor’

And Rhule thinks NU is close to picking its QB1.

“At some point this week,” Rhule said Saturday when asked directly about the timeline for naming a starter. NU returns to workouts early next week. “We’ll be ready to name it at some time this week.”

Will NU announce that decision? It’s not clear. Ohio State and Wisconsin did last week. Other coaches like to wait until the Monday before game week — in this case, that’s Aug. 26 — to put out a depth chart that just happens to have a starting quarterback.

“We have three guys who we feel like can lead us to win,” Rhule said. “From that part, it’s hard. Can someone be more advanced at this point than someone else at this point? Yes.”

The hard part, Rhule said, is he’s seen Haarberg play in a game, while Raiola and Kaelin are true freshmen. 

Raiola, a five-star signee, is the heavy favorite to win the job. He took first-team snaps at the 1890 open practice on Aug. 3 and has received praise from teammates in training camp.

While Raiola has received most of the publicity, Kaelin, the Bellevue West graduate, is growing, Rhule said. Kaelin has the “it factor,” Rhule said, and could play one day in the NFL. 

“Sometimes people want to look at Dylan and Danny’s journeys as linked, but they’re not — they’re each on their own journey,” Rhule said when asked specifically about Kaelin’s progress in camp. “The thing with Danny is, he’s got great awareness, great perception, he can see things, he can anticipate things. He’s got great feet, he’s dynamic with his feet.

“As his body matures and he gets bigger and stronger and his arm grows along with that, his brain works so fast that he’ll be a lot of fun.”