The Weekly Rundown: Setting the stage for Nebraska’s Red-White spring game week
Nebraska takes the field this week for its final days of spring practice as it prepares for Saturday’s Red-White game weekend.
We hit on that and more as we start your Monday with The Weekly Rundown column.
Sure bets
You have to feel good about these things right now:
Dylan Raiola’s growth this spring: Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule has kept things fairly locked down regarding information that has gotten out of spring practice. NU conducted its second major scrimmage of the spring on Saturday, and the biggest thing we’ve heard at HuskerOnline was how impressive quarterback Dylan Raiola looked.
We heard Rhule say the offense looked the best it has ever looked since he and his staff have been at Nebraska. A big reason why was Raiola’s play. He was outstanding, according to multiple sources we talked to who viewed the scrimmage on Saturday.
Raiola connected on deep balls, improvised plays, and was nearly perfect on his short to intermediate passes. It’s exciting to hear that, after 12 spring practices, Raiola has taken a big step forward.
A perfect Saturday for football: You can’t draw it up much better. Nebraska will get nearly perfect weather conditions for its entire last week of spring practice.
Tuesday’s high will be 70, Thursday’s high is forecasted at 73, and Saturday’s Red-White spring game is expected to be in the 80s.
Helmet communication devices in 2024: College football will take a big step forward in 2024 with helmet-headset communication. Quarterbacks and one player on defense can wear headset communication devices starting this fall.
Players’ headsets will be live until the play clock hits 15 seconds. For Nebraska, Rhule, offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield, quarterbacks coach Glenn Thomas, and wide receiver coach Garret McGuire all have experience with headset communication from their time in the NFL.
WR Jacory Barney
Surprises
These were my surprises of the week:
Janiran Bonner and Jacory Barney at WR: We know all about Nebraska’s veteran pieces they added from the transfer portal at wide receiver.
The surprise at this position group has been what sophomore Janiran Bonner and freshman Jacory Barney have been able to provide. Both players should be in the wide receiver rotation. A year ago, Bonner was trying out a hybrid fullback/tight end role, and now he’s back at wide-out. Barney is an early enrollee who’s already made an impact.
Blye Hill’s fast rise at corner: Rhule said on Saturday that if NU played a game tomorrow, sophomore Blye Hill would be the odds-on favorite to start at cornerback opposite Tommi Hill.
Of the transfer players the Huskers added, Blye Hill probably received the least attention. To see him already in a position to start is a major development this spring.
Chief Borders big step forward this spring: Another spring story has been the improvement jack linebacker Chief Borders has made.
For this defense to take a step forward, they need to get to the quarterback with a four-man pass rush. If Borders can give them that off the edge, it will allow Tony White to do a lot more things.
Quinton Newsome (Photo by Abby Barmore/HuskerOnline)
The jury is still out
Questions still surround these things:
Will any Huskers get drafted this weekend?: Lost in the news cycle locally is the upcoming NFL Draft this weekend. No Huskers were invited to the 2024 NFL Combine, and there is not one former Nebraska player with high odds of being drafted.
Will cornerback Quinton Newsome, linebacker Luke Reimer, or safety Omar Brown slip into the draft in the later rounds on Saturday? How many former Huskers will sign undrafted free-agent deals?
Colorado vs. Nebraska kick time: The Texas vs. Michigan game on Sept. 7 has already been claimed by FOX for Big Noon Kickoff.
That means Nebraska’s game with Colorado on that same day will most likely air on CBS at 2:30 p.m. CT or NBC at 6:30 p.m. CT. Both networks will want the Coach Prime ratings bump; it’s probably a question of who gets the first pick that week.
Selfishly, I’m hoping we see the game at 6:30 p.m., which will create a 2014 Miami-type atmosphere in Lincoln. The last time the Huskers and Buffs played at night was in 1990 and 1991.
Spring game attendance: Ohio State drew 80,000, Alabama 72,000, Penn State 67,000, and Georgia 55,000 for spring games over the last two weeks. We know Nebraska has sold over 50,000 tickets as of a week ago.
With a picture-perfect Saturday forecasted in Lincoln, one would think they will easily push into the 50,000s for the Red-White spring game. Oklahoma, by the way, drew 45,861, and Michigan had 31,602 at its spring game this past weekend.
LB Vince Genatone
This has my attention
Moving forward, this has my attention:
Nine official visitors on Saturday: Nebraska will kick off official visitor season this weekend, with at least nine high-profile recruits expected to make their way to Lincoln. With 60,000+ fans and temperatures over 80 degrees, you can’t draw up a better weekend to host recruits.
LB Vince Genatone: North Platte native and Montana linebacker Vince Genatone entered the transfer portal last week. There has been some contact with Nebraska and Genatone this past week. Will anything materialize with Genatone and the Huskers?
Micah Mazzccua: Rhule said offensive lineman Miach Mazzccua has been battling sickness all week. Will we see him back at practice this week?
The lack of recruits identified for 2025 in Colorado: Of all the 500-mile radius states for the class of 2025, what’s happening in Colorado is fascinating. Colorado has nearly 6 million people, but the number of identified Power Five prospects is less than five today. I’ve never seen anything like it in a state with a population of Colorado. To put it in perspective, Kansas already has six four-star prospects for 2025 with a population under 3 million.
A big thing that hurt Colorado in January was the weather. Due to tough travel conditions, few coaches could get into Denver to make the rounds in January. That hurt the overall number of identified Power Five prospects in Colorado. We saw NU recently offer Littleton Heritage athlete Tanner Tech this week. They also have an offer out to Cherry Creek offensive lineman Soren Shinofield.
Another thing that hurts Colorado high school recruiting is the home state Buffaloes aren’t recruiting local prospects anymore, which probably keeps more names under the radar. Usually, the home state school is going to be the first to offer.
Sean Callahan can be reached at sean@huskeronline.com and is heard daily at 6:45 a.m. and 5:05 p.m. on Big Red Radio 1110 KFAB in Omaha during the football season. He can also be seen on KETV Channel 7 in Omaha during the fall, and each week, he appears on Nebraska Public Media’s Big Red Wrap-Up Tuesdays at 7 p.m.
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