Steven Sipple: Led by promising QB room, Nebraska offense has chance for significant turnaround in 2024
Nebraska freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola was so nervous, so overcome with emotion, that he “kind of blacked out” right before his first series Saturday.
He gathered himself quickly.
Boy, did he ever.
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Raiola completed his first four throws in the Red-White Spring Game, including a gorgeous 16-yard scoring strike to Janiran Bonner in the front corner of the end zone.
Raiola led him perfectly.
To be sure, Raiola looked awfully comfortable throughout the day. What we saw apparently was a reflection of what Nebraska coaches and players witnessed during most, if not all, of the spring. Media members aren’t allowed to watch much practice, but we’ve heard the buzz.
Now, after the way Raiola performed Saturday, Nebraska fans are abuzz.
“I have great coaches who prepared me for this, and great teammates who make plays,” Raiola said after completing 16 of 22 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns, with an interception. “I mean, I was just getting the ball to my playmakers, and they made me look good, honestly.
“The o-line blocked up great, the running backs ran hard, and the receivers made plays. They made me comfortable once they made plays.”
He speaks truth. Nebraska, ladies and gentlemen, has some playmakers. Give Matt Rhule and his staff credit for quickly improving personnel on that side of the ball. I mean, three of the team’s top four receivers (in my estimation) are newcomers to the program: Transfers Jahmal Banks and Isaiah Neyor and true freshman speedster Jacory Barney Jr.
Returning wideout Jaylen Lloyd — also recruited by the current staff — is starting to look like a star.
I could go on.
I don’t want to go overboard here, but Nebraska’s offense — flat-out awful last year — looks poised to pull off a significant turnaround in 2024, with the quarterback room leading the way.
Recruits blown away by the atmosphere at Nebraska’s spring game
All three scholarship QBs have good days
Note that I said “quarterback room” and not just “Raiola.” Rhule clearly likes all three of his scholarship QBs, and it’s not merely rhetoric. He’s not just trying to placate people. At least that’s my read.
Let’s be clear, though, Raiola has the inside track to the starting job. It’s almost silly that I even feel a need to write that. You saw what I saw. You don’t have to be Mike Holmgren to be able to size up Raiola’s overall QB acumen.
“We’re going to focus on Dylan, I get that,” Rhule said of the prevailing narrative outside the program. “But you could see the improvement in Heinrich (Haarberg). You could seen Danny (Kaelin) as a true freshman go out there and complete 60 percent of his balls, or whatever he did today (9 for 16 for 91 yards, with an interception).
“I want the quarterback play to be great.”
It has a chance to be great because, as I stated earlier, Rhule and his staff have fortified the skill talent to a level where the quarterbacks can thrive. Adrian Martinez, bless his heart, generally didn’t have that benefit (until he transferred to Kansas State).
And let’s be clear about something else: Haarberg, who was 5-3 as Nebraska’s starter in 2023, looks like the surefire No. 2 option. I’ve heard that was the case this spring, and that’s what it looked like to me Saturday.
He finished 8 of 13 passing for 163 yards and two touchdowns, with zero picks, while carrying one time for 17 yards.
“He still has the ability to tuck the ball down and run,” Rhule said. “He’s truly a dual threat at quarterback and can change a game. I love him taking what’s there. I love him being explosive, pushing the ball down the field, deep balls down the field, elite balls in the middle of the field.
“But I also love him moving within the pocket, taking checkdowns, taking a bad play and getting out of it.”
There’s something striking about the rookie QBs
Let’s break up all this spring hopefulness with a dash of reality: First of all, Nebraska’s defense was without its best players Saturday. Plus, autumn in the Big Ten is a bear. A big, toothy bear. That big, toothy bear hammered the 6-5, 215-pound Haarberg so hard last season that I often found myself looking away as he absorbed contact.
Raiola isn’t a runner, nor is Kaelin. Nebraska will need its running backs to produce. That appears to be a decent room, led this spring by Emmett Johnson.
The Big Ten is a bear in autumn for another reason: The sheer pressure of it all. The march through the schedule can feel relentless, tiresome, overwhelming. There are moments in games when a quarterback can feel as if the world is crashing down around him.
How well would Raiola (or Kaelin) handle that part of the equation?
I ask that question in part because they both look strikingly comfortable at the moment. Comfortable on the field. Comfortable at the podium. Just generally comfortable.
Kaelin even smiles as he takes questions from reporters. Again, it’s spring. Pressure is minimal. But it’s still striking to me, and his comfort just might stem from the players around him.
Again, this team has some weapons. Is it just me, or does tight end Thomas Fidone look poised to become a Big Ten stalwart? Bonner has come on strong. Alex Bullock has improved and looks to be part of the wideout rotation. Hell, Nebraska has enough weapons that redshirt freshman Jaidyn Doss is now practicing at both receiver and corner.
And, remember, Carter Nelson will join the fray come summer. Get him ready, coach.
“We just have a lot of different options as far as where to go with the ball, but also with play-calling,” Kaelin said. “I think we have a lot of (deep) shots, a lot of RPO stuff. We can also run downhill … Everywhere we have a lot of talent, but within the scheme we have a lot of different types of plays we can get into.”
So, I end with an unpleasant reminder: Nebraska was 123rd nationally in scoring last season, averaging a paltry 18.0 points per game.
The offense will be better this year. Much better, is my read. The weapons are there, and — you saw what I saw — quarterback play is about to improve by leaps and bounds.
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