Offense shows promise in return of Nebraska’s Red-White Game

LINCOLN, Neb. — The Huskers appear to be ahead of schedule offensively, following their final scrimmage of spring ball, and new weapons are emerging from the shadows.

A crowd of 28,188 packed Memorial Stadium, and watched Nebraska’s offense move the ball up and down the field on a chilly Saturday morning. There were a few explosive plays, but once the smoke cleared Team Nebraska defeated Team Huskers 22-17.

All eyes were on new quarterback Anthony Colandrea, as he made his highly-anticipated debut. Colandrea didn’t disappoint either, after completing 12 of his 19 passes for 80 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the first half. Although Offensive Coordinator Dana Holgorsen ran a vanilla playbook, several players showed their value to the team, and that impressed Coach Matt Rhule.

“I think right now we’re less looking for leadership, and looking more for good football to be quite honest with you,” Rhule said. “We’re looking for production, we’re looking for gritty guys, who show up everyday and want to be part of a brotherhood.”

True freshman running back Jamal Rule shined, and made some great plays. After all, he rushed for a game-high, 119 yards and a score. Rule’s 75-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter was the most explosive play of the afternoon, and longest from scrimmage. Fellow rusher Conor Booth made the most out of his opportunities too, and finished with 80 yards on the ground and a touchdown.

However, wideout Jacory Barney scored the first points of the game after he caught a six-yard touchdown pass from Colandrea. It capped off a 14-play, 60-yard touchdown drive, that took nearly eight minutes off the clock. The offense used a lot of tempo, which kept the defense honest, and everyone executed at a high level.

True sophomore TJ Lateef, who started the final four games of last season, received a handful of snaps, and took advantage of the no-contact rule on quarterbacks. He only completed five of his 13 passes in windy conditions, but added 20 yards on the ground. Even Daniel Kaelin got in on the action, and threw for 54 yards.

There were a couple of  dropped balls from the receivers, but they also made up for it with some plays that raised some eyebrows. One of those plays came from Quinn Clark, who hauled in an eight-yard touchdown pass with his right hand. Not to mention he pulled off that acrobatic one-handed catch in tight coverage near the corner of the endzone.

On top of that, the big boys up front executed at the point of attack for both squads, and set the tone in the trenches. There was solid pass protection for most of the game, and the offensive line opened up holes from the interior, and off the edge. It was obvious to fans that the unit made strides in a short period of time under Geep Wade’s leadership.

Once the smoke cleared, both offenses combined for 118 plays, and 542 yards, including 275 on the ground and scored on every trip to the redzone. Besides one turnover, all three quarterbacks took good care of the football, and that’s what Rhule wanted to accomplish the most.

“Most importantly, we wanted to execute, and go out and play hard,” he said. “We’re certainly not anywhere where we need to be, but we’ve had a good spring.”

Nebraska’s defense played physical, but showed some areas of concern, particularly against the run. Players flew to the ball, and tackled better, but gave up some explosive plays. Allowing two long touchdown runs, and creating only one turnover, means Rob Aurich’s group will need to a better job at plugging up the gaps, and maneuvering past blockers. Rhule wasn’t concerned about lack of forced turnovers, and thought the defense performed better than expected.

“I think the defense has done a really nice job,” the 52-year old said. “I didn’t see a lot of missed tackles out there, I didn’t see busts until the end with the second and third strings.”

Linebacker Derek Wacker racked up a game-high, 10 tackles, including eight solo and one for loss. Fellow linebacker Will Harper added six stops. Vincent Shavers Jr., and Dewayne McDougle posted five tackles apiece. Cornerback Donovan Jones generated the only turnover of the game after he intercepted a pass, and returned it 13 yards.

Special Teams performed better than expected in the wind. Kicker John Hohl nailed two field goals for Team Nebraska, and Kyle Cuanan connected on a 38-yarder. Michael Sarikizis showed tremendous leg power after he made a jaw-dropping, 49-yard field goal. Rhule understands how vital kicking will be in the fall, and it’s obvious new Special Teams Coordinator Brett Maher is making an immediate impact.

Despite a couple of injuries, only one is long-term, and most of the team came out of the spring healthy, and that’s encouraging to Rhule. There’s still plenty of room for improvement, but after giving Big Red Nation a glimpse of what kind of team he’s going to field in the fall, Rhule feels positive with where the Huskers are at moving forward.

“We’ve seen these guys now, we know what they do well, and what they need to improve on, whether it’s in the weight room, their body weight position-wise, anything, so I’m happy with the spring.”