BSchneid’s 1890 NIL Event Practice Recap
By: Bobby Schneider
Nearly 5,000 fans filled West Memorial Stadium this past Saturday night for a practice under the lights. The nearly 100-degree temperature, mixed with the all-too-familiar Lincoln humidity, is how Huskers are made. I decided to attend the event to see what I could find out about the early depth chart. When the Cornhuskers came out of the locker room, the highest-rated recruit since Marlon Lucky, Dylan Raiola led the team onto the field. The energy in the practice is legitimate and not all talk. “Stop walking,” Rhule yelled when he was mic’d up. The players get going and Rhule won’t let anything slide, expecting 110% from every player.
Big Red started with stretching and a quick team prayer in the middle of the field. Then came a team scrimmage where the first team appeared and one key guy was taking the snap, none other than Raiola. Although Coach Rhule hasn’t named a starting quarterback, it is evident who runs the offense. For a true freshman, he certainly doesn’t present himself as one. The composure he holds shows a veteran type of leader. When the drive came to an end, Raiola threw a beautiful goal-line fade to Wake Forest transfer Jahmal Banks for the score.
The first team receiving corps consisted of Banks, Isaiah Neyor and Janiran Bonner who seemed to be transitioned back to receiver. I did not see wideout Jaylen Lloyd or guard Henry Lutovsky, who presumably are suffering from some sort of injury or getting a rest day. Thomas Fidone was the tight end and the offensive line consisted of Turner Corcoran, Justin Evans, Ben Scott, Micah Mazzccua and Bryce Benhart. Emmett Johnson was in the backfield. The running backs rotated constantly. Johnson is the all-purpose back for the Huskers. Rahmir Johnson is the scat back, Gabe Ervin Jr., Dante Dowdell are the bruisers and Kwinten Ives is the unknown.
The Blackshirts had many of the expected players on the field, except defensive back Tommi Hill, who only participated in drills and must be in the precautionary end to avoid injury and jack linebacker Princewill Umanmielen was not suited up.
The first unit secondary minus Hill, consisted of Marques Buford Jr. and Jeremiah Charles at the cornerback position. Isaac Gifford, DeShon Singleton and Malcolm Hartzog were the safeties. The core linebacker unit was John Bullock, Javin Wright and MJ Sherman. The defensive line had veterans Jimari Butler, Nash Hutmacher and Ty Robinson. The defense has many familiar names from last year’s group.
True freshman Willis McGahee IV, the son of former Miami Hurricane and NFL running back Willis McGahee, came in quickly as an edge rusher. With the substitution of players, defensive coordinator Tony White runs; many were rotating with the first group of defenders, with other linebackers Maverick Noonan, Vincent Shavers Jr. and Mikai Gbayor in the mix. Riley Van Poppel, Kai Wallin, Elijah Judy and Cam Lenhardt subbed in on the d-line.
When the second team took the field, junior quarterback Henrich Haarberg had his opportunity. He seemed tense and struggled. Haarberg gained a first down with a 12-yard scamper. Later on in the drive, he threw an interception to true freshman cornerback Kahmir Prescott. This interception return led to a fight breaking out at the end of the play, instigated by sophomore offensive lineman Tyler Knaak. Coach Rhule approached Knaak. He was then running laps around the field for the remainder of the period. After the team session was over, Rhule had a meeting with his players in the middle of the field. He seemed to be irritated from the result and the fight that broke out did not help.
Following this, the Cornhuskers did circuit drills focusing on something fans have been annoyed with recently: turnovers. Then, they did special teams, pursuit drills, one one-on-ones, skeleton AKA 7-on-7 and 9-on-7, or some call it inside run.
When NU worked on kickoffs, true freshman Roger Gradney appeared to suffer a significant non-contact injury planting on the field. It makes sense why they will be putting in real grass after the 2025 season. Towards the end of the practice, they did another team-period scrimmage. To end the practice, Coach Rhule had a fun event with a reward of shortening the post-practice running if linemen or coaches could catch a punt. Unfortunately, the “polar bear,” Hutmacher did not make the catch, but Benhart did.
Impressively enough, Robinson was one of the first on the defensive unit to finish his gasser. His love for the game is reminiscent of the Peter brothers from the ‘90s. For a 310-pound lineman, it shows that the fifth-year senior leads by example. Since the offense didn’t have to run a gasser at the end, Raiola joined the defense for extra conditioning.
My overall impression of the 1890 Fundraiser practice is that the Cornhuskers have revamped their offense. The defense is just like last year. Raiola’s poise sparks confidence in the entire offense. The transfer wide receivers are going to be impact players. Strong performances are expected from other wideouts, including Malachi Coleman, Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda and Lloyd. I foresee freshmen receivers Jacory Barney Jr., Carter Nelson and Keelan Smith rotating when UTEP rolls into Lincoln. The running back room is loaded with different types of talent from elusiveness to power. The top five should have opportunities to carry the rock this fall. The offensive line has quality depth, from the ones to the twos.
The Blackshirts are poised to be one of the nation’s top defenses, with strength on the line and speed at the backers and secondary. With all the signs pointing at Raiola as QB1, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Haarberg in the mix at other positions, such as he was a wing against Minnesota last year, or utilized in a wildcat package. This is just the first part of fall camp, but it appears the staff has a good idea of who will be the first unit on both sides of the ball come August 31st.
