College football is far from normal right now and hopefully what we saw at Memorial Stadium on Saturday isn’t the new norm either. While I won’t call it a bad day, it was a far cry from what Husker fans are accustomed to in a Spring Game. Until Rhule changed his mind and announced there would be real football I had no intention of attending. But being a Husker football fan I’m up for seeing real football whether it’s an actual game, a scrimmage or even a practice. And that includes only getting to see the lower half of the roster. Honestly, I wouldn’t have regretted not going if there wasn’t a scrimmage.
It was estimated that there were less than 10,000 fans in attendance, so it was well short of the 40,000 to 50,000 that one would usually see. Just as Rhule had promised, the top 50 or 60 players on the roster did not play in the scrimmage. They participated in the skills competitions with the offensive players wearing red jerseys and the defensive players wearing black jerseys all with yellow numbers. Scrimmage players wore full pads with the offense in red jerseys and the defense in black. So, it was easy to keep track of who was who when competing.
The skills competitions were entertaining but for me they were somewhat like a Super Bowl halftime, unnecessary. If you were looking to see football, they were more distracting than anything. Matt Rhule took a page from ESPN’s Sport-Center, where they jump from one sport to another so viewers won’t wander off after watching the sport they are truly tuned in for. Had he not staggered skill events and scrimmage quarters that would have happened Saturday.
I found the long snapping and field goal kicking events interesting. It gave fans some insight as to where those players stand talent wise. Long snappers had ten opportunities to snap the ball and knock down what appeared to be a standing six-inch diameter piece of white pipe. Transfer addition Keven Gallic knocked down 5 of 10 while Aiden Fledge hit 3 of 10.
John Hohl didn’t compete in kicking field goals as he is still dealing with an injury. But fans got a look at Nicco Otomanelli and Tristan Alvano. While somewhat sporadic, Alvano seems to have recovered from his thigh injury. There was a punting competition, but you can’t really take too much from that with Nebraska going to rugby style punting.
As part of the strong man competition, Henry Lutovsky was impressive popping off 25 reps with ease on the bench press with a weight of 225 pounds. It appeared he could have easily done more. Jacory Barney won the fastest man competition.
Personally, I found the quarterback skills competition the most telling of all events. All six of the Husker quarterbacks competed. In my opinion they threw just as I would rank them, going from bottom to top. The competition consisted of each quarterback throwing at five different targets. The first was a moving bullseye that crossed the field. The second and third were tackling dummies set up on each side of the field outside the hash marks. The fourth was a basketball goal set up at the goal line. And finally, the fifth target was the goalpost cross bar. Points were awarded for each target. Luke Longval scored 3 points, Brodie Soukup scored 6, TJ Lateef scored 8, and Jalyn Gramstad scored 5. Riola’s didn’t have a point total as he didn’t finish.
However, Raiola hit the moving target all four throws, hit the left-hand tackling dummy twice and then made a forty-yard throw that went through the hoop of the basketball goal. Fans erupted. It was impressive. Raiola then made one attempt at the crossbar before Matt Rhule stepped in and shut him down. Whether he didn’t want outsiders to see more, or he was trying to shut down Husker fan’s expectations is unsure. Either way, it was the highlight of the skills competition.
The scrimmage was enjoyable for football fans with the defense getting the better end of the battle. I was particularly impressed with 6’7” 300-pound defensive lineman David Hoffken. Wearing a size 20 shoe and having an 88” wingspan he’s an impressive specimen physically. Linemate Mason Goldman also had a good game. Both players disrupted the offensive line, got after the quarterback and made the ball difficult to move for the offense.
With Gramstad and Raiola not playing, Lateef, Davila, Soukup, and Longval all saw action. TJ Lateef started the first series. Lateef’s athleticism is apparent. He moves well in the pocket and looks like a good runner when forced to be. I anticipate him being the third string QB going into the season. While Lateef looked better in the QB skills competition, having a stronger arm than Gramstad, Gramstad will hold on to the number two spot due to knowledge and experience.
Now, Rhule and his staff wait to see what happens with the lawsuit and whether things stay at 105 or the players are grandfathered in. I’m sure Rhule has his fingers crossed hoping to avoid some of those difficult conversations with players.
Overall, I’m not against the Husker Games events that took place Saturday. In fact, I’d be supportive of everything that took place, even the football skills competition if it was separate from the Red-White game. For me, make them two separate weekends. What we witnessed Saturday was a mishmash of distractions trying to get you to ignore football.
Hopefully the right people will come to their senses and allow teams to have scrimmages with other schools. College football has been in flux since the arrival of NIL, more changes to get things right wouldn’t cause anymore waves than what we’ve seen the last couple of years.
It’s time to get things fixed and go back to real football, it’s what makes Nebraska, Nebraska.
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