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Add a Few More to the List: True-Freshman Husker Starters at Quarterback

Further digging into the World War II years has produced more examples of yearlings under center for Nebraska football.

Joe Hudson

Ted Kenfield, 1943 Nebraska quarterback
Ted Kenfield, 1943 Nebraska quarterback / Omaha World-Herald via Newspapers.com
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It turns out Dylan Raiola has even more company in Husker football history as a true-freshman starter at quarterback.

Last week, we told the story of Ted Kenfield, the starter in Nebraska’s 1943 opener against Minnesota and four other games that season.

Gulp! We failed to notice something: In two of the three games Kenfield didn’t start, a pair of other true freshmen got the nod: Walt Wilkins (against Kansas) and Morris Galter (against Missouri). The only non-freshman starter in 1943 was roughly a decade older than the three others: Clark Beaver, a 27-year-old married man with a leg injury that made him a 4F military reject.

The following season, 1944, saw at least two Husker true freshmen start at least one game apiece (but not the season opener) at QB: Bill Betz and Ed Gradoville.

That makes at least nine Nebraska quarterbacks who have started as true freshmen, more than double what we have been led to believe. Are there even more? Feel free to do your own digging and report back.

Regardless of the growing numbers, one thing does seem safe to say: When Raiola takes the field Saturday against UTEP, he will be just the second true freshman in the post-World War II era to start for the Huskers at quarterback in a season opener. It’ll be interesting to see whether the TV announcers get it right.

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Joe Hudson
JOE HUDSON

Joe Hudson has operated a Husker-related website since 1995 and joined forces with David Max to form HuskerPedia (later renamed HuskerMax) in 1999. It began as a hobby during his 35 years as a newspaper editor and reporter, a career that included stints at the Lincoln Star, Omaha World-Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer and Denver Post. In Denver, Joe was chief of the copy desk during his final 16 years at the Post. He is proud to have been involved in Pulitzer Prize-winning projects in both Philadelphia and Denver. Joe has been a Nebraska football fan since the mid-1960s during his childhood in Omaha. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in journalism and economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1976. He resides a few freeway exits north of Colorado Springs and enjoys bicycling and walking his dogs in his spare time. You can reach him at joeroyhud@outlook.com.

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