2023 Husker Spring Game Observations

Saturday's game was special for a lot of reasons

Kenny Larabee photo, KLIN

First of all, congratulations to all 66,045 fans who braved the elements Saturday to see the debut of the Matt Rhule Era. Even though it was just an inter-squad scrimmage, Husker fans got a much needed football fix. Here are some things worth noting about Saturday's game.

The Biggest Moment

The honoring of former Husker head football coach Frank Solich was heartfelt and long overdue. What made his salute so emotional was its sincerity. Those who stayed in their seats at the half got to experience one of the great moments in Husker football history. The cheering was loud and passionate. Trev Alberts' naming the Husker locker room in honor of Frank Solich was also a very nice touch.

To top things off Saturday the Huskers' first play from scrimmage was a fullback dive play that went for 7 yards. After the play ended, Matt Rhule called a timeout and presented the game ball to Solich. If you'll recall, Solich was a 153-pound fullback during the Bob Devaney era. Amazingly, Solich once rushed for over 200 yards in a game!

I didn't notice until later that the 45 yard line marker was painted in the same style as the #45 jersey Solich wore when he was a player. Nice touch.

Interesting observations

1) No player wore a single-digit jersey Saturday. The roster started with the number 10. I'm still not sure what the significance of banning single-digit jerseys is. I know the players are supposed to earn their single-digit jerseys. I get that. But what about the rest of the players who don't wear single-digit jerseys? Don't they have to prove they can wear their jerseys, too? Somebody will no doubt fill me in.

2) What happened to wide receiver Isaiah Garcia-Casteneda? He's listed in the program, but I don't think he saw any action Saturday. I never even heard his name mentioned either leading up to the game or afterward.

3) There were only two offensive touchdowns combined for the entire game. Both were running plays (Jeff Sims and Gabe Ervin).

4) The crowd of over 66,000 was absolutely amazing! As I keep saying, Husker fans are absolutely the best in the world!

5) MIA was '24 Husker recruit Dylan Raiola. Was this a sign that he's not coming to Nebraska? Time will tell.

6) Former Husker O-lineman Jeremiah Sirles may have found himself a new career. His performance as the color analyst on BTN's TV coverage of Saturday's game was exceptional. He knows and loves the game of college football. Maybe even more important, he knows when to stop talking. I give him an A+ for his work Saturday.

7) The concession stand nearest our seats ran out of - guess what? Hot dogs! Yes, hot dogs! Say it ain't so! Luckily, there was another stand not far away that had some left. Whew!

8) It's doubtful Matt Rhule will keep six scholarship QBs on the roster. But who will be the one(s) to leave? Based on Saturday's performances, Jeff Sims seems to be in a tie with Casey Thompson for the starting role.

But who will win the battle for third place? I was impressed with Richard Torres. Someday, he's going to be a great QB. And Heinrich Haarberg had his moments. Logan Smothers and Thompson didn't play (injuries). No QB seemed to play himself out of the picture, but there will almost certainly be one or two QBs who will eventually enter the transfer portal.

9) Rhule got a lot of players into the game Saturday. Trying to get the names and numbers is still a work in progress for Husker fans. Some of the play was sloppy, but Rhule wanted to see how players would react in a gamelike situation.

10) Nebraska has a lot of work to do by August 31st, but the good news is that Rhule also knows he has a lot of talent to work with.

How ’Bout Them Huskers

Grandson Will and I went to the game Saturday. You can listen to our comments on this week's podcast. Most of the episode is about the Husker Spring Game.

---

---