Husker QB Room Long On Talent, Short On Experience

Dylan Raiola and Danny Kaelin lead the QB room this fall.

Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Heinrich Haarberg / Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

This Thursday, May 23rd, will mark the beginning of the 100-day countdown to Nebraska football's August 31st home opener with UTEP.  One hundred days may seem like a long time, but in that time Matt Rhule is going to have to find himself a starting quarterback.

In all likelihood, that guy is going to be true freshman Dylan Raiola.  As every Husker fan knows, he may be the first 5-star QB in NU program history.  (Others who might have fit into that category are Dave Humm ('72-'74) and Tommie Frazier ('92-'95.) 

This fall, the Husker quarterback room will be bursting with potential. Matt Rhule is hoping (praying?) that potential translates into a lot of wins this fall.

Let's take a look at the QB candidates.

Dylan Raiola  (Buford HS in Buford, GA) 
Freshman:  6-3, 220
It's not a done deal that Raiola will be the starter come August, but it would seem the gig is his to lose.
College games started:  None

High School Stats
1,)  Career HS record: Almost 8,800 yards passing, 88 TDs with 11 INTs.
2.)  Senior year:  Threw for 2,666 yards and completed 63.3% of his passes for 34 TDs and only 1 INT. 
3.)  Really?  Only one interception?  Who does that?

Danny Kaelin (Bellevue West HS in Bellevue, NE)

Freshman:  6-3, 210
Daniel is rated as a high 3-star QB. But his performance in last year's Elite 11 quarterback camp may have overshadowed other rankings given him.

Consider this, Danny beat out Alabama 5-star commit Julian Sayin 56 to 53 points in the Accuracy Challenge.  Danny came out of the event as one of the top 11 high school QBs in the entire nation.

College games started:  None

High School Stats
1.)  Career HS record:  6,163 passing yards, 61% completion rate for 58 TDs and 318 rushing yards.
2.)  Senior HS:  2,225 yards, 17 TDs vs 6 INTs, 169 rushing yards and 2 TDs.

It must be noted that Danny's senior year production was limited by injuries to his top two receivers:  Dae'vonn Hall and Isaiah McMorris (both Husker Class of '24 commits).

Heinrich Haarberg (Kearney Catholic HS in Kearney, NE)

Junior:  6-5, 215

Heinrich Haarberg (The Tank Commander) started 8 games for the Huskers last year and posted a 5-3 record.  Injuries limited him the rest of the year.  

Haarberg is a very tough competitor.  His stats from last year aren't spectacular, but he's been working on his game in the off season.

2023 season stats:  He threw for 967 yards for 7 TDs (7 INTs) and rushed for 477 yards and 5 TDs.  He had a 49% completion rate.

Luke Longval (Walk-on from Sioux City East HS in Sioux City, IA.)

Sophomore:  6-2, 200

College games started:  None

Luke played high school football at Sioux City Heelan and East High.

Senior season stats:  Threw for 1,410 yards, 14 TDs, 57.1% completion rate.  Note:  Luke tore his ACL his senior year, limiting his effectiveness.

He enrolled at Iowa Western Community College, where in 2022 he redshirted and did not play.  He walked on at Nebraska and did not see action last year.

Last week I incorrectly said Luke had transferred from Nebraska and that the Huskers did not have a transfer portal QB on its roster going into this fall.

Technically, NU does not have a traditional transfer portal player on the team.  Luke never played at IWCC and ended up walking on at Nebraska.  Sorry for the mix-up.

The question remains will Matt Rhule sign or even look at any transfer portal QBs this summer.  Stay tuned.

Final thoughts  

The pecking order going into the opener might be Raiola, Haarberg, Kaelin and Longval. Rhule might prefer to redshirt Danny and limit his playing time to the maximum number of four games this fall.  Injuries will no doubt have a lot to say about who plays.

How 'Bout Them Huskers

In this week's podcast, Will and I interview Bill Williams, co-founder of Patriotic Productions, about Saturday's Memorial Day parade in Omaha's Old Market.  We also discuss Jaz Shelley's rude treatment by WNBA's Phoenix Mercury; the Husker baseball team's game vs. Ohio State in this week's Big Ten Tournament in Omaha and the 6:30 p.m. kickoff with Colorado in Lincoln on September 7th.  We also talk about this season's QB room and Husker LB recruiting target Dawson Merritt. Click here to listen.