Tag: Nebraska Starting Quarterback

Who will be the starting quarterback for Nebraska in 2024?

Who will be Nebraska’s starting quarterback in 2024?

Who will be Nebraska’s starting quarterback in 2024? Head coach Matt Rhule was asked that very question while appearing on The Hard Count with J.D. PicKell of the On3 network.

Rhule made it clear that there is no timetable for announcing the starting quarterback.

“I think when we know, we know. It’s one of those deals like, I don’t want to play games with people. If we know, we know. At the same time, I’ve watched enough major college football, and we’ve figured out here it’s gonna take a couple of guys. Most years, you’re not gonna play just one quarterback. So, our job is to push all of those guys to be great. Our job is to give them all opportunities to show what they can do and grow.”

The Cornhuskers currently have three quarterbacks on the roster. Junior Heinrich Haarberg and freshmen Dylan Raiola and Danny Kaelin. The Husker head coach spoke in detail about the need for multiple quarterbacks on your roster to be ready to play at any given moment.

“You go back to our last year at Baylor, and we sat there with Charlie Brewer all year long. All of a sudden, he’s hurt, and we’re in the Big 12 Championship Game. We’ve got our third-string quarterback, who’s played one snap the entire year out there trying to bring us back, which he did. So we’re gonna coach everybody, but in terms of naming a starter, we know when it’s clear we’ll do it.”

Nebraska started three quarterbacks (Jeff Sims, Chubba Purdy, and Heinrich Haarberg) last season. The Cornhuskers’ spring game will take place on April 27 at 11:00 a.m.

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Every quarterback target in the transfer portal

Nebraska’s coaching staff has been aggressive in the transfer portal.

Nebraska’s coaching staff has been aggressive in the transfer portal. The Huskers have already been connected with five quarterbacks in the portal. You can imagine name, image and likeness money will play a significant role in who will eventually commit to the Cornhuskers. Matt Rhule explained the importance of the program.

“Make no mistake: a good quarterback in the portal costs $1 million to $1.5 million to $2 million right now. So, just so we’re on the same page, right? Let’s make sure we all understand what’s happening. There are some teams that have six or seven $1 million players playing for them.”

Rhule described the types of quarterback he would look for should the Huskers choose that route.

“The portal for me, I either want to get someone with multiple years, no matter the position, that’s on caliber with the guys we have. Or someone who is an instant impact upgrade. Someone who can make a difference.”

You can find a breakdown of the current portal targets below.

Nebraska names starting quarterback moving forward

Head coach Matt Rhule met with the media on Monday afternoon.

Head coach Matt Rhule met with the media on Monday afternoon. The head coach was asked about the current status of the quarterback position moving forward for the remainder of the season.

Jeff Sims had started this season under center, but injuries and a problem with turnovers led to sophomore Heinrich Haarberg taking over as the QB. Rhule says that Haarberg will remain the starter for the foreseeable future.

“Yeah I think we’re working hard to get Jeff to be the best he can be, working hard to get Heinrich (Haarberg) and Chubba (Purdy) to be the best they can be. We’ll play with Heinrich for now, Jeff is ready to go on a moment’s notice. We mix him in with the ones a lot in practice, I would have no problem ever having a package to play too, not saying we would do that, but I have no problem with the way he works. But to me, Heinrich’s played well, Heinrich’s done some good things, so he’ll be the starter.”

Haarberg has thrown for 631 yards for the season with four touchdowns and two interceptions. He’s also run for 353 and three touchdowns, averaging 5.1 yards per rush.

Find a photo gallery of Heinrich Haarberg’s season below.

Rhule confident in all three quarterbacks moving forward

Nebraska has had two quarterbacks start games during the 2023 season.

Nebraska has had two quarterbacks start games during the 2023 season. Transfer quarterback Jeff Sims and sophomore Heinrich Haarberg have both led the Big Red offense on the field.

Haarberg has thrown for 621 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. He’s also added 352 yards on the ground with three touchdowns. Sims has thrown for 220 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions. He’s also added 153 yards rushing.

Head coach Matt Rhule believes Nebraska has the quarterbacks that can do the job.

“I think that room has that culture. I’ll be honest you, had Chubba not gotten hurt that day, I’m not so sure Chubba wouldn’t have gone out there first. I think Chubba would have done the same thing. That’s not a knock on Heinrich… (Jeff Sims) he’s back healthy now just out there. He’s competing like crazy. We have three quarterbacks that I believe we can win with.”

Rhule also said that he believes his current starter, Heinrich Haarberg, is still learning how to become a starting quarterback and take of his body during the wear and tear of a long season.

“I think Heinrich is ready for his moment. He’s capitalized on it. He has a long way to go. He’s leaving a lot of things out there. The wear and tear of running him as many times as we’re doing, that can have an effect on you.”

Nebraska will next take the field on Saturday, October 21, at 2:30 p.m. when they host the Northwestern Wildcats. Find a photo gallery of Nebraska’s top three quarterbacks below.

Matt Rhule ‘very confident’ with either starting quarterback at Illinois

Head football coach Matt Rhule met the media on Monday afternoon.

Head football coach Matt Rhule met the media on Monday afternoon. He was asked who would be the starting quarterback for the Huskers when they take the field on Friday.

“I feel very confident with Heinrich being the starting quarterback. That being said, I also have a lot of confidence in Jeff (Sims). That’s probably not a great answer, but we practiced last night. Jeff looked awesome. Jeff looked great. Heinrich looked great. Chubba (Purdy) looked good. I’m getting them both ready.

In five games this season, Heinrich Haarberg has started in two. He has thrown for 477 yards and four touchdowns with one interception.

Haarberg has also run the ball 51 times for 270 yards and two touchdowns. Jeff Sims has started in three games this season.

The Georgia Tech transfer has thrown for 220 yards and one touchdown with four interceptions. He has also run 30 times for 156 yards and one touchdown.

The head coach also made it clear that he saw growth from Haarberg during the Michigan loss.

“I have full confidence in Heinrich. In the midst of losing, and I know there were some bad passes and all those things, but in the midst of losing, I saw things from Heinrich that I wanted to see. I saw him compete. I saw him and Billy (Kemp IV) work well versus man, and I saw a lot of option routes. I saw some things that I think we need to add to our run game. We just have to get the run game back to what it had been doing.”

Nebraska will next take the field on Friday, October 6 at 7:00 p.m. The game can be viewed on FS1.

Find a photo gallery of Nebraska’s starting quarterbacks below.

Nebraska names starting quarterback against Louisiana Tech

The Nebraska Cornhuskers have announced their starting quarterback for Saturday afternoon’s game against Louisiana Tech.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers have announced their starting quarterback for Saturday afternoon’s game against Louisiana Tech. Heinrich Haarberg will start again in place of Jeff Sims.

Louisiana Tech will be starting a new quarterback as well. Pete Thamel of ESPN had the news of the change at starter for both schools.

Sources: Heinrich Haarberg will start again this week at QB for Nebraska, with Jeff Sims available but not 100-percent (ankle). Louisiana Tech’s Jack Turner will make his first career start at QB at Nebraska, as Hank Bachmeier (shoulder) is only available as an emergency quarterback.

Last week, Haarberg started in the victory over Northern Illinois. He totaled 256 yards of offense and three touchdowns in the win. Kickoff this afternoon is at 2:30 p.m.

Find a photo gallery of Haarberg’s career below.