LINCOLN, Neb. — Billy Kemp, the veteran wide receiver, heaped praise on Heinrich Haarberg two weeks ago after his first start for Nebraska. Running back Anthony Grant jumped in line Saturday.
“I love everything that he does,” Grant said.
Tuesday, as Haarberg and the Huskers prepared for No. 2 Michigan — set to invade Memorial Stadium this week — defensive end Blaise Gunnerson expressed his pride in watching the sophomore quarterback operate Nebraska’s offense. Receiver Alex Bullock said Haarberg possesses “all the attributes you look for in a leader.”
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Offensive guard Ethan Piper feels the energy that Haarberg has generated.
“I think he’s seized the moment,” Piper said.
Haarberg is galvanizing support around the state of Nebraska. The 20-year-old out of Kearney Catholic directed the Huskers to wins against Northern Illinois and Louisiana Tech. He accounted for 520 yards, including 255 on the ground, and five touchdowns alongside one turnover in the victories that evened Nebraska’s record through four games.
His arm remains a work in progress. Haarberg completed 22 of 41 throws over the past two weeks for a paltry 6.5 yards per pass attempt. But his imposing figure, at 6 feet 5 and 225 pounds, and his mix of power and speed have turned Nebraskans nostalgic.
All of that represents a start — a good start, according to the Huskers’ only QB of this century before Haarberg to come from a Nebraska high school and win two games as the starter in Lincoln.
“The biggest thing is for him to have support from his teammates,” said Eric Crouch, the 2001 Heisman Trophy winner. “It can get a little hairy in the quarterback room if you let it.”
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Inside the locker room and in meetings, Crouch said, a quarterback wins favor.
“Those are the opportunities to lead,” he said. “It really is important. And it brings people together.”
Crouch emerged victorious from QB competitions in 1998 and 1999 at Nebraska. He played 43 games for the Huskers over four seasons.
He likes what he’s seen from the young quarterback. Haarberg is confident and composed, Crouch said. And while Crouch’s Huskers leaned on a ground game born from a desire to punish opponents into submission, this Nebraska squad turned to the option and power football out of necessity.
“There’s no doubt, I see it as a bigger challenge for them,” Crouch said.
Marcus Satterfield came to Nebraska after two seasons as the offensive coordinator at South Carolina. (Dylan Widger / USA Today)Marcus Satterfield, the first-year Nebraska offensive coordinator, had no experience with option football until this year.
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Coach Matt Rhule and his offensive staff for the past month have received a crash course in option principles from Ron Brown. A longtime former assistant under Tom Osborne, Frank Solich and Bo Pelini, Brown works this season for Rhule as the director of player support and outreach.
Since the open of preseason camp, Nebraska lost — or failed to gain — the services of Zavier Betts, Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda and Arik Gilbert, promising pass catchers around whom Satterfield strategized in the spring and summer.
When running backs Gabe Ervin and Rahmir Johnson, a proven pass catcher, went down with injuries in Week 3, the offensive plan had to change. Even the passing game needed to incorporate more play-action and option looks to capitalize on the available personnel.
Enter Brown, with his expertise. And Haarberg.
“It’s a balance,” Haarberg said. “We don’t sit down and watch ’90s film. We install new stuff, new pass plays. (The coaches) pump out new plays all the time.”
Much like the evolution in offensive philosophy this month, Haarberg’s rise came via the circumstances at hand. Jeff Sims, Rhule’s chosen QB as a transfer from Georgia Tech, suffered an ankle injury late in a 36-14 loss at Colorado on Sept. 9.
Turnover-plagued in two games at the helm, Sims remains short of 100 percent, Satterfield said Tuesday. In his absence, Haarberg has taken the ball and ran with it.
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Nebraska coaches weren’t surprised by his emergence.
Last winter, after the sprint to sign a class of recruits and scour the transfer portal for reinforcements in the wake of Rhule’s post-Thanksgiving introduction, the coaches watched video cut-ups from practice and games of all the returning Huskers.
Rhule and Satterfield noticed Haarberg’s athleticism and strong throwing mechanics. The coaches also heard about various opinions that Haarberg would make a good tight end or fullback. Rhule recalls pulling Haarberg aside in the football offices.
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“I said, ‘Hey, Heinrich, let me talk to you for a second,’” Rhule said. “‘Everybody says you should go play tight end, you should go play fullback.’ I could kind of see this look of disgust on his face. And I said, ‘I think you should go play quarterback.’”
Rhule brought Satterfield into the conversation. He agreed. From that moment, the head coach said, Haarberg developed a stronger focus.
“That’s our job,” Rhule said. “Our job’s not to write guys off. It’s to get them better. But the credit goes to him and his family.”
Haarberg’s dad, Rod, played fullback at Nebraska 30 years ago. His mom, Liz, ran track at Oklahoma State.
When Nebraska offered a scholarship in May 2020, Haarberg quickly accepted. He helped build the 2021 recruiting class that is blossoming this fall around breakout performances from tight end Thomas Fidone and linebacker Mikai Gbayor, as well as Haarberg himself.
The personality that other recruits saw in Haarberg three years ago is shining through today.
“He’s got a confidence about himself that you have to have,” Crouch said. “It just has to be something that you have inside of you.”
Crouch has talked with Haarberg briefly a few times. The Heisman winner said he’d like to soon have a more in-depth visit with all of the Nebraska quarterbacks.
For Haarberg, Crouch’s advice is simple.
“Do the best you can,” Crouch said. “Worry about what you can control — your preparation, reading defenses, changing the plays, making good decisions and taking care of the football. Eliminate the unforced penalties. That’s going to contribute to his success.”
Crouch knows better than anyone what Haarberg has experienced in the past few weeks.
“He didn’t have the pressure coming into the season,” Crouch said. “But he’s got the pressure now, being the guy today. You have to be able to block that out during the game and play and let your abilities rise.”
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Rhule said he won’t pay attention to the buzz around Haarberg.
The QB has got a “great story right now,” but Rhule said he doesn’t want to see a local restaurant roll out the Haar-burger.
“It’s important for our players to understand, we love it when people love us,” Rhule said. “We love it when people support us. But you know, it’s hard being the starting quarterback. There’s going to be a time when everyone’s upset with you.”
Sims has already seen both sides of that fickle fandom.
The Huskers need to focus on what’s in front of them today, Rhule said.
“The guys on our team who aren’t playing to a level they’re capable of, a lot of them are worried about things other than just football,” he said.
Crouch agrees with the sentiment.
“I know exactly what coach Rhule is talking about,” Crouch said. “I also know that as a quarterback, you’re competing and you want to win. And you want to lead your team to victory. I think at the end of the day, what people want to see is good, competitive football. I’m happy and I’m rooting for him. At the same time, I want this football program to do well, whether it’s Jeff Sims or Heinrich Haarberg.”
(Top photo: Dylan Widger / USA Today)
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