Matt Rhule on Nebraska QB competition: 'We'll let them play it out'

As Nebraska heads into the summer, one of the big question marks comes at quarterback. The three scholarship QBs of Heinrich Haarberg, Dylan Raiola and Daniel Kaelin battled it out through the spring, but the competition will continue when training camp starts next month.

As for when he’ll make a decision, Matt Rhule said he’s not ready to set a deadline. He’s hoping to give the three quarterbacks a chance to separate themselves with a starter emerging.

Rhule joined HuskerOnline’s Sean Callahan and Steven Sipple on HuskerOnline Headlines this week, and he shared an update on the quarterback battle. One of the things he said stands out is the bond between the players in that room, and it could add another level to the competition.

“That’s a great question. I don’t know that I know that, honestly,” Rhule said when asked about a timeline for a decision. “I think the one thing that I’ve had outsiders come in and visit us and just watch us, they’ve said … your three quarterbacks really like each other. So I think if you have a bunch of guys who respect each other, the competition continues to bring out the best in everybody. That doesn’t mean when you’re having a competition, we’re not skewing the reps. Someone’s gonna go with the 1s more than the 3s, somebody’s gonna go with the 2s more than the 3s. That will happen.

“Obviously, I’d like it before game week. What I don’t want to do is name someone the starter and then have second thoughts a couple weeks later. It’s like I tell guys in recruiting – take all your visits if you have to because when you commit to us, we want you here for four years, not just four weeks. It’s the same thing with this. We’ll let them play it out and let them show off all the work they did this summer and see where we are.”

Nebraska is set to open training camp July 31 and the season opener against UTEP is a month later. That means Haarberg, Raiola and Kaelin have a few weeks in the late summer to vie for the starting job. While Matt Rhule said he wants to have QB1 in place by that week, he wasn’t sure if it’d be worth waiting that long because UTEP has a new coaching staff in place.

“There’s a gamesmanship probably if you’re the head coach where maybe you know it two weeks in, but you’re not letting the opponent know,” Rhule said. “I don’t know this year, because it’s a new staff at UTEP, you’re watching what they did previously. But I don’t know that we know what they’re doing. It’s maybe not as much of a benefit.

“But I don’t know yet. I really haven’t ever said to myself, I want to have a deadline of this date. I want the guys to get better and hoping they all push each other.”

Inside the resumes of Nebraska’s quarterbacks

Haarberg got plenty of reps last season after eventually taking the reps from Jeff Sims. All told, he threw for 967 yards, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions across 10 appearances while adding 477 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground.

Now, he’s up against two incoming freshmen for the starting job – headlined by Raiola. The former five-star recruit checked in as the No. 21 overall player from the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. Kaelin was another key part of Nebraska’s recruiting class after coming in as a three-star prospect and the No. 6-ranked player in the state, per the On3 Industry Ranking.

Nebraska’s QB battle will remain a key storyline as camp approaches. A resolution will be on the way after Matt Rhule and the Cornhuskers get back on the field on July 31.