Matt Rhule discusses potential on-field role for Heinrich Haarberg aside from backup QB

True freshman Dylan Raiola is QB1 at Nebraska. Redshirt junior Heinrich Haarberg is the backup. That’s not to say Haarberg won’t see the field in another capacity, though.

Although Haarberg replaced an injured Jeff Sims and led the Cornhuskers to a 5-3 record as their starting quarterback last season, he also saw action in an H-back role Week 1 at Minnesota, where he caught a 10-yard pass in the second quarter.

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Plus, he finished the year atop the Huskers’ leaderboard with 477 yards on the ground, not to mention his team-high five rushing touchdowns.

So it’s not surprising Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule was asked Friday if Haarberg could be used as more than just a backup quarterback who signals plays in on game day this season.

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Rhule started his answer by saying “I think that remains to be seen” but ended it with “we’re going to use him.”

“I probably don’t want to give too much out to everybody,” Rhule said. “But, I mean, I think, in fairness to Heinrich, I just have so much respect for him as a competitor. He can go out and do anything.”

While discussing Haarberg, Rhule referenced former Huskers quarterback and head coach Scott Frost, who piloted Nebraska to a national championship in 1997 and rushed for more than 1,000 yards and 19 touchdowns in the process.

“Coach Frost was one of the great quarterbacks in college football history, and he goes on and plays safety in the National Football League, and Heinrich reminds me so much of that,” Rhule said.

“Heinrich, to me, could be a great safety, could probably be a great linebacker. He’d be a great tailback, wideout, tight end, and so we have the opportunity to use him when needed. At the same time, I also don’t want to lose my No. 2 quarterback because he ran a dive.”

Rhule said there’s a “fine line” there. Even though having insurance at the quarterback position is paramount, Nebraska isn’t playing this year in fear, the second-year Huskers coach emphasized.

“We’re not going to play like, ‘What if this goes wrong?'” Rhule said. “I know sometimes that’s the way people think. That’s the way sometimes I think, but we made a decision this year that we’re going to attack.

“We’re going to go all in on this this team and attack with everything we have, and Heinrich’s a big part of that, so we’re going to use him.”

Haarberg had a nice run as Nebraska’s starting quarterback, putting the Huskers in bowl contention before suffering an ankle sprain that kept him out the final two games of the regular season.

He rounded out last year with only 967 passing yards, just a 49% completion rate and a middling 7:7 touchdown-to-interception ratio, but him leading the team in rushing was more than enough to prove his dual-threat ability.

Raiola is the unanimous five-star quarterback prospect who is getting an immediate crack at stardom in Lincoln. That said, Haarberg could still help Nebraska in 2024 — either as QB2 and/or as the dynamic athlete he’s showed he can be.