Nebraska offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield talks turnovers, Haarberg and more

With two thirds of the 2023 season in the books, turnovers are the top story surrounding Nebraska’s offense. Coordinator Marcus Satterfield’s unit is tied for 125th in the country with 19 turnovers lost through eight games.

Fixing that is priority No. 1.

“It’s driving us insane and we’re working at it to make sure it gets fixed,” Satterfield said on the Huskers Radio Network. “We know that with our defense, if we don’t turn the ball over, we have a chance to win any game we play and we just hate ourselves right now. We just keep putting it on the ground and it’s frustrating but it’s being addressed and it’s something that we’re going to get fixed. Relentlessly working at it every minute of the day.”

Satterfield admitted that the majority of the turnovers are coming from the quarterback position. Not only that, but most of the giveaways spring from controllable things. Dropped snaps, botched exchanges and other issues have plagued Nebraska this season.

If turnovers are one of the Husker offense’s most prominent developments, injuries are a tightly contested second. Nebraska placed eight different players at the top of the depth chart against Purdue than it did in the season opener at Minnesota.

The offensive line was among the hardest hit last week with three starters removed from the lineup. Satterfield said he was pleased with the performance of those who were asked to step in. There were some rushing yards left on the table and pressures certainly occurred according to the offensive coordinator, but the continual development of the offensive line is what sticks out the most.

Young receivers are being called upon, too. In consecutive weeks, Nebraska natives Malachi Coleman and Jaylen Lloyd have caught touchdowns of 40 or more yards. Lloyd’s score and Jaidyn Doss’ third-down conversion catch are sings of what’s to come according to Satterfield.

Meanwhile, the toughness of sophomore quarterback Heinrich Haarberg has been on full display in recent weeks. Satterfield said Haarberg can frustrate at times because of how early he is in his development, but his willingness to run through the proverbial brick wall for his team is unquestioned.

Haarberg fits the mold for Nebraska’s current offense according to Satterfield. Confidence has been the key to unlocking his potential.

“Just the confidence and belief that he can play quarterback,” Satterfield said. “You hear him talking all the time when he first started and he’d say he isn’t a prototypical quarterback and I got after him for that. What is a prototypical quarterback? They come in all shapes and sizes. He’s got really good arm talent. He’s got an unbelievable mind. He’s one of the smartest young men I’ve ever been around. He loves the game of football. Everybody in the locker room knows who he is. He’s got leadership.”

Satterfield made a change in his own right late last week. He said he decided to coach last Saturday’s game from the box on Friday afternoon. Satterfield joined wide receiver’s coach Garret McGuire, who has been in the box all season, while the other three coaches remained on the sideline.

“I was talking to Coach (Rhule) and I was like, ‘Hey I think I’m going to the box,'” Satterfield said. “He’s like, ‘Oh because it’s going to be cold?'”

Because Rhule has relationships with everybody in the program, Satterfield said he can trust him to organize the offense on the field level. He also said he relies on offensive line coach Donovan Raiola to deliver his message, adjust protections and get the team into the right run plays.

Satterfield said he will be in the box again this week when the Huskers travel to Michigan State. There he hopes to help his team improve on a number of goals such as converting between 42-46% of its third downs, rushing the ball for 200 yards with 75 of those yards coming in the fourth quarter, and turning 70% of the team’s red-zone possessions into touchdowns.

Nebraska will need to check those boxes, and take care of the football, if it wants to qualify for its first bowl since 2016. A Michigan State team that has lost six in a row stands in the way Saturday. But, Satterfield said he and the rest of the Nebraska staff aren’t expecting a pushover.

“It’s going to be a challenge going up there,” Satterfield said. “We have small goals in mind and that is, No. 1 take care of the football, run the football and win third downs. Those are the three things that we’re going to focus on and take with us on the trip to see if we can get it done.”

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More from Satterfield

***More on Michigan State:

“This time of year in a league like the Big Ten it’s never going to be easy. No matter who you’re going to play or where you’re going to play, it’s always going to be a tough matchup. You watch these guys, if you just watch cut ups like we do a lot of times, you wonder how they’re not 6-2 right now. The scoreboard will flash and they’re up by two touchdowns, they’re up by a touchdown, they’re physically handling the opponent at the time and it’s hard to imagine they haven’t won more games.”

***On Chubba Purdy:

“Chubba is awesome and one of my favorite guys in the room. His personality and my personality are very similar so we have a lot of fun in the meeting room picking on Heinrich and picking on Jeff (Sims). He’s doing well, keeps practicing hard and at some point, like I’m telling all three of them, we’re going to need all the guys in this room to help us win a game at some point this year. So stay locked in and stay ready, keep learning and be ready to roll.”

***On Josh Martin stepping in to coach tight ends:

“Coach Martin has done a tremendous job. It wasn’t an easy situation to come into but it’s an opportunity for Josh and I think he’s answered the call. He’s got a great football mind. His dad is a football coach. He’s been in football his whole life and coached with some really good football coaches at the college level. So, he’s prepared for the position. We didn’t skip a beat. I think those guys really accepted him early and they’ve developed a camaraderie in that room.”

***On Barret Liebentritt:

“He was banged up with the elbow. I think his role will start to grow a little bit each and every week. He had a really good practice today. I just got out of meetings this afternoon and I was showing a clip of him blocking a defensive end in one of our team periods and snapping a guy’s head back. He’s getting healthy and I think his role will start getting hashed out in our offense as we finish out the season.”

***On Luke Lindenmeyer:

“He’s a guy that we initially thought would be more of a fullback type but he’s actually turned into more of an in-line blocker. He does a really nice job of blocking six techniques and nine techniques and some of our option plays and packages we have. We had a couple passes the last couple weeks off those options that if we didn’t throw the touchdown he was completely nude. Just, wide, wide open. So his time is coming to catch some balls I’m sure down the road but he’s done a really nice job. Whatever he’s asked to do, he does it and does it at a high level.”

***On going on the road:

“It’s great to play here at Memorial and it’s also fun to get away and it’s just you and the guys. You get to the hotel, you eat, you’re together. At a time where you don’t get to do a lot of face-to-face stuff like that you’re together with your team and your players and your coaches. You go to the movie. You watch movies and you come back and you make fun of the movie and talk about it. You eat some ice cream and go up and hangout in some coaches’ rooms and watch the game that’s on that night and get a good night’s sleep for the first time that week. Then you wake up and go play a game. It’s kinda fun to be on the road and get away. There’s not many distractions out there.”