Game Day Guide: What you need to know for 2024 Nebraska Spring Game

There will be football in Memorial Stadium in just a few hours. Yes, the annual Red-White Spring Game is here for Nebraska.

Photo courtesy Nebraska Athletics

Before we kick off the spring game edition of the Game Day Guide, allow us to first extend our deepest condolences to those affected by yesterday’s severe storms in Nebraska and Iowa. It feels like a silly thing now to talk about a spring game considering the reality so many are waking up to, but maybe this can be a small distraction during a very difficult time. 

Thank you for spending a little of your day with us — today and every day.

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There will be football in Memorial Stadium in just a few hours. Yes, the annual Red-White Spring Game is here for Nebraska.

According to coach Matt Rhule, “the goal is to play a game.” That means the 54,000+ fans in attendance should get to see as much of a game as possible, mostly because Rhule likes “to know who’s winning.”

With that said, the spring game is still a scrimmage so it can’t completely be a game. Here are the specifics:

While we don’t know which team will be Red and which will be White just yet — we didn’t have the rosters at the time of scheduling this newsletter — Rhule said one team will feature the 1s and the 3s, while the other will mostly consist of the 2s. Quarterbacks will wear the green no-contact jerseys and will rotate through the units of both teams. The offensive line will wear gray jerseys — just like last year — and will also rotate, similar to the quarterbacks. While the 1s should give way to the 3s throughout the spring game, the 2s are expected to play throughout.

Rhule said Nebraska will also play an adjusted version of special teams. Long story short, it won’t be fully live. Kickoffs will end with “thuds” instead of tackles. Punts and catches will end the same.

Even with those changes, Rhule is expecting a day of strong competition from his team.

“I’m looking for a high standard of football,” Rhule said. “It can’t be like last year where you play well for a while and then you start fumbling the ball around. I don’t care if you’re a 2, 3, whatever — the standard better be high. 

“If it’s ugly, then we didn’t accomplish what we wanted to accomplish this spring.”

As for us, we’ll have the usual game day chat for paid subscribers. Keep an eye on your inboxes and apps for a notification.

Nebraska Spring Game: Everything you need to know for game day

TV Channel: Big Ten Network (Larry Punteney, Kenny Bell and Brooke Fletcher)

Date: Saturday, April 27

Time: 11 a.m. CT

Radio: Nebraska fans can listen to the game on the Huskers Radio Network. Internet radio will be available at Huskers.com.

Rebroadcast: Nebraska Public Media will rebroadcast the spring game on Sunday, April 28 at 2 p.m. CT. The re-broadcast (recorded April 27) will also be streamed online at NebraskaPublicMedia.org/live.

Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska

Weather: Partly cloudy skies during the morning hours. Strong thunderstorms will develop in the afternoon, post-spring game. High around 70 degrees. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph.

What We’re Watching

Erin

Rhule said on Thursday that veteran players will be limited in the spring game, similar to what was the case for scrimmages through spring. On the defensive side of things, those that will be limited are defensive linemen Ty Robinson and Nash Hutmacher, as well as defensive backs Isaac Gifford, Tommi Hill and Marques Buford. On the offensive side of things, it will be offensive linemen Bryce Benhart and Ben Scott, and wide receiver Jahmal Banks. Others could be added to the list, but that’s what we know right now. Rhule said that he expects those players to see “at least a play,” but not much more.

With that in mind, I’ll be watching those younger players and newcomers. I won’t go into the quarterbacks — Brandon has that covered next — but there are a number of positions where players are unavailable for a variety of reasons. Wide receiver, anyone?

Spring games don’t show everything, but they can give glimpses. That’s what I’ll be paying attention to.

Brandon

I've found spring games work best if you go in free of expectations. It is better to just let yourself react naturally to what you're seeing--because we're honestly not seeing a whole lot--than it is to go in thinking, "Let's get a look at this o-line" or something like that.

This year, however, is a bit different. Like everyone else, I'm anxious for a look at the QBs. It's not unique to have a quarterback battle bleed into the spring game, but it is somewhat rare for a program like Nebraska to be this inexperienced behind center. We know Heinrich Haarberg can handle it, but even that feeling is based on only six games where he was the primary QB. Do either of the true freshmen look like they're close to ready to leading a team through a Big Ten season? It's the biggest question of Nebraska's offseason, and one the coaching staff has embraced rather than seek experience via the portal

This will be the best look we get at the three guys Nebraska's got, so maybe this spring game has a little more to offer than most.