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Four Observations from Nebraska Football's Red-White Spring Game

The first extended look at the 2026 Nebraska football team has come and gone. Here are four observations from Saturday's event at Memorial Stadium.
Kaleb Henry|
Nebraska quarterback Anthony Colandrea looks for a receiver in the Red-White Spring Game.
Nebraska quarterback Anthony Colandrea looks for a receiver in the Red-White Spring Game. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

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Nebraska Cornhuskers

LINCOLN — The Red-White Spring Game returned to Lincoln in 2026, and an earlier-than-normal start meant the event concluded before the calendar could flip to April.

With the offense and specialists in red and the defense in white, Nebraska officially beat Hurskers, 22-17. Confused? Don't be. Spring game scoring doesn't always have to make sense.

For what did make sense on Saturday, here are four observations from the event.

Quarterbacks

Anthony Colandrea is the clear No. 1 at quarterback. His processing of the plays is lightning quick, and so is his first step when he decides to take off with his legs. As for arm strength, he pushes the ball downfield better than Dylan Raiola did the last couple of seasons.

Where Colandrea runs into issues, as he did earlier in his career, is when he tries to throw back across his body as he's running laterally. His lone interception of the game came as he was running left out of the pocket and contorted his body back to try to drop a ball to Kwazi Gilmer in a pocket between three defenders. In all honesty, Gilmer could (should?) have made the catch, but the ball popped loose for an interception by Donovan Jones.

TJ Lateef appears to be the second-best QB on the roster. He played a speed that showed just how hampered he was against Iowa and in the bowl game. The issue with him being No. 2 is if Rhule and Co. want to redshirt him this season and limit his regular-season time to just the allotted four games.

Daniel Kaelin's return to Lincoln showed promise. He's certainly behind Colandrea and Lateef at this point, especially when it comes to comparing escapability and mobility. Kaelin also had a sure-fire touchdown that fell to the ground when he severely underthrew his target.

Running Backs

Welcome to Lincoln, Jamal Rule. The true freshman is easily the best back of the bunch. It would be a major surprise if he isn't listed as the No. 1 running back on the depth chart to open this fall.

Rule rushed 10 times for 121 yards and a touchdown, adding one catch for 15 yards. His best run was a 75-yarder, where he found space at the line to the right and then broke for the sideline, eventually holding off a defender to finish with the score.

After Rule, anyone could still work their way into the No. 2 role.

Mekhi Nelson is likely for that spot. He had 38 yards on seven carries. Isaiah Mozee showed the most burst from the backfield, carrying the ball six times for 41 yards.

Kwinten Ives looks slimmer than a year ago, which could play into keeping him healthy. He had 14 carries for 55 yards.

A darkhorse to make his way up the depth chart is redshirt freshman Conor Booth. The Wahoo, Neb., native tallied 15 carries for 87 yards and a touchdown. He scored on a 32-yard run to end the game.

Special Teams

Although special teams weren't live, we were able to see how much of the operation worked in the post-Mike Ekeler world.

The three place kickers combined to go 4-for-4 on the day on field goals. John Hohl made a pair from 33 and 32 yards out. Kyle Cunanan drilled a 38-yarder. Australian freshman Michael Sarikizis had the most impressive make, notching a 49-yarder directly into the south wind.

Archie Wilson punted five times on the day. His punts had an average of 41.4 yards, and three were downed inside the 20-yard line. After struggling through November, Wilson appeared to be back to how he looked early in his freshman campaign.

On the return side, improvements remain necessary.

The opening kickoff, the only one of the game, was muffed. Had the play been live, the offense would have been looking at starting inside its own 15, if not worse. Later in the game, Jacory Barney Jr., who has shown to be the most electric punt returner for the Huskers in several years, fair caught a ball inside his own five-yard line. Late in the fourth quarter, Larry Miles did the same thing on a rocketed line drive.

The Attendance

The announced attendance for the game was 27,188. That's the lowest for a Nebraska spring game since 2000, when 22,415 saw the team that would play under Frank Solich's third year.

Keep in mind that with the 2000 team, the program was coming off a Big 12 Championship, which would be the last league title for the program to date. The program was also only two seasons removed from winning the national title.

So what does the low attendance in 2026 mean? Is it apathy? Is it the earlier date? Nebrasketball's March Madness run?

There's certainly something to say for each of those reasons.

Much of social media and the message boards are filled with anti-hype sentiment. Despite back-to-back bowl game appearances, the fans have largely shifted to a "prove-it" mindset. The first three years of the Rhule era, and most of the previous coaching eras, were filled with offseason Kool-Aid. That's not the case in 2026.

The earlier start date is also a likely contributor. Temperatures at kickoff were around 46 degrees, with a chilly wind out of the south. Getting going in February meant a spring that was mostly overshadowed by the basketball season, which itself stretched into late March with its Sweet 16 run.

Rhule said before the spring game that the focus on other Husker sports this time of year hasn't been a bad thing for his program. It has been business as usual, with more emphasis on taking care of the business that is improving for a fall football slate that projects to be the toughest in Rhule's tenure in Lincoln.

Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to kalebhenry.huskermax@gmail.com.

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Kaleb Henry
KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team where he discussed NCAA legislation as SIUE's representative to the Ohio Valley Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. 

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