Carter Nelson can make an early impact for Nebraska football

Carter Nelson shined in the Polynesian Bowl and that leads me to believe he’ll make an early impact for Nebraska football.

Much of the attention at the Polynesian Bowl was focused on future Nebraska football quarterback Dylan Raiola and rightfully so.

Raiola was stellar all week and in the game. He did have one interception, but he also had a touchdown pass and even completed a couple of passes to future teammate Carter Nelson.

As much as I wanted to see Raiola throw the ball, my attention was focused on Nelson this week as I wanted to see how we would adjust coming from 8-man football.

Carter Nelson ends the 8-man narrative

People look down on the 8-Man game and yes, there aren’t many stars with roots in it, but Nelson looked like a star at the Polynesian Bowl. Not only was he named a top performer during the week of practice but during the game, Nelson caught three passes for 66 yards.

Carter Nelson with his 2nd beautiful catch 🤩 #GBR #Huskers #polynesianbowl pic.twitter.com/lU6aw7JEt5

— Husk'n Fanatic (@husknfanatic) January 20, 2024

Nelson played tight end and that’s probably where he will play for Nebraska football. But his speed was impressive. On one catch, he was split out wide and caught a run-pass option from Raiola. Nelson caught a 33-yard pass from Raiola in the first quarter getting up the seam.

Nebraska connection with Dylan Raiola finding TE Carter Nelson down the field in the first quarter at the @polynesiabowl pic.twitter.com/rW4LO54DMB

— Matt Moreno (@MattRMoreno) January 20, 2024

I loved seeing the connection between the future Nebraska football players, who seemed to bond during the week. Raiola should be targeting Nelson plenty in the future and after seeing what he did against some of the best recruits in the country, I see no reason why that production can’t start right away in Lincoln.

Dylan Raiola 🏈 Carter Nelson once again for a first down! #Huskers #GBR Dylan is getting Team Makai back in this @polynesiabowl game quickly. pic.twitter.com/wQScNe4mf3

— Husk'n Fanatic (@husknfanatic) January 20, 2024

Nelson isn’t enrolling early. That could hinder his chance to play right away, but like Raiola, Nebraska hasn’t had many tight ends with the abilities of Nelson and I believe that he’ll make an impact for the Huskers in 2024, even if it takes a few games to get going.

The stage isn’t too big for Carter Nelson and he should torment Big Ten defenses for years to come.

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