Nebraska Football: QB Heinrich Haarberg deserves another shot

Nebraska football was able to get a 35-11 victory over Northern Illinois on Saturday night, as Heinrich Haarberg got the start under center, with Jeff Sims out due to an injury. His performance in Saturday night’s contest indicated that he should at least be considered for next week against Louisiana Tech.

Haarberg went 14-of-24 on the evening, throwing for 158 yards and two touchdowns. He was also able to show his dual-threat ability, rushing the football 21 times for 98 yards and a touchdown.

The Nebraska native was able to show his skill set in full, and that was certainly a positive. One of his touchdown passes was to tight end Thomas Fidone The latter scored his second touchdown of the season, with his first touchdown also coming from the arm of Haarberg . This could be a combination worth watching in the future.

Above all, Haarberg was able to run the offense competently. This was not something that Sims showed he could do consistently over the first two weeks of the season.

Haarberg made smart decisions with the football, and he made good decisions under pressure. He used his combination of football IQ and athletic ability to move the ball down the field. Furthermore, he helped Nebraska football make the most of their chances in the red zone. More simply, he was able to move the chains.

It was also interesting to watch the offensive playcalling with Haarberg under center. It seemed as though the quarterback’s skill set was utilized correctly. Offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield did a good job of putting the quarterback in positions to succeed, and allowed him to run the football as well. It seemed as though Haarberg’s skill sets benefited Satterfield and the offense in terms of moving the football down the field. This is not something we necessarily saw with Sims under center over the last couple weeks.

Heinrich Haarberg leads the offense onto the field for warmups. #Huskers pic.twitter.com/rZuChESkLk

— Avarie Howard (@avariehoward31) September 16, 2023

Nebraska football needs to give him another shot

Nebraska football would be wise to start Haarberg next week against Louisiana Tech. If nothing else, he   deserved the opportunity with his performance on Saturday night. He was able to lead Nebraska football to victory. He looked comfortable in the pocket, and was able to make sound decisions. Nebraska football has been missing that over the past couple weeks.

There is undoubtedly a quarterback competition for the Huskers right now. It will be interesting to see the decision made for next week.  It is an easy choice for me: The Huskers should build  off this and let Haarberg run the show once again.