Nebraska
Nebraska Football’s Heinrich Haarberg Packages More Than Gimmicks
Heinrich Haarberg is not the starting quarterback for Nebraska football.
Unless you’ve been under a rock since the midway point of the 2023 season, this isn’t a surprise. But that fact doesn’t stop the Nebraska native from being a threat to defenses when he gets on the field with the first team offense.
Haarberg got on the field early against Northern Iowa, first lining up in the backfield next to quarterback Dylan Raiola. Haarberg floated into the flat to the right and Raiola threw to fellow freshman Carter Nelson on a screen. On the next play, Haarberg split out wide to the left. Again, Raiola found Nelson, this time on an option route that Nelson took into the end zone.
Dylan Raiola ➡️ Carter Nelson
Carter Nelson scores his first TD for @HuskerFootball 👏🌽 pic.twitter.com/MzaHcMijB6 — FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 14, 2024
Two plays, two uses as essentially a decoy.
“I think there’s a lot of things that we want Heinrich to be able to do,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said after the game. “Every time he goes in, we don’t just want him to be a Wildcat quarterback.”
And yet, most playmakers aren’t getting the ball simply by being on the field. As matter of fact, Haarberg being on the field is for more than just that particular game.
“We’d like to get a little bit more out of the quarterback run part of it, but I’ll be honest, one thing I’ve learned: every time we put a quarterback run on tape, another team has to practice it,” Rhule said. “(The plays) don’t necessarily have to work. I just have to chew up 20 minutes of (the opponent’s) time each day, worrying about option and worrying about those things.
“Because we can run all the options with Heinrich. We can get under center still and run belly G-option. I need (the opponents) practicing that, because that’s less time they’re practicing the other stuff that we’re doing.
Haarberg’s full use as a football player came in a spurt in the third quarter.
The Husker junior lined up to the left of Raiola, running an angle route out of the backfield and making a catch for eight yards. On the next play, he lined up to the right of Raiola and ran the ball to the left for five yards. On the final play of the sequence, Raiola split wide while Haarberg lined up in shotgun behind the center to run a quarterback power to the left for one yard.
✅ Catch pass out of backfield — Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 15, 2024
✅ Run ball out of backfield
✅ Run keeper
Backup QB Heinrich Haarberg just had a busy three plays.#B1GFootball x @HuskerFootball pic.twitter.com/iwXcxo2CKQ
“We all have our own traits and we have a lot of talented people on this team,” Haarberg said. “Trying to get everyone the ball that we can.”
His QB1 enjoyed having the athletic veteran on the field at the same time.
“Love seeing him make plays,” Raiola said. “We all knew he was capable of it.”
Haarberg also got some run in the fourth quarter with Raiola pulled from the game due to the large lead.
“What I was really pleased with Heinrich was when he got in at quarterback, the way he managed that third down, (to) find the check down was awesome,” Rhule said. “They were bringing a lot of zero blitz. He checked, they checked, he reloaded it on the long touchdown run.”
That touchdown run was from 36 yards by Emmett Johnson late in the fourth quarter.
At the end of the game, Haarberg was 3-for-3 passing for 34 yards, adding seven yards on the ground and a catch for eight yards. Opposing defenses may want to spend more than 20 minutes on what Haarberg can do on the football field.
MORE: LOOK: Photos From Nebraska Football’s 34-3 Win Over Northern Iowa
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MORE: Nebraska Football Inches Higher in Both Coaches, AP Polls Following Northern Iowa Win
MORE: Stukenholtz: That Old Familiar Husker Football Feeling
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Nebraska
Pillen: Nebraska senator tears down historical exhibits by PragerU from Capitol walls
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Parts of a temporary historical exhibit inside the Nebraska State Capitol were torn down by a state senator, Gov. Pillen alleges.
Gov. Pillen said Wednesday on social media that several displays of historical figures, key events in the American Revolution and portraits of those who signed the Declaration of Independence were “ripped off the walls” by state Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha.
A 40-second video shared by Pillen appears to show Sen. Cavanaugh taking down several displays and a photo showed the items on the floor of her office.
The displays featuring material made by the controversial conservative group PragerU were put up in the state Capitol as part of the United States’ 250th anniversary.
“Celebrating America during our 250th year should be a moment of unity and patriotism, not divisiveness and destructive partisanship. I am disappointed in this shameful and selfish bad example,” Pillen wrote.
Cavanaugh told 10/11 that senators are prohibited from putting items on the walls in the hallway outside their offices. She said the posters line the entire hallway around the first floor, but she only took down the ones outside her office.
“When I walked in this morning and saw these poster boards lining the hallway of my office, I thought well I’m not allowed to have things lining the hall of my office… I tried to take them down as gently as I could and not damage any of them, and I stacked them inside of my office and I let the state patrol know that they were there,” Cavanaugh said.
PragerU has previously faced criticism for making content that historians, researchers and scholars have considered inaccurate or misleading. Some parents and educators have also spoken out against the nonprofit, saying its content spreads misinformation and is being used for “indoctrinating children.”
The Founders Museum exhibit in particular has been criticized by The American Historical Association for blurring the line between reality and fiction, according to NPR.
The exhibit is supposed to remain on display during public building hours through the summer.
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Copyright 2026 KOLN. All rights reserved.
Nebraska
Oregon State LB transfer Dexter Foster commits to Nebraska
Nebraska has picked up a third linebacker commitment from Oregon State transfer Dexter Foster, a sophomore with three seasons of eligibility remaining, including a redshirt year.
The 6-foot-3, 236lb linebacker started in seven games this fall for the Beavers, totaling 52 tackles with 3.0 tackles for loss, four quarterback hurries and a pass breakup. As a true freshman in 2024, he appeared in 12 games, totaling 43 tackles with two tackles for loss, a sack and two quarterback hurries.
Foster held just two offers coming out of high school prior to committing to Oregon State, but was at one point a target for new Nebraska defensive coordinator Rob Aurich, when Aurich was the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Idaho in 2022-2023.
The sophomore joins a linebacker room that has seen a bit of a facelift through transfer portal additions. San Diego State linebacker Owen Chambliss led the Aztecs in tackles this season and has now signed with the Huskers, following Rob Aurich to Lincoln. Iowa State freshman linebacker Will Hawthorne committed to the Huskers on Tuesday. Nebraska fell just short of Iowa State when Hawthorne was coming out of Gilbert (Ia.) in the 2025 cycle.
Foster is the seventh transfer portal addition for the Huskers this cycle and the fourth defensive addition. The Huskers are expected to be done with linebacker portal recruiting at this point and will turn attention to needs up front, both at defensive tackle and edge rusher.
Quick look at what Nebraska is getting in Foster
Standing 6-foot-3, and north of 235lbs, Foster is rangy and athletic in space. Has the versatility to play true strong-side or weak-side linebacker and could even spin down to edge rusher if needed. Possesses the athletic and physical range to track down ball-carriers in space, arm length to keep would-be-blockers at bay. Shows good eye discipline working through traffic, quick to react and trigger downhill, with the fluidity to change directions quickly. Still more read-and-react than anticipatory at this point in his development, but gets to his spots quickly. Has the athleticism to stick in coverage against running backs, tight ends and even slot receivers.
Has the experience, size and play-style to factor into Nebraska’s linebacker rotation immediately, and could even push to start alongside San Diego State linebacker transfer Owen Chambliss. Has the versatility to be a chess piece of sorts for Aurich and stick on the field regardless of personnel.
Nebraska
Nebraska-based pizza chain Godfather’s Pizza is set to open a new location in Queen Creek
QUEEN CREEK, AZ — A slice of the Midwest is coming to the East Valley! Godfather’s Pizza from Omaha, Nebraska, is set to open a new location this month in Queen Creek.
Bruce Cannon, who owns and operates two Godfather’s Pizza locations in Lincoln and Norfolk, Nebraska, will also own and operate the new Queen Creek restaurant.
“This marks the brand’s first traditional Godfather’s Pizza restaurant in Arizona since 2009, signaling an exciting return to the Phoenix metro area,” read the news release sent to ABC15.
The restaurant will open near Queen Creek Rd and Signal Butte Rd.
The restaurant will provide dine-in, carryout, and third-party delivery options, featuring its classic pizza lineup alongside favorites like breadsticks, streusels, and specialty pies.
IF YOU GO
- Opening date: January 19, 2026.
- Address: 22485 Queen Creek Road, Suite 101
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