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.

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.

“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.

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