LINCOLN — Nebraska conducted its ninth spring workout Thursday morning inside Memorial Stadium, marking the first time the football team has practiced outdoors under Scott Frost.
Quarterbacks coach Mario Verduzco said seeing the sun and feeling the wind made the experience feel a little more like football.
"That was great, man," Verduzco said. "That was awesome. That was tremendous."
Beyond the news that redshirt sophomore quarterback Patrick O'Brien asked for and was granted his scholarship release, coaches said they continue to evaluate players and how deep NU is at each position.
"Spring, we have a pencil depth chart," Nebraska offensive coordinator Troy Walters said. "And it's going to change."
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Walters said the wave of wide receivers behind Stanley Morgan, JD Spielman and Tyjon Lindsey includes redshirt freshman Jaevon McQuitty, true freshman Justin McGriff and junior college transfer Mike Williams.
Other quick hits from the Thursday workout:
>> Walters said "not really" when asked if anyone has separated at running back. He said the plan is to use a committee approach within the offense.
>> Senior Keyan Williams — a receiver and the son of former NU wideouts coach Keith Williams — has bought into the new staff. Walters said the elder Williams called him a couple weeks ago to tell him the player is enthusiastic to learn under the new coaches.
Every Nebraska football spring game since 2000
2022
2022: Offense vs. Defense. The White (defense) led 29-10 at halftime, but the Red (offense), using backup quarterbacks and running backs, surged as the game wore on, scoring four second half touchdowns. However, a late interception by Darius Moore gave the White the win over the Red 43-39 in front of 54,357 fans at Memorial Stadium.
2021
2021: Spring game returns with a rare win. Winds gusting up to 30 miles per hour don’t necessarily make for fun, high-scoring spring games. Neither do stingy defenses. Nebraska’s annual Red-White affair — back after a one-year pause for COVID-19 — had plenty of both in the White’s 21-20 win in front of 36,406 fans at Memorial Stadium. The White, which rarely wins the game, surged to a second-half lead before quarterback Logan Smothers tossed a 23-yard touchdown to Brody Belt on fourth down to give Red a 20-14 lead in the fourth quarter.
2020
2020: Going virtual. The weather was perfect. So were the historic Husker rosters. And while COVID-19 made sure the Nebraska football team wasn’t able to hold its regular spring game, its virtual online video game on Saturday still drew, at its peak viewership, roughly 25,000 fans from Facebook, Twitch and Twitter channels. The bulk of NU fans watched the White team, quarterbacked by Eric Crouch, stun the Red team, quarterbacked by Tommie Frazier, in a 63-60 overtime thriller in which Crouch orchestrated a fourth-quarter comeback.
2019
2019: Martinez and a Bunch of other quarterbacks. Five players took snaps in the spring game, though Adrian Martinez was the undisputed leader, completing 5 of 9 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. The others were Noah Vedral, Andrew Bunch, Luke McCaffrey and Matt Masker. Despite the depth at quarterback, the defense held its own, recording seven sacks and allowing a 47.1% combined completion rate. "I think the offense did better today than sometimes during spring," coach Scott Frost said. "It was a good performance by the defense, but it's not the best I've seen this spring. There's been times where we couldn't move the ball at all this spring." The Red team won 24-13.
2018
2018: Flying into the future. The star of the Red team's 49-9 win over the White team didn't play or call one snap. Instead, Scott Frost stood behind the action, part coach, part spectator. He came home and a spring game record crowd of 86,818 welcomed him. "It was a special day for me, " Frost said. Frost had the spotlight. But the kid? The kid took it for a moment. In a quarterback race still far from over, true freshman Adrian Martinez — the player Frost once flew in the middle of the night to recruit — arguably took the lead. He ran for 60 yards, threw for 114 and, most important, amassed four touchdowns.
2017
2017: Two close to call. Quarterback Tanner Lee, right, appeared to be the front-runner for the starting job, connecting on 13 of 19 passes for 199 yards and three touchdowns, none better than a 30-yard touchdown pass to slot receiver JD Spielman. Close behind was Patrick O’Brien, who hit 11 of 17 passes for 134 yards and one touchdown and got the first snaps of the game with the Reds after winning a pregame coin flip in the locker room. Lee, O’Brien, Tristan Gebbia and Andrew Bunch combined for 702 yards passing, five touchdowns and one interception on the day.
2016
2016: Nebraska walk-on Kyle Kasun’s interception of freshman quarterback Patrick O’Brien on the final play produced the six points in the scrimmage’s scoring system that gave the defense a 46-41 victory over the offense. The Huskers racked up 343 yards on 64 carries — with the quarterbacks accounting for 162 of those rushing yards.
2015
2015: Nebraska coach Mike Riley's spring game debut featured 408 punting yards by Sam Foltz, a bizarre safety by quarterback Tommy Armstrong and plenty of growing pains. NU quarterbacks completed 34 of 68 pass attempts, but it ended with a Gatorade bath for Riley. “I loved that,” he said.
2014
2014: Nebraska coach Bo Pelini kicked off the spring game by carrying a cat onto the field during the tunnel walk — a nod to Faux Pelini, his Twitter parody account. Red defeated White 55-46, behind running back Imani Cross, who had 100 yards and two touchdowns on six carries.
2013
2013: Team Jack stole the show. Midway through the fourth quarter, Husker quarterback Taylor Martinez handed off to 7-year-old Jack Hoffman — a pediatric brain cancer patient who became close friends with former Husker Rex Burkhead — for a 69-yard touchdown. Both sidelines emptied to converge on Jack, who was raised to the shoulders of a couple of players. The play was named USA Today’s “Best Emotional Moment of 2013″ and awarded the ESPY for best sports moment.
2012
2012: Fans take shelter in the concourse at Memorial Stadium to avoid the rain. Nebraska chose not to play the 2012 spring game when a severe thunderstorm blew through the area about 90 minutes before kickoff. It was the only spring game canceled in NU's 65-year history of the scrimmage.
2011
2011: After missing a field goal for White seconds before, Brett Maher kicked the game-winner for Red, giving them a 32-29 win. True freshman Jamal Turner racked up 228 all-purpose yards on just seven touches.
2010
2010: The Taylor & Cody show. Taylor Martinez (pictured) passed for two scores and added nine carries for 60 yards. Cody Green’s highlight was a 72-yard touchdown throw to Will Henry that showed off his arm. He finished 7 of 15, passing for 155 yards for White, but Red won 21-16.
2009
2009: Quarterback Zac Lee finished the game with 214 yards and three touchdowns and directed Red to a 31-17 win. He completed 15 of his 18 attempts, hardly looking rattled in front of 77,670 Husker fans who had been waiting all spring, maybe somewhat anxiously, for a chance to see the team’s new leader in action.
2008
2008: I-back Marcus Mendoza eyes the end zone, but is pushed out of bounds by Mathew May of Imperial, Neb. Mendoza gained 33 yards on seven carries in Red's 24-14 win. The Bo Pelini era began with a school-record 80,149 fans in attendance.
2007
2007: NU quarterbacks Sam Keller and Joe Ganz combined to complete 21 of 31 passes for 350 yards against No. 2 and No. 3 defensive players. Keller and Ganz led Red to a 38-0 win. “The coaching staff obviously has a handle on this (deciding on a No. 1),” Keller said after the game.
2006
2006: Cody Glenn, No. 34, tries to run against White Team defenders, including Phillip Dillard, No. 38, and Kevin Luhrs, No. 89. Glenn finished with 98 yards on 16 carries. Red defeated White, 35-7, racking up 28 first downs and 219 rushing yards compared to two first downs and -10 for White.
2005
2005: Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor is greeted by fans as he enters the field. Taylor, a transfer from Butler County (Kan.) Community College, finished 20 of 27 for 357 yards and three touchdowns, leading White to a 42-14 victory. Taylor’s 357 passing yards, and the 606 combined passing yards by White and Red, set spring game records.
2004
2004: White's Brandon Rigoni and Tyler Fisher break up a pass intended for Ross Pilkington. New coach Bill Callahan unveiled a new pass-happy attack and set multiple spring game passing records, including attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns. Husker quarterback Joe Dailey threw 49 times for Red, completing 29 for 241 yards and four touchdowns in 35-6 victory. “I had a good time,’’ Dailey said. “It was a great day. I think there’s more to come. This is the very tip of the iceberg.’’
2003
2003: White's Joel Jackson catches a pass and is tackled by Mark Brungardt, left, and Stewart Bradley. Defense was the theme of the day in Red's 13-0 win, led by new defensive coordinator Bo Pelini. NU defenders recorded six interceptions and three sacks, despite lining up in just one front. "I just chose to hold back," said Pelini. "It wasn't about beating the offense. All we wanted to do is have our guys lined up in a base defense and play hard."
2002
2002: Red's Ira Cooper blocks Sam Koch's punt in the second quarter. The blocked punt set up Red's first touchdown in their 17-7 win. Junior-college transfer linebacker Demorrio Williams made a game-high 13 tackles for White, while Red's Dahrran Diedrick averaged 8.0 yards a carry en route to 96 yards and a touchdown.
2001
2001: Thunder Collins had 55 yards on 13 carries for White, but defense ruled the day in Red's 16-7 win. The Red and White defenses combined for 16 sacks and limited the offenses to a combined 426 yards. "We feel like we made progress this spring," NU defensive coordinator Craig Bohl said.
2000
2000: Red Team quarterback Joe Chrisman tries to escape from DeJuan Groce and the White Team defense. Eric Crouch and Jammal Lord sat out the spring game with injuries, leaving the Huskers with three inexperienced quarterbacks. White rallied for two fourth-quarter touchdowns, the last one coming on a 46-yard pass from converted split end Brett Lindstrom to Ryan Ommert with 2:24 remaining, tying Red 21-21. The no-decision marked the first time since 1950 that the game ended in a tie.
evan.bland@owh.com, 402-444-1201, twitter.com/EvanBlandOWH
Evan Bland
Evan Bland covers Nebraska football, baseball and other sports for The World-Herald. Follow him on Twitter @EvanBlandOWH.
