Fixing the spring game

Nebraska’s spring game on a picturesque April Saturday did its job.
That sentiment is all the more frustrating given what you and I watched from the stands and televisions over the weekend.
I’m not telling you anything new when I say that Husker fans border on psychotic and inquisitiveness. But watching the offense struggle in the first half in a two-hand touch workout brought out the “here-we-go-again” crowd.
Hang on a minute.
We didn’t learn much from Nebraska’s spring game Saturday, but we also weren’t supposed to learn anything. Neither was Northwestern, the team now officially on deck in Ireland just a few short months away.
The Huskers are trying to mesh together the perfect offensive scheme, taking what head coach Scott Frost does best and smashing that together with what’s worked for new offensive coordinator Mark Whipple for decades.
You saw a flash of that with an under-center quarterback snap and a play-action pass.
Under center, what?
It took just one snap into the game for one of my buddies to text me that he’s already all-in on new transfer quarterback Casey Thompson.
If you were late to the game, you probably missed Thompson’s highlight reel. His first pass was a nice checkdown to Aurora’s own Nate Boerkircher, who’s received plenty of praise from Husker coaches this spring, similar to another Aurora standout a few years ago.
But, if you’re still concerned that the spring game was a giant waste of time, I have a solution. It will never happen, but boy, it’s fun to think about.
Imagine going through all of the 15 spring practices, all to culminate in an actual game.
Not scrimmaging against one another, but playing against an actual opponent.
What if Nebraska were to take the field Saturday against someone like UNK or Wayne State, simulate some No. 1 offense against No. 1 defense and pop the pads.
Second half, start working the younger players in to make sure they get the reps, too. Score doesn’t matter, except for bragging rights.
It provides incentive, something a bit more competitive.
Even in this scenario, Nebraska would still run its most basic offensive plays and we still wouldn’t get the satisfaction we’re craving, but the boys from UNK or Wayne State would sure have reason to lay it all out there.
That’s the other reason this would never happen. It would surely lead to someone getting hurt that would ruin everything. It’s nice to dream, though.
On the local level, it was fun to see the Boekircher brothers play well on Saturday.
Nate really looked the part at tight end. We’ve heard through spring practices he didn’t drop any passes and has looked good in the run scheme. He’s someone who could potentially go from walk-on to scholarship player next fall. Who knows?
Ian looked solid, too, playing center for the second teamers early in the game. Ian is a kid who will look to contribute in any way possible and if that means taking center snaps, he’s going to do it.
There’s a lot to chew on between now and the trip across the pond in August.
Until then, we’re left hungry for more.
RICHARD RHODEN can be reached at sports@hamilton.net.