LINCOLN, Neb. — New faces on offense generated the bulk of excitement Saturday at Memorial Stadium as Nebraska concluded a month of spring football practice with a 118-play scrimmage in front of a crowd of 27,188.

Team Nebraska beat Team Huskers 22-17 on a 32-yard run by Conor Booth with five seconds to play. By then, quarterback Anthony Colandrea, the main attraction in his first playing opportunity in front of Nebraska fans after transferring from UNLV, had long taken a seat.

Colandrea, the 6-foot, 205-pound senior, completed 12 of 19 throws in the first half for 80 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. True freshman Jamal Rule rushed for 121 yards on 10 carries — including a 75-yard house call in the fourth quarter.

Nebraska will distribute proceeds from ticket sales to relief efforts for wildfires that ravaged western parts of the state this month.

“I’m proud of the guys,” coach Matt Rhule said. “I think they had a really good spring. It looked like football out there.”

Takeaways from Saturday in Lincoln:

Anthony Colandrea looks like QB1

Colandrea displayed plenty to back up the talk he’s taken firm control of the position in his first three months at Nebraska.

He operates decisively and makes quick decisions in the pocket. Colandrea hit a tight window against good coverage on a 27-yard dart along the sideline to Jacory Barney Jr.. He connected with Quinn Clark on a slick, 8-yard throw to the end zone.

One-handed snag Quinn Clark for the TD 🤯 pic.twitter.com/9lL7lCHKB1

— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFootball) March 28, 2026

And Colandrea showed escapability from the pocket. He rushed three times for 21 yards and likely would have gained more if not for a rule that stopped plays when the quarterbacks were touched by defenders. His athleticism provides Nebraska with an offensive weapon it has not enjoyed in recent seasons.

“He’s got a unique gift,” Rhule said.

Room for improvement

One turnover kept Colandrea from a near-flawless performance. To start his second of four drives, he rolled left and threw to his right for Kwazi Gilmer. Defensive backs Jamir Conn and Donovan Jones converged on the receiver. The ball hit Gilmer and bounced into the hands of Jones.

Colandrea called it “sloppy.”

Turnovers have plagued him at times in three years as a starting QB. He was intercepted 29 times while throwing 49 touchdowns in two seasons at Virginia and one at UNLV.

Colandrea’s playing style elevates the risk level. But Rhule and offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen have said they’re committed to molding the Nebraska offense to fit Colandrea’s strengths.

When it clicks, as he showed in limited opportunities Saturday, he adds a dynamic, dual-threat element that Huskers likely need against a schedule in 2026 that includes three College Football Playoff teams from last season.

A freshman RB stands out

Rule, the rookie running back out of Salisbury, N.C., got loose and outran a reserve defensive group on the 75-yard run. He also ran tough and showed a burst in the first three quarters of action.

“Jamal’s a stud,” Colandrea said. “I knew that the first practice.”

To The Crib 💨@JamalRule23 pic.twitter.com/TlASG6ps9C

— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFootball) March 28, 2026

His presence changes the picture for Nebraska at running back. It returns inexperienced backs in Mekhi Nelson, Isaiah Mozee and Kwinten Ives. That trio, in addition to Rule, rushed for 255 yards on 27 carries. The Huskers will take that in the fall as they aim to replace Emmett Johnson, off to make a run at the NFL after his 1,451-yard junior season in 2025.

Rhule reiterated that Nebraska coaches feel good about their group of backs.

“We saw all of them do something positive today,” the coach said.

They won’t lean on one in the way they rode Johnson, who carried 251 times in 12 games.

Rule, 6-foot and 205 pounds, said he admired Marshawn Lynch while learning to play the game. Before Rule gets a chance to make his debut in September with the Huskers, he said he’ll focus on continuing to adjust to the tempo that Nebraska used Saturday, his vision in the backfield and footwork.

“I just like playing football,” Rule said. “I wanted to come in here and work. I just hoped the coaches would see me.”

Nebraska’s new defensive look

Nebraska on defense kept its strategy simple Saturday under first-year defensive coordinator Rob Aurich.

Defensive tackle Jahsear Whittington, a transfer from Pitt, flashed up front with a sack and other disruptive plays. Reserve linebacker Derek Wacker led all defenders with 10 tackles.

Linebacker Vincent Shavers Jr. and safety Dwayne McDougle, a transfer with Aurich from San Diego State, contributed five stops apiece with the first-team defense.

Nebraska started Kade Pietrzak, Riley Van Poppel, Whittington and Cam Lenhardt up front, Shavers and Owen Chambliss at linebacker and Jeremiah Charles, Andrew Marshall, McDougle, Conn and Jones in the secondary.

“I think we’re going to be great this year,” McDougle said. “We may be the best defense in the Big Ten. That’s my opinion.”

The Huskers scrimmaged without UCLA transfer Anthony Jones at defensive end and Oregon State transfer Dexter Foster at linebacker. Jones’ wife delivered a baby boy Friday. A minor injury sidelined Foster.

Nebraska’s backup QBs

Depth is not a concern at QB. Behind Colandrea, returning four-game starter TJ Lateef and Daniel Kaelin give Nebraska three quarterbacks it trusts in key moments. It’s a luxury.

Lateef hit 6 of 15 passes for 33 yards and rushed for 16 yards. Kaelin, a 2024 Nebraska signee who redshirted with the Huskers and played last year at Virginia, hit 10 of 18 passes for 54 yards.

A lighter crowd

The size of the crowd is always a talking point at Nebraska spring games. This one ranked as the smallest gathering since 2000.

Why? It came earlier on the calendar than any other spring game at Nebraska. The popularity of spring games nationally has waned as college football moves toward an NFL model. Nebraska did not hold a traditional spring game last year, zapping some of the tradition from this event.

And yes, the buzz around Rhule’s program, after three losses to end the 2025 season, sits at a low point in his 40 months on the job.

Perhaps the Huskers did enough to get the attention — in a positive way — of their fans at the finish of the spring season. If not, it’s only five months until the season opener.