Heinrich Haarberg made Nebraska football history vs LaTech
Nebraska football quarterback Heinrich Haarberg made the kind of history on Saturday that feels like a statement on the program these days.
The man who has been looked at as the Huskers’ hero for two straight games is also the first quarterback in a decade to win his first two starts. That run goes all the way back to 2013 when Tommy Armstrong was flinging it for Nebraska football under Bo Pelini.
That season was Armstrong’s freshman season with the Huskers and despite winning his first two starts, it wasn’t a particularly impressive Nebraska football debut season.
In nine games, Armstrong completed just 51.9 percent of his passes for 9 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. He did throw for 966 yards to go along with 202 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground.
Passing numbers-wise, Haarberg is actually startlingly similar to what Armstrong did. The first-time starter has completed just 51.1 percent of his passes. Though he has been better at protecting the ball than Armstrong, as he’s got 4 touchdown passes and hasn’t thrown an interception yet.
Where Haarberg really diverges from his counterpart is on the ground. This season, the Nebraska football quarterback already has 272 yards and has 2 rushing TDs in just two games.
Nebraska football history for Haarberg
That Haarberg is the first Nebraska football quarterback to start 2-0 since Armstrong is certainly noteworthy, but even moreso when you look at how many guys have taken a start for the Huskers over that timeframe.
Adrian Martinez is the only signal caller to get more than 12 starts in the last 10 years. He finished his Nebraska football career with 37. Of course he would have had even more than that had he been able to stay healthy.
His injuries played a pretty big part in so many others getting the nod. But injuries have played a part no matter who was the opening-day starter. In addition to Martinez, Haarberg, and Armstrong, the Huskers have had nine other QBs start since the last time anyone went 2-0 to start their careers
- Ron Kellogg III (1 start 2013)
- Ryker Fyfe (3 starts, 1 in 2015, 2 in 2016)
- Tanner Lee (12 starts in 2017)
- Andrew Bunch (1 start in 2018)
- Luke McCaffrey (2 starts in 2020)
- Casey Thompson (9 starts 2022)
- Logan Smothers (1 start in 2022)
- Chubba Purdy (2 starts in 2022)
- Jeff Sims (2 starts in 2023)
Now that Heinrich Haarberg has made Nebraska football history, is there another way he might walk in Tommy Armstrong’s shoes?
Despite the latter quarterback having a rough freshman year, he ended up being a four-year starter for the Huskers. It seems unlikely Haarberg will do that, but it seemed unlikely he’d be 2-0 in 2023 as well.