As excited as the 86,000 fans inside Memorial Stadium were to see Scott Frost back in Nebraska leading the Huskers, no one enjoyed Saturday’s Red-White Spring Game more than Frost himself.

The former national champion NU quarterback made it a point to try and soak in the experience of the day as much as he could.

He gave up the play-calling duties to his assistants and spent most of the game on the field standing by the back judge behind the offenses.

While he still did his share of coaching, Frost just wanted to experience the game as a fan, something he hasn’t been able to do in a long, long time.

“That was kind of special for me, walking out of the tunnel and hearing the fans,” Frost said. “That brought back more memories than a lot of other things have, especially just the smell of the stadium with the food in there just took me back a long time. It was a special day for me.”

The competition for Nebraska’s next starting quarterback job was already the talk of the spring, and Saturday’s scrimmage basically dumped another tank of gasoline on that fire.

All four of NU’s active quarterbacks got significant action in the game, and almost all of them shined in their opportunities.

The star of the day was true freshman Adrian Martinez, who completed 77 percent of his passes and combined for 174 total yards and four touchdowns.

But redshirt freshman Tristan Gebbia was equally impressive, throwing for a game-high 125 yards and two touchdowns. On top of that, walk-on sophomore Andrew Bunch flashed for the White team by throwing for 89 yards and a score.

Of course, the only quarterback who struggled on the day was sophomore Noah Vedral, who at this point is set to sit out next season anyway due to NCAA transfer rules. The former Central Florida transfer completed just 6-of-12 passes for 53 yards and an interception.

Instead of potentially creating some separation going into the summer, it seemed like the Spring Game only clouded the picture at quarterback even further.

“I think you got to see all of the guys make good plays, and that’s what’s happened all spring,” Frost said. “It was a little tougher, you had a few more of the guys on the Red team than the White side, so those guys had a little tougher duty.

“They all made good plays today, they all made some mistakes. I think you can see that all four of them are talented kids with the capability of running our offense.”

Maybe next to quarterback, the battle at running back was one of the most intriguing competitions of the spring.

While that race still has a long way to go until the finish line of naming a starter, one player who took a big jump on Saturday was junior Greg Bell.

The heralded junior college transfer ran the ball eight times for 54 yards (6.8 yards per carry) while adding two catches for 41 yards.

Bell looked like the most dynamic player with the football in his hands, and his big plays as a receiver - both of which coming on screen passes - should make him a valuable asset in NU’s offense.

“Greg’s got a gear that is pretty special,” Frost said. “I think he’s got good vision. He’s got to get lined up a little faster, be a little more urgent sometimes but he does some special things when the ball is in his hands.”

Saturday was pretty much exactly what Frost expected to see in his first spring game back at Nebraska.

Yes, there were plenty of highlights to take away from the game, but there were also just as many mistakes to be corrected and improvements needed to be made before the Huskers were even close to a finished product.

“It’s the first step in a journey for us,” Frost said. “I thought that we did some really good things at times, I thought there were some guys making plays. It was a little sloppy at times and we made some mistakes. We didn’t capitalize on some things.

“First spring, I think the guys have come a long way already and I told them that they can’t see this as the end of the process. They just have to see this as they’re familiar with what we’re asking them to do now for the most part and we’ve got to take a little time off and really have a resurgence and a lot of effort and summer conditioning to make sure we’re getting better at everything we’re doing.”

One of the hallmarks of Erik Chinander’s defense is the ability to change games by creating turnovers.

Nebraska managed to force just 12 turnovers all of last season, but if the Spring Game was any indication, that number could rise in a big way going forward.

The Huskers ended up picking off two passes and recovered two fumbles in the game, with all four turnovers coming from a player at all three levels of the defense.

The first interception came on a poor decision by receiver Todd Honas, who lofted a designed throw right into the hands of Red cornerback Lamar Jackson - his first pick as a Husker in a live game setting.

“About time I get one in a game situation,” Jackson said. “I plan on getting a lot more.”

The second came from Red linebacker Alex Davis, who jumped another questionable pass from Vedral at the White 30-yard line and returned it to the 11.

Later in the fourth quarter, running back Austin Hemphill lost the football and Red safety Antonio Reed recovered at the White 32.

Finally, White safety Marquel Dismuke knocked the ball loose from receiver Justin McGriff at the White 11 and defensive end DaiShon Neal jumped on it to end a potential Red scoring drive.

Two of Nebraska’s top playmakers watched the Red-White game from the sidelines, as receivers Stanley Morgan Jr. and J.D. Spielman were both scratched from the lineup due to illness.

As a result, the door was opened for some of NU’s less experienced wideouts to make a statement. Redshirt freshman Jaevon McQuitty and sophomore Tyjon Lindsey did just that.

On the first play of the day Gebbia connected with McQuitty for a 37-yard strike down the sideline, but it was negated by an offensive penalty.

McQuitty quickly rebounded and ended up hauling in a 25-yard touchdown pass from Martinez late in the second quarter. The Columbia, Mo., native ended up with three catches for 33 yards and a score.

Lindsey wasn’t able to find the end zone, but he led Red team with four receptions on the day and added a 28-yard run, the second-longest rush of the game.

“Tyjon is a great athlete,” Gebbia said. “I think you guys all knew that when he was getting recruited and I think everyone in the country knew it. He finally got the chance to get out there and show what he can do in a faster paced offense than what he did in high school. He’s my roommate so I’m pretty proud of him.”

One of the biggest adjustments for any position in Nebraska’s new offense came at tight end, as the group transitioned from strictly end-line players to one of the more versatile units on the field.

Whether they’re playing on the line, in the slot, or out on the perimeter, the tight ends were one of the more relative unknowns this spring as far as what their role would be in Frost’s scheme.

The unit ended up with a combined nine catches for 107 yards and a touchdown between the Red and White teams, leading one to believe it could be an important piece to the passing game.

Redshirt freshman Kurt Rafdal had one of the highlight plays of the day when he managed to get one foot down in the end zone on a leaping 24-yard touchdown grab for the first score of the day.

Redshirt freshman Austin Allen led all tight ends with three receptions for 43 yards, including a 26-yard catch in the second half. Sophomore Jack Stoll also nabbed three passes for 17 yards.

As exciting and encouraging as the day was for Nebraska, it wasn’t as if the Spring Game was the picture of perfect football by any stretch.

Along with the four combined turnovers, the Red and White teams committed a total of nine penalties for 53 yards. The majority of those were procedural infractions, some of which negating big plays and even touchdowns.

Frost didn’t hide his displeasure over the sloppy play his team showed at times on Saturday.

“That’s discipline and detail and we’ve got to keep coming along with that,” Frost said. “Those things get even harder when you’re tired, those things get even harder when you’re pushing the pace, but those things aren’t acceptable around here.

“So, again, we can’t get impatient and think that we’ll be perfect in day one or spring game number one, but I thought it did get better in the second half, I don’t know how many penalties there were in the second half but it didn’t seem like many. We’ll keep cleaning things up and getting better from that standpoint.”

Even though freshman Barret Pickering is the only scholarship kicker on the roster, Nebraska’s staff made it seem like he wasn’t just going to be handed the starting job this season.

Redshirt freshman Cole Frahm had apparently put together a strong spring and was said to be pushing Pickering for the top place-kicker spot entering the Spring Game.

Based on Saturday’s performances, that competition seems to remain neck-and-neck entering the summer. That’s not exactly a good thing for the Huskers, either.

Pickering didn’t get to attempt his first and only field goal attempt until the final seconds of the game, and he missed a 27-yarder.

Frahm wasn’t any better, making his first attempt from 30 yards out but then missing his second from 43 yards out. Even worse, Frahm shanked his first and only extra point attempt of the day.

Nebraska has been very spoiled over the years at the kicker position, including having the record-setting Drew Brown man the job the past four years.

Whether it’s Pickering or Frahm who gets the nod, both of them will need to step it up in a major way this fall.

Though the Spring Game marks the end of Frost’s first round of practices as Nebraska’s head coach, he has no intentions of taking his foot off the gas anytime soon.

Frost said his message to the players in the locker room after Saturday’s scrimmage was that they couldn’t look at it as the ending of spring, but rather just the beginning of a long and very important offseason.

The Huskers will hold one final spring practice on Monday and then Frost will meet individually with each player on the team to discuss where they stand and the expectations going into the summer.

Frost and his staff have made it no secret that the team as a whole needs to get stronger and faster, placing a huge importance on the upcoming summer conditioning program with strength coach Zach Duval.

“We’re taking the first baby steps here, and nothing that we’re doing right now is where I want it to be and where the coaching staff wants it to be,” Frost said. “It just doesn’t happen overnight, we have to be patient as coaches to teach lessons as problems arise, continue to develop, get guys in better shape, get guys stronger and get guys more familiar.

“Sometimes you get impatient as a coach and think that it’s going to happen overnight and it’s not, so I’ve seen improvement from a lot of guys and I’ve seen an overall improvement from our team, but none of us are happy with where it is yet.”