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Heinrich Haarberg commit: What does it mean for Nebraska?

Nebraska has landed its quarterback for 2021 with he commitment of Heinrich Haarberg on Saturday.

The 6-foot-5, 192-pound signal-caller announced his commitment to the Big Red via social media. Haarberg picked the Huskers over other early offers from the likes of Boston College, NC State and Vanderbilt among several others. Haarberg becomes the seventh known verbal commit for Nebraska's 2021 recruiting class.

Here are some quick takes on what the commitment of Haarberg means for the Huskers.

2021 Kearney Catholic quarterback Heinrich Haarberg committed to Nebraska on Saturday.
2021 Kearney Catholic quarterback Heinrich Haarberg committed to Nebraska on Saturday. (Nate Clouse)
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1. Nebraska locked up its quarterback for 2021 with the commitment of Kearney Catholic's Heinrich Haarberg. Head coach Scott Frost and quarterbacks coach Mario Verduzco did a great job of recruiting Haarberg. The talented quarterback may have only had the Huskers' offer for about a week, but NU has been communicating with him and honest about the recruiting process for a very long time now. This was not a relationship that just started.

2. Haarberg's connection with Frost was a big deal in his recruitment. They're both Nebraska C-1 quarterbacks that could run and throw coming out of high school. In fact, Haarberg plays against Wood River where Frost graduated from. Plus, Frost's track record of recruiting and developing quarterbacks was important to Haarberg. The Kearney Catholic standout especially liked the fact Frost recruited Justin Herbert to Oregon as he feels they have a lot of similarities in terms of size and their abilities.

3. Nebraska wanted to take their time in recruiting the quarterback position for the 2021 cycle and make sure they were not only getting someone that was a right fit for the offense, but also a right fit for the QB room that exists on campus at the moment. They found that in Haarberg. Not only does he have all of the athletic traits the Huskers are looking for, but he also has the right intangibles as far as intelligence and overall mentality. That mental aspect may actually have been the most important thing NU was looking for this cycle. Luckily for NU, they were able to get both with their lone QB commit of the class.

4. Haarberg has great size at 6-foot-5, 192-pounds. He is extremely athletic at that size and may even grow a bit more when you consider he has a size 17 shoe and 11-inch hands. He's a multi-sport athlete that can run a sub 11-second 100-meters and high jump over 6-foot-7. There aren't many of those types of athletes walking around out there.

5. Nebraska's quarterbacks have to be a threat with their legs, which Haarberg is, but they also must have the ability to throw. Haarberg can do that as well and actually has a very strong arm. He's been able to throw the ball 82-yards. Obviously, he won't be asked to do that very much in games, but from his film you can tell that he's able to stretch the field in the vertical passing game. The best part about it is that he shows touch on his deep passes as well and that's something that is hard to coach.

6. Not only is Haarberg a dual-threat with his arm and legs, but he's also an accurate passer and a good decision maker with the football. He throws a catchable ball and places it well. As a junior, he threw 23 touchdowns to only four interceptions which is about as efficient as you can hope for.

7. Haarberg's commitment to Nebraska means they keep one of the best in-state players home. It also means that they secured a commitment from a legacy as his father played fullback for the Huskers in the mid-90's. It's been a very long time since NU has taken an in-state quarterback, especially one that had several Power 5 offers and was receiving interest from others like Clemson, Auburn, Oregon, Iowa, Kansas State and several more programs.

It's hard to say how many more offers Haarberg would have garnered if the spring evaluation period had not been cancelled due to the coronavirus. Regardless, having him in the boat should boost Nebraska's abilities to recruit more offensive skill position players to come join him like tight end Thomas Fidone, wide receiver Jaylin Noel and other key targets.

***Junior season stat check: Haarberg completed 109 of 186 pass attempts for 1,869 yards, 23 touchdowns and only four interceptions. He had 83 carries for 458 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. On defense, he recorded 40 tackles, three interceptions, two pass breakups and one fumble recovery.

8. 2021 Nebraska commit breakdown

1. 9/28/2019 - Teddy Prochazka - OT - 6-foot-9, 285 - Elkhorn, NE - 4 Stars

2. 11/17/2019 - Henry Lutovsky - OG - 6-foot-6, 310 - Mt. Pleasant, IA - 3 Stars

3. 1/2/2020 - Randolph Kpai - ILB - 6-foot-3, 190 - Sioux Falls, SD - 3 Stars

4. 3/20/2020 - Christopher Paul - ILB - 6-foot-1, 225 - Cordele, GA - 3 Stars

5. 4/27/2020 - Branson Yager - OT - 6-foot-8, 320 - Grantsville, Utah - 3 Stars

6. 5/1/2020 - Patrick Payton - OLB - 6-foot-5, 205 - Miami, FL - 3 Stars

7. 5/9/2020 - Heinrich Haarberg - QB - 6-foot-5, 192 - Kearney, NE - 3 Stars

9. 2021 commits by position

1 - Quarterback

0 - Running back

0 - Wide receiver

0 - Tight end

3 - Offensive linemen

0 - Defensive tackle

0 - Defensive end

1 - Outside linebacker

2 - Inside linebacker

0 - Safety

0 - Cornerback

0 - Athlete

0 - Special teams

10. Where are they from?

2 - Nebraska

1 - Florida

1 - Georgia

1 - Iowa

1 - South Dakota

1 - Utah

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