Nebraska received a commit from Bellevue West quarterback Daniel Kaelin. Three takes on the decision of the 6-foot-3, 205-pounder:
A timely, necessary jolt of energy in NU’s 2024 recruiting class: For a minute there, it looked like Nebraska might miss out on five-star Dylan Raiola and, because of bad timing, watch Kaelin go to Missouri. But Kaelin had always liked Nebraska and has a strong network of relationships in Omaha and the state to make NU the right choice. It’s big for him – and arguably bigger for the Huskers, who, if Kaelin hadn’t flipped were looking at a diminished pool of worthy QB recruits. Kaelin gives Nebraska a face of the class, a natural leader and – this is our hunch – a strong recruiter. Kaelin will make an impression on skill players and be an effective extension of coach Matt Rhule’s pitch. The likelihood of Nebraska landing Kaelin’s teammates, Dae’vonn Hall and Isaiah McMorris, just went up.
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Polish, pocket presence, precision: Kaelin has been working on his quarterback skills a long time – and it shows. He threw 36 touchdowns for a reason. Kaelin has terrific footwork for a prep quarterback, firing as he hits his back foot. He good in a dropback, or in a half-rollout, or in stepping into pressure and up in the pocket. He drives balls up the seam and consistently hits on deep corner routes. He can step to his left and create room to throw deep back to the right. Kaelin in general knows how to put space between himself and a pass rusher in a way that reduces the violence of the hit. He will arrive as the most complete high school passer Nebraska has had in some time.
Kaelin’s commit points to a long-term pro-style approach: Kaelin is mobile and athletic, but he’s not a 500-yard rusher, which means that Nebraska’s current embrace of a running quarterback can revert to an appreciation of athleticism within a pro-style framework. Nebraska would have done the same with Raiola had he chose to come to Lincoln. NU’s current embrace of Jeff Sims is more about what the Huskers need in the moment than a 10-year commitment to dual-threat QBs. Kaelin is a passer – and a polished one at that. Nebraska will happily embrace his skillset.
