How freshman Hartzog made most of first career start

As Malcolm Hartzog ran into the end zone Saturday night, the true freshman gave Nebraska the special teams spark it’s long been searching for.

“When I saw the fumble, my eyes got big and I knew I had to get the ball and get in the end zone,” Hartzog said.

The Mississippi native made his first career start in the Huskers’ 35-21 win over Indiana and played a key role on both special teams and defense. A defense that allowed just 290 yards – its lowest total of the season.

Hartzog made the start over Tommi Hill at corner and played well alongside Quinton Newsome. Especially early. Hartzog recorded a key third-down pass break-up and “held his own” throughout the night.

“Malcolm’s a warrior,” said NU head coach Mickey Joseph. “He’s a kid from down south from Mississippi, and it’s not too big for him. He’s a confident kid. And we talked to him all week about if you don’t block it, you’ve got to pick it up and score. And he did that. But he played lights out at corner.”

But it was a play on special teams that made Saturday night memorable. With the game tied 7-7, Chris Kolarevic burst up the middle and blocked James Evans’ punt at the 30-yard-line. Hartzog scooped up the loose ball and took it the rest of the way for six points.

Hartzog’s touchdown was Nebraska’s first blocked punt return for a touchdown since 2009 – a Justin Blatchford 25-yard return at Baylor – and Nebraska’s first special teams score overall since 2019 – a J.D. Spielman 76-yard punt return.

Hartzog played in Nebraska’s first four games of the season on that special teams unit, but the Huskers hadn’t been able to spark much. Especially considering how much of an Achilles’ Heel special teams have been for much of the past few seasons, the punt block provided the home side a big momentum boost.

“That was big,” Joseph said. “We talked about it all week and executed to the best we can execute. And Joey (Connors) did a really good job of getting these kids ready. We said we had a punt we needed to block and somebody had to make a play. And I thought special teams played solid tonight.”

Joseph talked all week about new faces getting opportunities in the wake of Scott Frost’s firing – Hartzog being a prime example.

And beyond Hartzog, NU’s special teams shined. Trey Palmer returned three punts for 37 yards, after having just one return – a one-yard loss – throughout four games. And Brian Buschini had another good night punting the ball with eight punts and a 39.1-yard average. Two of which pinned the Hoosiers deep in their own end.

But for Hartzog specifically, Saturday night is one he won’t be forgetting any time soon.

“It’s gonna be memorable,” Hartzog said. “It’s my first start and I had a lot of good things happen, so I’ve got to keep building off of it and keep getting better each and every day.”