It was a night of firsts for many Huskers on Saturday, including wide receiver Quinn Clark who scored his first career touchdown.
After redshirting his first season, the 6-foot-5, 210-pound freshman caught a 37-yard touchdown pass, helping Nebraska football add to its 68-0 shutout victory over the Akron Zips. Clark has two receptions for 44 yards and one touchdown this season.
🚨FIRST CAREER TD 🚨
Quinn Clark reels in the Dylan Raiola pass for his first @HuskerFootball score.
📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/Sgkz3mdUVC
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) September 7, 2025
“It was super special man,” Clark told Hail Varsity. “The fans make it amazing, and just getting that touchdown, I threw up the 3-2 for my pops. Just getting that touchdown is something I’ve always dreamt of as a kid, so it was really important to me, and really special.”
Quinn’s father, the late Ken Clark, was a standout running back for the Huskers. He spent four seasons in Lincoln, redshirting in 1986 before playing three seasons and entering the NFL Draft. He is ranked No. 5 on the Huskers’ career rushing list with 3,037 yards, and No. 5 on the program’s single-season rushing list with 1,497 yards, set in 1988.
The Indianapolis Colts, selected Clark in the eighth round of the 1990 NFL Draft. He played three seasons, all with the Colts, before retiring in 1992.
Coach Matt Rhule acknowledged this special moment for Clark in his post-game press conference.
“You just think about his father not being there, but probably looking down on him, in a place that meant a lot to him,” Rhule said. “So he scored that touchdown tonight, I yelled at Dane (Key) like, ‘Get that ball,’ and we got it for him.”
Offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen echoed the sentiment.
“That got me fired up,” Holgorsen said. “That’s a pretty awesome moment, and it was awesome for him to recognize his father crossing the goal line. That was a super cool moment for him, but it was a super cool moment for me to see the hard work that he’s been doing in practice happen out there on the field.”
Clark has been working all offseason with Holgorsen and said that he’s enjoyed learning from the coordinator.
“It’s a receiver’s dream for sure,” Clark said. “He’s great at calling plays, and he knows what to call at what time, and he’s just an electric guy. You see him on the sideline celebrating when we score and stuff. He’s amazing.”
Clark wasn’t the only young receiver that got playing time on Saturday. Redshirt freshman wideout Keelan Smith caught a 15 yard pass, and freshman Jeremiah Jones also had a 6-yard catch in the win.
“It’s amazing, those are all my boys,” Clark said of seeing the other young players have their opportunity. “I’m with them every day, I grind with them every day, and seeing Keelan get a catch, seeing JJ get his first catch, it’s just amazing. We work hard every day, and it’s good to see that it pays off.”
Clark said he believes the victory against Akron will help them in future games.
“I think, it just gives us momentum,” Clark said. “It gives us momentum, shows us what we can be, and it’s good to go out there, get the younger guys in there so they can help us later on in the season.”
Up next, the Huskers will welcome Houston Christian into Memorial Stadium on Saturday, with kickoff set for 11 a.m. CT.
