WATCH: Nebraska freshman Carter Nelson catches first career touchdown pass

Former Top247 recruit Carter Nelson hauls in his first career touchdown catch in the first quarter against Northern Iowa.

It didn’t take long Saturday for Nebraska to get freshman wide receiver and former Top247 recruit Carter Nelson his first career touchdown.

On Nebraska’s first drive of the game Saturday, Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola found Nelson over the middle for a 14-yard gain, and then on the next play, Raiola connected with Nelson for a 24-yard touchdown to put Nebraska up 7-0 early.

Nelson came in to Saturday’s game with three catches for 21 yards and eclipsed his yardage total for the season on the first drive.

Earlier in the season, Raiola praised Nelson for how quickly he made the transition to 11-man football in Lincoln after arriving on campus in June.

“It’s his first month with 22 people on the field. So there’s a lot of moving parts going on in his brain,” Raiola said. “I think the best part about Carter is he just wants to get better and he wants to learn. He’s so easy to talk to if he runs a route wrong. Or getting on the same page with me, or Danny, or Heinrich, or anybody. He’s always very approachable and I think that’s going to make him special one day. Even now he’s a special player and he’s only been 11-man football for, what, 1 1/2 months now?”

Nelson was a big recruiting win for Matt Rhule’s program in the 2024 recruiting cycle, choosing the Huskers over a number of suitors including Georgia, Notre Dame and others. He was the No. 49 overall recruit in the country according to 247Sports