We heard from ten players on Tuesday as they met with the media, five from the offense and five from defense. Players giving interviews included Anthony Colandrea, Jacory Barney Jr., Nyziah Hunter, T.J. Lateef, Paul Mubenga, Riley Van Poppel, Cam Lenhardt, Owen Chambliss, Donavan Jones, and Jamir Conn.
For now, I want to talk Colandrea.
I could cover everything Colandrea said Tuesday, but there was one segment where I thought he gave us some insight that explained what we’ve been hearing about him since coming to Nebraska. That’s his ability to make positive things happen from broken or unscripted plays. Now we know why, because when he was asked about who his favorite players were, he gave the following answer.
“I think growing up I always watched Johnny Manziel and Baker Mayfield, those were like my two guys that I’ve always watched. But other than that, really no, I just try to be myself. Matthew Stafford is my favorite quarterback to watch in the NFL just because he’s so precise, he’s a great quarterback. But no, I think Baker and Johhny were like the two who I looked up to.”
With a follow up question as to why those two guys and what drew him to them, he answered with, “I think the excitement of watching them play, they could run around, make plays, they can win from the pocket, they can win from outside the pocket, I think all that stuff is cool.”
Okay, we all have heroes, but I’m not big on copycat antics, in fact, I’d say it’s ill-advised from what we’ve seen. But I’m not opposed to Anthony Colandrea’s game being patterned after a Heisman Trophy winner with similar ability. And that explains everything we need to know about how Anthony Colandrea plays the game of football and why his teammates often use words like ‘swagger’ and ‘juice’ when talking about him.
The other thing I like, Colandrea is grounded. His wanting to play like two Heisman Trophy winners isn’t unrealistic and if you want to see unscripted and swagger, look no further than Manziel and Mayfield.
Johnny Football
Johnny Manziel, known as “Johnny Football”, won both the Davey O’Brien Award and the Heisman Trophy in 2012 as a freshman, the first to do so. Manziel put up eye-popping stats, 3,706 passing yards, 26 TDs, and 9 interceptions while rushing for 1,410 yards and 21 TDs. However, his notoriety was as much for his trouble off the field as what he was doing on the field. In Colandrea’s defense, he would have only been eight years old at the time, so I can see the allure, and I’m sure he paid more attention to gameday Saturdays than the latest news.
Another fan of Manziel – former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia. Yeah, Rhule was right for showing his team Pavia’s style of play rather than Manziel’s. For me, the “Johnny Football” story is a great cautionary tale and a perfect example of a bonehead.
Baker Mayfield
It’s hard to say how closely Colandrea followed Mayfield’s entire career. But if he did so, then he knows Mayfield started out at Texas Tech in 2013, where he was the first walk-on true freshman quarterback to start an FBS opener. In that game against SMU, he went 43/60 for 413 yards and 4 TDs. Now jump ahead to Oklahoma and 2017. Mayfield becomes the first walk-on to win the Heisman Trophy. Doing so by a wide margin after passing for 4,627 yards, 43 TDs, and 6 interceptions while rushing for 311 yards and 5 TDs. He also won the Davey O’Brien Award, the Maxwell Award and the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award.
But Baker Mayfiled’s moment of ultimate fame may have come early in the 2017 season in a win against Ohio State at Columbus. In celebrating after the game, he planted the Sooner’s flag smack-dab in the middle of the painted “O” at Ohio Stadium. The event caused a firestorm of backlash that forced Mayfield to make an apology afterwards. Whether you like it or not, it’s an example of that “swagger” that Mayfield will forever be known for.
Planting a Flag
If you’ve heard of and followed the 5-for-5 news, then you probably also are aware Anthony Colandrea is eligible to return, and if he decides to do so, he could be back at Nebraska for the 2027 season. On the schedule for 2027 – Ohio State in Columbus for the Husker’s Big Ten opener.
Are you catching my drift?
We dream of following in the footsteps of people we admire but seldom are we given the opportunity. Is it possible Anthony Colandrea could hang around for 2027 to do his best Baker Mayfield impersonation by planting a flag? Talk about running over people to get to the top of the rivalry tree.
Step aside Michigan.
Husker fans have been waiting for a moment in time like this to finally legitimize Nebraska as a true Big Ten school. Shoot, not even Penn State can say they’ve truly been accepted yet.
Taking that line of thinking a step further, it was also announced Tuesday that Anthony Colandrea was named on the preseason watch list for the Maxwell Award. The award is given to the college football player of the year and was first given out in 1937.
Only one Husker has won the award, running back Mike Rozier in 1983.
Semi-finalists for the award will be announced November 10th. Finalists will be announced November 24th, and the winner will be presented with the award during the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show December 10, 2026. Last year’s winner was Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
Speaking of Mendoza, last season he made a sweep of things, winning the Heisman Trophy, the Maxwell Award, the Davey O’Brien Award, and the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award. As you may have noticed, Baker Mayfield did the same thing in 2017. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Colandrea will reach such heights or win even one of the awards I’m talking about.
However, being on the watch list suggests his potential and planting a red flag with a big white ‘N’ in the middle of the field in Columbus probably wouldn’t hurt his chances of being an award winner. And if nothing else, I love the thought of Buckeye fans getting pissed just from my suggesting the idea.
GO BIG RED!! SIMPLE, FAST, VIOLENT!!
Stay on top of Husker football at CarrikerChronicles.com