As is the case with almost every position on Nebraska’s roster this season, this is the best quarterback room Matt Rhule has had since coming to Lincoln. Some may want to dispute that with former 5-Star QB Dylan Raiola on the roster last season, but whatever impact Dylan Raiola had during his time at Nebraska, his absence will have a bigger impact – and in a positive way. That may sound harsh, but Raiola moving on was the best thing for Nebraska football. He was never a good fit for Nebraska or OC Dana Holgorsen.
Someone who isa good fit is Anthony Colandrea. Because of his dual threat ability and leadership, Colandrea will show Husker Nation why he’s far better for the scarlet and cream. He’ll not only elevate the players around him, but he’ll also elevate the players behind him, which wasn’t happening last season.
Which makes one ask, was there a true quarterback competition? Whether there was or not, we expected there to be one, and I’m sure we’ll hear from the coaches that there was. But deep down we all know the truth. Anthony Colandrea, the 2025 Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year, was not brought to Lincoln to stand on the sidelines and wear a headset. You don’t spend the money Nebraska spent on him without putting your investment on the field. Without doubt, barring injury, Colandrea will be Nebraska’s day one starter.
However, I will say this, while Colandrea may not have been in threat of losing the starting job, he’s never been pushed this hard before. I’m sure he’ll be the first to tell you he hasn’t had talent like TJ Lateef and Danny Kaelin nipping at his heels in the past.
That’s not to say he hasn’t had to compete before, he has. But since midway through his second season at Virginia, he’s been the man wherever he’s been. That simple fact gives him the confidence this team has been looking for. Automatic starter or not, Colandrea felt the pressure behind him, and that’s a good thing because it made him work and elevate his game. Another plus, he didn’t come in with a I’m the ‘Alpha Dog’ mentality. He realized the players on this team have a great deal of respect for Lateef and Kailin, and he showed them that same respect while building chemistry with his new teammates.
“I’m here at Nebraska to win football games,” said Colandrea. “I’m putting my head down, and I’m going to work my ass off. My teammates see that. At the end of the day, I want to make everyone around me better – I want to uplift everyone’s game. We had a great spring, and we’re ready to win football games.”
At this point it’s Colandrea’s job to lose and if for some unforeseen reason that happens, Lateef and Kaelin will be ready to go. If you want to talk about quarterback competition, start with those two. As of now the reports are leaning toward Lateef being number two but we’re still 40 days away from the Ohio Bobcats coming to Lincoln.
You don’t have to dig too deep to see why Colandrea will be the starter. Lateef and Kaelin’s talent is undeniable and both are more than qualified as backups, but if you look at Colandrea’s experience alone you can see why he’s number one.
Anthony Colandrea
Going into his fourth season Colandrea has played in 33 games with 31 starts. He has completed 627/983 for 7,542 yards, 49 TDs and 29 interceptions. Last season in his 14 starts at UNLV he passed for 3,459 yards, 23 TDs, and 9 interceptions. He also rushed for 649 yards and 10 TDs.
Stats to note:
- Colandrea’s 74.9 QBR last season would’ve been the best by any Nebraska player since 2004.
- No returning quarterback saw a bigger increase year-over-year in Total QBR from 2024 to 2025 than Colandrea (+27.8).
- Returning QBs with 4,000 total yards and 30 TDs last year: Ole Miss’s Trinadad Chambliss, Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker, Auburn’s Byrum Brown, and Nebraska’s Anthony Colandrea.
According to Dana Holgersen Colandrea is unlike any other quarterback he’s coached, perhaps ever. “He does somethings I’ve never had,” Holgorsen said in March. “I’ve never had that mobile of a quarterback.” Why does Holgorsen say that. Because Colandrea can extend plays, force defenses to defend longer and turn nothing plays into explosive plays. He’s a unique talent and leader that has the potential to take the Huskers to the next level.
If there are any fears with Colandrea, it’s his size and running the ball. At 6’0, 205-pounds he isn’t a battering ram and must learn when to get out of bounds. He’s displayed a willingness to take hits, which makes him special, but this is the Big Ten and there will be learning curves. He’s also been somewhat prone turning the ball over throughout his career, although he did a much better job last season at UNLV. Don’t look for that problem to be totally eliminated. With players like Colandrea explosive plays have big risks and big rewards. On the positive side, He’s shown the ability to ignore such plays and make up for them later.
TJ Lateef
TJ Lateef came to Nebraska from Orange Lutheran High School in California, where as a senior he passed for 2,274 yards, 23 TDs and completed 71% of his passes. He also displayed his ability to use his legs, rushing for 291 yards and 5 TDs, making him a perfect fit for OC Dana Holgorsen’s offense. Rivals ranked him the No. 11 pro-style quarterback in 2024 and he was one of twenty players invited to the Elite 11 finals.
As a true freshman at Nebraska Lateef was the 2nd string quarterback throughout the 2025 season. He played in seven games and started four. Statistically he was 74/123 for 904 yards, 5 TDs, 1 interception with a 60.2% completion rate. He also rushed 40 times for 120 yards and 4 TDs.
His start against UCLA made him only the fifth freshman to start a game at quarterback for Nebraska. He led the Huskers to a road victory in his first start, completing 13/15 passes for 205 yards and 3 TDs while rushing 5 times for 31 yards. His performance in that game gave Husker fans great hope for the future
His next start was against Penn State where he suffered a hamstring injury and struggled to show the same promise he had at UCLA. He was slowed by the injury the rest of the season.
While Lateef isn’t as experienced as Colandrea he has comparable talent. At 6’1”, 200-pounds he also isn’t built to run the ball play after play, and he hasn’t shown that same hell bound determination to run the ball Colandrea has. Yet, he does have good mobility that will make him an ideal backup to Colandrea if needed.
Danny Kaelin
If you are a Husker fan and have followed Danny Kaelin’s career you can’t help but love the kid. He’s been through a gauntlet of emotion during his Husker journey, and it all boils down to his unmatched desire of being a Nebraska football player.
Coming out of high school at Bellevue West he was seen as the No.2 player in the state and was ranked among the top 40 quarterbacks in the nation by 247 Sports, ESPN, and Rivals On3. The ranking allowed him to participate in the Elite 11 Camp in 2023.
He was recruited by Matt Rhule and his staff, but they never hid the fact they were pursuing Dylan Raiola. With that in mind Kaelin committed to Missouri in March of 2023. However, Rhule and his staff continued to stay in contact with Kaelin and when Raiola committed to Georgia, Kaelin flipped his commitment to Nebraska in May. When flipping he talked of attending his first Nebraska football camp in 2015 and growing up dreaming of playing in a Nebraska uniform and walking onto the field at Memorial Stadium.
Then in December of 2023 Riaola flipped his commitment from Georgia to Nebraska causing Kaelin to consider leaving the program. But Kaelin had done a great deal of peer recruiting and was involved with bringing players like Carter Nelson to Lincoln. After a short period of reflection, he felt those relationships as well as those he had built with coaches made Nebraska the right place for his development. Redshirting his first season at Nebraska he was number three on the depth chart behind Dylan Raiola and Heinrich Haarberg.
With Raiola as the starter and seeing his playing time as limited, Kaelin transferred to Virgina for his redshirt freshman season, he played in seven games and completed 30/52 passes for 339 yards, 1 TD, and 1 interception while rushing for 72 yards.
With Dylan Raiola and Marcos Davila’s departure along with Jalyn Gramstad’s graduation and not singing a 2026 commit, Nebraska saw bringing Kaelin back as a way of adding depth and competition to the room. Because of Kaelin’ s loyalty, rapport with players and coaches and seeing the advantages of joining a competitive room he was eager to return.
When talking size, at 6’3” and 220-pounds Kaelin is your prototypical Big Ten quarterback. He is known for his big arm strength and ability to push the ball down the field. While still needing development in reading defenses, Nebraska’s staff saw growth from Kaelin while at Virgina, showing poise and an ability to command an offense.
The QB battle between Lateef and Kaelin will come down to a mix of experience, arm strength, and chemistry with the receiving corps. Both players have spent a season on Nebraska’s roster and are familiar with players and coaches. Competition makes everybody better and Kaelin and Lateef will benefit from playing not only together but from learning from Anthony Colandrea.
Bode Soukup
Soukup may be seen as a fourth string quarterback, but I don’t think anyone is giving him enough credit for what he brings to this room. If you are an older fan like me, you remember a guy named Matt Turman making a big contribution while on the lower end of the depth chart. Bode Soukup has the same ability.
At 6’2”, 205-pounds Soukup was one of the state’s most productive high school quarterbacks in 2023. A four-year starter at Blair High School, he passed for 4,477 yards and 44 touchdowns. A multi-sport athlete, he has better than average athletic ability. Arriving at Nebraska in the same class as Danny Kaelin, the two have a strong relationship with each other and their teammates. Soukup redshirted his freshman year and did not see action. He played in the Akron game as a redshirt freshman but didn’t log any stats.
I hate to say it, but we shouldn’t see much from Soukup unless he gets in for mop-up duty. Still with only four quarterbacks on the depth chart, you must believe this coaching staff sees him as a viable option if absolutely needed.
Supporting Cast
Whether it’s Colandrea, Lateef or Kaelin, part of their success will depend on the offensive line, receivers, and the running game. The supporting cast this season is better.
With a new offensive line that will consist of Elijah Pritchett, Paul Mubenga, Justin Evans, Brendan Black, and Tree Babalade protection and run blocking should be better. And adding a mobile quarterback only helps. Sacks last season can’t be attributed to the offensive line alone. Dylan Raiola’s lack of pocket awareness and non-existent mobility left his lineman alone on islands. Anytime passing situations arose defenses teed off using schemes that isolated lineman against multiple defenders. With Colandrea being able to scramble and create plays off schedule defenses will no longer be able to do that. They will be forced to be more disciplined to protect their gaps. That will give linemen a chance to be successful one on one.
Nebraska also boasts in my opinion one of the best receiving corps in school history. With Jacory Barney, Nyziah Hunter, Kwazi Gilmoe, Quinn Clark, Janiran Bonner, Cortez Mills, Luke Lindenmeyer, and Carter Nelson there will be plenty of opportunities to find open receivers. Especially with Colandrea’s ability to produce from unscripted plays and receivers learning to come back to the quarterback and find open spots when a play breaks down.
Next up, I’ll cover the offensive line. With 20 offensive lineman I may only cover the top eight, and I won’t be as long winded. But with just four players, and it being one of the most important positions on the team, I felt the need to go into more detail with the quarterbacks.
GO BIG RED!! SIMPLE, FAST, VIOLENT!!
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