Over the weekend there was another big recruiting win in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was a recruiting win that left a lot of people confused. I heard an abundance of “do we need another quarterback?”. The answer is always yes, there is no shortage of need for any position in this everchanging roster age of the transfer portal. But it’s not as much about the position or even the player, even though TJ Lateef is an outstanding pick-up. It’s about a movement. Something that is happening in Lincoln that hasn’t taken place in so long that we are confused by its presence. Stacking players at a position and using top players to peer recruit other top players.
TJ Lateef is Nebraskas’ newest addition. This four star prospect was the number one unsigned quarterback in the 2025 recruiting class. A pocket passer with the ability to extend plays with his legs. For reference, he resembles an early version of Adrian Martinez. With offers from Georgia, Auburn and more Lateef was courted by some of the top schools in the country and chose to join Rhule and company in Nebraska.
With other recruits the “immediate impact” or the promise to “start as a freshman” has been used as a justification for landing big time recruits, but with Lateef that more than likely won’t be the case as long as Raiola continues to produce. Leaving Lateef’s commitment to Nebraska being solely based on his want to play for this coaching staff and his belief in Nebraska’s ability to get him prepared for the NFL. Potentially sitting behind a 3 year starter like Raiola, will help Nebraska start to develop top quality talent and put fans at ease knowing that now we will have multiple high caliber backups at the quarterback position.
Landing TJ this early leads to more opportunities for peer recruiting, and who is better to peer recruit than a QB? Quarterbacks generally have multiple connections from not only in state but out of state recruits through their attendance at multiple developmental and recruitment camps. From offensive lineman to receivers and linebackers, quarterbacks have been known to help schools bring in more talent than not. Two of the top prospects that Lateef may be able to assist in landing are four star defensive back Adonyss Currie form lancaster, CA and three star offensive tackle John Mills from San Francisco. Being able to help with the recruiting of local and regional talent on the west coast will be a massive bonus when it comes to the landing of Lateef.
Something big is happening in Lincoln, Nebraska. The fear of missing out is a real phenomenon and no one will want to miss out once this sleeping Big Red giant is awoken.
