Nebraska Football Doesn't Have a Quarterback Competition

Don't let the talk of previous starts and experience fool you: there isn't a quarterback competition in Lincoln.

Anyone who says otherwise is either being dishonest or outright lying to you. Yes, all three quarterbacks on the roster have big résumés and bigger potential. No, they aren't in a true competition this spring.

With the departure of Dylan Raiola, a 22-game starter for the Big Red, head coach Matt Rhule needed to look to the future. That included bringing back four-game starter TJ Lateef and reacquiring Daniel Kaelin after his one-year detour to Virginia.

Nebraska quarterbacks Dylan Raiola and TJ Lateef during the USC game. | Cory Edmondson, KFGE

Both Lateef and Kaelin participated in the prestigious Elite 11 Finals as prospects. Neither will be the starter this fall.

No, that spot is locked up by Anthony Colandrea. The 2025 Mountain West Player of the Year is already QB1.

"The very first moment that I met Anthony, when he got out of the car with his parents on the visit, you could tell that there's something special about him," Rhule said just before spring practices began. "At the end of the day, you want your quarterback to walk a little bit different than everybody else, because he has a lot on his shoulders, but be one of the guys. I think Anthony's done that really, really well."

Not only has Anthony carried himself in a way that the coaching staff expects and likes, but Rhule also noted that transfer quarterbacks taking over programs is the new normal.

"There's not many teams playing in the College Football Playoff that aren't playing with a transfer quarterback," Rhule said.

Offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen also acknowledged the experience in the room, but it starts with one guy.

"It's a completely different room, but it's a confident room too," Holgorsen said. "It all starts with Anthony. He's got three years of starting experience under his belt. That's going to show."

As for the way Lateef and Kaelin are talked about, Rhule talks as though he likes what he has, but those guys aren't expected to take over the team like Colandrea is.

"When you look at TJ, the physical development is really impressive," Rhule said. "He got those games at the end of the year to really have that opportunity. He's healthy now, and he knows what's expected of him.

"All three of those guys, because they've started, they know the speed of the game," Rhule said. "They know how fast they have to process things. I think it changes the tempo with which you play in practice."

Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback TJ Lateef throws the ball in the second half against the Utah Utes during the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl at Allegiant Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

That is different than the way he talks about Colandrea.

"When they bring pressures, he's able to either get the ball out or get outside the pocket, extend plays," Rhule said. "He plays fast. It's easy to be excited; it's hard to have energy every day. I think he has a lot of energy."

Even quarterbacks coach Glenn Thomas said all three have their strengths and weaknesses, but Colandrea has that "it" factor.

"He definitely has an energy about him that is contagious," Thomas said. "He’s got a confidence about him that you need as a leader. People have taken to that, and I think that [will be] a big part of his role moving forward."

Anthony Colandrea has played in 33 games in his career with 31 starts. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Beyond the confidence and energy, Colandrea has the on-field skills to set him apart.

"He’s a quick processor," said Thomas. "He makes decisions, and to his credit, he’s convicted with those decisions. The last thing you want to do is get out there and second-guess what you’re doing."

No coaches have outright said who the starter is or what the depth chart looks like, but listening to them talk gives a different impression in the way they talk about each guy.

Let's go to the other side for a second: if Colandrea isn't the starting quarterback, then why was money spent on bringing him in for one season?

Head coach Matt Rhule during Nebraska's 2025 game against Iowa. — Going into year four at the helm in Lincoln, Matt Rhule has already had five different guys start a game at quarterback. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Rhule has talked extensively about the program's money and resources to attack the portal, including not having enough last year and then saying they have what they need after his extension. But Rhule said earlier this year that budgetary decisions had to be made, expanding on that just prior to spring ball.

"I think we have had more than we ever have," Rhule began. "But as we've ascended, other people have certainly ascended, right? Sometimes people ask me, 'Why didn't we do this? Why did we do that?' And there's a finite amount of dollars that are available."

Again, with a "finite amount of dollars" to try to take Nebraska to another level, Rhule and Co. were not using money on a higher-profile quarterback transfer for him to sit on the bench. Should they get in, Lateef and Kaelin will likely perform well enough to get the Huskers through, but make no mistake, Colandrea was the starting QB from the time he committed to NU.

Nebraska's Quarterback History

Nebraska hasn't had a true quarterback competition in years.

Raiola stepped onto campus and was immediately the starter. Before him, it was the anointment of transfer Jeff Sims, who only started two games before suffering an injury that would leave him with sparse playing time the rest of the season as Chubba Purdy and Heinrich Haarberg managed the offense in Rhule's first year.

Casey Thompson was brought in as the immediate starter after four years of Adrian Martinez, who was never pushed by Luke McCaffery or Logan Smothers, among others. Tanner Lee was the same back in 2017 after three-plus years of Tommy Armstrong. Armstrong took over for most of the 2013 season as three-year starter Taylor Martinez dealt with a foot injury.

Tommy Armstrong Jr. posted 44 starts in his Husker career, a program record at quarterback. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Zac Lee capped off a three-year stretch of one-year starters, including Joe Ganz in 2008 and Sam Keller in 2007, though Ganz made a couple of starts in '07 after Keller got hurt. That was maybe the last TRUE quarterback battle for the Huskers.

Going back to the turn of the century, Zac Taylor starterd for two seasons after Joe Dailey had his lone season as the guy in 2004. Jammal Lord was the only starter in 2002 and 2003, with Eric Crouch getting all of the starts the previous two seasons.

Of course, Crouch, the last Heisman Trophy winner for the Nebraska program, had a multi-year battle with Bobby Newcombe for the position in the wake of the last national championship and the transition from the retiring Tom Osborne to Frank Solich.

Eric Crouch is Nebraska's last Heisman Trophy winner. | RVR Photos-Imagn Images

Since the legendary TO retired, Nebraska has had maybe two or three actual quarterback battles. That's 28 seasons with 26 different quarterbacks notching at least one start. As the 2026 spring practices roll on, this is not a year of adding another true QB battle to the list.

Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to kalebhenry.huskermax@gmail.com.