TJ Lateef welcoming the competition in Huskers’ quarterback room

LINCOLN, Neb. — The Huskers are midway through spring ball, and the true sophomore has his eyes on winning the starting job, despite a fierce battle in the quarterback room.

After Dylan Raiola suffered a season-ending leg injury, TJ Lateef started the final four games of Nebraska’s 2025 campaign, in which he generated four touchdown passes, and posted a road victory over UCLA. Now Lateef feels that experience, production and leadership is benefiting him in practice.

The Huskers crumbled down the stretch last season though, and lost three-straight games to end the year, which left a bad taste in Lateef’s mouth. Now he understands what comes with the territory of being Nebraska’s starting quarterback, which includes fan support and criticism. Lateef is his own worst critic, so he recognizes his strengths, weaknesses and the need for improvement.

“Being less mechanical, I feel like one of the things I’m good at is making a play off-schedule,” Lateef said. “If I need to make a play off-schedule, instead of being mechanical and sitting in the pocket.”

The addition of UNLV transfer Anthony Colandrea, and the return of Daniel Kaelin, is bringing out the best in Lateef during practice, with Nebraska’s quarterback competition being the talk of spring ball. Instead of Lateef being apprehensive about the situation, he’s embracing it and enjoying practice.

“It’s been fun, and I wouldn’t want it any other way because we got good quarterbacks,” he said. “Iron sharpens iron, so everytime we go out on that field we’re making each other better, improving each other’s game and I’m doing stuff I haven’t done since I got here, because of other quarterbacks that are in the room.”

All of the hype is surrounding Colandrea, and rightfully so. He was the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year, who threw for 3,459 yards and 23 touchdowns with the Rebels last season. Although Kaelin was at Virginia in 2025, he spent his first season in Lincoln, and is a Nebraska native.

Lateef refuses to let their attributes sabotage his goal to win the starting job, considering he’s now fully healthy, and moving around smoothly after healing from last season’s hamstring injury. He’s even changing the way he conducts himself on the field, and in the locker room.

“I feel like I’ve always been a leader, but I didn’t say nothing, and tried to lead by example,” the Compton native said. “Now I’m leading by example, and encouraging others to come along with me.”

The former three-star prospect has a great bond with the wide receivers, and continues to build that as the team navigates through the offseason. Lateef trusts the offensive line, and is confident that the big boys up front will provide solid protection this fall.

Building chemistry with the rest of the offense, making adjustments on the fly, and having a short-term memory will go a long way for Lateef. Good plays happen, as well as bad plays, but at the end of the day it’s about being consistent when it comes to execution.

Lateef now has the ability to move on from a bad play, knowing he doesn’t have to be the hero on every down. The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder has dual-threat capabilities, but needs to improve as a passer, particularly on the deep balls. Pocket awareness is a priority too.

The Red and White Game is still over two weeks away, and in the meantime Lateef is trying to win the trust of his teammates and coaches. Most importantly, Lateef wants to show that he’s evolving as a quarterback. It’s no mystery that Lateef has what the other two quarterbacks lack, which is knowledge of Dana Holgorsen’s playbook, and in-game experience with his scheme.

In Lateef’s eyes, it’s still his job to lose, and he refuses to view the transfer portal as an option if things doesn’t go according to plan.

“I wanted to be a Husker, so that’s why I’m here.”