Anthony Colandrea in pursuit of touchdowns as Husker debut nears

LINCOLN, Neb. — Saturday’s season-opener means a lot to Nebraska’s quarterback for many reasons, and he’s on a mission to please Big Red Nation with his big-play ability.

Anthony Colandrea showed his value to the offense, and won the job a week ago. Now Colandrea is ready to deliver on the hype that has surrounded his highly-anticipated debut, and he couldn’t have asked for a better opponent. After all, his last game with UNLV was against Ohio, and resulted in a 17-10 bowl loss.

Colandrea still has a sour taste in his mouth from that performance, and can’t wait to redeem himself. However, he doesn’t expect the battle with the Bobcats to be a cake walk by any means.

“They’re a really good football team, they play fast, they’re big and they’re physical,” Colandrea said. “They’re super-well coached, just a good football team.”

Despite no touchdowns passes, and a costly interception against Ohio last season, Colandrea likes his odds this time around. A sold out crowd will make Memorial Stadium a Sea of Red, and the gunslinger intends on feeding off the energy from the fans. Colandrea is no stranger to playing in front of huge crowds, and loud noise.

The Florida native experienced Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium as a freshman, and visited Clemson’s Death Valley when he played for Virginia. Regardless, there’s nothing like playing in the scarlet and cream in front of the Husker faithful, and all of the tradition, including the tunnel walk and balloon release after every touchdown. So Colandrea is expecting a memorable atmosphere.

“Everyone been telling me it’s going to get crazy, and I’ve seen pictures, videos and stuff,” he said. “So I think it’s going to get rowdy, and I’m excited.”

Colandrea is feeling very comfortable in Dana Holgorsen’s offense, and credits that to how much he pays attention to detail. Holgorsen has been hard on him over the past eight months, but Colandrea believes it has made him a stronger signal-caller. The six-foot, 200-pounder has dangerous dual-threat capability that Holgorsen wants to unleash on the Bobcats, and Colandrea is preparing to execute at a high level.

“I like being coached hard, I think every player should,” the 21-year old said. “He (Holgorsen) just makes me better, just telling me on certain plays what to see, and what not to throw, but he’s been awesome.”

The former three-star prospect understands all eyes are going to be on him, and there’s nothing like taking advantage of the spotlight. Nebraska has had touted quarterbacks in the past, that underachieved with the offense, which included Adrian Martinez and Dylan Raiola. Colandrea comes to the program with experience, leadership and production though. Which is why he’s determined to change the narrative.

Coach Matt Rhule is surrounding Colandrea with weapons at the skill positions too, including wideout Jacory Barney, and tight end Luke Lindenmeyer. The goal in Colandrea’s mind is to move the chains, and produce points on every drive. That’s asking a lot for a quarterback starting his first game in Lincoln, but Colandrea has a chip on his shoulder, and is confident that Nebraska’s offense is more than capable of accomplishing that feat against Ohio.

“Just executing the offense, going down and scoring touchdowns, and not trying field goals, because I think touchdowns win football games.”