Former Nebraska quarterback Casey Thompson nearing reunion with former coach at FAU

Former Nebraska quarterback Casey Thompson is closing in on joining a new school with a familiar face for his final season of college football.

Thompson is moving toward reuniting with Tom Herman, the former Texas coach who has led Florida Atlantic since December, a source told the World-Herald. The 24-year-old is set to visit FAU early next week.

The QB toured Auburn last week and has fielded more than a dozen offers from programs around the country since entering the transfer portal April 28. With a condensed timeline to find a new home, though, Thompson’s established relationship with Herman weighs especially heavy in the process as he looks to post big numbers and stay healthy after suffering injuries that limited his effectiveness the last two seasons.

Thompson was Herman’s first quarterback recruit at Texas when Thompson committed in April 2017. They spent three seasons together with the Longhorns from 2018-2020 — Thompson served largely as an understudy to QB Sam Ehlinger during that time but came on to throw four touchdowns in the second half of the Alamo Bowl against Colorado in 2020 after Ehlinger suffered an injury. Herman was fired after that season and spent 2021 as an offensive analyst with the NFL’s Chicago Bears before sitting out 2022.

Personnel — the offensive line in particular but also multiple top skill players — is another key factor for FAU, the source said.

Thompson started 10 games for Nebraska last season after transferring from Texas. He threw for 2,407 yards with 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while dealing with an injury to his throwing shoulder suffered early in the season that affected his throwing motion. That injury required offseason surgery that kept him out most of spring ball as Georgia Tech transfer Jeff Sims established himself as a No. 1 option in Lincoln under NU’s new coaching staff.