LINCOLN—With a quarter of the season still to play out, Nebraska football is turning to a true freshman at quarterback.
After Dylan Raiola guided the Big Red as the primary signal caller for his first 22 games in Lincoln, TJ Lateef is set to take the reins of the offense. With those reins come expectations, more so from the coaching staff than anyone outside of the building.
“I coached him on Sunday like he was a veteran,” Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule said at Monday’s press conference. “I showed the opportunities we could have had. You know, ‘Hey, if you do this, if you do this.’ Because I want him to know that I have so much confidence in him that I’m going to coach him like Dylan.”
Rhule’s confidence in Lateef is showcased by what the freshman quarterback showed against USC. Lateef didn’t end up making any splashy plays, but he did check into a call that looked like a touchdown, except for a fumbled snap.
“He saw zero (coverage). He checked it to a tunnel screen. Jacory (Barney Jr.) is wide open. He’s going to walk, and he just dropped the snap. And so he’s mentally, though, at a really, really high level,” Rhule said. “And so he just needs reps. When you’re the backup quarterback, you’re getting reps, but not as many. And so now he needs reps.”
Lateef is taking over for Raiola after the star sophomore was injured during the USC game. Rhule confirmed Sunday and then gave more details on Monday about Raiola’s injury, saying it was a broken fibula that will require surgery this week.
“(Raiola) was out there at practice last night with TJ, working with TJ and wants to be a part of everything, but the most important thing for him right now is to get healed,” Rhule said.
The quarterback depth chart now reads Lateef at the top, followed by Jalyn Gramstad and Marcos Davila.
“Jalyn needs reps and anybody else we use at quarterback will need reps this week,” Rhule said.
Lateef will be among six players making a return trip to California. For him, though, it is like going home since he grew up about an hour from Pasadena.
“I think it’s going to be exciting for TJ,” Rhule said. “One of the thing’s that has impressed me the most since he’s been here is just his humility. He’s just one of the guys. He’s just a great, great, great young man.”
Rhule doubled down on the expectations of Lateef being entirely internal, which will bring national attention to the program if met.
“TJ’s our starting quarterback now,” Rhule said. “He’s the starting quarterback at Nebraska. When I talk about people respecting us nationally, part of that is us, too. He’s gotta go play the way guys play and I can’t wait to see him play.”
The fact that Lateef is the backup and a true freshman is something that Rhule doesn’t want as an excuse down the stretch.
“It would just be so average to go out that and be like, ‘Well, we got a freshman quarterback and it is what it is.’ No. I’m not doing that. We got TJ Lateef. We’re going to rally around him,” Rhule said.
If Lateef needs a stabilizing force around him, that can come from the rest of the guys rallying around him to up their game and make his life easier.
“Guys are going to have to do a great job of being strong around him,” Rhule said.
One guy, in particular, who can help his quarterback out is running back Emmett Johnson. The junior from Minnesota is the first 1,000-yard back for the Huskers since Devine Ozigbo in 2018. So far this season, Johnson has 1,002 yards on 175 carries, adding 197 yards on 33 receptions, but Rhule says his body is holding up well to the workload.
“He’s really evolved,” Rhule said. “He doesn’t take a lot of direct shots. He does such a good job at the point of contact of cutting back and avoiding. He’s just hot.
“Emmett looks great, looks healthy.”
Nebraska and UCLA will battle Saturday at 8 p.m. CST. The game will be broadcast on FOX.
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