Cornfed
Special Teams Player
This is the great debate. I’m hoping we have this problem.
Husker QB - TJ Lateef
- Thread starter admo
- Start date
I don't think we'll probably keep him around. Too much to have tied up in a backup QB. Especially with another Raiola on the hook for next year and Taylor the year after. I'm not particularly sold on the other Raiola but, in theory, Taylor would be here and ready to go when Dylan (presumably) leaves.
Archy1221
Assistant Coach
This is just the new normal for college football. QB roster management is tough because kids don’t want to sit and other schools have lots and lots of money to throw at players if they need a QB.
Hilltop
All-Conference
From the clips I have watched, Dayton has a little more mobility than Dylan but isn't anywhere near TJ. It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out. Trae is much more like TJ so to me it will be interesting to see how the coaching staff leans going into next year. I personally try hard to keep TJ on the team if I was in control of the room and force Dylan to work even more on mobility going into 2026.
Gorillahawk
Special Teams Player
I'm curious to see how TJ plays now that a team has some legit film on him. I also wonder if Dana tried to put too much on DR or if DR was trying too hard to keep reading the defense instead of taking the quick easy stuff. It sure seemed like Dana called a much more QB friendly game against UCLA then what he had been calling with DR. It will be interesting to see how this QB situation shakes out in the next year. It is nice being in the position that were in with two good QB options instead of picking the lesser of two evils.
Hilltop
All-Conference
Good points. Lack of film on him and a weaker defense both played a part in how he looked Saturday night. PSU & Iowa defense are no joke so we will lean a lot more in a couple of weeks.
commando
Heisman Trophy Winner
TJ has looked great and i am excited to see how he progresses from here....but we do have to remember the competition level he has faced hasn't been all that good. i hope he continues as well as he has been so far but trying not to proclaim him the greatest since Frazier. at least not yet anyway.
Crusader Husker
All-Conference
Listening to sports talk today, fans are ready to go full-blown QB controversy. Let's wait to see what happens in the next 2 games. He goes 3-0? WOW!! Conversation will be RED HOT!
Hilltop
All-Conference
If he goes 3-0... and then wins a bowl game, it will make for an interesting spring and 2026 because I predict we will pony up the cash to keep him. Anything less than that and I am guessing he transfers for a decent pay day. Either way, good for him!
DR throws lazy cotton balls that have the hang time of a punt where TJ drives the ball to the receivers. We'll have to see if that success continues but I think TJ will prove to be more effective at running the offense overall, once he's had some more experience.
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True, we'll get a good feel in the next couple of games.
On the flip side, mediocre teams have all time defensive records against DR and I don't think it's all on the O line.
Husker_In_WI
Guest
We didn't do the fade any time the defense had a Safety in the box! Not sure if those were Raiola checks or a Holgorsen check, but I didn't miss them. I hope they stay gone. I do think the bold might be a stretch - UCLA has a really bad defense, Holgorsen had a good gameplan, and Lateef did a great job getting the ball where it needed to go. IMO he isn't even close to "running the offense" yet (which is to be expected in his first start), and better teams will have better answers for the limited menu.
I'm excited but we're not going to beat Iowa attempting only 15 passes so he's going to have to grow quickly. I do like the bye timing. Penn State is a dumpster fire but still talented, so I'd rather have the extra week for them as opposed to UCLA. And then Iowa is going to be tough, but 2 more weeks of starter reps and what I assume will be a kitchen sink gameplan with a mobile QB should be interesting. To be clear - there is almost nothing Lateef could have done better than he did, it was a nearly flawless debut. But comparing QB play is pointless right now, the opponent and gameplan are unique and Lateef is the only option so what it would have looked like with Raiola isn't relevant. We can worry about that during Spring ball.
Hilltop
All-Conference
Smh... I would hope you realize some of the touch throws you are referring to are intentional to get over a linebacker to drop them into the empty space in the zone defense. You don't see a lot of college QBs throw those because not many are capable of even making them. DR has a very strong arm and can deliver the ball on a line when necessary.