Husker QB - TJ Lateef

I'd take Lateef. Regardless of whether TJ or DR is the better quarterback, I think TJ's skils fit the rest of the offense (personnel and scheme) better than a pocket passer such as DR.

Plus I just like watching the offense with a dual threat QB.

*usual disclaimer about needing more sample size to be comfortable that what we've seen from TJ is legit.
 
I don't know the long term answer to this yet without seeing more...but I must admit I am pretty swayed by the fact that last year, we had a freshman QB who threw a pick-6 and lost at home to joke of a UCLA team, while this year we had a freshman QB beat a joke of a UCLA team on the road while nary tossing an incompletion.

One game is not nearly enough of a strong sample size, but Lateef's one game was better than any other single game Raiola has shown us against any Big 10 team.
 
307husker said:
I'm sure some improvement is possible but I think DR next year is 90-95% the same as this year. He's already physically mature and very experienced with an advanced training age, despite his relatively young chronological age. His strengths and weaknesses will likely remain what they are now. The gameplan to beat DR is the same this year as it was for the Illinois game last year and there are good reasons for that.
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Yeah, I disagree quite emphatically in general that sophomores in college hit their peak ability. I can’t find a single college QB who would step in and be good as an NFL starting QB. Some of them do however end up being good NFL QB’s down the road though.

Do you know how? By improving skill sets.

It’s possible that DR has peaked physically and mentally and will get 5% or less better from here on out. I doubt it though. The mental part of the game of where he will get better and they generally comes with more and more and more playing time.
 
BigRedBuster said:
I'm not going to sit here and proclaim that he's going to light it up against any future opponents. However, how can you then sit here and proclam that he's going to struggle?
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The last 15 years of Iowa games would point to the ugliest game you could imagine
 
Archy1221 said:
Yeah, I disagree quite emphatically in general that sophomores in college hit their peak ability. I can’t find a single college QB who would step in and be good as an NFL starting QB. Some of them do however end up being good NFL QB’s down the road though.

Do you know how? By improving skill sets.
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I think historically this is accurate but how many previous NFL qb prospects grew up in professional football and have had the level of education, training, and exposure to the game (on the field and off) that DR has? I don't think there are many stones that are still to be turned over in his case which is why I don't think he's going to change a great amount. Gradual progress through experience, maybe.
 
Ulty said:
One game is not nearly enough of a strong sample size, but Lateef's one game was better than any other single game Raiola has shown us against any Big 10 team.
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DR had a 290 yrd 3 TD performance as a true freshman against a ranked Illinois team. Not the same completion percentage but more yards and same TD’s. Against a ranked opponent.

28/38 and just shy of 300 yards against Wisconsin last year and leading the team to 44 points instead of 28.
 
Ah yeah, I’ll give ya the Wisconsin game, but I’m not sure that anyone else would argue that the choke job against Illinois last year was a better QB performance than TJ’s showing at UCLA.
 
Red Five said:
30/41 for 308 yards and 3 TDs vs a Michigan team that is 19th in total defense.
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and an interception and 7 sacks... Dylan's QBR in that game was 67. TJ's QBR on Saturday was 98, way higher than any of Dylan's games this year (although since the QBR statistic is weird and obscure, I wouldn't necessarily hang my hat on that).

Look, I'm not saying Dylan is bad, and I'm not saying TJ is the man (yet). But it is also not clear that Dylan is heads and shoulders above TJ. If TJ tears it up these next 3 games, I and a lot of others will be solidly on his bandwagon and the coaches and NIL folks will have some tough decisions to make. It's very unlikely that they are both at UNL next fall.
 
Next few weeks are going to be entertaining! EJ in the running for post season awards, our fan base ready to explode for the qb controversy that hasn't happened yet, and coaching rumors that are sure to fly with all the openings. The transfer portal is going to be crazy as well.
 
Hilltop said:
...our fan base ready to explode for the qb controversy that hasn't happened yet,...
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I think it's more of a worry than it is any kind of thirst for the drama.

It seems like college football fans have already taken for granted how ridiculous the transfer portal is (and you went on to mention that). It's ridiculous to put in the work to recruit Lateef and then potentially just have him transfer out after one season.


<Insert Friedrich Nietzsche image>

Ope, there we go:

friedrich nietzsche glitch GIF
 
www.espn.com

Reranking all 68 Power 4 QBs: Who rose and who fell after two months

What have we learned about the quarterbacks as we race to the end of the season?
www.espn.com www.espn.com


i
44. TJ Lateef, Nebraska

Last Rank: unranked | Total QBR: 63.6 | Pass Yds: 466 | Rush Yds (no sack): 81 | Total TDs: 6

Easily the hardest guy on the list to evaluate. A true freshman, Lateef made his first start on Saturday, replacing the injured Dylan Raiola, and he completed his first 11 passes as the Huskers bolted to a big early lead and won. He ended up with only 15 passes and five rushes, but he produced a 98.7 Total QBR. A week earlier, his seven passes gained only 17 yards in a loss to USC. Which was the more accurate impression?
 
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