Washington doesn’t sound interested in pretending this is just another quarterback assignment.
As Nebraska gets ready to choose between Elijah Brown and Demond Williams at quarterback, the Huskies are bracing for Anthony Colandrea, and defensive coordinator Ryan Walters made it clear this one comes with a different level of headache. Colandrea isn’t only a runner who can slip away from pressure. He’s a legitimate ground threat, the kind of quarterback who can function almost like a tailback and punish defenses in ways most Big Ten passers don’t.
“Our offense is a lot different than Nebraska's offense. So there’s not a whole lot of correlation there in terms of being prepared to play Colandrea. He is the most challenging quarterback will have faced to date,” Walters said earlier this week.
Walters went deeper on what makes Colandrea difficult to pin down. The Washington coordinator pointed to the quarterback’s willingness to finish runs, his ability to cut back against the grain, and the way he can outrun pursuit angles once he gets loose.
“You know, he obviously is a major threat on the ground. You know, even though he's not like a big guy, per se, he runs like a running back.
He's not trying to get out of bounds. He'll cut back against the grain.
Obviously, he's fast and can run away from people, can outrun angles, got a natural feel for pursuit angles,” Walters continued.
He also noted that Colandrea is more than just a runner. Walters said the quarterback can hurt a defense through the air as well, which only raises the degree of difficulty for Washington.
Walters’ comments came with a little extra attention because of what he had said earlier about Nebraska and its fan base. The message wasn’t wrong, but it certainly had the feel of a coach trying to clean up the edges and avoid adding fuel.
“I've played there as a player. Coached there is a coach,” Walters said about Nebraska's Memorial Stadium earlier this week.
“You know, the fan base is extremely passionate. You know, I think they've had a sellout since like 1962 or something like that.
And so they are, you know, it's hostile. They understand the game.
And it gets really quiet when you make plays there.”
If Colandrea starts making those plays for Nebraska, Washington will have a lot more than a tough quarterback to deal with. The Huskies will be facing a loud Memorial Stadium and a night that could get uncomfortable in a hurry.
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Johnson also put the current challenge in modern terms, noting how much harder it is now to keep a roster together and keep recruiting moving in the right direction. He pointed to quarterback Anthony Colandreas ability and the need for more balanced weapons around him, a reminder that Nebraskas late-game issues are tied not just to execution, but to the broader task of building a team that can hold up when the game tightens. [Read more 🡒]