Matt Rhule has made his quarterback choice sound like more than a routine vote of confidence. In Nebraska’s Year 4 under the head coach, Anthony Colandrea feels like the guy everything is hanging on.
That’s the real edge to this storyline. Rhule has always said he trusts his starter, but the way he’s talked about Colandrea makes this feel like a much bigger gamble than simple camp optimism. Nebraska brought in the former UNLV quarterback, and now Rhule has tied his own fortunes to whether Colandrea can deliver the kind of season he had last year.
If Colandrea can recreate that spark - the same level of play that earned him Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year - then Rhule gets a major validation point. It would say plenty about his eye for talent at quarterback, a spot where his track record has not always been so clean.
But if Colandrea comes up short, the whole thing gets ugly fast. A mediocre season, or anything resembling “Jeff Sims Part Deux,” would send Nebraska fans in the opposite direction in a hurry. And if the transfer can’t deal with the pressure in Lincoln or the defenses in the Big Ten, it becomes hard to imagine Year 5 of the Rhule era being greeted with much patience.
That’s why Rhule’s message on Monday landed the way it did.
“Do you,” Rhule said on Monday about what he told his starting quarterback . “Be the best version of you.
Anthony’s earned my respect and trust; go play… Anthony’s a lion… He’s a winner. He wants to play.
He wants to win every play, and I love it. It’s exactly what, if I could draw it up, it’s supposed to look like.
A fiery quarterback who plays with passion on his sleeve, and backs it up.”
The tone stood out. Rhule has praised quarterbacks before, but he was never quite this animated talking about Dylan Raiola.
That matters here, because it suggests he knows what’s at stake. This isn’t just about one transfer settling in.
It’s about whether Nebraska’s quarterback bet becomes the move that steadies the program - or the one that blows up in everyone’s face.
And if Colandrea repeats the turnover issues he had at Virginia, where he threw 20 interceptions against 26 touchdown passes, the reaction in Lincoln figures to be loud.
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The same day brought a different kind of roster intrigue for Nebraska football alumni, with several former Huskers landing on NFL 53-man rosters after cutdown day. Emmett Johnson, Ameer Abdullah, Thomas Fidone, Cam Jurgens, Ty Robinson, Maliek Collins, Luke Gifford and Cam Taylor-Britt all survived the first wave, while others were let go, and there could still be more movement as waivers and practice squad decisions play out. [Read more 🡒]