TJ Lateef Back at Full Strength, Ready to Lead Nebraska Offense in Bowl Clash with Utah
Nebraska’s offense is getting a key piece back at just the right time.
After missing significant practice time with a hamstring injury that sidelined him early in the regular-season finale against Iowa, true freshman quarterback TJ Lateef is now fully cleared and back in action. The Huskers kicked off their bowl week with a practice in Las Vegas on Friday, and Lateef was on the field - a little rusty, sure, but trending in the right direction.
“He was a little rusty out there today,” offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen said Friday during an interview on the Huskers Radio Network. “He’s coming off that hamstring, which is unfortunate because he hasn’t been able to take as many reps as he normally would leading into this bowl prep.”
That rust, though, started to shake off by the end of practice, Holgorsen noted. And with several days of work ahead before Nebraska takes on No. 15 Utah, there’s optimism that Lateef will be back in rhythm in time for kickoff.
“I would think tomorrow would be a little bit better,” Holgorsen said. “And then just keeps getting better throughout the course going into the game.”
That’s big news for a Nebraska offense that had to shelve roughly a third of its game plan against Iowa after Lateef went down. With the freshman sidelined, Holgorsen was forced to adjust on the fly, limiting the playbook and taking away some of the dynamic elements that had been installed for the game.
Not this time.
“He’s fine now,” Holgorsen said. “We were just very careful with him.
We didn’t want to turn him loose too quick and then he re-tweaks the hamstring. But we chose the right play.
It was the right thing to do. He feels 100 percent right now.”
That means the full offensive arsenal is back on the table as Nebraska prepares for Utah - a top-15 opponent that will test every inch of the Huskers’ offensive identity.
“Anything and everything that we have in the game plan, we’ll be able to get to it,” Holgorsen emphasized. “I got handcuffed a little bit against Iowa because that was about 33 percent of the plays that we wanted to call that we couldn’t because he was nursing the hamstring. There won’t be any restrictions against Utah.”
The Huskers arrived in Las Vegas on Friday and wasted no time getting to work, heading straight from the plane to practice at Bishop Gorman High School. It’s a similar approach to what Nebraska did last year during its Pinstripe Bowl prep - immediate transition from travel to the field.
They’ll be back at it Saturday with another midday session, followed by media availability with head coach Matt Rhule and a few players.
While this bowl game marks the end of the 2025 season, it also sets the stage for what’s next - especially for Lateef. The young quarterback has already shown enough to spark belief inside the program, but he’s not thinking about depth charts or offseason headlines just yet.
He’s focused on finishing strong.
Rhule said last week the staff already has a solid understanding of what Lateef brings to the table. That said, the Huskers will still look to add more quarterback depth through the transfer portal this offseason.
“I don’t think there’s a guy on our roster that doesn’t believe that TJ is a starting quarterback and that the sky is the limit,” Rhule said. “So we feel great about where the quarterback position is heading.”
But Rhule also made it clear: this isn’t just about one guy. The offense as a whole has to level up.
“I think Dana said it really well yesterday: We’ve got to play better on offense. We’ve got to pass protect better.
We’ve got to create more explosive plays. We had a very good run game.
We’ve got to throw more explosive plays. We have to just improve this year.
And that’s not a one-guy thing.”
With Lateef healthy and the full playbook unlocked, Nebraska has a chance to take a real step forward in their final game of the season. And if the freshman QB can put together a strong performance against a top-tier Utah defense, it won’t just be a statement for this bowl - it’ll be a preview of what’s to come in 2026.