Anthony Colandrea is walking into Nebraska with something to prove, and On3’s latest Big Ten transfer rankings only sharpen the edge.
The new Huskers quarterback, who won Mountain West Player of the Year honors after his 2025 season at UNLV, landed at No. 10 on Ari Wasserman’s list of the best incoming Big Ten transfers. That alone would be one thing.
The surprise is who Colandrea is sitting behind. Wasserman ranked Penn State’s Rocco Becht ahead of him, and even put Wisconsin’s Colton Joseph four spots higher at No.
That placement is hard to square with what Colandrea just did. He threw for 3,459 yards, 23 touchdowns and 9 interceptions, then added 649 rushing yards at 5.1 yards per carry and 10 more scores on the ground. That’s a full-season stat line that looks like production, not projection.
Joseph’s case is built on dual-threat juice too. At Old Dominion, he passed for 2,624 yards, 21 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while rushing for 1,000 yards and 13 additional touchdowns. Wasserman clearly values that extra rushing pop, but the gap in the rankings still stands out when Colandrea brought more passing yardage, more passing touchdowns and fewer interceptions.
Becht’s numbers are the lightest of the group. He finished with 2,584 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and 9 interceptions at Iowa State, plus 116 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns. The obvious argument for him is experience in a Power 4 setting, even if his production there was hardly overwhelming.
Colandrea’s path to Nebraska also adds another layer to the conversation. He was not the Huskers’ first target at quarterback; Nebraska initially landed former Notre Dame quarterback Kenny Minchey before he decommitted and chose Kentucky. The Huskers then moved quickly to bring in Colandrea.
That switch could end up paying off in Lincoln. After two years of Dylan Raiola, Colandrea’s arrival may finally settle the questions around Nebraska’s offensive identity. He also brings some familiarity with facing higher-level defenses from his first two seasons at Virginia, even if those numbers didn’t match what he produced at UNLV.
For now, though, the ranking gives Colandrea another reason to keep score in his head. If he turns those doubts into fuel, Nebraska stands to benefit in a big way.
In Other News...
Nebraskas Surprise RB Addition Says Plenty About This Backfield
Nebraska quietly added another body to its running back room ahead of fall camp, a move that says as much about roster management as it does about the immediate depth chart. The late pickup brings a player with stops at Penn State and Iowa Western Community College into a group that always has to balance health, workload and the grind of a Big Ten season.
The timing makes the addition worth watching, even if it is framed as extra depth rather than a headline-grabbing splash. Nebraska has been sorting through the backfield all summer, and with camp approaching, every new face can matter in a room where availability often shapes opportunity as much as talent does. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraskas Future Schedule Is Starting To Feel All Too Familiar
Nebraskas non-conference calendar is starting to take shape again, and the early outline looks a lot like what fans have gotten used to in recent years. The Huskers already have their 2027 and 2028 slates set, with a mix of Group of 6 and FCS opponents alongside the kind of marquee matchup that still gives the schedule some bite. Now the attention shifts to the open spots in 2029, where the search for a fill-in opponent has quietly begun.
Georgia State, Eastern Illinois and Murray State have all reportedly reached out about the opening, and no agreement is in place yet. The most natural fit may end up coming from the smaller in-state or regional options for 2029, while Georgia State could make more sense for the possible 2030 opening. For Nebraska, the bigger picture is less about one game than the pattern itself, as the future schedule continues to be built piece by piece. [Read more 🡒]