From Backup to Bowl Game Starter: TJ Lateef’s Meteoric Rise at Nebraska
Just a year ago, TJ Lateef was packing his bags for college, preparing to tag along to a bowl game as a wide-eyed freshman. Now, he’s the one under center, QB1 at Nebraska, and a name on the lips of Husker fans across the state.
“It’s crazy. It came fast,” Lateef said, reflecting on a whirlwind year. “I was just getting ready to go to New York with them and watch the bowl game, and it’s crazy how now I’m playing in the bowl game.”
Crazy might be an understatement.
Lateef’s rise didn’t come by accident. It started on a cold, windy day at Fordham in the Bronx, when head coach Matt Rhule first saw the freshman rifle passes through the gusts like a seasoned vet. The arm talent was obvious, but what stood out even more was the way Lateef carried himself - like a quarterback already preparing to lead.
The green practice jersey may have hidden his mobility, but it didn’t hide his mindset. Coaches quickly saw a player who wasn’t just going through the motions - he was treating every rep like it mattered. That earned him trust, and eventually, it earned him the job.
“If you have any idea how we feel about him, at the end of the game, with the game on the line, we’re throwing the football,” Rhule said, referencing Lateef’s first start against UCLA. “A lot of people wouldn’t do that, but we’re doing that. It’s because he’s earned that.”
Lateef’s first few outings weren’t without bumps. The last two games, particularly against Penn State and Iowa, tested him - physically, mentally, emotionally.
But even in the setbacks, there were signs of growth. For a player who entered last year’s bowl game as a third-string option behind Jalyn Gramstad and Marcos Davila, the progress has been remarkable.
Now, with the Las Vegas Bowl on the horizon, Lateef is the guy. Dylan Raiola is no longer in the room, and the conversation has shifted to who might join Lateef in the quarterback room for 2026. But the sophomore isn’t looking that far ahead.
“We’ll worry about that when that time comes,” he said. “We’re still in ’25.
When ’26 comes, we’ll worry about that. I’m not worried about it - and if that happens, that’s fine with me.
I like to compete regardless.”
That competitive edge is part of what’s made Lateef such a compelling figure in the Huskers’ locker room. Rhule made it clear that Nebraska’s decisions in the transfer portal - which opens January 2 - won’t hinge on Lateef’s bowl game performance. The staff already knows what they have in him.
“I think we have a great feel for what TJ can do,” Rhule said. “We went out to UCLA and just the way it felt - the way it felt on the sidelines, the way it felt in the locker room.”
Even in a tough night against Penn State, Rhule saw something in his young quarterback - grit, determination, the kind of resilience that can’t be taught. And in the Iowa game, despite pulling a hamstring early, Lateef stayed in, kept battling, and kept throwing.
Not every misfire was on him, Rhule noted - some were breakdowns in communication. But the point was clear: the staff believes in him.
That doesn’t mean the QB room is set. Rhule acknowledged the need to build depth and competition. But when it comes to Lateef, the arrow is pointing up.
Lateef, for his part, had nothing but praise for Raiola, who departed the program earlier this month.
“Ever since I got here, he’s only helped me get better,” Lateef said. “Being around him made me a better player.
Us competing against each other made me a better player. So I just told him, ‘Best of luck - and you made me a better player while you were here.’”
Still, it’s Lateef’s own drive that’s propelled him to this moment. Over the past year, he’s grown not just as a passer, but as a student of the game.
“It’s more than just throwing the ball to the open receiver,” he said. “Understanding the playbook, understanding what’s going on on the defensive side of the ball, understanding checks - just little things like that so I can execute at the highest level.”
He’s still working back from that hamstring injury suffered early against Iowa - an injury that limited both him and the Huskers in that game. He hasn’t been fully unleashed in early bowl practices, but the mental reps have been steady, and the physical progress is coming.
“I’m progressing by the day,” Lateef said on Friday, less than two weeks before Nebraska faces Utah. “I got a chance to get a couple reps in at practice, so I’m only getting better by the day.”
And there’s a little extra motivation for Lateef in this one. His grandmother lives in Las Vegas, and she’ll be in the stands for the first time.
“She’s always watched me on TV since I was in high school, so she’ll finally get a chance to watch me play,” he said. “So I’m going to put on for my grandma for sure.”
He’ll have his hands full. Utah’s defense is no joke - fast, physical, aggressive, and not afraid to bring pressure.
“They play a lot of man,” Lateef said. “And they’re going to probably heat me up a little bit.”
But Lateef’s been through the fire before. That 40-16 loss to Iowa was tough - frustrating, even - but it taught him something important.
Poise.
And that’s exactly what he’ll need when he takes the field against a ranked Utah team favored by more than two touchdowns.
When asked what he wants out of the bowl game, Lateef didn’t hesitate.
“I want to win,” he said. “That’s it.”