Nebraska coach Matt Rhule announced on Saturday that quarterback Anthony Colandrea will start the Cornhuskers’ season-opening game against Ohio on Sept. 5.
Colandrea transferred to Nebraska after being named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year in 2025 while at UNLV. He has been competing for the job with TJ Lateef and Daniel Kaelin, who returned to the Huskers this offseason following a year at Virginia.
“Anthony would play for us right now,” Rhule told reporters. “All the quarterbacks have done a nice job. Anthony, I think the biggest thing is he’s very competitive, very fiery. He expects to win every play. He does a nice job disciplining himself to also take what’s there and makes nice checks in the run/pass game, can throw the ball deep.
“I think the biggest thing is he extends a ton of plays with his legs, which takes a lot of pressure off of the offensive line, the backs in protection and puts a lot of pressure on the defense.”
Lateef served as the primary backup last season to Dylan Raiola, who transferred to Oregon. Lateef started the final four games as a true freshman, finishing the season with 904 passing yards and five touchdowns.
Kaelin appeared in seven games last season for Virginia, throwing for 339 yards and a touchdown.
Colandrea arrived at UNLV following two seasons at Virginia, where he threw for 4,083 yards and 26 touchdowns. He then threw for 3,459 yards and 23 touchdowns against nine interceptions while adding 649 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground for UNLV.