While there's absolutely no doubt who will be the starting quarterback for Nebraska this fall, who backs up Dylan Raiola is still very much up in the air.
The Huskers' backup quarterback battle was a key point that offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen touched on when he addressed the media on Friday afternoon. The race at the moment is between true freshman TJ Lateef and veteran transfer Jalyn Gramstad. Lateef was mentioned earlier in camp as someone impressing coaches. Holgorsen once again talked about what the gunslinger has shown in practice.
Dana Holgorsen breaks down Nebraska’s backup QB competition
"It's a competition," Nebraska's offensive coordinator said when asked about the backup quarterback situation. "So what I said with Jalyn, we know what we got in Jalyn. He's a competitive kid that's played in games, that's older, that knows the system. But TJ's a very talented young kid. And so those guys are going about equal reps right now, and we will keep evaluating that one as well."
When Holgorsen was asked to explain more about how Lateef is making it a race, the OC seemed genuinely impressed and admitted he was a little surprised about how much the young quarterback has shown in fall practice.
"He's very talented. He's got a thick lower body, so his mobile ability to be able to keep plays alive is really good. I think he'll tuck it and go and be like a running back type threat."
"It's [the offensive gameplan] starting to make more sense to him. So he's able to communicate. He's calm in the huddle. That GoPro for him is critical to hear what he says and what he gets from me and how he says it. And the more reps he gets, the better he's going to be. And so happy for him to put himself in that position. I didn't know if he would, but he has."
As always, the hope is that the backup quarterback won't play much at all this year. Hopefully, whether it's TJ Lateef or Jalyn Gramstad, they're only getting reps when Nebraska is winning big. But the reality of a football season is that the backup QB will get meaningful snaps at some point. That the position is a real battle is only a good thing for Matt Rhule and Co.