Nebraska is getting ready to enter a new quarterback era after the transfer of Dylan Raiola this offseason. With TJ Lateef still in the quarterback room, it seems head coach Matt Rhule will have a QB battle on his hands with UNLV transfer Anthony Colandrea joining the Huskers through the portal.
The Huskers are already starting spring practices, and offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen loves what he is already seeing from Colandrea. Holgorsen has been around college football for a long time, and he spent last season as the Huskers' OC, working with Raiola, leading the system.
Now, even with a battle between Lateef and Colandrea, Holgorsen is seeing things from the UNLV transfer that he never saw from Raiola. The scrambling aspect of Colandrea's game is something Holgorsen is excited to use this season, especially since he didn't get to use it much with Raiola.
"Having the ability to make things happen off schedule is very refreshing," Holgorsen said.
Dana Holgorsen shared his early impressions of Anthony Colandrea and what he expects Colandrea will bring to the offense. pic.twitter.com/xQeKWqE9To
— Hail Varsity (@HailVarsity) February 20, 2026
Anthony Colandrea is refreshing for Dana Holgorsen's offense at Nebraska
The way that Holgorsen talked about Colandrea's ability to scramble and make plays happen that weren't designed made it sound like it was something he never had with Raiola. To even use the word "refreshing" made it seem like a little bit of shade was thrown Raiola's way.
While Raiola was a great talent with the ball in his hands, he never broke out in the way fans hoped he would coming in as a five-star recruit. In two seasons with the Huskers, Raiola helped lead the team to bowl game appearances, but struggled to win the big games against the ranked opponents.
Raiola wasn't able to finish his second season with Nebraska due to a leg injury, and after going down, the transfer portal rumors started flying. Ultimately, Raiola ended up transferring to Oregon, where he will most likely sit behind Dante Moore for a season before taking over for the Ducks. Nebraska will decide who gets the ball between Lateef and Colandrea, but it sounds like the UNLV transfer is leading the competition.