Now that Anthony Colandrea is officially Nebraska’s starting quarterback, it’s time for Husker fans to cross their fingers and hope that recent history under Matt Rhule doesn’t continue. Questions about Colandrea’s past and Rhule’s ability to identify talent, especially under center, now take center stage.
When Rhule named Colandrea QB1 on Saturday afternoon, it made official what everyone around the program expected. Despite Rhule’s repeated claims of an open competition between Colandrea, Daniel Kaelin and TJ Lateef, most anyone remotely interested in NU believed Colandrea wouldn’t have transferred to Lincoln if he wasn’t the starter. His Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year award at UNLV in 2025 only strengthened that case.
Anthony Colandrea must prove Nebraska football has moved beyond the Jeff Sims disaster
As Nebraska ends fall camp and begins its prep for Week 1, Rhule has to hope that Anthony Colandrea doesn’t follow in the footsteps of the last transfer quarterback anointed as the starter largely because of his mobility. Husker fans will long remember the disaster that was the Jeff Sims era in Lincoln. More than that, Rhule and his staff have had serious problems making mobile quarterbacks work since the beginning.
Despite having the option to keep Casey Thompson after a solid, if unspectacular season, Rhule opted to turn to Sims and brought him over from Georgia Tech through the Transfer Portal. When Sims arrived, Rhule and then-quarterbacks coach Marcus Satterfield hyped him as someone with turnover problems, but whose mobility and playmaking would outweigh some mistakes. Sound familiar?
Sims' mistakes came early and often in 2023, and when the smoke cleared on his only season at Nebraska, he had thrown for just 282 yards, 1 touchdown and 6 interceptions. He also showed some mobility, but while he ran for 189 yards and a touchdown, he fumbled 6 times, including three in the Week 2 game against Colorado. Due to injuries and ineffectiveness, Sims was benched, and the starting job was handed to Heinrich Haarberg.
The native Nebraska star showed some sparks here and there, throwing for 967 yards and 7 touchdowns; he also had 7 interceptions. Running the ball was easily the best part of Haarberg’s game as he totaled 477 yards and 5 touchdowns. However, he also coughed up the football plenty. While Nebraska did lose every single fumble, Haarberg put the ball on the turf a whopping 13 times, and his struggles down the stretch forced the Huskers to turn to a third QB in Chubba Purdy.
Purdy continued the up-and-down performances the Huskers were so familiar with that season. He ran for 180 yards and a touchdown while throwing for 382 yards and 2 touchdowns. Unfortunately, he also threw 3 interceptions and coughed up a couple of fumbles in Nebraska’s season-ending loss on Black Friday to Iowa.
Rhule and his staff pivoted to a more pocket-passing approach with Dylan Raiola in 2024 and stuck with him in 2025. However, after he left for Oregon, the coaches believed a mobile quarterback fit better with the attack offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen wanted to run, so they brought in Anthony Colandrea.
The former UNLV signal-caller had a massive 2025, throwing for 3,459 yards and 23 touchdowns compared to 9 interceptions. He added 649 yards and another 10 TDs. His 9 fumbles were not ideal, but they were not a huge issue over 127 carries.
The issue is what Colandrea did as a starter for Virginia. Against mostly Power 4 opposition, he threw for 1,958 yards with 13 touchdowns to 9 interceptions in 2023, then followed that up with 2,125 yards and 13 TDs compared to 11 INTs in 2024. He also put the ball on the ground 5 times over 55 carries, then fumbled 6 times over 94 carries.
Jeff Sims, Heinrich Haarberg, Chubba Purdy, and Anthony Colandrea are vastly different players with vastly different talents and tendencies. Still, until Colandrea proves he isn’t another turnover-prone Transfer Portal mistake, Husker fans have every right to be nervous about the same result.
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