Just two days after the Nebraska football team thought it had found its quarterback, Kenny Minchey has moved on to Kentucky, and Matt Rhule and his crew are moving on to Plan B. The most important part of what comes next is that the Huskers don't "panic buy" when it comes to going back to the drawing board.
Pickings are slim these days. The top quarterbacks in the market have already found their teams. Plenty of secondary QBs have as well. It will be tempting to overpay just so NU can move on to improving the offensive and defensive line.
There are still some quarterbacks that Nebraska could absolutely sign and have success with. But if the Huskers are really taking a look at this trio of signal-callers, Rhule needs to be very cautious.
Anthony Colandrea is an attractive but dangerous option for Nebraska
Once the news that Minchey had signed with Kentucky broke the internet, many Husker fans immediately pivoted to Anthony Colandrea. The UNLV quarterback put up some big numbers with the Mountain West squad this year, but there are big warning signs when expecting him to repeat that success in Lincoln.
In two years with the Virginia Cavaliers, he posted extremely pedestrian numbers. Was 2025 a year where he put it all together? Or was it about playing against inferior competition? That question is why Nebraska should absolutely kick the tires but not "panic buy" the mobile quarterback.
Aidan Chiles is a decent Plan B for the right price
Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles has long been considered a target of the Huskers. Still, in the end, they decided to go with Minchey. Now that Minchey has agreed to go to the Wildcats, Chiles is back on the table.
He's a mobile quarterback who was expected to put up bigger numbers than he did with Michigan State, but he's far from a sure thing. First of all, he's not in the portal yet. Secondly, he lost his starting job this past season. He was absolutely dominated by the Nebraska defense when they played the Spartans. If the Huskers aren't willing to overpay for Kenny Minchey, they need to avoid "panic buys" like Aidan Chiles.
DJ Lagway's ceiling is great; his floor could lead to real panic in Nebraska
There were plenty of people who have been singing the praises of DJ Lagway since his freshman season. Unfortunately, he's never come close to realizing his potential. He's completed 62% of his passes, which is decent, but he has only thrown for 4,179 yards in two seasons. Worst of all is his TD/INT ratio of 28 to 23. He's also only ran for 237 yards on 121 carries (2.0 YPC) and 1 touchdown.
Could Dana Holgorsen "fix" Lagway and finally tap into what he can do? Absolutely. But for a fanbase that was burned by Jeff Sims, the former Florida quarterback should not be a "panic buy" in Lincoln.