Ex-Nebraska football QB has nightmare season opener with current team

When Logan Smothers transferred from the Nebraska footbal program to Jacksonville State, it looked like a match made in heaven. However, after a fantastic first season under veteran head coach Rich Rodriguez in 2023, Smothers got off to about as bad a start to the 2024 campaign as you could possibly expect.

His Jax State team took on Coastal Carolina in the season opener where both teams were almost certainly hoping they would set the tone for the rest of their season. It was only the chaunticleers that managed to actually do that. 

Smothers once again split time with another quarterback as was the norm in 2023. However, while it worked more often than not last season, it didn’t work on Thursday night. 

Smothers earned the start and Tyler Huff saw action, but neither quarterback shined in the first half. At one point they were a combined 3-of-10 passing for 15 yards. Huff threw an interception during that stretch; Coastal Carolina returned a Smothers fumble 17 yards for a touchdown.

Ex-Nebraska football quarterback has nightmare season opener with current team

Smothers finished the night completing 7-of-13 for just 61 yards and no touchdowns. While he didn’t throw a pick, he did fumble the ball and that fumble allowed the game to get out of hand early on.

Most notably, the former Husker never really got things going on the ground. He carried 8 times for just 17 yards. 

All of that, as well as Huff’s struggles mean that Jax State ended up losing 55-27.

One has to think there will be better games ahead for the former Nebraska football star. In 2023, Smothers threw for 655 yards, 6 touchdowns and just 3 INTs while running for 283 yards and 6 touchdowns.