Nebraska has its 2025 quarterback

Go ahead and check a quarterback for the 2025 recruiting class off the list for Nebraska.

May 13, 2024

Go ahead and check a quarterback for the 2025 recruiting class off the list for Nebraska. The Huskers gained a commitment from TJ Lateef, a 4-star QB from Orange Lutheran (Calif.) High School, on Sunday. He is the eighth known commitment of Nebraska’s 2025 class.

What does Lateef’s commitment mean for the Huskers?

First and foremost, it means the obvious: Nebraska has its 2025 quarterback. Not bad considering it’s early May. You can thank co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Glenn Thomas for this one, as he quickly put a priority on Lateef after he was hired by coach Matt Rhule earlier this year.1

Over his past two seasons with Orange Lutheran, Lateef threw for 3,400 yards and 31 touchdowns. He was recently rated by 247Sports, and here’s an excerpt from that breakdown:

Lateef is one of the nation’s top signal callers and has been on our radar since he was just a freshman. He has a really nice all around game to him and brings a lot to an offense. He’s a pocket passer with dual-threat ability. He can sit back and make every throw you want from the pocket and has excellent mobility as well. He can make defenders miss and does a nice job extending plays and making something happen outside the pocket. You can run zone read with him and his ability to be an athlete from the pocket adds a lot of dimensions to an offense.

True to a Rhule-led team, Lateef isn’t just a football player. He also competes in track and field at Orange Lutheran. Those multi-sport athletes are definitely a positive for Rhule and his staff.

Lateef is Nebraska’s first commitment from California for the 2025 class, although it seems he’d certainly not like to be the last. He hashtagged an Instagram post following his official visit for Nebraska’s spring game with “Calibraska.”2

As for the rest of the class, four commits are in-state prospects, one is from Colorado, one is from Kansas and one is from Utah.

But that’s not all . . .

Nebraska had an official visit from 5-star offensive tackle David Sanders Jr. over the weekend, the highest-rated recruit to ever visit the Huskers. Yes, ever.

Sanders is considered the No. 1 offensive tackle in the country for the 2025 class, as well as the second-ranked player overall.3 He was the North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year, as well as the CISAA Offensive Player of the Year.

From his 247Sports scouting report:

An athletic offensive tackle prospect with an extremely high ceiling given measurables and movement patterns. Over 6-foot-5 and equipped with arms that stretch over 36 inches. On the lighter side now, but has plenty of time to add mass and has already posted impressive markers in the weight room for a youngster as he can power clean 335 pounds.

Sanders also plans to make official visits to Clemson, Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama.

Some non-recruiting news and notes:

>> Things were looking dicey for Nebraska baseball on Friday, but the Huskers rebounded nicely Saturday and Sunday to stay alive in the Big Ten title race. Nebraska went 2-1 over the weekend and will now wrap up regular-season play next weekend in East Lansing.

Here’s what you need to know for Nebraska’s chances to win the Big Ten:

Illinois is currently atop the Big Ten baseball standings as teams head into the final weekend, up one game over Nebraska. If Nebraska and Illinois tie, the Huskers would have the tiebreaker on common opponents.

The easiest path: Nebraska needs to sweep Michigan State and hope Purdue can take at least one from Illinois.

>> Nebraska softball’s season came to an end Friday, falling 9-5 in extra innings to Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. Two days later, the Huskers learned that they did not make the NCAA Tournament, ending their season 30-23 overall and 12-9 in the Big Ten.

>> The Nebraska men’s track and field team won the Big Ten Outdoor Championship on Sunday in Michigan with 136 total points. This gives the Husker men their first back-to-back outdoor conference team wins since the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

The Nebraska women’s team placed second with 115.33 total points, earning the Huskers their highest outdoor finish since 2015.

>> We had an opportunity to meet with Nebraska football general manager Sean Padden last week. He’s a fan of chaos theory.

We also met with Rhule’s chief of staff, Dr. Susan Elza. More to come from that conversation on Counter Read later this week.

Here’s a timeline breakdown: Thomas was hired by Nebraska January 17. The Huskers then made an offer to Lateef on Feb. 3. He made his official visit to Nebraska for the spring game on April 26.

Memories!

Another multi-sport athlete as well. In addition to football, Sanders plays basketball and competes in throwing events. He is a two-time state qualifier in both the shot put and the discus, and owns a personal best of 53-3.5 in the shot and 143-1 in the discus.