Nebraska Will Have Options on Offense This Spring and Next Season

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The word “option” brings tears to the eyes of Nebraska football faithful. As in the Triple Option offense that powered Nebraska to a dozen Big 8 and Big 12 championships and three National titles in the 1980’s and 90’s. Legendary Head Coach Tom Osborne – who had been a traditional pro set offensive guy when he took over the reins in 1973 – shifted to the triple option attack in the late 70’s and found tremendous success. Not until Bill Callahan became the Huskers head coach in 2004 did the forward pass become Nebraska’s offensive attack of choice.

Since then, Nebraska coaches have toyed with some option football on occasion, including some zone read packages, but none have committed to a return to the Triple Option (the way Army and Navy still do) full time.

It’s highly doubtful that current Nebraska Head Coach Matt Rhule and his Offensive Coordinator Dana Holgersen would make such a commitment right now, either. The way the Huskers ran the option with legends like Turner Gill, Tommie Frazier and Heisman winner Eric Crouch are gone, and very likely never coming back.

A Return to the Triple Option is Unlikely

But that doesn’t mean Holgersen isn’t considering something  close for the upcoming season. In a press conference prior to the start of spring football practice, he told the media, “I know what I want to do but I don’t know what our team can do best yet. That just takes time. I’m not a coordinator that has a specific system and we’re going to run it. And if they can’t do it, too bad so sad … We’re going to figure out what we’ve got and what we do good and that’s going to take time.”

The departure of standout quarterback Dylan Raiola has pretty much forced Rhule and Holgersen to change course. For all his passing skill, Raiola was never a running threat, and that clearly frustrated the head coach. When Raiola was injured against UCS on November 1^st and replaced by TJ LaTeef, a running quarterback threat became part of the Husker offense. While LaTeef didn’t light it up as a runner, his ability to pick up yards with his legs undoubtedly opened things up more for the running game overall, which included 449 rushing yards from All-American tailback Emmett Johnson over the last three game with LaTeef as the starter under center.

There Will be Competition at the Quarterback Position This Spring

LaTeef returns as a true sophomore, but he will have to outperform senior transfer Anthony Colandrea if he wants to continue as the starting QB at Nebraska. While Colandrea is a newcomer to Lincoln, he comes in with three years of experience as a starting QB, including two at Virginia and last season at UNLV when he earned Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year honors.

Colandrea is a true duel threat under center, which is a critical element for any sort of option or zone read kind of attack. Once Holdersen gets a better grasp of what his new quarterbacks, including another incoming transfer and Nebraska native Daniel Kaelin, can do with their legs, it appears everything is on the table, scheme-wise.

Nebraska is deep at wide receiver going into the spring, and the returning running backs are inexperienced. So while it’s likely that while Husker quarterbacks will no doubt use their legs more this season, going away from the forward pass altogether would be a foolish thing to do. It’s most likely that the option that Holdersen leans into will still include a lot of throws to the wideouts and a good number of designed runs by the quarterback as well. Fortunately, now each the quarterbacks he has at his disposal can do both.