Let’s get this part out of the way first: you have to prioritize the offensive and defensive lines. Whether or not you like my preferred quarterbacks won’t matter if the linemen aren’t up to snuff!  Regardless, Nebraska now needs some quarterbacks on this roster.

As people throw around their favorite Christmas movies, one movie that doesn’t get enough love is Gremlins.  How can I possibly connect Gremlins to Nebraska’s quarterback search, you ask?

Well, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia kind of reminds me of a gremlin. He wreaks havoc.  He’s aggressive, destructive, and mischievous. If you take the Heisman Trophy away from him, he’ll lash out as if you’ve just fed him after midnight. A volatile spirit he may be, but nobody can deny his hunger to win. In my opinion, Nebraska’s overall roster needs a little more Stripes and a little less Gizmos.

For too long, Nebraska football has lacked nastiness. Many might say “soft.” Physical and mental toughness have largely eluded the Huskers. Matt Rhule knows it. Diehard and casual fans know it.  Opponents know it.

Recall Biff Poggi’s comments, the Gophers comparing Nebraska giving up sacks to Oprah giving away free cars, and Kirk Ferentz’s tearful “tougher team” statement that you shake your head at but ultimately have to agree with. Even if you personally dismiss the “soft” claim, that is the perception of Husker football right now. 

Nebraska is in dire need of initiative-takers, difference-makers, and butt-kickers. Some folks call these players “dudes” or “dawgs.” I’ve personally coined the term “killaz”. The departure of Dylan Raiola and hiring of offensive line coach Geep Wade signals an opportunity for an attitude adjustment of sorts, certainly on offense.

Whether it’s been Marcus Satterfield or Dana Holgorsen on the offensive coordinator headset, the offense has been… difficult.  Despite Emmett Johnson’s heroics (can’t stress enough just how great he was), you couldn’t help but feel like every yard gained through the air was like a tooth being pulled.

Jacory Barney Jr.’s talent withered on the vine.  Luke Lindenmeyer was yet another in a long line of underused Husker tight ends.  Although Nyziah Hunter and Dane Key made a handful of impressive plays, they failed to make others that less-heralded WRs elsewhere often do. The red zone offense was a slog. 

This is largely because Nebraska doesn’t know who they want to be.  Rhule bringing in Jeff Sims in year one indicated his desire to run an offense through a mobile quarterback. A combination of things threw a wrench into this desired style offense: Sims was a turnover machine who shrank when the lights turned on, his tough-as-nails backup could ONLY run, a generational five-star pocket passing legacy wanted to be a Husker (you can’t say no to that), and the hiring of Holgorsen in an effort to complement said pocket passer.

To label the Dylan Raiola era a “failure” is a bit of a stretch. Back-to-back bowl games are an oasis in what had been a desert in Lincoln. In 2025, Nebraska blew out cupcakes and won close games they more than likely would have lost pre-Dylan. (Mike Ekeler’s special teams had a lot to do with those wins.) But you can’t help but feel Nebraska’s offense has been largely listless and wandering in the wilderness due to not knowing who they want to be. What do we do well? 

In a close game, can we lean on something or do the sphincters get tight? Just when it seemed like they figured it out for a few minutes, they would stray away from it again. Yes, the term is overused, but it means something: identity.  Nebraska lacked one.  What should it be?

This author’s desired offensive identity is probably different from yours, dear reader. Simply put, I want a quarterback who runs. A lot. I’ve received flak for my love and admiration of service academy football. There’s a misnomer out there that the “option run” won’t win a lot of games in this day and age (are we still expecting national titles?). To counter this, I say we Nebraskans need to realize this is a place that generally doesn’t attract Ohio State-level WRs. 

Sure, we had fun with “F’ it, Trey Palmer’s down there somewhere”… but he played on a 4-8 team.  Nebraska needs a quarterback that the defense has to account for. A defender who doesn’t have to respect a quarterback’s ability to run is a defender who’s comfortable. On Black Friday, when the ball feels like a slab of concrete, and the frigid Memorial Stadium wind is whipping in all directions, can we impose our will on the Hawkeyes? Or will Iowa continue to treat us like a dog that’s just pooped in the house and shove our noses in it?

When it comes to portal quarterbacks, Nebraska will not have the pick of the litter. They are not getting Sam Leavitt or Brendan Sorsby. These guys want not only money, which we supposedly have, but they also want to compete for a national championship as well. That is not happening here next year. Another unattainable quarterback who would be my top choice, even above Leavitt and Sorsby, is USF’s Byrum Brown. Alas, he’s going to be an Auburn Tiger.  Too bad. 

Whether Matt Rhule goes for a multi-year quarterback he can develop or a one-year mercenary who can guide you through a tough 2026 schedule, the price will be a bit lower.  Nebraska needs to spread the wealth this portal season, as there are numerous holes to fill on this roster.  All that being said, the Huskers need to get a quarterback who is physically and mentally tough.  No kidding. 

Here are the key datasets I feel best exemplify that:

• Start at least 1 full year – any level
• Over 6’0” and 200 lbs. – to withstand the B1G meatgrinder
• 100+ carries – whether designed or improvised
• No more than 5 fumbles – a QB who doesn’t “Sims” a lot
• TD:INT ratio – INTs under 10 ideally
• Winning track record – speaks for itself

Now, ordered alphabetically by last name, here are the quarterback possibilities that also largely fit the Pavia/King/Chambliss prototype, with one obvious exception (Lincoln Kienholz). An asterisk (*) indicates a deviation from the criteria. Note that some of these quarterbacks have NOT entered the transfer portal… yet:

A significant number of Husker fans have wavering trust that Rhule can even soundly evaluate quarterbacks to begin with, so allow me to go ahead and do the research for him!

As of Christmas Eve, the hottest name on the board is Michigan State’s Aidan Chiles. This begs the following questions, as it would for any quarterback he gets: Is he a “killa”? Is he going to make everyone else around him better and raise their level of play? Will he demand excellence from his teammates, even if this makes him less likable? 

With the 2026 schedule being a gauntlet, can Rhule count on Chiles to use his Big Ten experience (not all of it good, mind you) to be a steady and dependable leader? When a Gopher or Hawkeye tries to clown his team… and they’d love nothing more… Will he be a docile mogwai or a hostile gremlin? 

Let’s just hope Amigo’s doesn’t look to him to sell more crisp meat burritos.

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