Nebraska

Nebraska Coach Matt Rhule Says TJ Lateef is ‘Going to Play Great’ in Bowl Game

Published

2 months ago

December 28, 2025

Nebraska Coach Matt Rhule Says TJ Lateef is ‘Going to Play Great’ in Bowl Game

Something that might have been overlooked in the aftermath of Nebraska’s devastating, 40-16 loss to Iowa in the season finale was that starting quarterback TJ Lateef suffered a hamstring injury.

As if the Huskers hadn’t endured enough problems, now their starting quarterback was hurt. His availability for the bowl game was unknown.

The Huskers (7-5) now are in Las Vegas preparing for their bowl game against Utah (10-2) on New Year’s Eve. And Nebraska coach Matt Rhule reported some rare good news on Saturday afternoon when he declared Lateef ready to go against the Utes.

“I think TJ is going to play great,” Rhule said about his true freshman at a press availability for the Las Vegas Bowl. “It’s been good for Jalyn [Gramstad] and Marcos [Davila] to get a bunch of reps early. TJ took a bunch of reps that didn’t require him moving.

“There’s something really cool about when you’re the starter and you’re not getting reps because of an injury, which you don’t love, but just the paying attention to the things you have to notice.

“It really accelerates your development and your learning. I think he’s learned from that. I think he looks good out there at practice so I’m excited for him to play.”

Getting Lateef ready

With the quarterback being the most important player on the field, the Huskers don’t want to be hamstrung — so to speak — heading into a meeting with No. 15 Utah.

Rhule said the Huskers have been careful in getting Lateef up to full speed.

“Yesterday, he had a couple of rep caps on him [at practice],” Rhule said. “Hey, we’re not going to take more than 300 [reps]. Then today he just took every rep.

“We’ve been cautious with him because obviously we have a game, we want to get him to the game.

“He looks fast, he looks like he can run the football. The entire offense is up with him. We’ll run him, we’ll move him around and we’ll play.”

Lateef started three games after sophomore Dylan Raiola suffered a broken fibula against USC on Nov. 1.

When healthy, Lateef can be a dual-threat quarterback. He has the ability, speed and inclination to tuck the ball away and run. He completed 59-of-95 passes (62.1 percent) for 722 yards, with four touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also gained 98 yards on 27 carries with four touchdowns. He scored the Huskers’ only touchdown in a 37-10 loss at Penn State on an 11-yard run in the third quarter.

Lateef’s leadership skills

Rhule was asked about Lateef’s leadership skills, as he has stepped into Raiola’s big shoes.

“Just being himself, just being one of the guys,” Rhule said. “At the end of the day you’re always looking for a quarterback who has ‘it’.

“Steve Addazio [head coach at Temple when Rhule was an assistant coach there in 2011 and 2012] used to say to me, ‘You can’t even describe what “it” is but you know it when you see it.’

“I want TJ to go out there and play with joy, practice and prepare to be coachable. I think even in the Penn State game — the game didn’t go our way — out there with that crowd, that noise, that duress. You know, every snap, every motion, silent cadence, he’s getting guys lined up.

“He doesn’t have to be guy being the spokesperson, giving a bunch of speeches. He just has to do his job at a high level and prepare and coach the guys in terms of, hey, be here and do this.

“He’s doing it at a really high level right now. I learned over the years I can’t control what I can’t control. We gave Jayln and Marcos a bunch of reps. [The doctors] told me they felt like he [Lateef] would ready by the bowl game.

“We did two game weeks. Get him to the first week, give him limited reps here. Get him to this week here, get him full reps. The plans worked.

“TJ told me very early on, ‘I’ll be full go.’ But if Jalyn goes into the game, I expect Jalyn to play great. Everybody on this team loves Jalyn. If he goes out there, they’ll be ready to go. But TJ told me he’d be ready and he looks great.”

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Nebraska

Nebraska Lottery results: See winning numbers for Powerball, Pick 3 on March 2, 2026

Published

23 minutes ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

The results are in for the Nebraska Lottery’s draw games on Monday, March 2, 2026.

Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on March 2.

Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing

02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from March 2 drawing

21-28-58-65-67, Powerball: 25

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from March 2 drawing

7-5-8

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from March 2 drawing

03-08-09-17-25

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning 2 By 2 numbers from March 2 drawing

Red Balls: 14-26, White Balls: 17-18

Check 2 By 2 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning MyDay numbers from March 2 drawing

Month: 05, Day: 03, Year: 23

Check MyDay payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 2 drawing

28-41-42-50-55, Bonus: 02

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Nebraska Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3, 5: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
Lucky For Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
2 By 2: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
MyDaY: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
Lotto America: 9:15 p.m CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Nebraska

NioCorp to start work on its minerals mine in southeast Nebraska

Published

12 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

NioCorp to start work on its minerals mine in southeast Nebraska

NioCorp announced Monday that it plans to start work on its critical minerals mine in southeast Nebraska.

The project, which the company is calling its mine portal project, will involve building a main entrance to the Elk Creek underground mine and will serve as the primary access point for personnel, equipment, and materials for the underground mining operations. It also will include excavating bedrock, drilling and blasting to establish the twin mine ramps, on-site access road construction, and construction of on-site supporting infrastructure.

The project, which will cost nearly $45 million, is set to get underway before the end of the month. It marks the first time Colorado-based NioCorp will actually start any significant work on the main mine, from which the company hopes to extract niobium, scandium, titanium and other minerals.

“Given the size of this excavation work, the portal project really marks the beginning of a major pre-construction activity at the Elk Creek Project site and is an important step toward preparing for underground development,” Scott Honan, the company’s president and chief operating officer, said in a release.

Mark A. Smith, Niocorp’s chairman and CEO, called the project, “a significant milestone.”

Niocorp has spent more than 15 years trying to develop the mine on land in Johnson County, about 65 miles southeast of Lincoln.

The company still needs to raise a significant amount of money to make the $1.2 billion mine a reality, though. In December, NioCorp said it had raised about $360 million, or a little more than a quarter of the total cost. It is still waiting for approval of a $780 million debt financing application from the Export-Import Bank of the United States.

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Nebraska Lottery results: See winning numbers for Pick 3, Pick 5 on March 1, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

The results are in for the Nebraska Lottery’s draw games on Sunday, March 1, 2026.

Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on March 1.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from March 1 drawing

7-6-5

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from March 1 drawing

04-20-28-30-39

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning 2 By 2 numbers from March 1 drawing

Red Balls: 02-10, White Balls: 25-26

Check 2 By 2 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning MyDay numbers from March 1 drawing

Month: 11, Day: 28, Year: 38

Check MyDay payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 1 drawing

10-11-12-35-56, Bonus: 04

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Nebraska Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3, 5: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
Lucky For Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
2 By 2: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
MyDaY: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
Lotto America: 9:15 p.m CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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