Husker Big Red Daily: Matt raves about his QB, Gunnar Gottula update, Nebraska volleyball returns

Welcome to Husker Big Red Daily, your daily stop for the latest Nebraska football news, recruiting buzz, transfer portal updates, and Huskers headlines. Here’s a quick look at the latest storylines surrounding Nebraska athletics.

Nebraska football fans might not believe all the hype surrounding the 2026 Huskers or Anthony Colandrea, but one thing is clear: Matt Rhule believes in his team and his quarterback.

Rhule has said repeatedly this offseason that this is his best Nebraska football team. One reason he feels so confident is that he loves the new starting quarterback, Anthony Colandrea.

Nebraska is paying Colandrea $2.5 million to be the starter. That’s the going rate for a Big Ten starting quarterback, but here’s what Rhule said on the Husker Radio Network on Wednesday

“He’s a gunslinger. He’s a baller. He wants to go make plays. He’s not there just to hand the ball off or just accept plays. He’s going to try and make a play every play. At the same time, being disciplined and going through his process. He hasn’t let it change him. What makes him great, he retains, but he’s very coachable. He’s always, always, always trying to get better.”

Colandrea was named the starting quarterback earlier this week. His running ability should be an X-factor for this offense, which hasn’t averaged 30 points per game in a season since Rhule took over

Gunnar Gottula is ‘clearly a starter’

Matt Rhule didn’t say that Gunnar Gottula is going to be the starting right tackle, but he did say that the 16-game starter over the past two seasons was a starting player on the offensive line.

“He’s clearly a starter for us and a really good player,” Rhule said. “He’s had the chance to really build his body up so he can stay healthy, but he’s a strong man, too, not just a big man. He’s big and strong.”

Spikes Under the Lights

The winner will play the winner of SMU-Penn State, with the championship match set for 9 p.m. inside AT&T Stadium. These matches won’t count for the regular-season record. It should be great volleyball, though.

The official season opener is Saturday against UNLV.

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