Highlights and analysis of Nebraska football QB commit TJ Lateef in season opener

Nebraska football quarterback commitment TJ Lateef opened up his senior season on Friday night and led Orange Lutheran to a 21-13 win,

The future Huskers quarterback wasn’t perfect. He threw an interception in the first game of his senior season against Gardena Serra, but the four-star signal-caller who committed to Nebraska football over the summer tossed two touchdowns and ran for another in the win.

Lateef, who is 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, and ranked No. 251 overall in the 2025 class according to the 247 Sports composite rankings, was invited to the Elite 11 over the summer and completed 18-of-25 passes on Friday night for 185 yards and the two scoring strikes. 

Highlights of Nebraska football QB commitment TJ Lateef

TJ Lateef to Tyler Hennessy for an 11-yard TD connection.

Orange Lutheran 7, Serra 0. 10:00, 1Q pic.twitter.com/eIMEhvWfWP

— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) August 24, 2024

Lateef also showed he can run the ball, which isn’t something I think a lot of Nebraska football fans knew about their 2025 quarterback commitment who is known as more of a passer.

TJ Lateef punches it in.

Orange Lutheran 14, Serra 7. 1:23, 2Q pic.twitter.com/uRCF4ByUSV

— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) August 24, 2024

I also didn’t mind seeing him seek out a little contact, although I don’t want him to do this all the time.

TJ Lateef lowers his shoulder, takes a big hit from Devohn Moutra. pic.twitter.com/dyYBWQ5WYm

— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) August 24, 2024

Lateef also got a penalty for trying to hurdle a player. He said afterward it wasn’t something that he would try again. All in all, it was a good performance for Lateef.

There were two turnovers total — he also lost a fumble, but it was the first game of the season and he accounted for three touchdowns and pitched in on the ground.

Being a great quarterback isn’t always about playing a perfect game or having a perfect rating. It’s about making the plays needed to win and Lateef did that on Friday night while completing 72 percent of his passes.

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