{"id":369011,"date":"2025-12-25T08:19:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T08:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/369011\/"},"modified":"2025-12-25T08:19:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T08:19:13","slug":"who-can-be-nebraskas-diego-pavia-the-search-for-the-next-husker-quarterback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/369011\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Can Be Nebraska\u2019s Diego Pavia? The Search for the Next Husker Quarterback"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u2019t matter if the linemen aren\u2019t up to snuff!\u00a0 Regardless, Nebraska now needs some quarterbacks on this roster.<\/p>\n

As people throw around their favorite Christmas movies, one movie that doesn\u2019t get enough love is Gremlins.\u00a0 How can I possibly connect Gremlins to Nebraska\u2019s quarterback search, you ask?<\/p>\n

Well, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia kind of reminds me of a gremlin.\u00a0He wreaks havoc.\u00a0 He\u2019s aggressive, destructive, and mischievous.\u00a0If you take the Heisman Trophy away from him, he\u2019ll lash out as if you\u2019ve just fed him after midnight.\u00a0A volatile spirit he may be, but nobody can deny his hunger to win.\u00a0In my opinion, Nebraska\u2019s overall roster needs a little more Stripes and a little less Gizmos.<\/p>\n

\"Diego<\/p>\n

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia | Mark Zaleski \/ The Tennessean \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

For too long, Nebraska football has lacked nastiness.\u00a0Many might say \u201csoft.\u201d\u00a0Physical and mental toughness have largely eluded the Huskers.\u00a0Matt Rhule knows it.\u00a0Diehard and casual fans know it.\u00a0 Opponents know it.<\/p>\n

Recall Biff Poggi\u2019s comments, the Gophers comparing Nebraska giving up sacks to Oprah giving away free cars, and Kirk Ferentz\u2019s tearful \u201ctougher team\u201d statement that you shake your head at but ultimately have to agree with.\u00a0Even if you personally dismiss the \u201csoft\u201d claim, that is the perception of Husker football right now.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Nebraska is in dire need of initiative-takers, difference-makers, and butt-kickers. Some folks call these players \u201cdudes\u201d or \u201cdawgs.\u201d\u00a0I\u2019ve personally coined the term \u201ckillaz\u201d.\u00a0The departure of Dylan Raiola and hiring of offensive line coach Geep Wade signals an opportunity for an attitude adjustment of sorts, certainly on offense.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s been Marcus Satterfield or Dana Holgorsen on the offensive coordinator headset, the offense has been\u2026 difficult.\u00a0 Despite Emmett Johnson\u2019s heroics (can\u2019t stress enough just how great he was), you couldn\u2019t help but feel like every yard gained through the air was like a tooth being pulled.<\/p>\n

Jacory Barney Jr.\u2019s talent withered on the vine.\u00a0 Luke Lindenmeyer was yet another in a long line of underused Husker tight ends.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

This is largely because Nebraska doesn\u2019t know who they want to be.\u00a0 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\u2019t say no to that), and the hiring of Holgorsen in an effort to complement said pocket passer.<\/p>\n

\"DR\"<\/p>\n

Dylan Raiola helped Nebraska to a pair of bowl berths after a long postseason drought for the program. | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

To label the Dylan Raiola era a \u201cfailure\u201d is a bit of a stretch.\u00a0Back-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\u2019s special teams had a lot to do with those wins.) But you can\u2019t help but feel Nebraska\u2019s offense has been largely listless and wandering in the wilderness due to not knowing who they want to be.\u00a0What do we do well?\u00a0 <\/p>\n

In a close game, can we lean on something or do the sphincters get tight?\u00a0Just when it seemed like they figured it out for a few minutes, they would stray away from it again.\u00a0Yes, the term is overused, but it means something: identity.\u00a0 Nebraska lacked one.\u00a0 What should it be?<\/p>\n

This author\u2019s desired offensive identity is probably different from yours, dear reader. Simply put, I want a quarterback who runs.\u00a0A lot. I\u2019ve received flak for my love and admiration of service academy football.\u00a0There\u2019s a misnomer out there that the \u201coption run\u201d won\u2019t win a lot of games in this day and age (are we still expecting national titles?).\u00a0To counter this, I say we Nebraskans need to realize this is a place that generally doesn\u2019t attract Ohio State-level WRs.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Sure, we had fun with \u201cF\u2019 it, Trey Palmer\u2019s down there somewhere\u201d\u2026 but he played on a 4-8 team.\u00a0 Nebraska needs a quarterback that the defense has to account for. A defender who doesn\u2019t have to respect a quarterback’s ability to run is a defender who\u2019s comfortable.\u00a0On 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?\u00a0Or will Iowa continue to treat us like a dog that\u2019s just pooped in the house and shove our noses in it?<\/p>\n

\"Trey\"<\/p>\n

Former Nebraska wide receiver Trey Palmer | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

When it comes to portal quarterbacks, Nebraska will not have the pick of the litter.\u00a0They 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.\u00a0That is not happening here next year.\u00a0Another unattainable quarterback who would be my top choice, even above Leavitt and Sorsby, is USF\u2019s Byrum Brown. Alas, he\u2019s going to be an Auburn Tiger.\u00a0 Too bad.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 Nebraska needs to spread the wealth this portal season, as there are numerous holes to fill on this roster.\u00a0 All that being said, the Huskers need to get a quarterback who is physically and mentally tough.\u00a0 No kidding.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Here are the key datasets I feel best exemplify that:<\/p>\n

Start at least 1 full year \u2013 any levelOver 6\u20190\u201d and 200 lbs. \u2013 to withstand the B1G meatgrinder100+ carries \u2013 whether designed or improvisedNo more than 5 fumbles \u2013 a QB who doesn\u2019t \u201cSims\u201d a lotTD:INT ratio \u2013 INTs under 10 ideallyWinning track record \u2013 speaks for itself\"Nebraska<\/p>\n

Nebraska QB Targets | NBNR Table<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0Note that some of these quarterbacks have NOT entered the transfer portal\u2026 yet:<\/p>\n

\"Nebraska<\/p>\n

Nebraska QB Targets | NBNR Table<\/p>\n

\"Nebraska<\/p>\n

Nebraska QB Targets | NBNR Table<\/p>\n

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!<\/p>\n

As of Christmas Eve, the hottest name on the board is Michigan State\u2019s Aidan Chiles.\u00a0This begs the following questions, as it would for any quarterback he gets: Is he a \u201ckilla\u201d?\u00a0Is he going to make everyone else around him better and raise their level of play?\u00a0Will he demand excellence from his teammates, even if this makes him less likable?\u00a0 <\/p>\n

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?\u00a0When a Gopher or Hawkeye tries to clown his team\u2026 and they\u2019d love nothing more\u2026 Will he be a docile mogwai or a hostile gremlin?\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s just hope Amigo\u2019s doesn\u2019t look to him to sell more crisp meat burritos.<\/p>\n

Want more from No Block No Rock? Check out their YouTube channel, subscribe for weekly episodes, and visit\u00a0nbnrpodcast.com<\/a>\u00a0for more content.<\/p>\n

More From Nebraska On SI<\/p>\n

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking\u00a0Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI<\/a>,\u00a0subscribing to\u00a0HuskerMax on YouTube<\/a> and visiting\u00a0HuskerMax.com<\/a>\u00a0daily.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Let’s get this part out of the way first: you have to prioritize the offensive and defensive lines.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":369012,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[399,398,396,397,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-369011","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-football","11":"tag-ncaafootball","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369011\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/369012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=369011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=369011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}