Nebraska quarterback TJ Lateef receives support from Husker Heisman winner Eric Crouch
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The Nebraska football team will turn to a true freshman quarterback when it takes the field this weekend. TJ Lateef will make his first collegiate start when the Cornhuskers take on the UCLA Bruins on Saturday night.
Lateef was a four-star quarterback for Orange Lutheran High School, a private school out of Orange, CA. In his senior season, he threw for 2,274 yards and 23 touchdowns while completing 71% of his passes.
He led Orange Lutheran to a semifinal appearance in the California State Playoffs and a No. 13 national ranking. The quarterback was named to the first-team Cal-Hi Sports all-state team.
The freshman will start for sophomore Dylan Raiola, who will miss the remainder of the season with a leg injury. Head coach Matt Rhule met with the media on Thursday and discussed the support that Lateef has received from the team.
“Any time you’re going to undertake something big it’s nice to know that you don’t have to do it alone. When you feel like you’re doing something on your own, it puts tremendous pressure and strain but when you feel like you’re a part of a group that’s going to go do something it provides joy that you get to be a part of it."
Lateef has appeared in three games this season. He has thrown for 261 yards and one touchdown while running 11 times for 50 yards and two touchdowns. The Husker head coach shared that a former Heisman winner offered some valuable insights to the true freshman.
"I think we all are excited, not just like hey we’re going to support TJ (Lateef), but we’re excited for TJ and we want to see him go out there and play. Eric Crouch was at practice today and was talking to TJ and said let it rip man. We’re excited to see what he can do.”
Crouch played at the University of Nebraska from 1997 to 2001. In 43 games, he ran for 3,434 yards and 59 touchdowns while throwing for 4,481 yards and 29 touchdowns with 25 interceptions.
He also won the 2001 Heisman Trophy over Florida's Rex Grossman, Miami's Ken Dorsey, and Oregon's Joey Harrington. That season, he ran for 1,115 yards and 18 touchdowns while throwing for 1,510 yards, seven touchdowns, and ten interceptions.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers (6-3, 3-3) take the field on Saturday, Nov. 8, when they travel to California to face the UCLA Bruins (3-5, 3-2) at the Rose Bowl. The kickoff time is set for 8 p.m. CT and the game can be seen on Fox.
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This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: Nebraska Heisman winner Eric Crouch offers support to new quarterback
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