The Husker QB Room Just Got a Lot Smaller

Over the past week, Nebraska has lost half of its scholarship quarterbacks via the transfer portal

It was bound to happen. Matt Rhule wasn't going to keep six quarterbacks on scholarship going into this fall. No way, Wade. The question was, how many Husker QBs would leave the team? And who would they be? Losing Richard Torres and Logan Smothers wasn't a real surprise, but when last year's starter, Casey Thompson, also entered the portal, there were some gasps heard around Huskerland.

Surprising as that may seem, even Thompson's leaving shouldn't be a shock. Why? Because Casey has just one year of eligibility remaining. No doubt he has read the Jeff Sims tea leaves and could see that he (Thompson) might find himself sitting on the bench this fall. If Casey has any hopes of playing in the NFL, bench-sitting his senior year wouldn't help his chances of being drafted.

Most thought Thompson and Sims would battle it out this summer with the winner getting the starting nod in the fall (à la Newcombe/Crouch). The QB battle would have been great to watch. Iron sharpens iron. But for now, that's not likely to happen.

Is there a chance Thompson still might return to Nebraska? Yes. I'm just not sure how good those odds are.

If Casey doesn't return to Nebraska, maybe he can get with another program that needs a starter (much like he found last year when he transferred from Texas to Nebraska). One thing is for sure: Playing this fall will most certainly improve his NFL stock.

Among the subjects grandson Will and I discuss in this week's podcast are the Huskers taken in this year's NFL draft, Husker football transfers, the Nebraska baseball and softball programs, and the remarkable sellout of this summer's Husker volleyball match at Memorial Stadium.

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