Nebraska starting QB job Casey Thompson’s ‘to lose’

The Nebraska Cornhuskers have some new faces in the quarterback room, but Casey Thompson has the upper hand to be under center to start the 2022 college football season. 

Nebraska head coach Scott Frost said the team’s starting quarterback position is Thompson’s “job to lose,” elaborating on the positives in the veteran’s game, ON3.com reported.

“I don’t know if he’s separated himself. He’s just played well,” Frost said. “Other guys have played well, too. He’s obviously the guy with the most experience that we have. I want him to keep getting better. I want all the guys to keep getting better. We’ve got really good players around whoever’s going to be quarterback.

“But seeing a lot of consistency, and you can tell he’s experienced because he does some things that young quarterbacks don’t do. He has really good feel in the pocket, really good command presence.”

Thompson transferred to Nebraska after three seasons at Texas, where he served as the primary starter in 2021. Meanwhile, quarterback Chubba Purdy transferred to Nebraska after two seasons at Florida State, where he received scattered playing time.

Thompson finished 2021 with 2,113 passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns, nine interceptions and a 154.7 quarterback rating, completing 63.2% of his passes. He also logged 157 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.

Frost sees more “zip” on Thompson’s passes since his offseason thumb procedure.

“I got to tell you, his play has really risen since spring, and I think that had something to do with it,” Frost said about Thompson’s procedure. “We’ve got a lot of quarterbacks playing well right now, but I’ve been really pleased with what I’ve seen from Casey, and we’ll let him keep working. I just think he has a little more confidence, more than anything. But probably a little more zip on the ball and just a little better grip on the football, frankly.”

Adrian Martinez was Nebraska’s primary quarterback from 2018-21. He transferred to Kansas State after the 2021 season. The Cornhuskers finished the regular season 3-9 (1-8 in Big Ten play) with eight of its nine losses being one-score games.

Nebraska opens the 2022 season against Northwestern on Aug. 27 in Dublin, Ireland.