COSTA MESA, Calif. — Nebraska quarterback commit TJ Lateef is taking his high school team to new heights, a few months before he enrolls in Lincoln as part of a recruiting class that he expects to do the same for Matt Rhule’s Huskers.
Lateef, a four-star prospect in the 247Sports Composite, directed Orange Lutheran High School to a 42-20 victory on Friday night over Junipero Serra. Lateef accounted for three touchdowns and helped Orange Lutheran fight off a second-half rally after Serra cut a 28-point halftime deficit to eight.
Orange Lutheran, 8-3, is ranked 16th nationally by MaxPreps. It will play No. 7 St. John Bosco next week in the school’s first-ever appearance in the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 semifinal round. The winner could face No. 1 Mater Dei in the championship round.
Lateef, 6 feet 1 ½ inches and 195 pounds, said he’s “100 percent locked in” on Nebraska ahead of the start of the early signing period on Dec. 4. He’s a headliner in the Huskers’ 20-member class that ranks 20th nationally after the flip on Thursday of four-star linebacker Dawson Merritt from Alabama to Nebraska.
“We’re going to get a couple more guys (to flip),” Lateef said Friday night. “We’re going to shock the world.”
Nebraska continues to work to flip Millard South tight end Chase Loftin from Florida State. Loftin, a four-star prospect, helped his Omaha team qualify for Nebraska’s Class A championship with a win on Friday night. It will face two-time defending champion Omaha Westside at Memorial Stadium. Four-star wide receiver Cortez Mills of Homestead, Fla., an Oklahoma commit, also remains a target of the Huskers.
Nebraska assistant Keith Williams watched Lateef on Friday night at Orange Coast College. Orange Lutheran jumped out to a 28-0 lead as Lateef scored on a 12-yard run and connected for 22 yards with Arizona State tight end commit AJ Ia.
Adversity struck for Orange Lutheran in the third quarter as Serra, behind quarterback Ryan Hopkins, a 2026 target of several Big Ten programs, led a comeback. Lateef exited the game for one play in the third quarter with a leg injury, but he returned to direct two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter, hurdling a defender to reach the end zone from 4 yards out for the final score.
“I just had to keep the guys settled, and we took momentum back,” Lateef said. “I’m always going to stay calm. Stay the same guy in the hardest times.”
Lateef committed to Nebraska in May after his April visit for the spring game. He’s stayed solid to the Huskers through an eventful fall in Lincoln that included the emergence of true freshman Dylan Raiola as the top QB and the change at offensive coordinator, with Dana Holgorsen joining the program in early November and taking over as the play caller this week.
Williams and quarterbacks coach Glenn Thomas have maintained regular contact throughout the season with Lateef, who’s thrown for more than 2,000 yards as a senior.
Lateef has not yet visited with Holgorsen. Rhule said this week he would like to keep the former head coach at West Virginia and Houston on staff to run the Nebraska offense in 2025.
Of Raiola, Lateef said, “I respect Dylan. He’s a great football player. But my time is going to come. I’ll go in and compete and let the rest play out. One thing about me, I’m not going to duck competition. He’s a great football player. But I am, too.”
Lateef said he plans to enroll at Nebraska in January.
(Photo: Mitch Sherman / The Athletic)
