Nebraska QB Noah Vedral transfers to Rutgers

Rutgers football added a key graduate transfer on Wednesday, as former Nebraska quarterback Noah Vedral announced he was joining the program. He is the fifth transfer player from another Big Ten program to come to Piscataway since Greg Schiano returned as head coach last December.

Vedral began his college career at UCF in 2017 when they went 13-0 under head coach Scott Frost. He played in six games as a true freshman that season, completing 22 of 29 passes for 276 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 77 yards on 4.3 yards per carry and two touchdowns. Vedral transferred to Nebraska to follow his head coach, as Frost returned to his alma mater to lead the Cornhuskers. After playing in just 1 game and redshirting in 2018 (1 rushing TD, 1 INT), Vedral played in five games last season at Nebraska while battling injuries. He started two of them and led the Huskers to a fourth quarter comeback win over Northwestern. Overall in 2019, he completed 34 of 52 pass attempts for 65.4% and threw for 418 yards, while rushing for 306 yards on 3.5 yards per carry and 3 touchdowns.

After not overtaking incumbent starter Adrian Martinez, Vedral made the decision to transfer to a third school. He was able to complete school in three years with a reported 3.9 GPA. Not only is he motivated on and off the field, but he is a rare grad transfer commodity in that he is eligible immediately with two years of eligibility remaining. That is a big positive for Rutgers as they look to rebuild one of the worst college football offenses in recent memory.

His experience in a spread, no huddle offense also makes him a good fit for new Rutgers offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson, who stated this week that he wants to implement the same system on the banks. While Vedral still has a lot to prove in regard to his ability to become a solid power five starting quarterback, he will have the opportunity to do just that at Rutgers.

Artur Sitkowski and Johnny Langan will compete along with Vedral to start next season, along with redshirt freshman Cole Snyder, true freshman Evan Simon and Baylor transfer Peyton Powell. The biggest thing Rutgers has needed in the quarterback room is a step up in talent and depth, which Schiano and Gleason have accomplished pretty quickly. While Vedral isn’t a home run addition, he is about as good of one that was realistically possible. After winning just three games over the previous two seasons, adding a quarterback with power five experience, especially being familiar with the Big Ten, is a quality pickup. It will be another fascinating quarterback battle to watch, whenever training camp ultimately begins for Rutgers football.

Vedral joins former Minnesota defensive lineman Mayan Ahanotu, former Wisconsin receiver Aron Cruickshank, former Michigan defensive tackle Michael Dwumfour and former Ohio State defensive back Brendon White, who played for Schiano with the Buckeyes, as Big Ten players to join Rutgers in the past few months.

Here are highlights of Vedral’s 2019 season at Nebraska.