Matt Rhule ‘excited’ about O-line; spring roster update

In another busy stretch of Nebraska athletics, Troy Dannen was formally introduced as the university’s next athletic director while the Husker football team concluded its first week of spring practice.

With the calendar turning to April on Monday, Nebraska’s April 27 Spring Game — and the end of its practice slate — continues to draw closer. Plenty more practices and scrimmages will come before then, though. Let’s drop into coverage:

After making strides in 2023, the Nebraska offensive line is seeking an even larger jump after returning multiple starters. Guards Ethan Piper and Nouredin Nouili are gone, meaning multiple starting roles are for grabs.

During a portion of Nebraska’s Thursday practice open to the media, offensive linemen went through two-on-two blocking drills. Improvements in mobility were a major focus for the group last offseason, and offensive line coach Donovan Raiola closely watched his players’ speed off the ball during the drill.

Henry Lutovsky and Justin Evans were one group who ran the drill to Raiola’s liking, and both players are in contention for additional playing time at guard. Head coach Matt Rhule has been closely following the competition thus far.

“I’m watching on the O-line and you have guys like Lutovsky chomping at the bit (to start),” Rhule said Thursday. “You bring in (Micah) Mazzccua, you have Justin who’s another guy that’s started for us and you move Ru’Quan Buckley over… you do all that, plus the newcomers on the O-line and you’re excited.”

Senior Turner Corcoran, who was expected to be limited this spring following an offseason foot surgery, did participate in Thursday’s practice wearing a green, noncontact jersey. Another key tackle for the Huskers, junior Teddy Prochazka, said he’s fully healthy for the spring for the first time since his freshman season.

While there are many veterans in the offensive line room such as Corcoran and Prochazka, the younger members are also seeking improvements. Six redshirt freshmen and two freshmen early enrollees are going through the spring along the NU offensive line.

“I feel like the young guys are doing a great job, the old guys are leading the way and showing them what to do, but I just feel like as a whole group and a unit, we’re making great strides,” Prochazka said.

For the recruits who took in Nebraska’s practice on an unofficial visit, many stopped and paused to look into the team’s new weight room. Located inside the new athletic facility, the weight room directly opens into Nebraska’s indoor practice field.

With much more available space than in the former weight room inside Memorial Stadium, racks and lifting areas are plentiful.

While the weight room was not in use during the practice window, the opposite is true of Nebraska’s practice fields. Drills occurred on all four of Nebraska’s fields, with players and staffers scattered all over with different focuses.

The controlled chaos on display during practices can often be downright impressive, with so much action packed into a short amount of time.

The Nebraska football team currently has 153 players on its roster, 125 of whom are on campus for the spring. 28 additional freshmen are set to arrive in the fall and join the team then.

While many positional changes had been confirmed in prior months, several Huskers are wearing new jersey numbers this spring as a result of their new position:

* Taveon Thompson, who wore No. 36 last season as a wide receiver, is now in the No. 19 jersey as a linebacker.

* Brice Turner began the 2023 season wearing No. 80 at wide receiver but is now in the No. 40 jersey as a defensive back.

* Conor Connealy, who wore No. 53 as offensive lineman is now in the No. 98 jersey as a defensive lineman.

* Ru’Quan Buckley made the opposite move, relinquishing the No. 88 he wore on the defensive side of the ball for No. 68 as an offensive lineman. Jason Maciejczak has also gone from wearing No. 95 to No. 76 as he becomes a full-time offensive lineman.

A trio of second-year Huskers have also opted to adjust their jersey numbers. Defensive back Jeremiah Charles previously wore No. 86 but is now in the No. 25 jersey, while linebacker Maverick Noonan shed the No. 75 in favor of wearing No. 22.

Defensive lineman Riley Van Poppel wore No. 94 last year but is now in the No. 44 jersey, the same number he wore in high school. Defensive back Syncere Safeeullah is currently listed at No. 44, too, meaning further adjustments could be needed by the fall so both players can see the field if needed.

That’s also true of the offensive No. 15 jersey, which is currently being worn by quarterback Dylan Raiola and wide receiver Malachi Coleman this spring.

In his first opportunity to deliver a message to Nebraska fans and boosters, the contrast between Dannen’s comments on NIL and the Memorial Stadium project couldn’t have been much different.

Dannen’s decision to publicly state his support of Nebraska’s main NIL collective, The 1890 Initiative, understandably caught the attention of many. In the days that followed, The 1890 Initiative seized the opportunity to post video clips and quotes from Dannen on their social media accounts publicly showing his support of the organization.

It’s a strategic, forward-thinking move from Dannen who acknowledged the current system of NIL won’t be around forever — but as it currently exists, NIL funding is crucially important to putting a winning product on the field.

In that way, it makes sense why Dannen was unwilling to commit to renovating Memorial Stadium just yet, instead saying he needs to learn more about the project before making any long-term decisions

“Does it help us win?” Dannen said Tuesday of the stadium project.

Getting Nebraska football back to winning ways is clearly the number one priority for Dannen, who believes NIL support is a major piece of the puzzle.

When discussing the wide receiver room, Rhule identified a trio of veterans who’ve provided leadership in the room this spring — juniors Alex Bullock and Elliott Brown and sophomore Roman Mangini. All three players joined Nebraska as walk-ons with Bullock earning a scholarship in August.

Bullock is the only one of the three to have a major on-field role at wide receiver, while Brown and Mangini’s contributions tend to occur behind the scenes.

Brown spent much of the 2023 season relaying play calls to NU’s quarterbacks from the sidelines, only for an ACL injury to end his season in early November. Mangini helped step up and relay the play calls following Brown’s injury.