Teddy Prochazka is ‘playing free’ as he enters fall camp

Teddy Prochazka is ready to empty his mind.

He just wants to play football. And for the first time since his freshman season, the Husker offensive lineman enters fall camp at full strength. Gone are the bulky knee braces, long days of physical therapy and the lingering discomfort that had limited Prochazka, now a junior, in years past.

“It’s big that I don’t have to worry about, ‘Oh boy, what’s going to be the thing that brings me down this time?’” Prochazka said Tuesday. “I’m able to play free and not worry about that stuff.”

Prochazka is a likely starter at left tackle — though the contrast between his career and that of right tackle Bryce Benhart’s could hardly be more extreme.

Benhart has not missed a single game over the last three seasons, appearing in all 36 contests (33 starts). Prochazka, however, has been limited to just 18 games over the same stretch due to injuries — but the good news is that he’s coming off his healthiest season yet.

The knee injuries that prematurely ended Prochazka’s 2021 campaign after five games and his 2022 season after three games were notably absent as the Huskers cautiously reincorporated the veteran lineman into the offense.

Prochazka averaged fewer than eight snaps per game across the first half of the 2023 season, mostly working as a backup and additional lineman on select packages. But when teammates suffered their own injuries, Prochazka rejoined the rotation as a starter down the stretch and played more freely than he has in a long time.

“It kind of takes that pressure off of having to come in and do rehab stuff or treatment stuff, being able to build my own process that will make my body feel better throughout the week,” Prochazka said.

With an added emphasis on time spent in the cold tub and similar recovery work, Prochazka feels he’s in his best shape yet. He lost 10 pounds from last year’s playing weight of 325 pounds and was a top performer in Nebraska’s offseason workouts.

While Husker linemen were once tasked with adding as much pure strength as possible under previous coaching staffs, their training focus under strength coach Corey Campbell has differed. Adding strength still matters, but so does flexibility and explosiveness, traits which Prochazka has trained extensively in recent months.

“I feel like one of the biggest things is range of motion,” Prochazka said. “Coach Campbell and the staff preaches making sure you’re getting your depth through squats, power cleans and everything like that. It’s not always about the weight but about being able for your joints and ligaments to hold up to that.”

It’s not just Prochazka who’s entering the season with confidence. Because of the work the Husker offensive line has put in over the offseason and in years prior, Benhart said that eventually hitting the field for the team’s season opener is “going to be the easiest thing ever for us.”

Benhart believes so because of the chemistry present within Nebraska’s offensive line room. Their coach, Donovan Raiola, is now in his third year with the program and has coached players such as Turner Corcoran, Justin Evans and Henry Lutovsky throughout.

Outside of Florida transfer Micah Mazzccua, who joined the Huskers this winter, Nebraska’s prospective starting offensive line is full of players who’ve spent multiple years learning from each other, drawing closer and developing friendships.

“We show up to lifts together, meetings together and we don’t leave the locker room until everyone’s with us,” Prochazka said. “… We all speak the same language and we all see through one set of eyes.”

Because of that, confidence is not lacking within the position room according to Prochazka. The room also doesn’t lack experienced leaders with the likes of Prochazka and center Ben Scott taking charge.

The veteran-heavy Husker offensive line has big expectations for what they’re capable of this fall, and a fully healthy Prochazka may be needed to achieve them.

“We’re all confident in our abilities, we have the experience, the strength and the mental game,” he said. “… My biggest goal this offseason was to get stronger and feel healthy, and that’s where I’m at now; I feel ready to go.”