Jeremy Pernell's 2025 Nebraska Football Preview: The Offensive Line

There are returning veterans and new faces on a unit that appears as promising as a Husker O-line has looked in quite some time.

Gunnar Gottula (left) and Henry Lutovsky figure to be key players on the left side of the Huskers' offensive line this season. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Third in a series

Offensive Line

Projected depth chart:

• LT: Elijah Pritchett (Jr.), Gunnar Gottula (So.), Turner Corcoran (Sr.)
• LG: Henry Lutovsky (Sr.), Turner Corcoran (Sr.), Jason Maciejczak (So.)
• C: Justin Evans (Jr.), Sam Sledge (So.), Jake Peters (RFr.)
• RG: Rocco Spindler (Sr.), Turner Corcoran (Sr.), Grant Brix (RFr.)
• RT: Teddy Prochazka (Sr.), Tyler Knaak (Jr.), Turner Corcoran (Sr.)

This looks to be the best Husker O-line in at least a decade. There are eight guys the staff would feel comfortable putting out there to start without much drop-off.

I really like the interior of the line even though it will feature three guys who were at different spots — or schools — last year. After racking up 17 career starts at left guard, Justin Evans is moving inside to center. By all accounts the transition has been seamless for Evans, who actually started at center against Purdue in 2023. Evans was solid at guard, but I think he's an even better fit at center physically. I don't expect any drop-off from Ben Scott, who was twice named honorable-mention All-Big Ten for the Huskers.

Notre Dame transfer Rocco Spindler is manning the right guard spot for the Huskers. | Nebraska Athletics

The staff went out and added Rocco Spindler to plug in at right guard. Spindler played in 40 career games for Notre Dame with 23 starts at right guard — including the final 13 games last season for an Irish team that played for the College Football Playoff championship.

With Spindler playing his natural RG spot, Husker O-line coach Donovan Raiola decided to move Henry Lutovsky — who was also exclusively a RG — to the left side. Lutovsky began last season playing behind Micah Mazzccua before taking over against Northern Iowa and starting the final 11 games of the year. With 38 career games and 15 starts under his belt, Lutovsky has received a lot of praise publicly from coaches and teammates for his leadership. He seems poised to take his game to another level.

Alabama transfer Elijah Pritchett is battling Gunnar Gottula for the starting job at left tackle. | Nebraska Athletics

There's a real battle happening at both tackle spots. The Huskers brought in Alabama starting right tackle Elijah Pritchett with the expectation he would take over the LT spot. That hasn't happened. Pritchett's extremely talented and if he puts it all together he'll be a high draft pick and play in the NFL, but much like Micah Mazzccua before him, he's struggled a bit with the transition to Nebraska's way of doing things.

He's in a dogfight for the LT1 spot with Gunnar Gottula, who came into fall camp healthy after missing spring while he recovered from a shoulder injury sustained last season. Gottula was thrust into the starting lineup last year, starting nine games at LT after Turner Corcoran suffered a hamstring injury. He hasn't ceded that spot to Pritchett, and that competition might play into the season.

He's in a dogfight for the LT1 spot with Gunnar Gottula, who came into fall camp healthy after missing spring while he recovered from a shoulder injury sustained last season. Gottula was thrust into the starting lineup last year, starting nine games at LT after Turner Corcoran suffered a hamstring injury. He hasn't ceded that spot to Pritchett, and that competition might play into the season.

The RT spot is also heavily contested. Gottula was joined on the sidelines this spring by Corcoran, who was still recovering from his hamstring injury, and Teddy Prochazka, who was still rehabbing the torn ACL he sustained to his right knee last August.

That paved the way for Tyler Knaak, who came out of spring as the starter and hasn't handed that job to a now-healthy Prochazka. Neither tackle spot has a definitive starter as we round out fall camp.

Only three of Turner Corcoran's 35 career starts have been at guard, probably his best position. | Nebraska Athletics

It's been a long road to recovery for Corcoran, who has had an unfortunate career for someone who was a top-50 recruit. It was clear early on that his best position was guard, but injuries and a lack of depth on the O-line have dictated him playing out of position for years.

Corcoran has 35 starts under his belt (30 at LT, three at LG and two at RT), but after starting 30 consecutive games early in his career, the past two seasons have been cut short because of injuries. He started fall camp on light duty but is fully cleared now as he works himself back into game shape. I expect him to be the top backup at both guard spots and possibly tackle if called upon.

Sam Sledge is a promising interior prospect the staff would feel comfortable playing at center and could also slide him out to either guard spot if they needed to spell someone on the interior. Gibson Pyle is another up-and-coming interior player who was probably the No. 3 guard midway through fall camp. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury in camp that will sideline him for an extended period. He's impressed coaches during his two years at Nebraska and is someone to bookmark for one of the open guard spots next season when he's back healthy.

Justin Evans is at left guard and Gunnar Gottula at left tackle as the Huskers line up for a play against Rutgers last season. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Early in fall camp, Matt Rhule told reporters that Gunnar Gottula would be a candidate for the right side if it meant fielding their best five linemen. I'd go in a different direction. If Pritchett and Gottula are neck-and-neck at LT, I would look to move Pritchett back to the RT spot he played last season for Alabama and keep Gottula on the left side.

Gottula has been looked at as the long-term answer at LT since before he was forced into action last season. Why not let him plant roots at that spot for the next two or three years? Pritchett focused on LT early in his career at Alabama but ended up making 11 of his 12 starts on the right side for the Crimson Tide last season.

Pritchett is an absolute road grader in the run game but has struggled in pass-pro — although I've heard he's made big strides this offseason with the Huskers. Gottula is further along in pass protection, so it might not be a bad idea to have him protecting Raiola's blindside.

Dylan Raiola's completion rate dropped more than 20 percentage points when he was under pressure last season. | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Quarterbacks will usually get most of the credit when things are going good offensively. They also typically get the brunt of the blame when things aren't going well. Coaches say that all the time, right? That's because it's true. So much of a quarterback's success is tethered to not just his coaches, but other positions: play calling, scheme, execution up-front, execution on the perimeter.

Last season, Dylan Raiola completed 67.1 percent of his passes overall. According to Pro Football Focus, Raiola was at 72 percent with a clean pocket and just 50.5 percent when he was under pressure. When he was not blitzed he completed 69.7 percent of his throws, while he was at 62 percent when blitzed. The O-line gave up 28 sacks last season, which was tied for 78th nationally.

How this O-line plays will go a long way in determining how successful this season is for Nebraska. I think they're up to the challenge.

Tomorrow, we'll switch sides of the ball and take a look at the D-line and linebackers.

Previous installments:
 • QBs & RBs  • WRs & TEs

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