Benhart, Farniok could give Huskers OL a new look

It’s been a long time since Nebraska has returned all five starters on its offensive line and had 16 total scholarship linemen to work with heading into spring football.

Despite all the experience the Huskers have up front, it could be some inexperienced yet promising young talent that will allow the Big Red experiment with some position moves.

The emergence of redshirt freshman Bryce Benhart at right tackle will allow NU to move senior Matt Farniok inside to guard all in an effort to get the best five linemen on the field at the same time.

Head coach Scott Frost said the one thing he knows is that guys are going to be getting a lot of reps this spring.

"They are going to get reps. That's one of the great things about the way we practice. Guys are going to get a lot of reps. It's going to shake itself out,” Frost said about the competition along the offensive line this spring. “We are going to play Matt Farnoik at some guard. I know he can play tackle. We are going to see how he looks at guard some.

“Really where he ends up is going to depend on whether a young tackle or a guard plays better and we are going to get the best five on the field. The depth there is going to be better than we have had in a long time assuming we stay healthy. Anxious to watch that competition."

The 6-foot-9, 295-pound Benhart is the “young tackle” Frost is talking about. The talented Minnesota native was a highly-ranked and sought after recruit out of high school. Even though there had been talk he could see the field as a true freshman, Frost and some of his peers say he clearly benefited from a year of physical development and learning the playbook.

"Bryce is probably like a lot of young guys,” Frost said about Benhart. “The talent was there. There is no doubt he had the ability to do it. It was kind of just waiting for him to cut it loose. There were several young guys that looked like completely different guys on the field in a good way. I haven't watched the tape yet that will tell more but he had a really good first day and several other guys did as well."

Nebraska wasted little time seeing what the possible move of Farniok from right tackle to left guard and Benhart at right tackle would look like as that’s where they worked Day 1 of spring practice.

Farniok seemed to think it’s a move that will be beneficial for everyone.

"It's probably pretty solid,” Farniok said about his move to left guard. “It's going to come down to who the best five is up front. Wherever they say I fit best, that's where I'll go play.”

Working at a new position wasn’t a problem according to the senior lineman.

“Tackle to guard isn't as drastic of a change as you'd think,” Farniok said. “The only thing that changes is that everything is going to happen a little bit faster. Besides that, it's pretty much the same.

"It is weird. I'm used to being on the outside so it's weird having two guys right by me. It kind of puts me in a box. It's fun."

Like Frost, Farniok said he liked what he’s seen early on from Benhart at the right tackle spot early on and is confident that he’ll only get better from here on out.

"He's an attacker. He really loves the game of football,” Farniok said about Benhart. “Every day he lives by our motto 'day by day.' He wants to be a little better than he was yesterday every single day. Now, he's put himself in a great opportunity to prove it.

“I know he's going to do everything in his power to keep fighting and continuing to get better."