When Scott Frost set the wheels in motion for his massive offseason overhaul of Nebraska’s offense, revamping the offensive line was near the top of his to-do list.
Gone is Greg Austin, who had coached Frost’s o-lines for the previous five years going back to their days together at Central Florida.
In is Donovan Raiola, who brings a noticeably different approach and demeanor to the position.
Through the first two weeks of spring practices since the change, Frost isn’t holding back on the immediate changes he notices already.
“The first thing is they’re just coming off the ball,” Frost said. “That’s been something that I’ve been frustrated with for a long time. Shoot, when I was playing here, guys looked like they were in 40-yard dashes when the ball was snapped. That wasn’t up to the standard that I wanted. That’s the first thing.
“Protection has been better, too, though. I think Donny’s just done a good job with those guys’ mentality and technique, and I can’t wait to watch them keep improving.”
The differences up front go beyond just Raiola taking over the unit.
The Huskers lost two mainstays from last year’s starting front in center Cam Jurgens and Matt Sichterman. They brought in two transfers with Oklahoma State junior Hunter Anthony and Northern Colorado senior Kevin Williams Jr.
Nebraska is also currently without two of its top returning linemen in sophomores Turner Corcoran and Teddy Prochazka, who are out for most or all of the spring while recovering from injuries.
As a result, the window of opportunity has opened as wide as ever this offseason. Frost said players had been working at multiple spots on the line this spring to see where pieces fit the best and what combinations will get NU its “best five” on the field.
“We’re going to get our best five on the field, and we’ve got a long time to figure that out,” Frost said.
Frost added that “everybody’s been pleasantly surprised” with Anthony and Williams early on and that both were in the conversation to push for playing time this fall.
“I love both of their attitudes,” Frost said. “They’re both tough, they’re both doing really good things, and they’re going to compete for time.”
Another lineman looking to make his mark this spring is redshirt freshman Henry Lutovsky. The 6-foot-6, 330-pounder from Crawfordsville (Iowa) Mount Pleasant created some buzz during his redshirt year last season, and he’s already caught the attention of his new position coach.
"Henry can be whatever he chooses to be," Raiola said. "It all depends how much work he wants to put in. But he's shown a lot, just like everybody in that group. There are a lot of good football players in that group. I'm excited to work with them."
As good as the offensive line may have looked during half-pads and helmets-only practices to open spring ball, the true evaluations in the trenches come when the real football begins.
The Huskers held their first full-contact live scrimmage on Friday. They’ll have two more this spring leading up to the Red-White game on April 9.
“We’ve got certain guys that you probably don’t need to see hit much and some other guys that we really need to test them and see how they’re going to be when it’s live,” Frost said. “We’re going to structure that however we need to in order to get the right reps out of the right guys, and I’m looking forward to seeing the competition."
