Spring Preview: Offensive line
We continue our spring position previews today by taking a look at Nebraska's offensive line.
What we know right now
Nebraska returns four of its five starters on the offensive line, giving it a significantly more veteran and battle-tested group than it had to work with last year.
The only bad news is that unit seemed to regress more and more by the week as 2016 wore on.
Injuries plagued NU's o-line from early on in fall camp on through the rest of the season, leaving an already inexperienced front to mix and match pieces for nearly every game.
Still, Nebraska returns a solid group of five players who have starting experience in juniors Nick Gates, Jerald Foster, Tanner Farmer, Cole Conrad and senior David Knevel.
The Huskers also add four very promising redshirt freshmen to the mix this spring in Boe Wilson, Matt Farniok, John Raridon and Bryan Brokop. On top of that, they'll get an early enrollee from the 2017 class in Lincoln, Neb., native Broc Bando.
The line depth appears to be well on its way for the future, as NU loses only two scholarship players in center Dylan Utter and utility man Corey Whitaker but replaces them with them four players that have the ability to play almost every position on the line.
Biggest question to answer
While Nebraska only loses one member of its original starting five on the offensive line in Utter, it remains up in the air who exactly will replace him at center.
Looking at the roster, the seemingly obvious choice would be sophomore Michael Decker, who spent most of last season as the No. 2 center behind Utter. However, Decker's consistency in practice left much to be desired, leaving him hardly a lock for the job.
Another candidate is Raridon, who has already been mentioned by both offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh and Gates as a potential frontrunner.
There's also been some talk of possibly moving a guard to center should neither Dekcer or Raridon lock up the job, with one possibility potentially being Farmer going to center and elevating Wilson into the starting lineup.
Spring practice will be the start of what could be a long competition over the course of the offseason.
Spring dark horse
There's one player who could possibly shake up the entire look of Nebraska's offensive line depending on his performance over the course of the offseason, and that's Wilson.
A guy who nearly cracked the rotation as a true freshman even before NU's rash of injuries, Wilson has been said to epitomize what Cavanaugh looks for in an o-lineman with his combination of talent, physicality and downright nastiness.
Should Wilson have a strong spring and fall and the Huskers' current options at center don't work out, he very well could move up to the starting lineup with one of the current projected starting guards - most likely Farmer - moving over to center.
There's also a chance Wilson plays well enough that, regardless of what happens at center, he could force his way into the lineup in a rotation at guard. In fact, who's to say the Lee's Summit, Mo., native couldn't even win a starting spot outright?
Projected spring depth chart
LT
1. Nick Gates, Jr.
2. Matt Farniok, RFr.
3. Christian Gaylord, So.
LG
1. Jerald Foster, Jr.
2. Jalin Barnett, So.
C
1. Michael Decker, So.
-OR-
John Raridon, RFr.
RG
1. Tanner Farmer, Jr.
2. Boe Wilson, RFr.
RT
1. Cole Conrad, Jr.
-OR-
David Knevel, Sr.
Other notables: Zach Hannon, Sr.; Dwayne Johnson, Sr.; Bryan Brokop, RFr.; Broc Bando, Fr.