Nebraska Football: Offensive line injury may open opportunities for others
The depth for the Nebraska football offensive line has lessened.
This is an article I never like to write. Nebraska Football has announced its first season-ending injury of the season. Offensive tackle Christian Gaylord will miss the entirety of the 2019 season after suffering a knee injury.
Although he is a backup, that certainly does not diminish what he has accomplished during his Nebraska Football career. Over a five-year span, he has appeared in 33 games.
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As a report from Sam McKeown of the Omaha World-Herald notes, he received a lot of looks at left and right tackle over the course of practice. With such a young offensive line heading into the 2019 season, Gaylord’s experience is certainly going to be missed. This may give some freshmen a chance to show what they are made of.
Building off of the subject of an experience, Nebraska Football will now be tasked with seeing what their young players can do. They have a lot of options, who although they are raw for the college game can still provide an impact. Broc Bando could be the guy to back up veteran Brendan Jaimes. As I wrote about earlier in the week, he has been progressing nicely over the course of training camp. Other players such as Bryce Benhart and Jimmy Fritzsche could also see time as they try to fill the backup role.
As it looks to me right now, we could see a lot of these freshmen play early on the line. Obviously, they will not be in any sort of starting role quite yet, but they should be able to get looks. This will be a nice test for them. Although it could be throwing them in the proverbial fire, this will give them a first taste of collegiate football action. Bando does not have a ton of experience in his own right, but that could change rather quickly.
Ideally, Scott Frost probably did not want to see the freshman until their second year in the Nebraska Football program. However, with the type of skill levels they have, they have the talent to make an impact early. By all accounts, they are not mediocre football players. They are very good, and they should be able to make names for themselves in Lincoln. I am curious to see what Fritzsche can do in particular, especially since Nebraska Football poached him from Clemson.
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Gaylord’s injury is very unfortunate. I certainly wish him all the best, and I hate to see him not even get a snap in the 2019 season. Football can be a rough game at times, and Gaylord’s injury proves it. Now, it is up to his teammates to play well in his absence.