Nebraska Football: 2021 is crucial season for Greg Austin

This is a big season for Greg Austin and Nebraska football.

Sunday, Steven M. Sipple wrote an interesting piece about why he believes Nebraska football made right choice in not firing offensive line coach Greg Austin. Let me be clear on my viewpoint. I thought Nebraska should have considered firing him at the end of the season. There was regression in my estimation with that unit.

Sure, Nebraska football had to play with some younger faces. Ethan Piper, Turner Corcoran, and Bryce Benhart perhaps made their biggest impact in the season finale against Rutgers. Even still, Nebraska football had veterans on the line for the majority of the season. I was expecting a bigger impact from that positional group in 2020. At times, they looked good. At other points of the season they struggled a bit.

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Take for example the Iowa game. Iowa defensive tackle Daviyon Nixon finished with eight tackles and a sack. The Iowa defensive line managed to get into the Nebraska backfield quite frequently. It was tough to watch, and it threw off the rhythm of the Nebraska quarterbacks.

The Rutgers game was certainly a high point for the line. The Iowa game was a lower point. Line play was inconsistent. Coming into the 2020 season, I thought the line play would be a bit more consistent. I had high hopes, especially given the mixture of returning faces and extremely talented younger players.

Instead, they fell flat for the most part. That’s why I had my reservations about Greg Austen coming back for the 2021 season. Nevertheless, Scott Frost told the media earlier this month that he has faith in Austin. Not only that, he indicated that Austin has been working hard.

"“If there’s one group that I think is probably going to make the biggest jump this offseason on offense, it’s that group,” Frost said. “Coach (Greg) Austin is already working hard with them and looking forward to what they can become.”"

This is why I think the 2021 season is crucial for Austin. If the line has a big season, that could be a notch in the belt for him. They certainly have the talent to be effective. However, if the line as a bad season, that is obviously not good for him.

Either way, 2021 is a big season for Greg Austin. He has the trust of Nebraska football program and Scott Frost. I believe he can do great things, I truly do. I just need to see more from the line, and development from some of the younger players.