It's been Matt Rhule's mantra since the Nebraska football team's head coach took the podium at Big Ten Media Days. If there's one position on the team that has a pitched battle for the starting job, it's left tackle. Now, a few weeks into fall camp, the battle is far from won by any one player.
The more intriguing note is that because the left tackle spot isn't settled, the Huskers' coach also feels as though the right tackle spot isn't settled either. He made it clear that the position battles have been so pitched so far in camp that it's created a bit of a domino effect on the offensive line.
Tackle contenders: Elijah Pritchett, Gunnar Gottula, Turner Corcoran, Teddy Prochazka and Tyler Knaak push for snaps with Nebraska football
“I don’t think we’re close to being settled,” Matt Rhule said during Friday's Nebraska football press conference. “I don’t think we’re close to being settled at any point. This is like the first assessment. Right? This is like your midterm. Really, next week’s scrimmage is kind of your final, and you go from there."
"[Elijah] Pritchett is doing a really nice job. Gunnar [Gottula] is doing a really nice job. As you know, if they’re the two best tackles, we’ll slide one over to right. It’s really a four-way tackle battle with some other guys fighting to get in too."
The other guys in the mix include Turner Corcoran, who is still coming back from injury, Teddy Prochazka, who is full go this camp after missing most of 2024, and Tyler Knaak, who is also returning from injury last year.
The Nebraska football team starts its season before most, with just over two weeks to go until it kicks off against Cincinnati in Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium. "I think this week is a really pivotal week. So, I’ll have to watch this tape to see," Rhule added. "But I think, you know, heading into this week, it’s a really important time for all four of those tackles."