Coming into fall camp, Gunnar Gottula was penciled in as the backup at right tackle behind Elijah Pritchett. While he might still be locked behind the former Alabama Crimson Tide monster, Nebraska coaches are noticing that a healthy Gottula is an entirely different player than he’s been the last few years. Offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen is the latest to make it clear that the offensive lineman has been impressing quite a bit since fall camp started.
"Gunnar's back and he can run. He's a different Gunnar than what I've seen for two years," Holgorsen said after Friday’s practice. "He's back, he's healthy, he's playing very well."
Holgorsen’s comments echo what Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule said a week ago. He made it clear that while Pritchett is the favorite to win the job, the fight isn’t over yet. "He's competing to be the starting right tackle ... He's played a lot of football for us, and he's gotten strong,” Rhule said about Gottula.
One reason the coaching staff is so impressed by what Gottula has shown is that they didn’t get to see what he could do in the spring. Still coming back from injury, he sat out most of the contact practices in what was a quiet early offseason compared to the noise the Huskers usually make.
Healthy Gunnar Gottula gives Nebraska football valuable offensive line flexibility
The best offensive line units tend to have some flexibility. Rhule seems to understand that as he’s talked about moving guys around. If they don’t win a position, they may be slotted into another. For Gottula, there’s a chance he could move inside to guard. At the moment, the right guard spot is expected to be manned by transfer Brendan Black. However, Black could also slide over to center.
Of course, Justin Evans has the center position locked down, but if disaster strikes, or if Evans needs a breather, there are plenty of ways the offensive line can slide around and still be effective.
With Gottula back and playing well, he brings 854 college snaps of experience to a line that had plenty of experience (more than 7,300 snaps) before he returned. That’s the biggest reason why new offensive line coach Geep Wade believes the Huskers can be very impressive up front.
The downside is that Gottula missed most of the last two offseasons while rehabbing, but the upside is that he was lifting five days a week. Not only is he a veteran presence, but he’s stronger than he’s ever been. Nebraska would like to find a way to take advantage of that while meshing with the rest of the unit.
Add us as a preferred source on Google