Matt Rhule knows that one of the biggest complaints about his run with the Nebraska football program is that the Huskers tend to "win" the offseason and then struggle to win big games when the regular season starts. Even with that in mind, the Husker head coach wants people to know he thinks this version of his team has gone a long way toward fixing its biggest issue: its offensive line.
One way in which Rhule addressed the offensive front was by firing Donovan Raiola and bringing in former Georgia Tech offensive line coach Geep Wade. He and Wade got together and hit the Transfer Portal hard. Speaking to the Omaha World-Herald earlier this spring, he also talked about some special pieces finally getting fully healthy and ready to go this fall.
“We have a bunch of guys who are big, strong, physical, grown men who have played football at the power four level,” Rhule said. “And they function really well together.” When he was asked if 2026's offensive line would be the best he's had since coming to Nebraska, he didn't hesitate to answer in the affirmative.
“Absolutely." He then quickly rattled off several names — Justin Evans, Elijah Pritchett, Gunnar Gottula, the three transfers, Tyler Knaak, Sam Sledge, and Preston Taumua — understanding there’s more in the pipeline.
Matt Rhule believes Nebraska football finally has its best offensive line yet
Evans (considered by most to be one of the best centers in the game) will accompany Rhule to Big Ten Media Days. Rhule generally doesn't take players to media days unless he views them as leaders off the field as well.
Meanwhile, Gottula, Rhule said, is “finally fully healthy” after multiple years of offseason surgeries. Pritchett is widely considered the team’s top NFL Draft prospect and has shown a lot of growth off the field after getting into some trouble and seemingly suffering some attention issues when he played early last season.
“He has more knowledge,” Rhule said, “a better overall process and better technique.”
Of course, all the talent in the world doesn't mean anything if the players are taught the wrong technique. It's felt like that was a big problem for Nebraska during the Raiola years. However, now the Huskers have Wade, who many believe could be the best offensive line coach in the Big Ten.
Rhule knows that people want to see progress more than they want to hear about it. He also believes Nebraska's offensive line will back his statements up when they strap it up in just a few months. If they don't, the Cornhuskers problems would be deeper than anyone realizes.
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