Nebraska Football revamped blocking schemes could bring big dividends
During Thursday's Nebraska Football press conference, head coach Matt Rhule and offensive line coach Donovan Raiola touched on several different topics. One of the most interesting was the way the Cornhuskers are adjusting their pass-blocking schemes ahead of the 2024 season.
The idea that Nebraska Football is changing its blocking schemes is welcome news to fans who have lived through a pretty porous o-line for years. Even if the end of the 2023 campaign saw the improvements, that might have just illustrated why Raiola was kept on staff when Rhule was first hired. How they're changing things this season could be vital in changing Nebraska Football's fate.
Rhule was first up at the press conference, and he talked about the line building an "NFL-style cup" of protection. The Huskers head coach also outlined why this is the first year they're focusing on this kind of protection.
Rhule said that Heinrich Haarberg, Chubba Purdy, and Jeff Sims didn't mind seeing pressure coming from the inside. This is because they could recognize the rush and then take off running on the outside.
The unstated meaning behind the change is that whoever is going to the quarterback this season (almost certainly Dylan Raiola) is going to be on the move less. The Huskers' attack will be more of a drop-back passing offense than an RPO offense.
Nebraska Football making adjustments in how it blocks in 2024
After Rhule, Donovan Raiola spoke about his teachings. Less than laying out changes he's making, the offensive line coach painstakingly showed precisely what his charges are taught in practice. It also might be familiar to Nebraska, but how this unit is taught might be different than how they teach at other programs.
"The biggest thing is we block with our knuckles up. We don't grab people, right? Because holding encourages lazy blocking. So we don't teach holding. We don't teach grabbing people. We block with our knuckles up. So that's the biggest thing. You go around most places, I'm not sure how they do it, but that's how we do it here."
Obviously, the Nebraska Football coaches can talk a good game. These approaches breed optimism. It's all about how the players execute these approaches come the season. But it appears the Huskers are off to a good start.