Matt Rhule breaks down Nebraska's left tackle situation

Now four games into his first season at Nebraska, Matt Rhule is still rebuilding the Cornhuskers. One of the most important positions to get right in that rebuild is the offensive tackle position.

Ahead of Nebraska’s key Big Ten game against Michigan, Rhule broke down where the left tackle stands right now.

“We’ve got Turner [Corcoran] as our starter,” Matt Rhule said. “Teddy [Prochazka] has a role. We just keep bringing him along every week because every week we say, ‘Who gives us the best chance to win?’ But right now, they’re kind of in the roles that they’re in and we’ll see how this week goes.”

Ultimately, Turner Corcoran is the starter at Nebraska and he has been since Matt Rhule came to Lincoln. That’s a position he’s held going back to the 2021 season under Scott Frost. Now in his fourth year at Nebraska, Corcoran earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2022.

During his time at Nebraska, Teddy Prochazka has dealt with injuries to his knees that have largely kept him off the field. In Fall Camp, Prochazka got banged up again. Luckily, according to Matt Rhule, he’s healthy now and being eased back into the lineup playing in two games this season.

“But Teddy’s healthy. It’s just a matter for a while of getting him back, getting his feet wet,” Rhule said. “But each week we’re gonna play who we think gives us the best chance that week.”

The Nebraska offense has struggled through four games this season. In particular, turnovers have been a major issue in the Cornhuskers’ losses.

Some of those issues come from quarterback play and some come from offensive line play. Nebraska is 75th in the country in sacks allowed, giving up 2.25 sacks per game. However, Nebraska has had a phenomenal running game behind its offensive line. The Cornhuskers are sixth nationally in rushing offense, averaging 234.8 yards per game.

This week, Matt Rhule will need to be able to rely on his offensive line and the left tackle position, in particular, against Michigan.

Matt Rhule on determining the starting quarterback

One position at Nebraska with more questions surrounding it than the left tackle slot is the starting quarterback. After starter Jeff Sims was injured, both backups  Heinrich Haarberg and Chubba Purdy have seen playing time.

As Matt Rhule explained, he’s going to play the quarterback who gives Nebraska a shot to win.

“I play the guy I think gives us the best chance to win,” Rhule said. “It’s unique in that I have a guy that was the starter that couldn’t finish the game, really. And then, I had another guy that was the starter this past game that couldn’t finish the game. So I had two quarterbacks that couldn’t finish the game. So for me to sit up here on a Monday and say, ‘This is what’s happening,’ this isn’t, like, gamesmanship. Both guys do the same thing, really.”