Injuries Decimate Huskers’ Offensive Line

When left guard Ethan Piper had to be helped off the field during Nebraska’s victory over Northwestern, fans had to be prepared for bad news to come out. Unfortunately, the bad news is even worse than expected. At the start of his Monday news conference, Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule updated a long and growing injury list:

• Left Guard Ethan Piper, season-ending knee injury
• Left Tackle Turner Corcoran, season-ending foot injury
• Right Guard Nouredin Nouili, out several weeks due to unspecified injury
• Slot receiver Billy Kemp IV, out several weeks due to MCL sprain
• Cornerback/Wide Receiver Tommi Hill, day-to-day due to unspecified injury

Presuming nobody else gets hurt, here’s your projected starting lineup this Saturday against Purdue:

LT: Sophomore Teddy Prochazka (still recovering from injuries suffered in 2021 and 2022)
LG: Redshirt Freshman Justin Evans-Jenkins
C: Junior Ben Scott (Rhule said he was “OK”; he returned later in the Northwestern game)
RG: Sophomore Henry Lutovsky
RT: Junior Bryce Benhart

The top reserves left are true freshman guard Sam Sledge and redshirt freshman tackle Tyler Knaak. When Nebraska updates the rest of the depth chart, we’ll see more names emerge.

We’ll also see who emerges as a kick returner. Alex Bullock finished the Northwestern game, but fair caught everything. My suspicion is that one of the speedy freshman receivers will get a look this week, especially on punt returns.