Nebraska offensive line coach and run game coordinator Greg Austin ran through most of his position group during a radio interview on Monday evening.
He had particularly high praise for a freshman who probably came out of spring on the outside of the two-deep looking in.
Austin told “Sports Nightly” to keep an eye on 6-foot-6, 330-pound midyear enrollee Henry Lutovsky.
“I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about Henry Lutovsky as a guard,” Austin said. “Henry came in as a midyear this past spring and he turned some heads in the 15 practices that we had throughout spring. Look for him as a guy that’s going to help us out sooner rather than later.”
Lutovsky, a Crawfordsville, Iowa native, can play in up to four games this fall and still retain his redshirt. Sometimes, that’s not even part of the conversation for young linemen. For Lutovsky, though, Austin sees it as a path.
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“Certainly, he has four games this year with the redshirt retention,” Austin said. “But then heck, depending on how the depth chart shakes out and looks like, he could very well be in the mix for us as well.”
Austin also had praise for freshman tackle Teddy Prochazka of Elkhorn South.
“Similar to Henry. He came in and wowed us,” Austin said. “He has a bright future ahead of him. We’re really pumped to see what he looks like this year. Another guy who has four games and can retain his redshirt.”
Names to know at center: Austin called starting center Cam Jurgens “a freak of nature,” and added that “when you think that he’s tapped all of his potential, he just takes it up a notch.”
Behind him, Trent Hixson came out of spring as the No. 2 center and has developed, Austin says, into a trusty veteran who can man the middle or either guard spot. Likely starting left guard Ethan Piper and versatile sophomore Nouredin Nouili have also been learning to snap and are potential depth pieces at center in addition to other positions.
