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When's the last time you think Nebraska has had an OL in the top 1/3 of their conference for multiple seasons
Reminder. We've been in the Big 10 with Wisconsin, Cockeye and Ohio State for almost 15 years now.
Donovan Raiola Coaching Progression
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Donovan Raiola Coaching Progression
Reminder. We've been in the Big 10 with Wisconsin, Cockeye and Ohio State for almost 15 years now.
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Yes, yes I would. I also agree with Dom getting uncomfortable with what happened so far this season and being concerned for Dylan's health.
I'm also purely speculating on the following statement/opinion, but it sure makes sense in my mind. Being able to run the ball in the B1G is a mentality and becomes part of your program culture. Our coaches say the right things, but is it truly part of the culture and Nebraska's DNA? I don't think that it is. EVEN if we were to suddenly run for 200 yards Saturday against Northwestern that doesn't change things. We show it at times and then forget about it and regress. That to me is a lack of an engrained mentality to take pressure off the QB.
That doesn't event start the dialog on protecting the QB. That's a whole other conversation.
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Losing Raiola because we fired a coach who is related that has been unable to protect Raiola would be a very Nebraska thing to do. It's like our own personal "As the World Turns".... or maybe the "Young and the Raiolas."
I do not dislike Dylan Raiola.... he is talented, and our problems do not start with him..... But he doesn't solve them either. If it takes $3 million to keep him and given the current state of our program, you have to at least broach the question as to whether we would be better off investing that cash into keeping Lateef, and bolstering our RB and OL rooms? As of now, I think we would.
I do not dislike Dylan Raiola.... he is talented, and our problems do not start with him..... But he doesn't solve them either. If it takes $3 million to keep him and given the current state of our program, you have to at least broach the question as to whether we would be better off investing that cash into keeping Lateef, and bolstering our RB and OL rooms? As of now, I think we would.
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Kudos on The Young and the Raiolas.
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Getting to a long term solution for the OL has to be priority #1. If that means we lose Dylan in the process then so be it, but we will be permanently stuck where we’re at if we don’t fix the OL.
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Why is Donovan's "knuckles up" technique not discussed/critiqued more? Description below per Grok. I think it might be a good/decent technique if you have athletic, agile OL that can move their feet. We DO NOT have that! Also, I haven't noticed us getting considerably less holding calls than our opponents. In my opinion, with our current stable of OL, this is the wrong technique to be teaching.
The "knuckles up" blocking technique, as taught by Donovan Raiola (Nebraska's offensive line coach), emphasizes proper hand positioning and striking mechanics for offensive linemen during both run blocking and pass protection. It involves linemen keeping their hands open with knuckles facing upward (thumbs up) when engaging defenders, rather than forming closed fists or grabbing/clutching jerseys. This creates a larger striking surface area for a vertical "punch" that generates leverage and power while keeping elbows tight to the body for balance and control. The goal is to drive through the defender at the point of attack, maintain separation to avoid penalties like holding, and promote disciplined, aggressive technique over lazy reliance on grabbing—which Raiola views as a shortcut that leads to sloppy play and flags. He contrasts it with traditional "punch-blocking" schemes that use balled fists (knuckles down), noting that his method encourages better hand fighting and overall body positioning to stay balanced and finish blocks effectively.
While the exact phrasing "knuckles up" appears tied to Raiola's teaching style at Nebraska (introduced during his first spring in 2024), the underlying principles draw from broader NFL and college offensive line coaching influences focused on open-hand striking and hand-fighting drills. One notable example is Alex Gib
bs, a legendary zone-blocking pioneer who coached at the college level (e.g., Colorado State, East Carolina) and in the NFL (e.g., Broncos, Seahawks). Gibbs emphasized similar hand-placement techniques in his zone schemes to create leverage and horizontal movement without grabbing, though he didn't use the "knuckles up" terminology. No other current college OL coaches are widely documented as explicitly teaching or branding it this way, based on available coaching discussions and reports—it's presented as a point of differentiation for Raiola's group.
The "knuckles up" blocking technique, as taught by Donovan Raiola (Nebraska's offensive line coach), emphasizes proper hand positioning and striking mechanics for offensive linemen during both run blocking and pass protection. It involves linemen keeping their hands open with knuckles facing upward (thumbs up) when engaging defenders, rather than forming closed fists or grabbing/clutching jerseys. This creates a larger striking surface area for a vertical "punch" that generates leverage and power while keeping elbows tight to the body for balance and control. The goal is to drive through the defender at the point of attack, maintain separation to avoid penalties like holding, and promote disciplined, aggressive technique over lazy reliance on grabbing—which Raiola views as a shortcut that leads to sloppy play and flags. He contrasts it with traditional "punch-blocking" schemes that use balled fists (knuckles down), noting that his method encourages better hand fighting and overall body positioning to stay balanced and finish blocks effectively.
While the exact phrasing "knuckles up" appears tied to Raiola's teaching style at Nebraska (introduced during his first spring in 2024), the underlying principles draw from broader NFL and college offensive line coaching influences focused on open-hand striking and hand-fighting drills. One notable example is Alex Gib
bs, a legendary zone-blocking pioneer who coached at the college level (e.g., Colorado State, East Carolina) and in the NFL (e.g., Broncos, Seahawks). Gibbs emphasized similar hand-placement techniques in his zone schemes to create leverage and horizontal movement without grabbing, though he didn't use the "knuckles up" terminology. No other current college OL coaches are widely documented as explicitly teaching or branding it this way, based on available coaching discussions and reports—it's presented as a point of differentiation for Raiola's group.
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I think the whole "knuckles up" think is overblown as a problem.
It makes no difference when you don't lay a finger on a DE as he sprints past you, or you double team a DL while leaving the guy next to him untouched.
We aren't giving up all these sacks because of the positioning of our knuckles.
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All day....and I think Dylan is a great QB and we're lucky to have him
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I mean in theory there's no way to grab onto anything to slow an edge rusher down so it might play a SMALL part but I would generally agree that's the least of our worries
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I disagree. It is hardly talked about, at all, that I have seen. There are plenty of instances where we get our hands on defenders but can't maintain the block for more than a second. Maybe if our OL had a handful of jersey, like every other team in America, that would be different.
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I haven't really seen any speculation regarding how attached Dylan is to Uncle Donnie. There's a ton of speculation that if Donnie leaves, do we pay to retain Dylan, etc. For all we know, Dylan could be calling for a change just as much as the rest of us. He just MIGHT be tired of getting murdered in the backfield. I'm sure retaining Unc helped our chances of landing Dylan initially but there's nothing out there that says he's attached at the hip and wants him to stick around as far as I know
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Especially when the run game and protections….most likely isn’t Dana
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The next time I open this thread it better have a post about us firing him. Dude needs to go.
