Overhaul of offensive line room continues with latest commitment
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ByMIKE SCHAEFER 61 minutes ago
Nebraska added another offensive lineman to its future roster with the commitment of
Gibson Pyle on Saturday as the 2024 recruit pledged a verbal to the Huskers.
That’s now potentially the eighth new offensive lineman for
Matt Rhule since he took over, and while he inherited three already committed, it’s clear rebuilding the depth at the spot is a big priority. It’s also not new ground for Rhule, who’s Baylor teams signed 12 linemen in the 2017 and 2018 classes.
Pyle is a likely interior lineman, but there’s no sign of Nebraska slowing its pursuit of linemen for 2024. The Huskers are in the mix for a number of players.
Since March the Huskers have managed to bring the following linemen to campus for a visit:
Brandon Baker,
Grant Brix,
Gage Ginther,
Nuku Mafi,
Kaedin Massey,
Ashton Murphy,
Caleb Pyfrom,
Andrew Sprague,
Riley Sunram,
Semisi Tonga as well as several others that don’t have offers at this time.
Additionally Nebraska is expected to have more linemen out over the next few weeks leading up to the 2023 Red-White game.
There’s little question Nebraska views offensive line as a priority to fix. That falls on Rhule and
Donovan Raiola, who he chose to keep in Lincoln after a tumultuous first season as the offensive line coach. Raiola ultimately has to both continue to improve as a recruiter and get a significantly better performance out of his current line.
However it’s clear he’s found his stride both with the guys in the room currently — multiple linemen have expressed they were happy to learn he was coming back — and with recruits as several that visited with him in March talked about liking his coaching style and finding him personable while on campus.
Nebraska’s line play is critical to the success of this turnaround and it’s why Rhule seems to be putting an emphasis on getting as many lineman on campus to visit and to campus as signees, as it appears the Huskers are going to be willing to cycle through options to find the best players who can get the job done for the team.
The transfer portal also seems like it could be an option again as the Huskers added both
Jacob Hood and
Ben Scott in the winter, but might be willing to kick tires on players again this spring, despite already appearing to be well over the 85-man scholarship limit.
Rhule’s previous teams have all had serviceable, if not strong, offensive lines. If that’s to continue in Lincoln then these early classes and the development of those players, as well as Raiola, are likely to play a key part.