Three Observations on Nebraska Football's Depth Chart Ahead of the Houston Christian Game

Left tackle battle has been sorted

Gunnar Gottula, you're the man for the job! At least for now.

After being named the starter ahead of the Akron game, Gottula posted a PFF grade of 69.7 in 38 snaps. Turner Corcoran and Elijah Pritchett came in in relief, grading 74.7 in 23 snaps and 69.9 in 14 snaps, respectively.

Gottula had the lowest run block grade at 62.1, but also the highest pass block grad at 85.4. Corcoran was the opposite, with the highest run block grade but the lowest on pass block. Pritchett was solidly the middle guy in both categories.

Corcoran's run blocking came in handy this past weekend, as he was used in jumbo packages.

"We wanted to try to use some Jumbo 12, a big tight end in there with Luke (Lindenmeyer), so that we could try to take advantage of the edge," Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said Monday. "I think that's one of the benefits of Turner: he's so smart. He can be ready to play left tackle and play tight end and have it not affect him."

The trio went into the Cincinnati game on a heavy rotation. Gottula is now the unquestioned starter, but how safe he is at that spot remains to be seen. Rhule and company have shown they are just fine plugging in replacements if someone isn't performing, and this position has already seen multiple guys battling for the role.

The ORs are dwindling

Besides the ORs dropping from the left tackle position, the one on place-kicker is also gone.

Kyle Cunanan has run away with the place kicker job, going 3-for-3 over the first two games. He's also become the most dependable kickoff guy, with both John Hohl and Tristan Alvano having issues keeping the ball inbounds against Cincinnati and Akron.

There are a few ORs remaining, though. Backup tight end is between Heinrich Haarberg and Carter Nelson. Kick returner is a three-way race between Kenneth Williams, Isiaiah Mozee, and Mekhi Nelson. One linebacker spot is between Marques Watson-Trent and Vincent Shavers Jr. And the top spot at defensive end is between Williams Nwaneri and Cam Lenhardt.

One note on this kick returners: Williams is listed at the top now. Last week, Mozee was the first guy listed.

Gabe Moore, Donovan Jones rising

The only movement on the defensive side of the ball comes from sophomore Gabe Moore replacing redshirt freshman David Hoffken as the No. 3 nose guard. Moore, a Mississippi State transfer who redshirted in 2023 before missing 2024 with an injury, saw his first action of the season against Akron, recording one tackle.

Elsewhere, Donovan Jones is officially a No. 2 cornerback behind Andrew Marshall, but Rhule announced Monday that the redshirt sophomore has earned a prestigious Husker honor.

"Donnie Jones, we had a package for him this week where he was a starter," Rhule said. "I put him in a Blackshirt for this week because I think he's ready to go in a lot of different packages."

Nebraska Football 2025 Schedule

• Aug. 28 Nebraska 20, Cincinnati 17
• Sep. 6 Nebraska 68, Akron 0
• Sep. 13 vs. Houston Christian 11 a.m. FS1
• Sep. 20 vs. Michigan 2:30 p.m. CBS
• Oct. 4 vs. Michigan State 11/2:30/3
• Oct. 11 at Maryland TBA
• Oct. 17 (Friday) at Minnesota 7 p.m. FOX
• Oct. 25 vs. Northwestern TBA
• Nov. 1 vs. USC TBA
• Nov. 8 at UCLA TBA
• Nov. 22 at Penn State TBA
• Nov. 28 (Black Friday) vs. Iowa 11 a.m. CBS

Home games are bolded. All times central.