Veteran Husker Offense is Helping Shape Future Blackshirts

"I wish you guys could have been out there today," Nebraska Secondary Coach Addison Williams said following Tuesday's practice. "Those guys make some unbelievable catches, and Dylan makes some unbelievable throws. The biggest thing is that iron sharpens iron."

The phrase must have been up on a marker board this week for the team. Nebraska defensive lineman Riley Van Poppel didn't take long to echo the sentiment.

"It's kind of our motto—iron sharpens iron," Van Poppel said. "It's been a blessing. I was just talking to Henry (Lutovsky) about it in the locker room. I was like, 'Hey, I want to sit down with you and see what you see when we're out there and it's third and long, when I'm getting ready to rush—what do you see from me?' Hearing that feedback from them, but also getting out there and going after it, it gets you better."

It also doesn't hurt that Van Poppel and the new-look defensive front for Nebraska might be facing some of their toughest competition all season in practice, and a lot of that has to do with the sheer size of this year's offensive front for the Big Red. Lutovsky and fellow lineman Gunnar Gottula are 6'6. Both of them still come up short of offensive lineman Teddy Prochazka, who is 6'10.

It's made scheming for these fall practices quite the task for new defensive coordinator John Butler.

"I think that's good for us," Butler said. "Obviously, the better competition you go against at every position across the field, the better your players are going to get. I think our offensive line does a very good job of working together as a unit."

As well they should. The offensive line, barring no injury setbacks (knock on wood), will be coming into the year with 122 starts between them. That's a lot of football together, which will make the Nebraska offensive front something to reckon with in 2025. However, it's doesn't stop there.

When your offensive line gives star quarterback Dylan Raiola more time in the pocket, the more likely he'll be able to see a few of his targets create some space. Between the transfers of Dane Key and Nyziah Hunter and the return of Jacory Barney Jr., this offense will stretch any defense thin—especially when there's some inexperience involved. Nebraska DB coach Addison Williams said the challenging practices have also turned into a recruiting rally cry for the next batch of recruits considering Nebraska.

"You're going to play against high-level guys on the other side of the ball every single day," Williams said. "You're going to go against a high-level quarterback every single day, so why not come here and be a part of this?"

"Going up against a strong unit like that every day can only improve that competitive stamina, that toughness we're trying to build, that physicality," Butler added. "I think at the end of the day, if practice is the hardest thing you're doing, when you go into the games, you're going to have an opportunity for success."

With only 20 days remaining before kickoff against Cincinnati in Kansas City, Nebraska's going to be transitioning to game week install sooner than you might think. Once that begins, it'll be more about schematics and gameplanning than identifying who your top guys are going to be this season. That's not to say there still won't be some iron to sharpen over the next three weeks, but practices are about to be as mental as they are physical.

Ultimately, both the offense and defensive units have the same assignment—get the other side ready for kickoff.

"If I'm out there giving them the best look, and they're giving me the best look, we're going to get better," Van Poppel added. "Sometimes they're going to win, sometimes I'm going to win, but that's what you want out of a good team. You don't want to just be one-side dominant because then you're not getting each other better."