If there’s one place Nebraska has the kind of depth coach Scott Frost and company envision, it’s on the offensive line.
The Huskers have 17 scholarship linemen on the roster and all but one will take part in spring ball.
With that kind of depth, combined with the major physical challenge presented to any freshman aiming to see the field, it's almost sort of silly to wonder right off the bat whether freshman and early enrollee Turner Corcoran could make a push for playing time this fall.
Then again, Corcoran was one of the most sought-after linemen in the country for 2020, pushed toward five-star prospect status for the better part of a year, and is already adjusting to college life and taking part in winter conditioning.
Nebraska offensive line coach Greg Austin has seen the learning curve firsthand year after and year, and understands better than most the challenge in front of Corcoran. On Wednesday night at the Lincoln Football Coaches Association clinic, however, Austin told the Journal Star that Corcoran is off to a good start in his just-beginning NU career.
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“He’s good. Smart kid. He’s acclimating well. He’s doing everything we ask him to do,†Austin said.
Corcoran, a Lawrence, Kansas, native, is listed at 6-foot-6 and 285 pounds. He played left tackle in high school, but spent a week playing guard at the All-American Bowl in San Antonio last month and looked like a natural doing it. With years ahead, who knows where Corcoran ultimately sees the field first in Lincoln, but Austin said anything is possible.
“He can play multiple spots. He can play four spots,†Austin said. “I look at it like center or guard/tackle. He can play four spots.â€
On a similar note, Austin reiterated head coach Scott Frost’s postseason assertion that senior Matt Farniok’s most natural position might be guard rather than the right tackle position he’s manned the past two seasons.
“He’s going to cross-train inside,†Austin said of the spring plan for Farniok.
In that regard at least, Corcoran and Farniok are in similar places this spring. They will be among the several that move around and play different spots.
On National Signing Day, Frost called Corcoran “just as good of an offensive lineman as I saw on tape in the entire country†and “a cornerstone for this recruiting class.â€
Corcoran is more physically developed at this early stage than most of NU’s class of 2019 signees, but he still must make progress, Austin is interested to see how fast the lone newcomer in spring ball can settle in among more experienced teammates.
“Turner is such a savvy, mature guy, that for him it’s really going to be about, ‘Hey, how well can you go and attack it, already knowing all that you know right now,’†Austin said. “It’s going to be a cut-it-loose deal for him. It’s not going to be a lack of knowledge. He’s certainly a fast learner and all of that.
“There comes a point in time in a young guy’s career in college where they have to cross the threshold of dipping in their toe and just nose-diving into it.â€
Check out more from the Journal Star's conversation with Greg Austin this weekend.