With "grueling" days of rehab behind him, Gunnar Gottula is ready to attack fall camp

Gunnar Gottula is ready to roll for fall camp when it starts up July 28.

After offseason shoulder surgery forced Gottula to miss spring ball, the Lincoln (Neb.) Southeast product is anxious to get those reps he missed out on in March and April.

“It’s been a long road getting back from my injury, so I’m just blessed to be back here. It took a lot of hard work,” Gottula said during an interview on Huskers Radio Network on Wednesday.

“I’ll be fully good to go for camp, just got cleared a couple weeks ago to go for camp,” Gottula said. “It was a tough road. It was kind of my first major injury, so it was a big change for me. Just the grueling days of doing rehab, things like that. But I had my teammates by my side, trainers, the coaches. They were there for me, so I just had to put in the work.”

Gottula has had to battle through a bit of the injury bug early in his career. He missed the first two games of the 2024 season with an ankle injury. He returned to play in 11 games and was thrown into the fire at left tackle after Turner Corcoran‘s season-ending hamstring injury during the Illinois game.

Gottula showed he can play at the Big Ten level as a redshirt freshman

Behind “countless” reps in practice, plus position coach Donovan Raiola‘s always-stay-ready message, Gottula showed flashes of strong play.

“It was definitely a blessing just to be able to do that, it took a lot of hard work to get there,” Gottula said of his playing time. “Then just having my coaches’ trust, my teammates being there for me. I was just able to go out there and play and take it week by week with preparation and practice, and then just go out there and play ball.”

After the Purdue game Matt Rhule gave Gottula a shoutout. It was Gottula’s first career start, and it came on the road at a conference opponent. The Boilermakers’ coaching staff, knowing Nebraska would be starting a redshirt freshman at left tackle, tweaked its game plan by moving the top pass rusher, Kydran Jenkins, from inside linebacker to EDGE, so he had more opportunities against Gottula.

The redshirt freshman held his own. Rhule liked the fact that he didn’t notice Gottula when he was on the field — a mark of an O-lineman doing his job.

“No one’s asked me about Gunnar. I love that. None of you guys asked me about Gunnar,” Rhule said in the postgame. “We went with our third string left tackle on the road against Purdue, and played with a third string left tackle. I’m fired up for him because I I didn’t notice him. And I’m not saying that a negative way towards you guys (media members). Like, I didn’t notice him. …I never said, like, ‘Hey, Satt (Marcus Satterfield), chip him (Jenkins).’ So I’m proud of the young guys.”

Gottula was ahead of Rhule’s ideal timeline for offensive linemen to see the field

With having such a big job with limited experience, Rhule Raiola decided to start rotating Micah Mazzccua at left tackle midseason to lighten the load on the redshirt freshman.

Rhule’s ideal timeline for an offensive lineman, especially in the Big Ten, is to have them focus on developing physically for their first two years in the program. When they hit their third year, that’s when they can start pushing for playing time.

Gottula was ahead of that schedule. But adjusting on the fly is crucial in football. And sometimes, injuries force players on the field sooner than expected.

“As an offensive lineman, basically to come in and redshirt the first year, be a backup the second year, you redshirt freshman year, and hopefully contribute and start as a third-year player,” Rhule said in March. “That’s the model of having a successful team.”

Inside Nebraska’s take on the starting offensive line outlook for 2025

At center is Justin Evans, who looks to fill the role Ben Scott held the past two seasons. The two guard spots are likely to be manned by returning starter Henry Lutovsky and Notre Dame transfer Rocco Spindler.

Whether it’s Spindler on the right and Lutovsky on the left, or vice versa, that trio would give the offense a road-grading interior that could produce a strong north-south run game.

Alabama transfer Elijah Pritchett seems primed to start at left tackle and protect Dylan Raiola’s blindside. Pritchett is entering his fourth year of college football and has next-level potential.

But it’s at right tackle where the real questions emerge. Gottula will certainly be in that mix, but others are right there with him.

Tyler Knaak is entering his fourth year of college football and third in Nebraska’s program. Now is the time for Knaak to make an on-field impact, and there’s an opportunity in front of him.

After spending last season at right guard, Knaak is back at his natural right tackle position. The former Utah transfer has turned into a leader and culture keeper. His availability this past spring allowed him to make a jump.

“Tyler Knaak has been doing a great job at right tackle,” Rhule said in April. “Really, he’s one of the guys coming on really strong. No greater representative of our team and our culture.”

Then there are the two veterans who were limited in spring ball due to rehabs for season-ending injuries: Teddy Prochazka and Turner Corcoran. What will those two be able to provide during the season? Prochazka is coming off an ACL injury from last August while Corcoran needed surgery on his hamstring.

If anything, Prochazka and Corcoran are valuable depth pieces with starting experience — something offensive line coaches across the country would love to have, but rarely do. And while Prochazka is a tackle all the way, coaches have said Corcoran is athletic enough to play all five positions if need be.