Injury Report: New info on Dylan Raiola, Elijah Pritchett & another season-ending injury on Nebraska OL
Nebraska football and head coach Matt Rhule will need to adjust on the fly in a major way.
Starting quarterback Dylan Raiola, the Huskers’ QB1 who started 22 games in a row and never missed a game over his first two seasons at Nebraska, suffered a lower-leg injury in the 21-17 loss to USC on Saturday night.
On Sunday afternoon, it was reported that Raiola suffered a broken fibula in his right leg after having taken a sack against the Trojans in the third quarter. Rhule confirmed shortly afterward on Sunday that Raiola would be out for the season with a lower-leg injury, and on Monday the Nebraska coach confirmed that it is a broken fibula.
Rhule provided further updates on the injury to the Huskers’ sophomore starting quarterback at his regular Game Week press conference.
“I hate it for Dylan,” Rhule said. “I love Dylan. If anyone says anything about Dylan, just know this: The kid had a broken leg, and he was warming up and begging me to play. That’s all you gotta know about that kid to know who he is. I got home that night, I didn’t know when I was sitting here with you guys (on Saturday), I thought he had an ankle sprain when I got home. And, literally, my daughter was the first person to tell me because … my daughters were walking through and they found out as (Raiola) found out in the training room, and the doctor called me to tell me. What character, what toughness (Raiola has), and I’m very grateful for him.”
Rhule confirmed that Raiola will have surgery this week after it was recommended by the team doctors. The Nebraska coach stopped short of putting a firm timetable on Raiola’s recovery and when he could return to the field in the offseason.
“I don’t want to start talking like I’m the doctor,” Rhule said. “I know what they told me. They said it could be surgical, could be non-surgical. They said something like 8-to-12 weeks, but I don’t want to start getting into all that. But it is surgical, it was recommended surgery. So it’s not like it’s a hey, battle your way through it type of deal.”
Raiola will be having surgery while the Huskers are traveling to UCLA, so he will not be able to make the trip with the team.
Now, it will be up to TJ Lateef to step up in Raiola’s place in the Huskers’ upcoming road trip at UCLA (8 p.m. CT on Saturday) and moving forward for the rest of the regular season and the team’s bowl game. Lateef will follow in Raiola’s footsteps as Nebraska will be starting a true freshman quarterback for the second consecutive year.
“He was out there at practice last night working with TJ, and he wants to be a part of everything,” Rhule said. “But the most important thing for him right now is to get healed. He wants to go to UCLA, but I told him he can’t go.”
Lateef is QB1 going forward with Jalyn Gramstad now slotting into the backup QB2 spot, and Rhule confirmed that Purdue transfer Marcos Davila has moved up into the QB3 role.
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The Nebraska coach commented further on Raiola, his response to the injury and adversity he has been dealt, plus his teammates’ reactions.
“When Dylan decided to come here, he legitimized coming to Nebraska on the national recruiting scene, and that’s allowed us to get other big-time players,” Rhule said. “He played as a freshman, and you have all the accolades and you take all the arrows. He came in this year, he was better, he was in better shape, he’s grown as a leader. And as miserable as this time is gonna be for him, this is a really good time for him as well. He’s gonna have a chance, for once, to sit there and watch. I think that’s really valuable for when you don’t have the pressure of playing, you get to sit there and watch and learn. He’ll be involved in game planning and ideas, and he’ll rally around TJ.
“I got a text from TJ’s dad saying just on behalf of our (family), please let Dylan know how much we care about him. Then I got a text from Dylan, ‘Can I please go travel for TJ?’ He’s just such a great teammate. And if you watched it, after he got hurt, every single player on our team went up to Dylan, hugged him, said ‘Hey, we got you.’ And no one knew what (the injury) was at the time, they just thought it was an ankle. When you have a player that gets that much notoriety and accolades, and he’s as humble and as team, team, team, team as Dylan is, it sets the tone for everybody in the building.”
Injury update on Nebraska starting LT Elijah Pritchett
Alabama transfer Elijah Pritchett had difficulty adjusting to Rhule’s Nebraska program in the offseason and throughout fall camp. Pritchett, arguably the most important addition out of the transfer portal for the Huskers this offseason but certainly one of their most critical transfer signees, had since come on as a sturdy presence on the Nebraska offensive line.
Pritchett suffered an ankle injury against USC on the next series after Raiola went down and missed the rest of the game as well. Rhule provided an update on the Husker starting left tackle on Monday, too.
“He did some things last night. He battled through it. This week will just come down to if he’s ready to play or not,” Rhule said of Pritchett. “Turner’s (Corcoran) beat up at this point, Tyler (Knaak is beat up), they all are – our bye week’s next week. But there’s no time to think about bye weeks right now, so I’m assuming that Elijah will get himself ready to play.”
Pritchett played sparingly over the first four weeks, rotating into the season opener against Cincinnati as an offensive tackle and earning 33 snaps. Then, he logged just 36 snaps over the next three games against Akron (14), Houston Christian (16) and Michigan (6).
Pritchett, however, officially earned the starting job at left tackle heading into the Week 6 game against Michigan State. Ever since, he has been the LT1 for Nebraska over its last five games against MSU (55 snaps), Maryland (50), Minnesota (24), Northwestern (61) and USC (41).
He only missed one snap vs. MSU, 14 snaps at Maryland and played every snap against Northwestern. At Minnesota, he was ejected in the first half for targeting and missed the final 31 snaps.
Rhule said that the left tackle depth, in order, is Pritchett, Knaak, Corcoran and Preston Taumua.
“I’m grateful for the O-lineman who haven’t gotten reps at tackle, and they have to go out and play tackle – like, Tyler (Knaak) has to go out and play tackle. … Preston’s been repping at left tackle the last couple weeks,” Rhule said. “When we were gonna go with some of our jumbo stuff, he was gonna go in and play, so he’s really developed. Grant Brix would be at the right tackle, he’d be at the left tackle. So those guys are coming along.
“… It’s just kind of been a war of attrition with some of the other positions. You might be a guy like Preston. He might be best suited at 335 pounds to be a guard, but he’s so athletic he can play tackle. So you start him off at, what’s your best position? But as we’ve had this run of injuries and all these things … other guys have to step up.”
Rhule announces Nebraska OT Gunnar Gottula out for the season
During the midst of sharing those thoughts about Taumua, Rhule made a new announcement regarding third-year sophomore offensive tackle Gunnar Gottula, who missed the last two games with a knee injury.
“Gunnar’s having surgery, so he’s done for the year,” Rhule said, confirming that Gottula has joined Teddy Prochazka as fellow offensive tackles who are out for the season with knee injuries. “It’s a knee (for Gottula), it’s not an ACL or anything, just cartilage, meniscus, that type of stuff.”
Other injury reports
True freshman LB Dawson Merritt was questionable entering the USC game:
>> “He got banged up last week in practice. So I’m hopeful we can maybe have him this week. I am not sure, though, as of right now. He didn’t (practice) last night. We’ll see if he goes tomorrow.”
True freshman WR Cortez Mills, who Rhule confirmed was available against USC:
>> “He was (available). I believe he was out there at one point.”
Third-year sophomore RB Kwinten Ives:
>> “He pulled his hamstring late in the week, so he was (out). They warmed him up before the game, trying to get him moving around, and just wasn’t able to go.”