Nebraska loses key offensive lineman as Nouili announces he's been ruled ineligible for 2022 season due to failed drug test

On3 imageby:Steven Sipple06/25/22

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Nouredin Nouili made a relatively quick rise in Nebraska’s program.

That rise has been halted, at least for now.

A 6-foot-4, 315-pound junior offensive lineman, Nouili announced Saturday he has been ruled ineligible by the NCAA for the entire 2022 season for failing a drug test.

He will forfeit a year of eligibility due to the infraction but still can practice with the team.

He didn’t specify the drug.

The ruling came down during the spring, he said via Twitter.

A native of Frankfurt, Germany, Nouili played in every game of the 2021 season, starting the final seven at left guard. Although he joined the team as a walk-on, Nouili was placed on scholarship for the 2021 season shortly before the Ohio State game in early November.

Nouili made his first start as a Husker at left guard against Northwestern in early October, when the Huskers ran for 427 yards, totaled 657 yards of offense and scored 56 points, the team’s highest output in a Big Ten game.

Nebraska head coach Scott Frost on Saturday expressed support for Nouili in a prepared statement.

“We will fully support Nouredin Nouili as continues his academic and athletic career at the University of Nebraska,” the coach said. “He is an outstanding young man who made a mistake that will force him to miss the 2022 season and forfeit a year of eligibility. Noure will be a full participant in practice this fall, and we look forward to him resuming his playing career in 2023.”

This past spring, Nouili seemed to adapt well to new Nebraska offensive line coach Donovan Raiola’s approach to coaching.

“The way we come off the ball,” Nouili said in late March,”I mean, if anybody sees practice, you can see the line of scrimmage is moved immediately.”

That’s different than the last couple seasons, he said, where “it was a little stalling, then it was kind of moving.” 

Although Nebraska ranked 48th nationally in rushing last season, averaging 180.2 yards per game, lack of consistency led to an average of 27.9 points per game, which ranked 71st. The Huskers’ 2.42 sacks surrendered per game tied for 82nd nationally.

Nebraska fifth-year head coach Scott Frost hired Raiola in hopes that he would produce a group that consistently fires off the ball and strikes defenders. 

“Amazing so far,” Nouili said in March of the line’s progress. “Just the new techniques and new offense have been a blessing in disguise a little bit because we’re working hard and getting tired at different times than we all used to. 

“And the way we’re running the ball right now, it’s kind of crazy.” 

With Nouili out of the picture in 2022, it’s unclear exactly how Frost and Raiola will configure the guard positions, but there are plenty of options. Among the principals in the discussion are seniors Broc Bando and Kevin Williams (transfer from Northern Colorado), sophomores Brant Banks, Ethan Piper and Turner Corcoran, and redshirt freshman Henry Lutovsky.

Corcoran, a 12-game starter last season (nine at left tackle), can play essentially any of the line positions.

Piper started 10 games at left guard in 2020 and 2021 and was the No. 2 center during the spring behind senior Trent Hixson.

The 6-foot-6, 330-pound Lutovsky, of Crawfordsville, Iowa, is regarded as a rising star in the program.

Nouili, though, will be missed. He was regarded as a likely starter in 2022.

He definitely has made major strides in the program since the 2020 season, when he did not appear in a game in his first season at NU.

Nouili walked on at Nebraska after spending the 2019 season at Colorado State. He played in eight games with seven starts at guard as a true freshman for the Rams. He became the first true freshman offensive lineman to start for CSU since 1996. 

Nouili was an exchange student at Norris High School, where he was an honorable-mention all-state selection as a senior. He totaled 32 tackles as a senior while also playing on the offensive line. Nouili also played football in Germany.

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