Nebraska football: Jeff Sims and Teddy Prochazka injury updates vs. Northern Illinois

Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule shared updates about Jeff Sims injury and Teddy Prochazka.

With two days until the home opener for Nebraska football against Northern Illinois, we still don’t know if Jeff Sims will be the Huskers starting quarterback.

Rhule said that Sims status was still up in the air. Sims was moving around and had progressed this week but the decision wouldn’t come until Saturday.

It’s possible that Rhule knows the decision. He’s just being coy. The best thing would be for Sims to get healthy, but rushing someone back from a high ankle sprain isn’t ideal, especially when it’s a dual-threat quarterback.

In one piece of promising news at the quarterback position, Rhule said that Chubba Purdy has been getting healthier too. He’s not 100 percent, but it sounds like he could be available if needed. Say Henrich Haarberg starts and gets hurt, who would Nebraska turn to if Sims was ruled out?

That’s why Purdy’s status is important. He’s also started games before and I believe he’ll play better than he did last season if he does wind up starting any games in 2023.

Regardless of who starts at quarterback, the running game needs to be the focal point and Gabe Ervin is the dude that needs to get 20 carries or more.

‘We should see’ Teddy Prochazka this week

Teddy Prochazka was the preferred starting left tackle last season for Nebraska football. He hasn’t played since the Georgia Southern game last season, but that could change on Saturday against Northern Illinois.

Rhule told the media that Teddy has “really rounded into form” and also that “we should see him this week.” Some fans have been clamoring for Prochazka to be the left tackle with Turner Corcoran struggling and it will be interesting to see if that’s where Teddy plays this week.

That would allow Corcoran to move inside and play guard, which is probably his best position. Maybe Prochazka is given a few series to see how he does, but he could be an elite left tackle, and we’ll see if he’s healthy enough to make his debut in 2023 on Saturday night.

For More Nebraska content, follow us on Twitter, like our Facebook Page, and Subscribe to the Husker Big Red YouTube Channel. You can also find our podcast on Apple or Spotify.