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At 6’10”, Teddy Prochazka is one of the tallest players in school history (R.G. Arneson, an offensive guard from North Platte on the 1987 team was listed at 6’11”). Prochazka has talent and promise to match his size. He was just the 16th true freshman in school history to start on the offensive line. But repeated knee injuries have robbed him of playing time over multiple seasons. 

Not knowing what you’ll see – or miss – is a big reason I attend games in person. Television broadcasts of football games – and the TVs they’re shown on – have come a long way in my lifetime, but there is always something I notice by being in the stadium that the TV cameras don’t capture for the folks at home.

For example, let’s go back to the 2012 game against Wisconsin. The Huskers were wearing those ridiculous all-red superhero costumes with the gigantic “N” on the chest – the ones that made them look like the “Noid” character from the old Domino’s Pizza commercials.

The Huskers had gotten a dramatic stop on fourth-and-one to clinch the game. With just 1:11 to go, Taylor Martinez simply needed to kneel on the ball a few times to escape with a 30-27 win. With the Badgers all but officially beaten, most fans shifted their energy to trying to beat traffic. I could have been one of the tens of thousands of fans leaving.

Had I been standing in the aisles like a passenger on a plane that just landed, I would have missed something minor, yet rare.

On second down, the Badger defenders were flinching and fidgeting at the line of scrimmage. Their movements caused Nebraska’s right guard, Andrew Rodriguez, to jump offsides.

To be clear: I’m not picking on Nebraska’s “A-Rod,” a four-year letterman from Aurora. He was a strong as an ox with the ability to play multiple positions on the line. That came in handy in 2013 when the line was rocked by injuries. Rodriguez was one of just two linemen to start every game in 2013. That patchwork group – led by Rodriguez – did an excellent job paving the way for Ameer Abdullah (1,690 yards) and providing protection for quarterbacks Taylor Martinez, Tommy Armstrong and Ron Kellogg.


Rodriguez also possessed an ideal mix to tenacious and nasty – traits that many offensive lines in the 21st century have lacked. He was recognized as an honorable mention All-Big Ten player in 2013. I remember thinking he deserved higher honors.

So, with all due respect to Andrew Rodriguez, I’ll ask: have you ever seen anybody jump offsides in the victory formation? I’ve been watching football for the better part of 40 years and cannot remember ever seeing it before. I know I haven’t seen it since.