LINCOLN Offensive linemen tend to be anonymous, except when they make significant mistakes. Then they'll attract some attention.
A lineman can earn recognition by allowing a defender to beat him and sack the quarterback, for example. He also can clear the way for a ball carrier downfield or on the perimeter and be noticed. But mostly, he does his job anonymously.
Consider Mike Huff. Nebraska's senior left guard hasn't drawn a lot of attention this spring. He hasn't done many post-practice interviews.
He has, however, continued to improve by working on "little techniques," refining the skills that have made him among the Cornhuskers' most experienced offensive lineman. He has 19 career starts, second only to Matt Slauson's 22.
Based on starts at one position, he is the most experienced lineman. Slauson has started at both guard and tackle, while all of Huff's starts have been at right guard.
He's playing the left side now. But "it's not a big difference," he said. "The biggest thing is you've got to flip everything around in your head. It's just a mental thing more than a physical thing."
In the previous system, with offensive linemen shuffling from one side to another, from guard to tackle and vice versa, Huff remained a guard, the position at which he began his Cornhusker career after playing tackle at Ralston High.
He played some tackle during the spring of his sophomore year at Nebraska, a short-lived experiment. But if the need were to arise, he could move out from guard. "I'm far enough along in my career that I know this offense in and out," he said.
Playing one position, whether guard or tackle, right or left, "gives you an opportunity to hone in on your techniques instead of, 'What do I do if I'm on this side? What do I do if I'm on that side?' You're concentrating on left guard," he said.
But "we still need to know right and left guard, just in case."
That has been the case this spring, with sophomore guard Keith Williams, who's No. 2 on the left side, missing some time because of a shoulder injury. Slauson and Jacob Hickman, the No. 1 center, have joined the rotation at left guard then.
Brett Byford was the center the past two seasons. But playing alongside Hickman, a converted guard, hasn't been a problem. Hickman did some snapping last season as a back-up. Plus "Jake's a smart kid," said Huff. "So it's not a drop-off at all."
Hickman has 10 career starts, all at guard, nine on the left side.
Huff played alongside Slauson as a sophomore and mostly alongside Lydon Murtha last season, although freshman Jaivorio Burkes stepped in when Murtha was hurt. Murtha has moved back to left tackle this spring, so Huff is next to him again.
Prior to the start spring practice, Murtha said the offensive line could be among the best in the Big 12, if not the country. Huff doesn't disagree.
"We have the talent. We have the experience. We have the guys in place to do that. But it all goes back to we need to go out and prove ourselves," he said. "You need to block it (such talk) out, put your work in and prove yourself. You can't buy into what everybody is saying. It all comes down to what you put on the field."
Even so, "we're definitely confident as a group," he said.
As a group, the offensive linemen aren't much for talking. Reporters will seek out Slauson, on occasion. And Murtha is among the team's funnier players.
However, "for the most part, we're a quiet group," Huff said. "We don't say much. We like to show up, do our thing and get out."
Such anonymity is an offensive lineman's constant companion.
Mike Babcock is a freelance writer who covers Nebraska football.
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