After suffering season ending injuries three out of his four years with Nebraska football, right tackle Teddy Prochazka was back on the field Thursday, playing every snap of the Huskers’ 20-17 victory over Cincinnati.
The 6-foot-10, 320-pound tackle last took the field in 2023, then suffered an ACL tear in fall camp in 2024, ending that season before it began.
Now, he’s fully healthy for the 2025 season.
“It’s been a long road to get back to where I am now, and the recovery process is always still there, right?” Prochazka said. “I feel sorer after games, but I feel like being able to get through that game and attack it as much as I could was really just a great feeling, and something that I look forward to keep doing each week.”
Prochazka is a Nebraska native, graduating from Elkhorn South, and has seen all that the program has to offer. He said that he didn’t question whether he’d play again.
“I told my dad, I was like, ‘There’s no other place in the country that I’d want to be hurt than here with this staff, and with these resources that we have,’” Prochazka said. “So it never really crossed my mind that I couldn’t get back.”
Prochazka was a four-star recruit who Rivals had ranked 73rd nationally in the 2021 class. He played in five games as a true freshman, making two starts. He helped Nebraska rack up 427 yards on the ground and 657 overall in a 56-7 win over Northwestern before suffering his first season-ending injury the following week against Michigan. Prochazka was just the second true freshman in the modern era to start a game at left tackle for Nebraska.
Prochazka recovered in time to start the first three games of the 2033 season before suffering another knee injury, turning the season into a redshirt year. Recovery spilled into the 2023 season, but Prochazka played in the final 10 games of 2023 with six starts before missing all of 2024.
“Ted’s always been wise beyond his years, and his maturity levels have been through the roof, but the noticeable difference of when he came to Lincoln, who he was as a person then to who he is now, it’s incredible,” Teddy’s dad Jeff Prochazka told Hurrdat Sports. “I often say I think he’s the definition of mental toughness …
“I think that Ted really embraced the whole concept of being a Husker. His work in the community, his engagement as a leader inside the team, and now to actually put it on the field and see what he can do — I think everyone knows that he’s had the talent all along. He’s just got to have healthy legs underneath him.”
Sophomore quarterback Dylan Raiola arrived in Lincoln last year and got a small glimpse of what Prochazka’s Husker journey has been like thus far.
“Teddy’s a special human,” Raiola said. “He’s the epitome of a Husker football player. He’s been through everything — injuries, new coaching staff — and just to see him stick it through and come out the other side strong. I love having Teddy over there from a standpoint of he’s an elite football player, but at the same time, he’s an even better person. He’s going to hold everyone to the standard, and you kind of know what you’re getting out of Teddy every single day he comes in.”
After suffering five one score losses in 2024, Nebraska’s coaches have a simple message for the players in 2025.
“I’ve been on sidelines before where it’s felt like, ‘Oh crap, here we go,’ but I feel like this last weekend it was, ‘What’s next?” Prochazka said. “And that’s all they’ve been preaching here is what’s next?”
Nebraska will welcome Akron to Memorial Stadium for its home opener on Saturday, with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. CT.
“I’m super excited,” Prochazka said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve played a down in front of those fans at home, so I’m just looking forward to it.”
