While some set out to become coaches from scratch, others never found it as their first love. They only considered the role after a successful playing career, but a few have it even worse. For former Nebraska Huskers’ offensive lineman Teddy Prochazka, coaching has become a last resort after injuries forced him out of his playing career.

“We were excited to welcome our incoming freshmen and their parents to the Storm family last night and introduce them to their new HC, @TeddyProchazka Welcome Home Coach,” Elkhorn South Football announced on X.

The former Husker is returning to his high school, but this time he’ll don the hat of a head coach to restore his alma mater to its glory days. Prochazka, a four-star recruit out of Elkhorn South, joined Nebraska as part of its 2021 class. However, a series of season-ending injuries culminated in a career-ending injury for the 6-foot-10, 320-pound Elkhorn native. The final straw happened last October, when he tore his ACL in the second quarter of the Huskers’ 28-21 win against the Northwestern Wildcats. 

“Teddy (Prochazka) is done; he won’t be able to play anymore,” Huskers’ coach Matt Rhule announced in his press conference after Prochazka’s injury.

After playing five games in 2021, a season-ending injury in 2022 carried over into 2023. He returned to play ten games in 2023 before another injury sidelined him for all of 2024. His return in 2025 was cut short after seven games by a career-ending ACL tear. Like many players who battle endless injuries, the former teammate of Dylan Raiola, who has transferred to Oregon, did not give up without a fight.

“I have a lot of belief in myself and this staff here. The protocol they put me on to get me back, the rehab and all that,” Prochazka said in 2025 after recovering from his long injury. “I went through it my freshman year. We have all of these brand-new facilities. I told my dad, there’s no other place in the country that I’d want to be hurt than here with this staff and these resources that we have. So it never really crossed my mind that I couldn’t get back.

“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 keeping doing each week.”

Sadly, his body fought back and stopped him from transitioning to the NFL. And now that he has closed that chapter of his life, Prochazka has found a new path, where he is set to develop more top high school talent like himself. 

Teddy Prochazka’s future at Elkhorn High School

Prochazka was born in Elkhorn, Nebraska, and it is no surprise that he is returning to his alma mater to help freshmen on their football journey, even though his academic path would have led him elsewhere.

The former Husker graduated from college in August 2024 with a Bachelor’s degree in sports media and communication and, at the time of his injury, was on track to earn his Master’s degree in applied science last December. But now, he has decided to continue with football.

After back-to-back Class B state championships in 2015 and 2016, Elkhorn South was promoted to Class A in 2018, where it competes against top teams in Nebraska. And they have not won a championship since, finishing as runners-up twice. Prochazka helped them to a state runner-up finish in 2020, and they lost to the same opponent, Omaha Westside, again in 2023.

While injuries may have cut his playing career short, Prochazka is now channeling his resilience and football knowledge into coaching, hoping to build an unstoppable program at his alma mater. For him and Elkhorn South High School, the sky is the limit.