Life in the Red: Thomas Fidone played just three snaps in 2021, but Beckton says they represented a lot | Life in the Red

Well, in the case of redshirt freshman tight end Thomas Fidone, quite a bit, according to his position coach. 

It wasn’t just that Fidone made his collegiate debut on Nov. 20 against Wisconsin, but the fact that he put himself in position to practice or play at all in 2021 after tearing his ACL in April that made the playing time significant. 

“The big thing for him, where he is now, it’s because he came back, worked so hard to come back and he picked up when he got back where he finished,” tight ends coach Sean Beckton said of Fidone on Monday. “He didn’t go backward. So the few practices and couple games that he played in at the end of the year has paid dividends for him coming out there today.” 

Fidone, a Council Bluffs, Iowa, native, was the crown jewel of Nebraska’s 2021 recruiting class and was considered the top overall tight end prospect in the country. Last spring, he suffered the knee injury just days after Beckton had praised him for “his best day, by far,” and said, “He’s going to help this football team this year.” 

Instead, Fidone spent six months rehabilitating in order to get himself back into position to practice. Then after a few weeks of that, he made his only appearance of the season against the Badgers. 

“Last year I thought he played like a robot,” Beckton said. “Unsure of himself, unsure of what to do. (On Monday), he actually moved around, understood what was going on, played a lot faster. Was able to adjust on some things that, when he first got here, he never would have been able to do.” 

Senior Travis Vokolek is limited to noncontact drill work this spring after having postseason shoulder surgery, so Fidone (6-foot-6, 235 pounds) and several other young players will get a ton of repetitions. 

“Thomas has done a great job,” Vokolek said Monday. “He’s developed very nicely from when he first got here. He’s going to continue to develop and he’s going to be a great player for us. 

“He runs great routes, he’s quick. His best trait is he works his behind off.”