Nebraska’s tight end room took a bit of a hit when Austin Allen decided to forgo his final season of eligibility to try his hand at the NFL. That leaves the Huskers with three redshirt freshmen (Thomas Fidone II, James Carnie, AJ Rollins) behind senior starter Travis Vokolek. Sophomore Chris Hickman and senior Chancellor Brewington are also involved, but they don’t fit the traditional tight end profile and are more scheme-specific. It would have been nice to have another year with Allen while Sean Beckton continues to recruit and develop the next generation.
The majority of the tight ends on the roster can more accurately be classified as “flex” tight ends. Whether by design or not, Beckton went out and added a guy that fits the mold of a classic old-school Big Ten tight end. While guys like Fidone and Carnie have a similar skill set to Austin Allen, Husker signee Chase Androff is better compared to Vokolek and former Husker Jack Stoll.
Beckton and Nebraska first offered Androff on Feb. 1, 2021, becoming his second Power Five offer following Iowa State, who offered in late December 2020. The 6-foot-6, 230-pounder had been on the staff’s radar since attending a Husker camp in the summer of 2019.
Androff was among a group of priority targets Husker coaches brought to town for an official visit as soon as the recruiting dead period was lifted, June 4-6. He arrived in the afternoon and after lunch and a tour, went to the stadium to enjoy the Friday Night Lights event. His player host was fellow Minnesota native Bryce Benhart, who is from the same suburb as Androff. In fact, Chase attended powerhouse Lakeville South, while Benhart starred for Lakeville North. He also spent a lot of time with Ernest Hausmann, who made it a point to be at most recruiting events so he could peer recruit.
Androff was plenty familiar with the city of Lincoln prior to his visit, however. His older sister attended Nebraska as a freshman and Chase had already been to the campus a few times.
Beckton made sure to spend a lot of time with Androff during the weekend. Head coach Scott Frost also hosted a dinner Saturday night at his home with all of the recruits and their families. Nebraska’s head coach reportedly put out a huge spread, serving burgers, pasta, ribs and wings. On Sunday, Frost and Beckton made sure to spend a few hours with Androff going through the offense and showing how they used their tight ends.
Chase Androff
Chase Androff via Twitter
Before taking his visit, Androff had planned on attending a camp at TCU the following weekend and then heading to East Lansing June 18-20 for an official visit with Michigan State. But he knew during his Husker visit that he wanted to commit to Nebraska. He knew the staff planned to take just one tight end, and he wanted to make sure he got that spot. Androff canceled his future plans and committed to Frost during a phone call June 7. At the time, Androff had 13 offers, including Iowa State, Kansas State, Michigan State, UCF and several Group of Five schools like Buffalo, Central Michigan, Colorado State and Miami (Ohio).
Lakeville South operates out of a T-formation offense, running the ball over 90% of the time. They don’t actually play with wide receivers on the field most of the time. Androff was predominantly a blocking tight end. A glorified tackle is probably more accurate since he had virtually no opportunities to get involved in the offense as a receiver. Androff had three catches for 39 yards as a junior, with his team throwing only 36 passes all season. As a senior, he led the team in catches (10) and receiving yards (171) while finishing with two touchdowns. The Cougars had only 32 completions as a team for the entire season.
Nevertheless, Androff was named All-Metro this past season after helping Lakeville South to a 13-0 record. The Cougars won the Class 5A state championship, which is Minnesota’s highest classification. Lakeville South also went undefeated during his junior season, but there was no state tournament due to the pandemic. Androff was a three-year starter and was part of a Cougar team that reached the semifinals as a sophomore.
With his size and background, it’s no surprise some schools recruited Androff with the idea of moving him to offensive tackle. I can certainly see the logic behind that. When you watch Androff’s Hudl highlights, his physicality at the point of attack really stands out. When he shows up to Lincoln, he’ll arguably already be the best blocker in the room. Androff is also a standout basketball player, and that athleticism shows on the gridiron. Most coaches actually used his basketball tape and his camp performances to gauge how good an athlete he really was.
Despite the extremely limited opportunities to catch the ball in high school, Beckton believes Androff has solid hands and can be a weapon in the passing game at Nebraska. If Thomas Fidone II turns into the player everyone is expecting, I think Androff will carve out a niche, at least initially, in Nebraska’s jumbo/heavy packages. I think he could find a role relatively early in his career in goal-line and short-yardage situations. His physicality will set him apart from everyone else in the tight end room from Day 1. I also wouldn’t be surprised if he did end up in Donovan Raiola’s offensive line room at some point.
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