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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