Nebraska tight end position has high expectations for 2021

The tight end position at Nebraska has seemingly been a work in progress for the last several years.

Between coaching changes and scheme changes, the position has never developed any kind of consistency over the last several years in the tight end rich Big Ten Conference.

However, that appears to be changing as the Huskers prepare for the 2021 season.

NU currently returns their top two tight ends from a year ago in juniors Austin Allen and Kurt Rafdal, and they added the nation’s No. 1 ranked tight end in Thoma Fidone, along with early enrollee James Carnie, who the Big Red beat Iowa for head-to-head.

“I told those guys yesterday when we started that I expect those guys to be one of the top tight end groups in the country,” tight ends coach Sean Beckton said. “That’s the expectation I have, that’s the expectation those guys have, and if they’re not living up to that standard I’m going to let them know on a daily basis.

“They know if they’re not living up to it with the effort and the execution, Coach Beckton is going to be on their tail. It’s going to manifest throughout the rest of the offense and in the rest of the team. That’s our goal.”

It’s also clear with departed senior Jack Stoll off to the NFL, Allen has taken complete charge of the room.

“Last year, I think he took the back seat to Jack Stoll because Jack has been the leader of our group, and you can tell now that he’s really taken over the group,” Beckton said of Allen. “You could talk to coach Frost about it but he’s really emerged as one of our captains on offense. I don’t know how that’s going to play out later on, but just the first two days and then all through winter conditioning, you can tell he was the guy that was organizing, leading the group.”

Allen’s expectations are equally as high for the tight end room.

When he looks at the tight end position as a whole, he knows they will carry a lot of weight in this offense.

“I expect a lot of great things out of the side tight end room,” Allen said. “I think a team-wise, we bring probably the most experience and that goes hand in hand with being able to lead. The leadership comes with experience and when we know what we’re doing with experience, it allows us to take care of the young guys.

“We do have some new guys in the room that obviously are unfamiliar with how things roll around here and we’ll get them right.”

One of those new guys is Fidone. He’s been getting plenty of reps with the top units already this spring, and with the departure of junior Kurt Rafdal to the transfer portal, that will only increase.

The key now is finding the right role for the talented freshman.

“The first two days for him is the game is faster than he’s ever experienced in high school,” Beckton said of Fidone. “He’s got to understand the pace of play, how guys move, they’re bigger, faster, and they’re stronger, and then all of the details that he wasn’t coached in high school, he’s got to understand. Details help you win routes, details help you win in the blocking scheme, and all those different things. He’s really, really starting to see. Being a highly touted kid, he’s very, very humble, and he’s working extremely hard.”