Nebraska Football: Implementing TE vertical passing game great idea

One of the biggest and perhaps best positions for Nebraska football heading into 2021 and beyond is the tight end position. There is a lot of promise there, with three tight ends who  have a ton of talent .

Tight ends coach Sean Beckton talked about the type of contributions we could see from the position. In speaking to the media on Wednesday, he noted that Nebraska football is going to put more of an emphasis on the vertical passing game from the tight end position.

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When I take a look at the skill sets of Thomas Fidone, AJ Rollins,  and James Carnie, this will certainly benefit them.  All three of them have the ability to stretch the field. They are not the type of tight ends that are slow and can only catch passes in the red zone when stationary. In many cases, they play like wide receivers. If they are going to make the tight ends a major part of the vertical passing game, they need to make sure it is a focal point in the future,

When we take a look at what Austin Allen did at the position last season, his play style could certainly benefit from a more vertical game as well. He averaged 13.1 yards per catch last season, catching 18 passes for 236 yards. For what it’s worth, he averaged 11.9 yards per catch in 2019, after catching seven passes for 83 yards.

Beckton’s idea to institute more of a vertical passing game will benefit all tight ends involved in the offense. It is a very smart idea, and it allows the players to play to their strengths. Nebraska football had trouble getting the ball down the field as a program last year. Now, they certainly have the weapons to do so at the tight end position. How much  playing time the freshmen will actually get is unknown.  Nevertheless, the concept of using the tight ends vertically is a great idea. Beckton certainly wants to implement this.

"“You should expect to see those guys getting the ball vertically a little bit more and then also in that quick passing game,” Beckton said. “… So we’re excited about where we are with that position going forward.”"

I certainly love the sound of this, because Nebraska football has playmakers at tight end for the first time in quite a while. Why not play to their strengths?

It will be interesting to see how Nebraska football works on this over the course of the next couple of weeks. The process of making this a part of the offense should begin right now. A vertical passing game that focuses on the tight ends is not something that has been a part of the Nebraska football offense recently.  The winds of change appear to be blowing in that regard.