Wednesday, January 18, 2012

2012 Position Outlook: Tight End

One story in a Wine Country Husker series, looking at position breakdowns for the Nebraska Cornhuskers for the 2012 season. Today, we look at tight end:





Looking back: The Huskers made a return to running the triple option, which means the tight ends were involved quite a bit as blockers. However, when Nebraska ran any variation of the option the tight end was always a significant threat in the passing game.

While Kyler Reed and Ben Cotton occasionally made plays in the passing game, they also went long stretches without being involved. Reed caught 15 passes for 257 yards and one touchdown that did not come until the regular season finale of a 20-7 win over Iowa. Cotton caught 14 balls for 189 yards with nary a touchdown.

Looking ahead: The running game remains the Huskers’ staple but Reed has the speed to get behind defenders that Nebraska wants, and needs, to utilize in the passing game. The Huskers need to do so if for no other reason that for residual effects of opening up more running lanes.

Cotton can be a threat in the passing game but his strength is blocking on the perimeter for the Huskers running game.

With both Reed and Cotton being seniors, the Huskers are in good hands at tight end.

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