Jeremy Pernell's 2025 Nebraska Football Preview: The Wide Receivers and Tight Ends

This is a deep group. True freshman Cortez Mills has enjoyed a strong offseason after enrolling in January and is pushing for the top backup spot in the rotation. Right now that belongs to Janiran Bonner, who is expected to play all over the field — out wide, in the slot, in-line as an H-back and even in the backfield.

The staff is also extremely high on redshirt freshmen Quinn Clark and Keelan Smith. The Huskers have seven players who will see the field this season, and that doesn't include true freshman Jeremiah Jones, who might have the highest ceiling of anyone in the room. Jones was recruited as an athlete by schools with the versatility to play WR, TE, LB or as an in-the-box safety. He's expected to redshirt but has a ton of upside.

The glue that binds it all together is new wide receivers coach Daikiel Shorts, who is a longtime Dana Holgorsen assistant. Don't forget, Holgorsen was given full autonomy over offensive staff hirings when he was retained as offensive coordinator by head coach Matt Rhule. The only person Holgorsen requested was Shorts. Those two have great synergy with each other and that's going to help the passing game come together.

I think it's also important to acknowledge assistant WR coach Andrew Verboys, who has been name-dropped by a few of Nebraska's wide receivers this offseason as someone who has helped them in their development — particularly Dane Key. Verboys spent the past three seasons at Kentucky as a graduate assistant and decided to follow Shorts to Lincoln. He's a nice asset to this staff and is someone who will be in charge of his own room soon.

Tight Ends

Projected depth chart:

1. Luke Lindenmeyer (Jr.)
2. Heinrich Haarberg (Sr.) -or- Carter Nelson (Soph.)
3. Cayden Echternach (So.) -or- Eric Ingwerson (RFr.)

I'm interested to see how Dana Holgorsen uses tight ends in this offense. There are guys in this room with varying skill sets, but Holgorsen has never really featured tight ends at any of his previous stops. Admittedly, he's never had a room with talent like this one or played in a conference where they are so valuable.

Luke Lindenmeyer is one of the players who really benefited from Holgorsen's arrival last year. His usage rate increased significantly after Rhule made the switch at offensive coordinator. Lindenmeyer seemed to leapfrog Thomas Fidone in the pecking order and was seemingly co-No. 1 with Nate Boerkircher before taking over the top spot in the Pinstripe Bowl after Boerkircher transferred to Texas A&M.

There's typically a prolonged acclimation period for tight ends, so even though Heinrich Haarberg and Carter Nelson have higher upsides, I think it might be difficult for either to take the starting role from the versatile and reliable Lindenmeyer. It's too bad Haarberg wasn't afforded a move earlie r in his career. He has the frame and skill set to be a really good tight end, it's just unfortunate he has just one season to put it all together.

Carter Nelson has an NFL ceiling and he could be the best tight end in the Big Ten — in 2026. He's a freak athlete and will be a matchup nightmare for opponents, but it's a little unrealistic to expect that on a consistent basis this year. Nelson played 8-man football in high school and then was given a package of plays last year as a wide receiver. He missed spring ball recovering from post-season hip surgery that initially put his 2025 season in question.

He's put on 20 pounds and has looked fantastic in camp, but it might be a lot to ask for him to be more than a situational piece — although I wouldn't dare put a limit on his potential this season. I just think his time will come as a junior.

The injury to Mac Markway was unfortunate; he was going to play a lot. Similar in style to Luke Lindenmeyer — but more physically gifted — we're now left wondering if he'll ever become the player coaches anticipated. I think his injury opens the door some for Eric Ingwerson or Cayden Echternach to carve out a role as an in-line TE on running downs.

Haarberg and Nelson are two of the best athletes on the entire team and if one or both adapt and develop quickly, this offense could be really dangerous. I'm interested in seeing packages where they're used in tandem together. I also wonder if we see Janiran Bonner play a little more H-back this year.

That's a thought I've gone back to a lot when analyzing this roster. There are a lot of players who can play multiple spots in a formation and have the skill set to really put the defense in a bind. You can put multiple tailbacks in the backfield together and either keep them both there or motion Emmett Johnson, Mekhi Nelson or Isaiah Mozee into the slot. Because of his background, you can line Heinrich Haarberg up in the backfield to see how the defense adjusts to that look. Janiran Bonner and Luke Lindenmeyer could line up at fullback. Carter Nelson could line up anywhere in the formation.

There are so many position groupings at Holgorsen's disposal. He can give the defense a 10 (1 RB, 4 WR), 11 (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR), 12 (1 RB, 2 TE, 2 WR) or even a 13 (1 RB, 3 TE, 1 WR) personnel look with one set of players and can give a 20 (2 RB, 3 WR), 21 (2 RB, 1 TE, 2 WR) or 22 (2 RB, 2 TE, 1 WR) look with another.

Tomorrow, we'll take a look at the offensive line.