Norris' James Carnie pulls in a catch for a touchdown against Lincoln Pius X in the first quarter Oct. 16 at Aldrich Field.
Lewis Central's (Council Bluffs, Ia.) Thomas Fidone catches a pass on July 25 during the Warren Academy’s Top Prospects Showcase at the Omaha Sports Complex in Omaha.
You could point to a lot of positions the Nebraska football team has recruited for in the 2021 class for clear evidence of what direction the coaching staff is trying to go with the type of player it wants on campus.
But there isn't a better example of what NU wants than what it's getting in the crop of tight ends set to join the roster Wednesday.
James Carnie, A.J. Rollins and Thomas Fidone all share the traits Nebraska wants — and shares them in spades. All three are big. All three are athletic. And all three are within a short drive of Lincoln.
"I see a bunch of athletic kids," Carnie said when asked what he saw in the group. "A.J.'s big and physical; Thomas is clearly a highly recruited kid, super physical, he runs sharp routes, super fast.
"I feel like eventually all three of us will be big contributors to the Husker tight end room."
Carnie joked that he and Fidone, who both stand 6-foot-5, are "on the shorter side" when it comes to Nebraska's tight ends. Rollins checks in at 6-6. All three weigh between 220 and 230 pounds, and wouldn't look all that out of place as power forwards on a Big Ten basketball roster.
But Scott Frost and his staff are more than happy to welcome them to a tight end room already full of long, athletic types such as 6-8 Austin Allen, 6-4 Jack Stoll and 6-6 Travis Vokolek.
"I feel like Thomas is more of a wide receiver-type tight end, I'm more of the receiver/blocking type, and then I look at A.J. as more of a blocking tight end," said Carnie, who ran a 4.6-second 40-yard dash over the summer. "I feel like that's a pretty good mix, to have all three of us.
Fidone, of course, is the star of the group as the highest-rated player in the class NU is expected to sign Wednesday. He is considered the top tight end in the nation by 247Sports and the No. 2 tight end in the country by Rivals. He'll compete for playing time the minute he steps on campus in January as an early enrollee.
Carnie will join him as an early enrollee, with Rollins following over the summer. That came after Fidone and Rollins committed to NU within 48 hours of each other back in August, and Carnie joined up in October not long after receiving a long-anticipated offer.
And while they'll join a tight end room that is likely to have plenty of returning depth, the group isn't shying away from trying to make a splash early in their careers.
"I feel like all three of us are super-competitive guys. So practices every day, I feel like they're going to be very competitive," Carnie said.
How badly does Carnie want to compete? He played the final three games of his high school career with a torn labrum, an injury he suffered against Lincoln Pius X — a game in which he had a spectacular one-handed catch that ripped through Nebraska social media.
His final game included a pair of tough, contested touchdown catches against Aurora in the Class B playoffs.
He'll spend January and February recovering after having surgery last week to repair the shoulder, but said he expects to return in time to take part in spring practice.
Nothing out of the ordinary for a Midwestern kid.
"It's kind of a testament to just Iowa, or the Midwest," Fidone said earlier this year about the mentality of NU's regional recruits. "We're hardworking, meat-and-corn-eating kids. We get our hands dirty. We’re not in California or Florida where they all kind of play games. You get in trouble if your knee pads are too high here. Just things like that.
"We don’t mind getting dirty and we’re not afraid to go hard."
The Midwestern connection is a theme. It's been a bumper crop of high-level athletes at multiple positions over the past couple seasons, and 2021 is among the best of the bunch.
They haven't all chosen Nebraska. But three guys in the same position group did.
"That’s cool because there will be a lot of kids from this area playing against other kids from other states," Rollins said in August. "We can show that we have talent here and that we can compete at the next level."
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Contact the writer at cbasnett@journalstar.com or 402-473-7436. On Twitter @HuskerExtraCB.
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December 15, 2020 at 10:40AM
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'Meat-and-corn-eating kids' from the area seek to leave their stamp on Nebraska's TE position - Lincoln Journal Star
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