Tag: Thomas Fidone

Nebraska football overcomes miscues en route to 31-14 win over Purdue

A glance at the final score would make it appear as though Nebraska dominated in its win over Purdue. That is not the case.

A glance at the final score would make it appear as though Nebraska dominated in its win over Purdue. That is not the case. The Huskers delivered a strong showing in the victory over the Boilermakers, but it was anything but consistent.

The offense scored three touchdowns and a field goal, but also lost three fumbles, resulting in Purdue’s 14 total points. The second touchdown came off a fourth down strip fumble on Jeff Sims, which Purdue took 55 yards to the house. Special teams also put the ball on the ground a few times, losing the ball on the opening kickoff and nearly giving up the ball during a punt return. But despite the major miscues, Nebraska stood its ground.

Heinrich Haarberg went 6-of-11 in the air but threw for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Thomas Fidone II and freshman Jaylen Lloyd were on the receiving end of those touchdown passes. Fidone hauled in a one-yard catch for a touchdown, while Lloyd was all alone for his 73-yard touchdown. Emmett Johnson scored the final touchdown, running up the middle for a 28-yard score to put the game away.

The Blackshirts were the shining light in the game once again for Nebraska. The Huskers held Purdue to under 100 yards in both rushing and passing. This is the first time Nebraska has accomplished this achievement since 2012 when it defeated Minnesota 38-14. The Blackshirts also recovered a fumble, snatched two interceptions and blocked a field goal and took it for a touchdown.

Tommi Hill hauled in both interceptions for Nebraska, while Quinton Newsome ran the blocked field goal back for a touchdown.

Nebraska is now 5-3 on the season, its first five-win season since 2019. The Huskers will travel to East Lansing to face Michigan State on Saturday, with a win punching their ticket to a bowl game. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. and can be viewed on FS1.

Nebraska football takes down Louisiana Tech 28-14

The Nebraska football team hosted its second game of the season on Saturday afternoon.

The Nebraska football team hosted its second game of the season on Saturday afternoon. After taking down Northern Illinois to improve to 1-2, the Huskers welcomed in Louisiana Tech. Though Nebraska snatched win number two for the 2023 season, it was closer than last week’s victory, walking away with a 28-14 win.

Heinrich Haarberg started for Nebraska for the second straight week and led the Huskers both in the pass and ground games. Haarberg went 8-of-17 in the air for 107 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 157 yards and one touchdown off 19 carries. Haarberg’s touchdown run came off a huge 72-yard option, which put Nebraska up 28-7 with over 11 minutes to go in the game.

Anthony Grant and Thomas Fidone II also found their way into the endzone for the second straight week. Grant scored on the ground off a two-yard run, adding to his 135-yard rushing on the day. Fidone had only one catch in the game but made a big one, scoring a 29-yard touchdown.

Billy Kemp IV finished as the top receiver for the Huskers, hauling in five catches for 62 yards. Kemp also scored Nebraska’s first touchdown of the game off a jet sweep, which came after a fake field goal by the Huskers. Louisiana Tech responded quickly to the score, running in for a touchdown on its next drive.

Nebraska’s defense, however, delivered another big showing in the run game, holding the Bulldogs to 46 total yards. The Huskers did surrender 292 passing yards, 146 of them coming in the fourth quarter, which led to Louisiana Tech’s second touchdown. Another significant factor in the game was the Bulldogs’ penalties. Louisiana Tech surrendered 12 penalties for 100 yards, which halted many of its drives and even kept some of Nebraska’s drives alive.

The Huskers improve to 2-2 on the season but face a significant task next week as they welcome in No. 2 Michigan. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. and can be viewed on FOX.

Nebraska TE will miss the remainder of the season

A Nebraska TE is set to miss the remainder of the season.

According to The Omaha World-Herald’s Evan Bland, Nebraska Cornhuskers interim head coach Mickey Joseph ruled out tight end Thomas Fidone II for the remainder of the season.

“I don’t want to take a chance with him,” Joseph said per Bland.

Fidone had not played a game this season, as he is recovering from a knee injury. He appeared in only one game in 2021.

Joseph added that Fidone is “moving well”.

“But he’s really moving well right now,” Joseph said via Bland. “He’s in a good spot right now. But he understands that we’re not going to put him out there until, really, he’s going to say he’s ready. We’ve got to be smart with Fidone.”

Fidone was a highly regarded recruit out of high school. 247 Sports Composite ranked him as the second-best tight end in the 2021 class.

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2022 Husker Breakdown: Receivers and tight ends aplenty, who will step up?

Nebraska lost a lot of receiving production from last year, but a number of wideouts and tight ends have a chance to break out in 2021

Welcome to the third position-by-position breakdown of Nebraska Cornhuskers football, where the wide receivers and tight ends complete our analysis of the skill positions. The Huskers are pretty stable, at least on paper, at the quarterback and running back positions, but relatively speaking, the receiving core has a little bit more to prove. 

Just two of Nebraska’s 16 wide receivers on their roster donned the red and white last year. Former wideout Samori Toure is fighting for a roster spot with the Green Bay Packers currently after leading the Huskers with 898 yards and five touchdowns last year. Tight end Austin Allen, who set Nebraska single-season yardage records for a tight end, is doing the same with the New York Giants. No. 2 and 3 wideouts from 2021 Zavier Betts and Levi Falck are gone too. 

Nevertheless, the Nebraska pass catchers aren’t all doom and gloom, thanks to three transfers who should see a heap of playing time. Travis Vokolek is a physical presence at tight end that will improve on his 2021 stat line of 11 catches and 127 yards by leaps and bounds as well. 

But perhaps the biggest presence in the Husker’s group of pass catchers is someone that won’t be on the playing field: new wide receivers coach and former Nebraska QB Mickey Joseph, who arrives in Lincoln after coaching the likes of Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson at LSU. 

Perhaps a reason why Nebraska’s wideouts haven’t been as heralded as the QB’s and RB’s is because Joseph hasn’t taken it easy on Nebraska’s receivers. 

“My thing is, I rule with an iron fist. They understand that. They accept that. I’m never going to cater to them. I’m never going to tell them what they want to hear. I’m always going to tell the truth. And I’m going to demand that they play with excellence. That’s how you win,” Joseph said.

However, there’s still a group of six wideouts that Joseph seems to think can make an impact, and the Huskers have a couple wild cards that could also break out too. 

Offensive coordinator Mark Whipple loves his tight ends as Pitt’s top TE duo combined for 768 yards and 10 touchdowns on 65 catches last year. Vokolek is a good bet to lead the bunch this year but if last season is any indicator, there’ll be room for other Huskers tight ends such as Thomas Fidone to shine. 

Reaction from Nebraska’s Wednesday morning practice

The season-opening kickoff is getting closer and closer.

Nebraska’s football practice on Wednesday morning was open to the local media, and social media reactions are pouring in. One of the most significant pieces of news today was former Texas Tech transfer Devin Drew officially being cleared by the Nebraska football staff for full participation in fall camp. The 6-2, 280-pound Defensive Lineman played in 20 games over the last two years and logged 55 total tackles and .5 sacks during his tenure as a Red Raider.

Reporters also saw head coach Scott Frost and offensive coordinator Mark Whipple working with the first team offense on read-option drills, which could be further proof that the Huskers will still be running the quarterback in 2022. There was also a Thomas Fidone sighting at the practice. The tight end was the top recruit at his position in 2020 and was the highest-rated recruit to sign with NU since 2008. The Iowa native suffered a knee injury before the 2021 season and is still rehabbing with medical staff. Scroll below to see social media reactions to Wednesday morning’s workout.

We are officially 17 days from the season-opening kickoff, in which Nebraska will face Northwestern in Dublin, Ireland. Stay tuned to Cornhuskers Wire for all the latest news!

Top 2021 Michigan target commits to Nebraska

The Wolverines lose out on one of their top targets in the 2021 recruiting cycle.

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This has been coming down the pike for some time, but it’s still an unideal situation for the maize and blue.

Though Michigan had long coveted 2021 Council Bluffs (IA) Lewis Central four-star tight end Thomas Fidone — the No. 1 tight end this recruiting cycle according to 247Sports’ proprietary rankings — given the timing of the coronavirus pandemic, it just wasn’t able to get him on campus. That’s an uphill battle for a student-athlete who grew up a Nebraska fan.

The Wolverines made it a tough decision — along with Iowa and LSU — but the pull to his favorite school was too hard to overcome, as Fidone committed to the Cornhuskers late on Wednesday night.

Ace recruiter for Michigan, tights ends coach Sherrone Moore, was Fidone’s primary recruiter, and by all accounts, did the best he could without getting the No. 37 player in the country on campus. Naturally, he would like to add to his position group, as Michigan took just one tight end last cycle in Burke (VA) four-star Matthew Hibner — though it had two committed, with Shea Patterson’s younger brother, Nick, on board as a long-time pledge. At the moment, however, it does not appear as of current that the Wolverines are in the mix for another tight end target in 2021.

Texas now targeting top-rated tight end in 2021 recruiting class

Texas recently sent an offer to the No. 1 rated recruit in the state of Iowa, four-star tight end Thomas Fidone.

Texas recently sent an offer to four-star tight end Thomas Fidone out of Council Bluffs, Iowa. Continue reading “Texas now targeting top-rated tight end in 2021 recruiting class”

Notre Dame in ’21 TE Fidone Final 6 Schools

The Irish along with 5 other schools make up the final list for talented Iowa TE Thomas Fidone.

Although there is an NCAA mandated recruiting dead period happening now until April 15th, that doesn’t stop recruits making their decisions as to where they will spend the next three to five years. Talented Iowa tight end Thomas Fidone released his final Top 6 schools and the Irish are squarely in the mix for one of the top players in the country.

https://twitter.com/ThomasFidone/status/1239681676994916352?s=20

Fidone’s final six teams include home state Iowa, Penn State, Michigan, Nebraska, and LSU along with Notre Dame. The 6’5 218-pound tight end looks like a wide receiver when he runs routes and his blocking will catch up to his pass-catching ability when he adds more good weight.

https://twitter.com/Rivals/status/1227341511035150336?s=20

The Irish offered the talented tight end a scholarship at the end of January, and in that short time Brian Kelly has impressed Fidone enough to be included in this final 6 schools. Tight End U would surely take a commitment from this emerging star.

High priority 2021 target puts Michigan in top six

While his recruitment is still open, the Wolverines made the latest cut for the elite tight end prospect.

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Michigan’s persistence has paid off when it’s come to almost-five-star tight end Thomas Fidone.

The Council Bluffs (IA) Lewis Central 2021 standout is rated by 247Sports as the No. 40 prospect in the nation, regardless of position, making him the top tight end in the entire country — as well as the No. 1 recruit in the state of Iowa.

Being recruited heavily by Michigan tight ends coach Sherrone Moore, Fidone is arguably one of the Wolverines’ highest priorities in the class. And the maize and blue got some good news on Monday, when Fidone cut his list of considered schools to but six.

Posting a video on Twitter, Fidone had Michigan, LSU, Penn State, Iowa, Nebraska and Notre Dame as the schools he’s considering moving forward, but, as he notes, he’s still open to other schools at this juncture.

Naturally, with the caliber of schools making the cut, Michigan will still have to battle to secure his services. However, the Wolverines continue to trend up with the 6-foot-4.5, 218-pound prospect, and should be into it with him until the end.

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Watch his junior film:

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10 Michigan football recruiting targets to watch in 2021

247Sports’ Steve Lorenz joined WolverinesWire and the Locked On Wolverines podcast to share who Michigan’s going after the hardest in 2021.

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As of yet, Michigan has just two commits in the 2021 class in offensive tackle Giovanni El-Hadi and quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

But, as we’ve seen, recruiting heats up in a hurry, and there are several prospects the Wolverines are in on.

On Wednesday, we welcomed 247Sports’ Steve Lorenz to the Locked On Wolverines podcast to discuss who are 10 recruits that Michigan fans should have their eye on, and while he gave us more than 10, as well as a thorough breakdown of where maize and blue targets fared in the newly-released 247Sports 2021 rankings that came out on Wednesday, he shared some excellent insight as to where things stand with several of the Wolverines’ top targets.

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In no particular order, we start with a long-coveted in-state product.

Rocco Spindler

2021 Clarkston (MI) OL/DE Rocco Spindler
Hometown Clarkston (MI)
Height 6-foot-4.5
Weight 295-pounds
Position  OL/DL
247Sports ranking 4-star, 47 overall

Lorenz’s take:

“Projects as an offensive lineman. Could also play the defensive line at the next level.

“Again, I expect Michigan to recruit him as an offensive lineman, but I think he’s also a guy, depending on how they feel with other offensive linemen, he could also play on the defensive side.

“I think Michigan’s battling, really kind of the typical type of schools in this situation — Notre Dame, Ohio State. I think Penn State, a little bit, but more Notre Dame and Ohio State. A guy that Michigan quarterback commitment J.J. McCarthy has worked really hard on, and the staff obviously has worked very hard as well.”

FilM

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