Looking ahead to the 2022 Nebraska football season, we’re rounding up all of the departures, newcomers, and the returners in a summer position–by–position breakdown series.
If you want to also consume this content in radio form, check out the KLIN Husker Hour podcast here.
WIDE RECEIVERS & TIGHT ENDS
Departures
WR – Samori Toure (Sr)
WR – Levi Falck (Sr)
WR – Latrell Neville (transfer)
WR – Will Nixon (transfer)
WR – Zavier Betts (transfer)
TE – Austin Allen (Sr)
Newcomers
WR – Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda (Jr, transfer, NMSU)
WR – Trey Palmer (Jr, transfer, LSU)
WR – Marcus Washington (Jr, transfer, Texas)
WR – Janiran Bonner (Fr, Ellenwood GA)
WR – Decoldest Crawford (Fr, Shreveport LA)
WR – Victor Jones (Fr, Orlando FL)
TE – Chase Androff (Fr, Lakeville MN)
TE – Brodie Tagaloa (Fr, Pittsburg CA)
Returners
WR – Wyatt Liewer (Sr)
WR – Omar Manning (Sr)
WR – Oliver Martin (Sr)
WR – Brody Belt (Jr)
WR – Alante Brown (So)
WR – Kamonte Grimes (RFr)
WR – Shawn Hardy (RFr)
TE – Travis Vokolek (Sr)
TE – Chancellor Brewington (Sr)
TE – Chris Hickman (So)
TE – Thomas Fidone (RFr)
TE – James Carnie (RFr)
TE – AJ Rollins (RFr)
Due to time constraints, we are combining receivers and tight ends into one pass-catching feast. Enjoy!
Wide Receiver
It’s been a busy off-season in the wide receiver room at Nebraska.
After Matt Lubick was let go with 80% of the offensive staff in December, Mickey Joseph returned to Lincoln. The former Husker QB made a name for himself as a top-level recruiter and developer as Wide Receivers Coach at LSU for the past five seasons. He worked with the likes of first-rounders Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson, and was a part of the Tigers’ 2019 record-breaking National Championship team.
Joseph, who is also NU’s Associate Head Coach and Passing Game Coordinator, wasted no time once he became a part of the Nebraska football program again. He nabbed three WRs from the transfer portal, and convinced two true freshmen to sign out of high school as well. He’ll need some of them to play in the rotation, as Samori Toure’s 898 yards and five 100-yard receiving games (a Nebraska record) are off to the NFL.
Omar Manning, Oliver Martin, Wyatt Liewer, and Brody Belt each started at times in 2021, but none of them topped 400 receiving yards or scored more than two touchdowns. They’ll look to hold off the new guys in competition for playing time.
Trey Palmer, the former five-star recruit from LSU, grabs the most attention. Palmer scored touchdowns via reception, punt return, and kick return during his time in Baton Rouge under Mickey Joseph.
Marcus Washington was a post-spring transfer. He brings experience both starting at a Power-5 school and catching passes from new Husker QB Casey Thompson.
While Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda doesn’t come from the SEC or Big 12, he does boast the most Division 1 WR production on the team. While New Mexico State did not play in the fall of 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Garcia-Castaneda showed out in 2021, grabbing 37 receptions for 578 yards and four TDs. He could not participate this spring due to injury, but his early enrollment did get him into the program and on campus quickly.
Alante Brown was a spring darling, mentioned by both players and coaches as having taken huge strides forward. Brown has returned kickoffs as well as catching six passes in his first two seasons in Lincoln.
Kemonte Grimes and Shawn Hardy both redshirted as members of the 2021 recruiting class.
True freshmen Decoldest Crawford and Janiran Bonner were Joseph additions, while Victor Jones committed under the previous offensive staff. All three could challenge for a spot in the rotation.
Tight End
While change and upheaval was happening around every other position group on offense, the one constant through the years has been Sean Beckton.
Entering his fifth year at Nebraska, and seventh straight under Scott Frost, Beckton has demonstrated the ability to develop players into strong contributors.
Last season saw the most successful statistical tight end season ever at Nebraska. Austin Allen, the 2021 Big Ten Tight End of the Year, set TE school season records in receptions (38), yards (602), and 100-yard games (2). Allen also broke the single game receiving yardage record (143 at Wisconsin). It was a steady climb for the Aurora native, who played in every game after redshirting in 2017.
Beckton, who oversaw Allen’s rise, also helped a one-time wide receiver carve out a gameday role in 2021.
Chancellor Brewington joined the Huskers so quietly last summer that his arrival was first noticed on a social media video from inside the weight room. The Northern Arizona transfer’s signature play was anything but quiet: start lined up on one side of a goal-line formation, then motion across, pick up steam, and absolutely destroy whoever is trying to keep contain on the play side so the QB or RB can walk into the end zone.
Brewington’s transformation from 185-pound “Tight End/Wide Receiver” on the Huskers’ 2021 roster, to 220-pound “Tight End” on 2022’s mid-July edition, is indicative of just how far you can come under Beckton’s tutelage.
Travis Vokolek, the most experienced tight end on the team, is returning from injury. Though his two seasons at Rutgers were more productive than either of his post-transfer years in Lincoln, the job may be his to lose. With a starting job in a new passing scheme under Mark Whipple and Mickey Joseph, Vokolek will look to fill Allen’s shoes.
Also returning from injury, redshirt freshman Thomas Fidone is a potential contributor as well. Fidone was NU’s highest-rated recruit and the top TE nationally in the 2021 class. After rehabbing during most of the year, he only played once, at Wisconsin.
Fourth-year sophomore Chris Hickman and redshirt freshmen James Carnie and AJ Rollins will look to crack the depth chart in 2022, along with incoming class of 2022 TEs Chase Androff and Brodie Tagaloa.
Nearly 50% of Nebraska’s receiving yards in 2021 were produced by Samori Toure and Austin Allen. Combine that with other departures, and only 36% of NU’s receiving yardage producers return. Mickey Joseph, Sean Beckton, and company have the pieces to the puzzle – can they fit the pieces together in time?