Josh Martin talks tight ends on the radio and forecasts growth for “young” room

Thomas Fidone caught his first touchdown as a Husker in Nebraska football’s 36-14 loss to Colorado on Saturday. It was one of a few bright spots in an otherwise disappointing showing for Matt Rhule’s squad in Boulder.

Husker fans (along with Fidone) have been waiting for a touchdown from the highly touted prospect for a long time. Of course, injuries have stood in the way. Those fans might not have to wait much longer to see more from the 6-foot-6 sophomore. Based on the experience of tight ends coach Josh Martin, increased involvement from Nebraska’s tight ends might be coming soon.

“I think just in general the tight end position is utilized more and more and more in the passing game as the season progresses,” Martin said during an appearance on the Huskers Radio Network. “As it starts to get a little bit colder, people start to get injured and people start stepping up. When it starts to get colder, there’s a little more play action, a few more things where tight ends can get a little bit open more.”

Fidone’s touchdown catch should help to boost confidence.

But, Martin said he thought his first snag of his career, a third-down catch of nine yards, may have been the better play. It was a contested ball that Fidone was able to physically take away from a Colorado defender and prevent an interception. That’s led to what Martin described as Fidone’s best practice since he became the Huskers’ tight ends coach shortly before fall camp.

Which, brings Martin back to a recurring theme with Nebraska’s tight ends. The group doesn’t have a lot of playing experience as of yet. Luckily, there’s a relatively simple solution to that problem.

“The only way you get better at football, at any position, is playing football,” Martin said. “To get those first two games, to get a tough training camp under their belt for Thomas, Nate (Boerkircher), Janiran Bonner, Luke Lindenmeyer, Jake Appleget, to get some playing time and get that underneath their belt, I think you really started to see a jump this week.”

Martin said Boerkircher made his jump in the Huskers’ season opener against Minnesota and later took things to the next level the following week where he made two catches for 33 yards. The first was a key play on third down during Nebraska’s opening drive.

Boerkircher drew plenty of praise from Martin. The assistant described the Aurora, Nebraska, native as intelligent, tough, loyal and a better route runner than he gets credit for. However, there’s one attribute that stands out above the rest.

“He loves to compete and constantly wants to get better,” Martin said. “He brings out the best of those guys in that room and they bring out the best in him. He’s a fun guy to coach because it’s like, ‘Coach me, coach. What can I do? How can I improve? What can I do to be the best player that I can be?’ The best way to help the team improve is to improve yourself and so he’s bought into that and he’s awesome.”

This week, Martin will experience a game in Memorial Stadium for the first time under the lights in the Huskers’ home opener. It’s certainly something he and the rest of his tight ends have been looking forward to.

“I’m so excited for Saturday night, to finally see it,” Martin said. “Saw a little bit in the spring game just like, ‘Oh my goodness, I cannot believe the support,’ and obviously you see the volleyball team and what they did setting the world record for attendance at a woman’s event. I mean, what an unbelievable deal. Nebraska just shows up and shows out and I couldn’t be any more excited to be here and be a part of this university and be a part of this team.”

More notes from Martin

***Martin said the mood around Nebraska’s coaching staff and within practices is in a good place following the loss to Colorado. He added that the team has doubled down on the process and is focused on putting together a complete game this week.

Martin said there are a number of players performing at a high level in all three phrases of the game in large part due to their preparation throughout the offseason and fall camp.

“Let’s just double down and and let’s just say, ‘This is what it’s going to take and I’m just going to continue to do it and I’m going to do it better,’” Martin said.

***Jake Appleget was one of a few players Nebraska transitioned to a different position this offseason. The Lincoln Southeast product started his Husker career on the defensive side of the ball before moving to tight end under the new coaching staff.

“Jake is one of those guys who can do a bit of everything,” Martin said. “He can block in line, he can block off the ball, he can run routes, he’s athletic and he’s got good hands. The one thing about Jake and the rest of those guys is how much they truly care. I was sprinting out of my meeting to come to the meeting (on the radio) and those guys are still in there going back through the tape.”

***Another young tight end to receive praise was walk-on Luke Lindenmeyer. Martin said his versatility is key and that he could trust Lindenmeyer to plug and play wherever and complete the task he’s asked to do.

“I know he’s going to do the right thing and I know that he’s going to get it done,” Martin said. “He’s going to play with the right leverage, the right technique and he’s going to come off the ball and he can do a lot of things for us this year and I think moving forward in the future.”

The redshirt freshman from La Vista, Nebraska, made his first career start in the season-opener at Minnesota.

***Justin Evans-Jenkins has made his way onto the field in Nebraska in each of its first two games as a part of some jumbo packages. Martin said he was familiar with the 6-foot-1, 315-pound Evans-Jenkins from his work on special teams and that having different personnel packages makes the Huskers more difficult to prepare for.

“He’s a versatile guy and just an extra body on the edge that maybe some of the guys in my room don’t have,” Martin said. “None of my guys are 300 pounds and have quite the same power as him. Justin’s a guy that’s been able to help our team and help our run game.”

***Martin said the strength of the Northern Illinois is its front seven and the Huskies’ ability to rotate guys within that group.

“They’ve got some big dudes, some guys with some length, some guys that can really control the line of scrimmage at the point of attack and it’ll be a good challenge for us,” Martin said. “They’re primarily a four-down front team. We’re used to seeing every defense in the world from (Tony) White and what our defense does so there’s really not many things that we haven’t seen offensively.”

Martin said Nebraska’s preparation for Northern Illinois isn’t any different than any other opponent.

***Heinrich Haarberg falls into a similar category as Evans-Jenkins when it comes to Nebraska putting who it feels is its best personnel on the field. The quarterback and Kearney Catholic product caught one pass for 10 yards in the Huskers’ game at Minnesota.

Haarberg threw his first touchdown pass of his career this past Saturday when he stepped in for an injured Jeff Sims. Martin thought the sophomore was ready.

“What I respected the most about him was being able to step into that moment and to get hit and step in there and complete the ball,” Martin said. “He didn’t let the rush or any of that stuff affect him at times. I was proud of how he played. He showed up and you never know how a quarterback is going to play until they get into it. You get into a game setting and he really stepped up and did a nice job for us.”

The post Josh Martin talks tight ends on the radio and forecasts growth for “young” room appeared first on On3.