{"id":13983,"date":"2023-08-18T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-18T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=13983"},"modified":"2023-08-18T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-18T16:00:00","slug":"thomas-fidone-recovered-and-ready-to-shoot-for-the-stars-in-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/thomas-fidone-recovered-and-ready-to-shoot-for-the-stars-in-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Thomas Fidone recovered and ready to \u201cshoot for the stars\u201d in 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thomas Fidone<\/strong> is competing in his first fall camp at Nebraska. Three years and two (effectively) season-ending knee injuries after his Husker career began, the tight end is back on the gridiron full-go.<\/p>\n

The return journey was no easy affair.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you get hurt, you don\u2019t look at the big picture,\u201d Fidone said. \u201cYou can only see what\u2019s right then and there. The injury process is a process in itself. My rehab is probably the worst workouts I\u2019ve ever done in my life. The rehab was pretty crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of that crazy stuff entailed using blood flow restriction cuffs on the legs.<\/p>\n

\u201cBasically, it makes five pounds feel like 100 pounds,\u201d Fidone said. \u201cEverything you do is 75 reps no matter what. I remember I came into the weight room one day and I had 275 (pounds) on the deadlift bar. I had 75 reps at 275 with BFR (blood flow restriction) on and I\u2019ll never forget that.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was plenty of mental work within recovery, too. Fidone said he would watch film alone or help out in practices on scout team. He said those things helped him mature and learn how to study the playbook.<\/p>\n

Practice cliffs: Thomas Fidone making plays in camp; Matt Rhule says offense actually was OK in scrimmage; and high praise for Alex Bullock<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n

Fidone maintains a driven personality with lofty goals<\/h2>\n

Fidone had to remaster some things once he got back on the field. Most of it came down to football sense according to the Lewis Central (Council Bluffs) product. Initially it doesn\u2019t seem like Fidone feels a significant physical drop-off. Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule<\/a><\/strong> echoed those sentiments and said the staff tested Fidone\u2019s speed this summer and the sophomore had retained his freak athleticism. <\/p>\n

In the midst of Fidone\u2019s measurables, frame or natural ability, some things can get lost in the shuffle. Tight ends coach Josh Martin<\/a><\/strong> doesn\u2019t want some things to fly under the radar. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I don\u2019t know what people truly know about him is how much he loves football,\u201d Martin said of Fidone. \u201cHe\u2019s really, really hard on himself, but he\u2019s a constant seeker of knowledge. He\u2019s a perfectionist and sometimes hey, look, you made a bad play. You\u2019ve got to move on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fidone is leaning into a new mentality according to Rhule.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s probably as hard on himself as he is on myself, so we have a lot in common in that regard\u201d Rhule said. \u201cWhat I\u2019m seeing from him is if he has a bad play or makes a mistake, while he\u2019s still angry with himself, he\u2019s started to quickly say, \u2018What\u2019s next?\u2019 and get over it.\u201d<\/p>\n

High standards tend to reveal themselves within lofty goals. That\u2019s certainly true of Fidone. Winning the Mackey Award, an honor given to the nation\u2019s top tight end, is important. A Big Ten Championship and a National Championship rank highly as well. Atop Fidone\u2019s list sits an NFL career.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no lack of drive. Of course, using his 6-foot-6, 250-pound frame to find success in the red zone will be a critical piece for reaching his objectives. Rhule said Fidone is excelling in that area during fall camp and has made plays in the red zone or in late-game situations to win scrimmages and team periods.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I can play any role that they want to throw at me,\u201d Fidone said. \u201cI\u2019m a big body and I can go make plays. I\u2019m also quick so I can make use of the red zone and get open. Wherever they put me I\u2019m going to find a way to be successful for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fall camp is a time to install new concepts and grow as a player. Participating in that is a blessing according to Fidone. The No. 1 tight end in the class of 2021 is ready to test his standard and step into the limelight of a Nebraska offense seeking big-time playmakers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI expect myself to be the best,\u201d Fidone said. \u201cIf I said I wasn\u2019t, I\u2019d be lying to myself. I expect myself to be the best tight end and I\u2019m going to hold myself to that standard. You know what? Whatever happens, happens but I\u2019m going to shoot for the stars.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post Thomas Fidone recovered and ready to \u201cshoot for the stars\u201d in 2023<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thomas Fidone is competing in his first fall camp at Nebraska. Three years and two…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13983\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}