Nebraska Football Spring Position Preview Series: Tight Ends

Six days from now, the Huskers will step onto the practice field for the first time in 2026, with nearly every player from next year's roster on hand.

After making 16 transfer portal additions and seeing another 11 high school recruits sign over the offseason, NU's roster has welcomed nearly 30 scholarship players onto next year's team. With every unit seeing change, it's time to go position-by-position to take a look at who's gone, still here, and new to each room. Up next are the tight ends.

Previously Covered: Quarterbacks, Running Backs, Wide Receivers

While former offensive coordinator-turned tight ends coach Marcus Satterfield didn't appear to need to do much reshaping in his room over the offseason, what the Huskers did manage to do gives reason for optimism nonetheless. But before addressing the departures and additions that were made, it's time to talk about the man who headlines the group: Luke Lindenmeyer.

Starting his career as a walk-on, it was unlikely that the La Vista (NE) native would make as big an impact as he has to date, yet here we are. After four years in the Nebraska football program, Lindenmeyer has already managed to turn himself into an All-Big Ten caliber tight end and still has one year left to play.

The 2025 season saw him record career highs in both receptions (29) and receiving yards (312), as he routinely helped the Huskers' offense make plays when nothing was there. Though he appears set to have a different quarterback throwing the ball to him in his final season in the scarlet and cream, his best football is still very much ahead of him, which could serve as another great example of the development of Nebraska's football program that it can hang its hat on under the current staff.

With one year left before he seemingly tries his luck at the NFL, Lindenmeyer has quickly become one of the longest tenured players on NU's entire roster. And the 6-foot-3, 250-pound tight end will have the opportunity to one-up what he did last fall once again. A reliable pass-catcher and teammate for what it's worth, expect Lindenmeyer to be a target that whoever is under center in 2026 will take a liking to when needed the most. He's shown he's capable of doing things no one expected he could, and that doesn't appear to be changing any time soon.

The Huskers also managed to retain the former No. 3 tight end in the 2024 class, Carter Nelson of Ainsworth, NE. Heading into his junior season for the Big Red, Nelson has become one of the most impactful players in his recruiting class, having already seen action in 26 career games.

After quickly becoming a veteran presence on the team, the bulked-up version of the former in-state recruit will throw his 6-foot-5, 240-pound frame at opposing defenses next fall. 2026 appears to be pointing towards the largest role he will have handled to date, and an opportunity for Nelson to prove he was the player Nebraska expected him to be coming out of the high school ranks.

After hitting the field early and often in his true freshman season, Nelson's 10 receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown pointed towards an even bigger sophomore year. However, that wasn't the case. Instead, a positional switch of former quarterback Heinrich Haarberg to tight end left Nelson largely taking third and even fourth-string reps. He still managed to make an impact, scoring the second touchdown of his career on a blocked punt he returned for a touchdown against Michigan State, but there was more to be desired outside of his special team's role.

Now, entering his third collegiate season, with as many years of experience playing 11-man football, Nelson will likely be relied upon heavily in 2026. He's no longer the hybrid wide receiver-tight end, nor an underclassman that needs time to develop. Instead, he'll be expected to block, catch passes, and help this team win. With a larger workload seeming to be ahead, Nelson arguably has one of the most important offseasons of any player on this entire team before him over the coming months. Whether he can step up and answer the call will play a pivotal role in what the Huskers want to do offensively, even if his most important tasks won't fill up the stat sheet.

An under-the-radar addition in the 2026 recruiting class was that of will-be freshman tight end Luke Sorensen. Though he was only regarded as a three-star recruit, the Huskers' offensive staff has high hopes for the California native throughout his collegiate career. Listed at 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, Sorensen was regarded as the nation's No. 25 tight end prospect in his cycle, and was a player Nebraska had to beat the likes of Penn State, Texas, and Miami to get.

With that in mind, despite his recruiting profile, Sorensen could be a player who sees the field as early as game one in 2026. His physical frame is already within the realm of what the Huskers would like it to be, come August, and the skills he showcased on film address the exact area NU's offense would like to get better at within Satterfield's room. After growing up playing left tackle, the former Servite (CA) star made the switch to tight end in high school, and his since risen rapidly to this point.

Offensively, incoming freshman showed an impressive ability to handle his own in blocking situations along the line of scrimmage, yet the Huskers are expecting him to be a pass-catching threat as well. His recruiting pitch from Nebraska's staff was one that would be versatile to say the least, and all signs point towards him being able to make an impact in his first year in Lincoln.

Projected Depth Chart

Luke Sorensen | Senior
Carter Nelson | Junior
Luke Sorensen | Freshman or Cayden Echternach | Junior

This will likely be the most uncontroversial projected depth chart done to date, yet there's plenty of room for players to emerge in larger roles behind Lindenmeyer in 2026. For now, all the way up to the season, barring an injury, the La Vista native will be the Huskers' clear-cut No. 1 tight end. After a strong performance during his junior season, Lindenmeyer enters his final year regarded as one of the best tight ends in the Big Ten conference, and that is not expected to change any time soon. Still, the overall performance of the tight end unit will ultimately be defined by the players behind him.

If an upperclassman like Nelson can step up, this group will appear to be in good shape, yet more than two players will be required at some point in the year. As stated earlier, it is a big year for the soon-to-be junior to be able to see an expanded role, and one in which he could be relied upon in the passing game quite a bit.

For Sorensen and will-be junior Cayden Echternach, their roles could fluctuate aggressively as well. Both are seen more as in-line blockers, but the Huskers' offense requires players to have the ability to be multi-faceted at all times. With that said, the room's depth will be a key piece towards proving its worth, and less experienced but capable players like Sorensen and Echternach will need to be ready when their names are called.

Departures in the room

Heinrich Haarberg | NFL draft
Mac Markway | Transitioned to EDGE

The only two departures Nebraska's tight end room saw were that of Haarberg, who saw his eligibility expire, and Mac Markway, who made the position switch from tight end to EDGE ahead of his final season of college football. Haarberg will look to become the second consecutive NFL draft pick the Huskers' tight end room has produced, though he appears to be on the outside looking in after not being invited to the NFL Combine.

For Markway, his time in Lincoln has not gone as he envisioned, to say the least. Joining the program ahead of the 2024 season, after transferring from LSU, the 6-foot-4, 250-pound athlete was expected to fight for the starting role that fall. However, he suffered a season-ending injury in fall camp and did not see the field. His next season appeared to be just like the last, in which Husker fans were extremely optimistic to see what he could do, yet the injury bug struck again, and he has yet to see action in a game for the Big Red.

Ahead of 2026, Markway has made the transition to the defensive side of the ball, where NU's new EDGE coach Roy Manning will try to use his length and athleticism to rush opposing teams' quarterbacks this upcoming fall.

Overall, Satterfield's position group has a ton of potential in 2026. At the top is inarguably one of the best tight ends within the Big Ten, but the rest of the room will have to prove its worth. Players like Nelson and Sorensen give reason for optimism, yet their roles have been largely or completely undefined to this point in their respective careers.

Behind them are players like Echternach, who have yet to catch a pass in college, but have shown flashes of making an impact on running downs. And as Nebraska seems to be in a bit of a transition towards a more physical style of football, he could have a large say in what the Huskers do on the ground.

For now, they have a starter that can offer the blueprint for year-on-year growth, but it remains to be seen if that is enough. Regardless, what the room will be asked to do is something fans should believe they are more than capable of. It might not be a big year for the group regarding their statistical performances, but if they can impact the game in ways outside of the passing attack regularly, the Nebraska offense will be the beneficiary of it. There's plenty of talent and recruiting hype within the room; all that's left to do is to prove it on the field.

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