Nebraska’s Tight Ends Earn Matt Rhule’s Admiration and Praise

Nebraska is 2-0 and coming off a 68-0 victory over Akron. Life is good around the Huskers program these days.

Many parts of Nebraska’s program are functioning properly. The tight ends? They’re praise-worthy.

At his news conference Monday, Huskers coach Matt Rhule heaped that praise on tight ends Luke Lindenmeyer and Heinrich Haarberg and what is becoming their versatile and valuable performance.

Catching the ball is but one aspect of a tight end’s duties. They are called on to pass-protect, block at the line of scrimmage for running plays and even block downfield when necessary.

Tight ends also provide a reliable safety cushion for a quarterback who is, maybe, looking for a secondary receiver. That requires precise route-running and the ability to react to coverage.

And there probably are another dozen things required of a tight end that an untrained eye can’t detect.

Rhule talks about Luke Lindenmeyer

Lindenmeyer has eight catches in two games for 91 yards and his first career touchdown. Lindenmeyer, who proposed to his girlfriend after the victory over Akron, came into the season with career totals of five receptions for 50 yards.

“Well, I think the number one thing is he’s always going to be where he’s supposed to be,” Rhule said about Lindenmeyer, a junior from La Vista, Neb.

“And a lot of things we do are not just: You run this route. Yeah, you made the one-handed catch early on in that game.

“And that’s one where you run five yards, you sit it down, you hook in. If you get matched, you break out.

“And you have a quarterback in Dylan [Raiola], he sees the defense. A lot of people just see the offense, he sees the defense. And the minute he sees a guy matched, he’s expecting the guy to break out.

“And so we’ve had times in the first couple years, that’s not a [Dana] Holgorsen [offensive coordinator] play … That’s a Day One play.

“There’s been times when he expects a guy to break out and he’s not and it’s just hard to play quarterback that way if you play with anticipation.

“So, Luke’s somebody who’s always going to do those things. He’s got great body control. He catches the ball.

“Luke is an example of someone who has continued to also improve.”

Rhule talks about Heinrich Haarberg

Haarberg has one catch for nine yards this season. He lined up at quarterback against Cincinnati a few plays and had two carries for four yards.

Nebraska tight end Heinrich Haarberg attempts to convert a fourth-and-1 against Akron. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Haarberg was Raiola’s backup for all 12 regular-season games in 2024. He made a position switch to tight end and started in the Pinstripe Bowl at his new position.

In 2023, he started eight games at quarterback. The Huskers were 5-3 in his QB games. He led the Huskers in passing yards (967) and rushing yards (477). He also led the Huskers with seven touchdown passes and five rushing touchdowns.

Against Akron, Haarberg had a key block to spring Emmett Johnson to a 47-yard, first-quarter touchdown run.

“Everything for Heinrich’s new and he’s working really, really hard at it,” Rhule said about the senior from Kearney, Neb.

“Really a challenge. Even in the pregame, I think I said, ‘Hey, that first time you get that slice block that’s a hard block. You got to run across the line of scrimmage.’ A lot of people cut that. We don’t teach to cut it.

“We stay high and so that’s a hard block to make right. You know you got … [Cameron] Lenhardt or someone like that on the other side trying to run through your face.

“I thought he did an excellent job. Took one more step, same foot, same shoulder, dominant contact, tremendous effort, ran his feet afterwards.

“So, I thought Heinrich really made a huge step for himself, not just that play, but the whole week, and should really be building confidence in his new role.”

The Huskers rank 15th in total offense in the nation, averaging 540.5 yards per game. That number, obviously, is distorted since they put up 68 points and more than 700 yards against Akron.

Once the Huskers get into their Big Ten schedule starting Sept. 20, the competition will be stiffer. And the tight ends could have a larger role in the game plan.

More From Nebraska On SI

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.