As Nebraska went through spring ball earlier this year, tight ends coach Sean Beckton liked the potential of freshman Chris Hickman, but wasn’t shy about illustrating how far away the former Omaha Burke standout was physically.
“Mentally, he’s doing a great job of understanding what’s going on, but physically right now, I don’t feel good about him right now. He needs to put on some weight,” Beckton said in late March.
That mission is ongoing, but last week Beckton said Hickman is up to 212 pounds on his 6-foot-6 frame. That’s a long way from guys in the room like Jack Stoll (6-4, 260), Austin Allen (6-8, 250) and Kurt Rafdal (6-7, 245), but Hickman’s made enough progress that he’s in the gameplan for Saturday’s opener against South Alabama along with Stoll, Allen and Rafdal.