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There are plenty of new offensive weapons at the disposal of Nebraska football coaches this fall. However, there’s one returning offensive weapon who wants to finally make an impact. Carter Nelson didn’t make much of an impression at the beginning of his Huskers career due to injuries and a position switch. Now he’s back and healthy and believes he could make some real noise in the tight ends room.
Nelson appeared on Tuesday evening’s Sports Nightly and talked about his progress in healing up and how he’s ready to be a contributor. Should he really be ready, it would be a massive boon for the Huskers, who engaged in a recruiting war with some of the best teams in the country and then didn’t see the talented player do much once the games really mattered.
Nelson, who had a shoulder procedure over the offseason, didn’t specify how close he is to 100% at the moment, but he did say he thinks he’ll be “full go” when Nebraska starts fall camp early next month.
“The biggest thing is to leave that behind me," Nelson said, simultaneously recognizing coming back from injuries and a disappointing first two campaigns, "move on and start the new season."
Carter Nelson expects full clearance when Nebraska football's fall camp begins
Nelson is entering his junior year after riding a bit of a rollercoaster since arriving in Lincoln from Eight-Man high school football. He played wide receiver his true freshman season in 2024, missed spring ball due to double hip surgery, switched to tight end last season, and struggled to adjust to the kind of physicality required from the position at Nebraska.
Nelson finished the year with just two catches for 11 yards. However, he did return a blocked punt for a touchdown in the Huskers' win against Michigan State. At the time, the hope was that it would give him the confidence to finish his sophomore season strong. Unfortunately, he continued to struggle to get on the field on offense and didn’t make much impact on special teams.
He’s behind the eight ball again with a lack of spring reps, but believes he has the kind of approach that will translate to getting on the field and showing everyone he’s got the ability to cash in once he does.
“The biggest thing for me has been trying to change my mindset,” he said. “The (production) will come, but at the end of the day if you put it in your mind you are going to go kill somebody, you are going to go kill them.”
Nelson added that in addition to his killer mentality, he is also willing to do whatever the coaching staff asks of him. He thinks combining the two sentiments means he’ll finally have the success at Nebraska in 2026 so many expected of him for so long.
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This article was originally published on huskercorner.com as Once heralded Nebraska phenom ready to finally live up to the hype with killer mentality.
