Verified measurables (arm, hand, wingspan, 40, vertical, broad, 3-cone) posted after all-star or Pro Day testing.
Prepared by Vincent R. Lindenmeyer, Ph.D., Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired) · Luke Lindenmeyer LLC · Every claim footnoted to a public source
45Career games
20Consecutive starts
48-473-3Rec-Yds-TD as starter (2025–26)
5-1Nebraska, 2026
Rd 2Comp · Boerkircher, No. 56 (2026)
Bottom Line
Starting-caliber utility tight end. Wins at the point of attack, catches what he is thrown, never misses a game. Draft comparable: Nate Boerkircher, same Nebraska room, Round 2, No. 56 (2026).
Role
Swiss Army knife Y: in-line blocker, H-back, goal-line, pass pro.30
"The team's best edge setter… a prospect to play on Sundays."50
Team-high 28 knockdowns through two games, O-line included.17,18
14 of 17 targets caught, 0 drops, last three games.11,8,3
53 career receptions: 12th tight end in Nebraska history to reach 50.4
20-start streak runs from the 2024 Pinstripe Bowl through Week 6, 2026.1,38
2026 Snapshot Tracker Live
Date
Opponent
Result
Rec-Yds
Snaps
Note
Oct. 10
No. 7 Indiana
L 17-20
7-45
85
Game captain. Defending national champion. 7 of 8 targets, 0 drops, two first-down conversions, 4.7 YAC per catch; career-high-tying 7 catches. Huskers Online: his best game of the season. Bland: "a prospect to play on Sundays."2,3,6,50
Oct. 3
Maryland
W 48-23
3-20, TD
75
3 of 4 targets, each a first down or score. 1-yard TD on play-action rollout, 0:05 left in the half; Nebraska up 28-23 after trailing 23-14.7,8
Sept. 26
at Michigan State
W 31-13
4-25
66
Big Ten opener. 4 of 5 targets; 19 of 25 yards after the catch; third-and-8 conversion for 15 set up a first-half TD.12,11,13
Sept. 19
North Dakota
W 34-7
1-33
47
Career-long 33-yard catch; "ability to continue fighting for additional yardage." Run-heavy plan vs. loaded boxes.15
Sept. 12
Bowling Green
W 56-7
2-16
45
Knockdown total reached 28 through two games, team high. "Nebraska's most trusted tight end option."18,16
Sept. 5
Ohio
W 49-21
2-22
—
18 knockdowns (Ron Brown). PFF 80.0 overall, 81.7 run block. Holgorsen: best tight end performance he has been part of. Both catches for first downs.17,19,20,21
Nebraska through five games: 9th nationally in scoring offense, 17th rushing, 24th total offense, 10th on third down.10
Snaps and target data from PFF via Sports Illustrated and Huskers Online. Opponent rankings are AP at game time.
Scouting Evaluation
Utility tight end. Blocking-first, catch-everything, every-down. Most recent evidence first.
Run Blocking · Point of Attack, Sustain, Finish
Finisher
Team-high 28 knockdowns through two games, offensive line included; a knockdown on about 31% of his snaps.17,18
Big Ten games (66–85 snaps each): PFF overall 62.0 at Michigan State, 57.8 vs. Maryland, 57.5 vs. Indiana. Fair grades on the heaviest tight end workload in the conference schedule; the knockdown tape is the blocking case.11,8,3
Nebraska has not published knockdown totals since Week 2; from Week 3 the point-of-attack evaluation is on tape.
Foundation
Two seasons at offensive line in high school before moving to tight end: leverage, hand placement and pad level were learned in the trenches.48
Satterfield: "one of the guys that has the best pad level that I've ever coached."30
Former fullback (No. 99, 2023); insert and lead-block alignments already on tape.1
Receiving · Hands, Efficiency, Run After Catch
Most recent
vs. No. 7 Indiana, defending national champion: 7 catches, 45 yards, two first-down conversions, 0 drops.2,3
4.7 yards after the catch per reception; 85 snaps; game captain.3
Became Colandrea's preferred checkdown; "snagged a ball and bulldozed through double coverage"; featured on a play-action fake; when Colandrea scrambled, "No. 8 often found daylight close to the first down."50
vs. Maryland: 3 catches on 4 targets, each a first down or touchdown; 1-yard red-zone TD.7,8
at Michigan State: 4 catches on 5 targets; 19 of 25 yards after the catch; third-and-8 conversion for 15.11,12
vs. North Dakota: career-long 33-yard catch, fighting for yardage after contact.15
Body of work
14 of 17 targets caught over the last three games, no drops charted.11,8,3
52 of 70 receiving yards after the catch in the two games with public YAC charting (74%).11,3
Nebraska's tight end snap leader every game in 2026, rising weekly: 66 → 75 → 85.11,8,3
Athletic Background
Multi-sport
Four-year basketball starter at Papillion-La Vista; 1,000-point scorer. Footwork, hands and body control come from the court.1,49
High school: two seasons on the offensive line, two at tight end.48
Areas to Watch
Open questions
Vertical usage: career long 33; long of 12 vs. Indiana. Seam and deep-crosser reps are the element still to be put on tape.
Length: at 6-3, arm length and wingspan will be measured; testing (40, 10-split, 3-cone) carries weight in confirming the Round 2 comparable.
Pass protection vs. Big Ten edge rushers in the back half of the schedule.
Knockdowns and yards after the catch are not official NCAA statistics; figures are from Nebraska's charting (Ron Brown) and PFF as published. Medical evaluation is the province of team physicians and is not addressed here.
Front-Office Context & Depth Chart Validation
One room, two draft picks, and the man who took the job
Two members of Nebraska's 2024 tight end room have been drafted. Nate Boerkircher, a 2024 starter, transferred to Texas A&M and went 56th overall (Round 2) to Jacksonville in 2026 on his in-line blocking.41,42,43Thomas Fidone II, the featured receiver (36-373 in 2024), went to the Giants (Round 7, No. 219) in 2025.39,40
Lindenmeyer was the third man in that room. When Holgorsen took the offense for the last four games of 2024, his role grew at once: more than 40% of his season snaps and four of his five catches came in that stretch, and he started the Pinstripe Bowl.34,35,38 When both veterans left, the staff did not go to the portal. They built 2025 and 2026 through Lindenmeyer: 13 of 13 starts, 29-312-2 as a blocker-first Y, All-Big Ten Honorable Mention.1
Boerkircher's selection established that a blocking-first Y with a modest receiving line goes in Round 2 on in-line play. Lindenmeyer enters the same comparison with more starts (20 straight), more snaps (725 in 2025; 85 vs. Indiana), and more receiving production (29-312-2 vs. 19-198-3). Boerkircher is the comparable. Spring testing is the item that closes it.
Comparable 2Fidone II — Nebraska featured TE (2024) → Giants, Rd 7, No. 21940
What the record showsThird in the room → full-time starter for two seasons after both left → out-produced Boerkircher's final college line1,43
Draft positioningRound 2 comparable; every-down tight end on day one; starting Y
Comparable Table · Final College Seasons
Player · Season
Team
GP
GS
Rec
Yds
TD
Draft result
Lindenmeyer · 2025
Nebraska
13
13
29
312
2
2027-eligible
Lindenmeyer · 2026*Live
Nebraska
6
6
19
161
1
2027-eligible
Boerkircher · 2025
Texas A&M
13
—
19
198
3
Jaguars, Rd 2, No. 56 (2026)
Fidone II · 2024
Nebraska
13
9
36
373
—
Giants, Rd 7, No. 219 (2025)
*Through six games. Blanks are unconfirmed in the sources used and left empty rather than estimated.1,43,39
Blocking, the trait that drove Boerkircher's selection, is not a box-score statistic. Read this as a receiving-floor comparison for a blocking-first player.
Pace, not projection: 19 catches in six games is 3.2 per game, about 38 over 12.
What They Say
Head Coach · Matt Rhule
"Luke to me is the definition of grit. A walk-on who will be an All-American candidate this year, one of the best tight ends in the country."
"He went out there and did everything you want a Big Ten tight end to do."
Anthony Jones, defensive end · Sept. 2026 · Omaha World-Herald20
Beat Writers
"Luke Lindenmeyer is more than a knockdown blocker… He snagged a ball and bulldozed through double coverage… Lindenmeyer was already a leader and the team’s best edge setter. If he becomes a consistent safety blanket in the pass game? This offense adds another dimension and he’s a prospect to play on Sundays."
Chose the unguaranteed path over a legacy offer. Took a non-glamour position to get on the field. Stayed when two future draft picks were ahead of him.
2026 · The platform
Single-digit No. 8. Big Ten Media Days podium. Mackey watch list. Campbell semifinalist. Game captain vs. No. 7 Indiana.26,27,24,22
2025 · The starter
All 13 starts. 29-312-2. All-Big Ten Honorable Mention.1
"They took a chance on me, so I'm going to give them my all."32
2024 · Third in the room
Behind Fidone II and Boerkircher, both later drafted. Role grew under Holgorsen in November; started the Pinstripe Bowl.34,38
2023 · Fullback, No. 99
First extended snaps under Rhule. Five starts as a blocker, zero catches.1
2022 · The decision
Turned down Army West Point, where both parents graduated, for a preferred walk-on spot with no guaranteed roster position.36,48
Clubs will do their own character work; the public record is above.
Awards status as of Oct. 11, 2026. No finalist or winner status is implied. Updated at each announcement.
NFL Fit
Starting-caliber Y for a run-first offense, gap or zone. Utility tight end who fills an every-down role on any roster from day one and earns TE1 over time.
Run game
Base and down blocks on the edge; combo-and-climb; holds the point against loaded boxes; finishes.17,19
Packages
12 and 13 personnel. Short-yardage and goal line (Maryland TD is the exact usage). Fullback background covers insert and lead alignments.7,1
Passing game
Money-down target: third-and-8 for 15 at Michigan State; every Maryland catch a first down or score; two conversions vs. Indiana.11,8,3
Pass pro since 2023; does not telegraph run by his presence.1
Frame and durability
6-3, 255 carried through 66-, 75- and 85-snap in-line workloads. 20 straight starts. Workload proven at the Big Ten level.1,3
Frame and Role References · NFL
Boerkircher remains the draft comparable. These are frame and role references, not production comparables.
Player
Team
Listed size
Draft
Reference point
Luke Lindenmeyer
Nebraska
6-3, 255
2027-eligible
Heaviest frame in the group; blocking-first utility Y, 20 straight starts
Sam LaPorta
Lions
6-3, 245
2023, Rd 2, No. 34
Same height; Pro Bowl rookie. 6-3 is the Round 2 standard.44
Trey McBride
Cardinals
6-4, 246
2022, Rd 2, No. 55
Mackey winner; First-team All-Pro. One pick ahead of Boerkircher's slot.45
Kyle Juszczyk
49ers
6-2, 235
2013, Rd 4, No. 130
College TE turned fullback/H-back; 10 Pro Bowls. Ceiling for the Swiss Army knife role.46
LaPorta and McBride were receiving-first college producers (58-657; 90-1,121) and are cited for frame and draft slot only. Juszczyk is cited for role path.