Nebraska tight end Chancellor Brewington saw the field during a game for the first time in nearly three years on Saturday.
The former wide receiver spent the last four seasons at Northern Arizona, but redshirted in 2019 and sat out the spring 2021 season due to injury. He found himself at Nebraska, switched to tight end and earned playing time in the team’s blowout win over Fordham.
In the third quarter, Brewington scored on his first catch with the Huskers. On second-and-goal two yards away from the endzone, he lined up out wide on the left, came across on a sweep as the ball was snapped and received the pass from quarterback Adrian Martinez at the three-yard line. From there, he went in untouched.
“It was awesome,” he said postgame. “First home game, coming out here, really getting to feel the energy of the crowd. And man, it’s just a blessing to be a part of the team. I had a rough first week but bounced back with a great week of practice.”
He said he was impressed by the crowd at Nebraska, having not experienced anything like it before, but wasn’t fazed.
“Football is football. Try not to over psych myself in the mind,” he said. “Pressure’s just an illusion. But man it was amazing.”
Brewington finished the game with two catches for eight yards and the score, with a six-yard reception coming in the fourth quarter.
In his first two years at Northern Arizona, Brewington wasn’t a standout receiver, but contributed in most games. Over the 2017 and 2018 seasons, he had 54 catches for 642 yards and three touchdowns, including one 100-plus yard performance.
The Huskers added Brewington in July. The team moved the 6-foot-3 wideout to tight end, a move he was “100 percent” willing to take on.
“I was just trusting the coaching staff and they moved me over,” Brewington said. “… Being in a position where I’m getting coached by one of the greatest coaches I’ve ever had, coach (Sean) Beckton and just the way he’s attention to detail and just that room, the culture in that room, from Austin Allen to Travis to Hickman to all these guys, it’s a blessing for sure.”
Brewington said that tight ends coach Sean Beckton is everything he could want in a coach. He said that he’s a “loving, a God-fearing man,” but also willing to be tough on his players to get the best out of them.
One of the main adjustments Brewington said he had to make is his footwork. Being ready for the physicality that comes with the position was also an important part, but he said that he was already physical as a receiver.
Tight end Travis Vokolek, who has been out the first two weeks of the season, has also helped Brewington with learning the playbook and any other questions.
“That’s coach Trav, if I got a question I can go to him and you talk about a leader, he’s a true leader and I can’t wait to get him back,” he said. “He’s gonna kill it like always.”
The starting tight end, Allen, had high praise for Brewington postgame, saying that he’s never seen someone learn the playbook as fast as he did.
“He’s a great guy. He’s quiet, just puts his nose down and gets to work,” Allen said. “He’s never played tight end in his life, has never been in a three-point stance in his life. He’s come out here and proved that he can play at a Big Ten level on a Big Ten team at tight end.”
Frost gave a similar sentiment, and said that the team had prepared a package for him in the game plan, which worked out.
Brewington looks to make more of an impact in the coming weeks, and he said that’ll start with coming in tomorrow and seeing what he can improve on. He said that his faith is the biggest thing that has kept him going through all of the changes of the past few years.
“My journey’s been crazy,” Brewington said. “Really just through faith. That’s all I can say.”
