by Adam Froemming

Kyle Ringenberg was a walk-on rush end who had spent three years toiling his way up the depth chart. Just when he thought he would break through before the 2001 season, the coaching staff threw him for a loop. They wanted him to switch positions.

?We knew we had some good players who were in back-up roles,? Receivers Coach Ron Brown said. ?We thought ?These guys are good enough athletes who could make a difference somewhere on the field.?

?He?s an intelligent guy, and we figured that Kyle could make a move and help the team.?

So Ringenberg jumped to the other side of the ball, and started over again.

?It was kind of tough, after spending three years at rush end, to switch positions,? Ringenberg said. ?I was starting to get the (rush end) position down. It was a little tough to hear that the coaches wanted me to switch positions, but at the same time when I came here I could have played tight end. So when they asked me, there was a thought that this might be a better position for me, and it might make more sense with my abilities.?

Inside, Ringenberg knew that he could adjust to the offensive game.

?There is part of me that really did want to try it,? Ringenberg said. ?I knew that I had pretty good hands, and just watching the tight ends when I was a rush end, I thought that I could do a lot of the stuff they were doing.?

The senior from Elkhorn, Neb., has made great strides as a receiver according to Brown.

?He?s an aggressive player, and he will go out and blast you,? Brown said. ?Kyle was a guy that came over, he had his mistakes, as anybody would, but he was going at it and knocking people down left and right. He made some incredible catches and he?s a smart kid. We knew that eventually he would get it figured out and he has.?

Fellow tight end Aaron Golliday also noticed Ringenberg?s hard work right away.

?Kyle picked up the tight end position right away,? Golliday said. ?I?ve seen a lot of position switches since I have been here, and I think that was one of the best.?

Golliday also appreciates his teammates? work ethic.

?He?s got great hands,? Golliday said. ?And he is  intelligent. He?s done a great job of working with the younger guys, even though this is just his second year at the position.?

Ringenberg, who caught three passes for 49 yards last year in his first season as a tight end, feels that he has made progress as a receiver.

?I made my fare share of mistakes, but I was happy with my role on the team last year,? Ringenberg said. ?I made some good blocks and I caught some balls.?

Ringenberg also is thankful that the coaching staff has helped him adjust to tight end.

?We have great coaches here at Nebraska,? Ringenberg said. ?Coach Brown and Coach (Tim) Albin were great help.?

Despite being the co-No. 2 tight end, Ringenberg is pleased with his spot on the depth chart.

?I pretty much knew coming into the season where I was going to be,? Ringenberg said. ?Aaron (Golliday), Jon (Bowling) and I are all good friends, and we knew that whoever was one or two or three, it didn?t matter because we all know we are going to get a lot of snaps. Aaron is a great blocker, JB is probably the best runner, and I have the best hands, but you put all three of us together and we are a pretty good group of guys.?

During his final campaign as a Husker, Ringenberg wants to be known for more than just his athletic abilities. He wants to help secure the future of Husker football.

?We have a young team, and I want to make sure that I am a leader on and off the field,? Ringenberg said. ?What is going to determine a lot of the success that we have this year is leadership and making sure that this team is going in the right direction every single down that we play.?