Usage / Role
10%
Rotational offensive role
lowfeatured
Player Dossier
2009-2012Nebraska
Ben Cotton
TE • 6'6" • Ames, IA, USA
Reliable chain-moverPossession profile
Ben Cotton reads as a reliable chain-mover based on recent role and receiving efficiency.
Impact Production
46
Developing production for a tight end
lowelite
Reliability
70
Reliable weekly contributor
lowhigh
Star Power
41
Limited ceiling signals so far
limitedstar
Career Arc
Value trend by season
Best season by Season Value: 2011 Postseason · Nebraska
091011111212
Snapshot
- Career Teams
- 1
- Unique Seasons
- 4
- Program Path
- Nebraska
- Peak Game
- Peak game by takeover score: Colorado
Player Story
Ben Cotton built his college career from 2009 through 2012 as a tight end from Ames, IA wearing No. 81, spending time with Nebraska. The clearest part of Ben Cotton's career was his receiving role: 40 catches, 505...
Read the story3★
- Committed To
- Nebraska
- Commit Date
- Jan 1, 2008
Ben Cotton, TE. Best season Best season by Season Value: 2011 Postseason · Nebraska. Ben Cotton reads as a reliable chain-mover based on recent role and receiving efficiency.
Stat Footprint
Career production snapshot
- Receiving yards
- 505
- Receptions
- 40
- Touchdowns
- 4
Quick Answers
Ben Cotton quick answers
- Latest team and position
- Nebraska · TE
- Career Receiving Yards
- 505
- Tracked sample
- 4 unique seasons · 6 entries · 31 games
- Best season
- 2011 Postseason · Nebraska
- Top game
- Colorado
- Recruit profile
- 3-star · Ames · Nebraska
- High school pipeline
- Ames · 4 FBS recruits · 0 drafted players
- Latest roster
- No. 81 · Class 2012
- 2012 Receiving yards rank
- 239 receiving yards · TE 64th (top 22%) · Big Ten 48th (top 28%) · National 518th (top 29%)
Season Ledger
Crawlable season-by-season stats
| Season | Team | Games | Rec | Rec Yds | TD | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 Regular Season | Nebraska | 5 | 5 | 43 | 2 | 34.2 |
| 2010 Regular Season | Nebraska | 4 | 3 | 34 | 0 | 39.7 |
| 2011 Postseason | Nebraska | 10 | 1 | 22 | 0 | 65.3 |
| 2011 Regular Season | Nebraska | 10 | 13 | 167 | 0 | 65.3 |
| 2012 Postseason | Nebraska | 12 | 2 | 69 | 0 | 60.5 |
| 2012 Regular Season | Nebraska | 12 | 16 | 170 | 2 | 60.5 |
Related Context
Keep exploring Ben Cotton
Ben Cotton played TE for Nebraska. Across 4 tracked seasons, Ben Cotton recorded 505 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns. His top tracked season came in 2012 with Nebraska.
Player insights
Lead takeaway
Best season by value score: 2011 Postseason
Nebraska paired 189 primary output with 75.3 efficiency.
Supporting note
2012 Postseason role shape
target-driven usage with 63.9 efficiency.
Supporting note
Career value stayed steady
2012 Regular Season tracked close to the prior stop by season value score.
Supporting note
Peak game by takeover score: Iowa
Win with an explosive receiving profile. It landed in the 91.7th percentile of the selected season.
Analysis workspace
Season Workbench
Filter the strongest season sample, inspect game-level shape, and then drop into the full log without losing the story of the year.
Season Explorer
Understand the selected season before dropping into the full game log.
2012 Postseason · Nebraska
Games
12
Receiving Yards / G
19.9
Efficiency
63.9
Usage
11.1
Consistency
41.3
Best Game by takeover score
Iowa
Hover a point or expand a game row to keep the active game context visible here.
Active game
Hover over a point
Hover or select a game to keep its context visible here without the page shifting around.
Game-by-Game Trend
Follow how the selected stat changes from one game to the next. Spikes mark standout outings, while dips show quieter weeks.
Chronological game order.
Game by game trend chart. Georgia: 69. Southern Miss: 5. Arkansas State: 6. Idaho State: 4. Wisconsin: 36. Ohio State: 19. Northwestern: 7. Michigan: 21. Michigan State: 6. Penn State: 18. Iowa: 39. Wisconsin: 9
Volume vs Efficiency
Each dot is a game. Farther right means the player carried more of the workload, and higher means they were more efficient with those chances.
Low volumeHigh quality
High volumeHigh quality
Low volumeLower quality
High volumeLower quality
Volume on the x-axis, quality on the y-axis.
Volume versus efficiency scatter chart. Georgia: 2 by 100. Southern Miss: 1 by 33.3. Arkansas State: 1 by 40. Idaho State: 1 by 26.7. Wisconsin: 2 by 100. Ohio State: 2 by 63.3. Northwestern: 1 by 46.7. Michigan: 2 by 70. Michigan State: 1 by 40. Penn State: 1 by 100. Iowa: 3 by 86.7. Wisconsin: 1 by 60
Split Comparison
Compare how this player performed across different situations. "Games" shows how many matchups are included in each split.
Wins15.8 · Games = 9 · -16.6 vs Losses
Losses32.3 · Games = 3 · +16.6 vs Wins
Game Log
Dense stat lines with inline explanations and season-linked highlights.
12 games
Featured metric
Receiving Yards
Top game by takeover score
Iowa
Best efficiency game
100 vs Georgia
| Result | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1/1 | vs Georgia | L 31-45 | — | 2 | 69 | 34.5 | 34.50 | 0 | 56 |
| Sun 12/2 | @ Wisconsin | L 31-70 | — | 1 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| Fri 11/23 | @ Iowa | W 13-7 | — | 3 | 39 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 19 |
| Sat 11/10 | vs Penn State | W 32-23 | — | 1 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 18 |
| Sat 11/3 | @ Michigan State | W 28-24 | — | 1 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Sun 10/28 | vs Michigan | W 23-9 | — | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | 10.50 | 0 | 15 |
| Sat 10/20 | @ Northwestern | W 29-28 | — | 1 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 7 |
| Sun 10/7 | @ Ohio State | L 38-63 | — | 2 | 19 | 9.5 | 9.50 | 1 | 16 |
| Sun 9/30 | vs Wisconsin | W 30-27 | — | 2 | 36 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 26 |
| Sat 9/22 | vs Idaho State | W 73-7 | — | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Sat 9/15 | vs Arkansas State | W 42-13 | — | 1 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Sat 9/1 | vs Southern Miss | W 49-20 | — | 1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Player Story
Ben Cotton story
Ben Cotton built his college career from 2009 through 2012 as a tight end from Ames, IA wearing No. 81, spending time with Nebraska. The clearest part of Ben Cotton's career was his receiving role: 40 catches, 505 receiving yards, and 3 touchdowns across 31 career games in the available record. His career also includes 6 return yards, giving the story more than a single-category snapshot. That gives Ben Cotton's career enough real context without stretching the story beyond the available production.
Career Arc
Track team changes, role shifts, and season-to-season movement.
- 1
Nebraska
2009-2012
Opening stop
Season Value Progression
200920102011201120122012
| Season | Team | Primary | Efficiency | Usage | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 Regular Season | Nebraska | 43 | 46.7 | 14.2 | — |
| 2010 Regular Season | Nebraska | 34 | 60 | 12.9 | -9 |
| 2011 Postseason | Nebraska | 189 | 75.3 | 11.5 | 155 |
| 2011 Regular Season | Nebraska | 189 | 75.3 | 11.5 | 0 |
| 2012 Postseason | Nebraska | 239 | 63.9 | 11.1 | 50 |
| 2012 Regular Season | Nebraska | 239 | 63.9 | 11.1 | 0 |
Signature Performances
Top Games
#1 Featured game
@ Colorado
Week 13 · W 28-20 · Conference game
Win with an explosive receiving profile.
33
Receiving Yards
91.1 takeover
33 receiving yards with a 73.3 efficiency score.
#2
vs Missouri
Week 9 · W 31-17 · Conference game
22
Receiving Yards
82.6 takeover
Win with an explosive receiving profile.
22 receiving yards with a 100 efficiency score.
#3
@ Iowa
Week 13 · W 13-7 · Conference game
39
Receiving Yards
81.1 takeover
Win with an explosive receiving profile.
39 receiving yards with a 86.7 efficiency score.
#4
vs Georgia
Week 1 · L 31-45 · Postseason
69
Receiving Yards
80.6 takeover
Loss with an explosive receiving profile.
69 receiving yards with a 100 efficiency score.
#5
vs Northwestern
Week 10 · L 25-28 · Conference game
36
Receiving Yards
71.9 takeover
Loss with an explosive receiving profile.
36 receiving yards with a 80 efficiency score.
Top Seasons
#1 Season by Season Value
2011 Postseason · Nebraska
189 primary output · 75.3 efficiency · 11.5 usage
65.3
#2
2011 Regular Season · Nebraska
65.3
189 primary · 75.3 efficiency · 11.5 usage
#3
2012 Postseason · Nebraska
60.5
239 primary · 63.9 efficiency · 11.1 usage
Milestones
0
100+ receiving yards
0
8+ catch outings
0
2+ TD games
Next best actions
Keep exploring Ben Cotton
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