Usage Score
14.9
Player Dossier
2012-2016Nebraska
Sam Cotton
TE • 6'5" • Lincoln, NE, USA
Vertical playmakerExplosive finisher
Sam Cotton reads as a vertical playmaker based on recent role and receiving efficiency.
Efficiency
73.9
Consistency
44.7
Season Value
57.8
Career Arc
Value trend by season
Best season by value score: 2016 Regular Season · Nebraska
1213141516
Snapshot
- Career Teams
- 1
- Seasons Tracked
- 5
- Program Path
- Nebraska
- Peak Game
- Peak game by takeover score: Indiana
Scouting Read
Best season and peak-game context are pinned here so the rest of the page can stay analytical without losing the headline story.
Sam Cotton, TE. Best season Best season by value score: 2016 Regular Season · Nebraska. Sam Cotton reads as a vertical playmaker based on recent role and receiving efficiency.
Sam Cotton played TE for Nebraska. Across 5 tracked seasons, Sam Cotton recorded 185 receiving yards, 1 tackles, and 3 touchdowns. His top tracked season came in 2016 with Nebraska.
Player insights
Lead takeaway
Best season by value score: 2016 Regular Season
Nebraska paired 87 primary output with 73.9 efficiency.
Supporting note
2016 Regular Season role shape
target-driven usage with 73.9 efficiency.
Supporting note
Career value is trending up
2016 Regular Season improved on the prior stop by season value score.
Supporting note
Peak game by takeover score: Indiana
Win with an explosive receiving profile. It landed in the 100th 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.
2016 Regular Season · Nebraska
Games
5
Receiving Yards / G
17.4
Efficiency
73.9
Usage
14.9
Consistency
44.7
Best Game by takeover score
Wisconsin
Hover a point or expand a game row to keep the active game context visible here.
Active game
Hover over a point
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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. Northwestern: 11. Illinois: 12. Indiana: 37. Purdue: 27. Wisconsin: 0
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. Northwestern: 1 by 73.3. Illinois: 1 by 80. Indiana: 3 by 82.2. Purdue: 3 by 60
Split Comparison
Compare how this player performed across different situations. "Games" shows how many matchups are included in each split.
Wins21.8 · Games = 4
First Half20 · Games = 3 · +6.5 vs Second Half
Second Half13.5 · Games = 2 · -6.5 vs First Half
All Games17.4 · Games = 5
Game Log
Dense stat lines with inline explanations and season-linked highlights.
5 games
Featured metric
Receiving Yards
Top game by takeover score
Indiana
Best efficiency game
82.2 vs Indiana
Career Arc
Track team changes, role shifts, and season-to-season movement.
- 1
Nebraska
2012-2016
Opening stop
Season Progression
20122013201420152016
| Season | Team | Primary | Efficiency | Usage | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 Regular Season | Nebraska | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2013 Regular Season | Nebraska | 22 | 44.4 | 7.2 | 22 |
| 2014 Regular Season | Nebraska | 41 | 73.3 | 6.7 | 19 |
| 2015 Regular Season | Nebraska | 35 | 77.8 | 4.4 | -6 |
| 2016 Regular Season | Nebraska | 87 | 73.9 | 14.9 | 52 |
Signature Performances
Top Games
#1 Featured game
Indiana
Win with an explosive receiving profile.
37
Primary metric
37 receiving yards with a 82.2 efficiency score.
#2
Illinois
17
Primary metric
Win with an explosive receiving profile.
17 receiving yards with a 100 efficiency score.
#3
Fresno State
23
Primary metric
Win with an explosive receiving profile.
23 receiving yards with a 100 efficiency score.
#4
Iowa
14
Primary metric
Loss with an explosive receiving profile.
14 receiving yards with a 93.3 efficiency score.
#5
Southern Miss
13
Primary metric
Win with an explosive receiving profile.
13 receiving yards with a 86.7 efficiency score.
Top Seasons
#1 Season by value score
2016 Regular Season · Nebraska
87 primary output · 73.9 efficiency · 14.9 usage
57.8
#2
2015 Regular Season · Nebraska
50.7
35 primary · 77.8 efficiency · 4.4 usage
#3
2014 Regular Season · Nebraska
44.7
41 primary · 73.3 efficiency · 6.7 usage
Milestones
0
100+ receiving yards
0
8+ catch outings
0
2+ TD games
Bio, Recruit, and Data Context
Recruit Profile
3★
Class 2012 · Rating 0.8208
Lincoln Southeast · Lincoln, NE
- Committed To
- Nebraska
- Commit Date
- Jan 1, 2012
Career Facts
1
Career teams
5
Seasons tracked
185
Career Receiving Yards
Data Context
Coverage spans 5 tracked seasons, 14 games, and base opponent context only. Derived metrics fall back to raw production when share or rating context is missing.