LINCOLN — Nebraska’s depth at tight end will come in handy if Mike McNeill’s move to receiver becomes permanent after spring practice.

The Huskers return senior Dreu Young, junior Ryan Hill and sophomores Ben Cotton and Kyler Reed at the position. In addition, J.T. Kerr of San Diego is coming off a redshirt season, and junior-college transfer Chase Harper joins the bunch in August.

NU receivers coach Ted Gilmore announced this week that McNeill is making the move, a surprise given his productivity as a tight end. The senior from Kirkwood, Mo., caught 32 and 28 passes the last two seasons.

The Huskers intend to use the 6-foot-4, 240-pounder in a slot role.

“This spring at least, he’s going to be with me full-time, and we’re going to see how it goes,” Gilmore said Thursday during a Sports Nightly interview on the Husker Sports Network. “Right now, if you ask me and you ask Mike, we’re not thinking tight end at all. We’re thinking wide receiver — and we’re going to see what he can do.”

Although it still leaves assistant coach Ron Brown with six scholarship tight ends, none outside of McNeill had more than six receptions last season.

“Ron’s got a crowded room there,’’ Gilmore said. “We’re trying to get our 11 best guys on the field, and if it works out that Mike’s one of them, great. But the one thing I’ll tell you, across the board — if you look at every spot on that offensive side — we’ve got competition.”

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