Kearney, Neb. – Nebraska-Kearney head football coach Josh Lynn announced today the names of three mid-year transfers who are on campus and will go through winter and spring workouts with the Lopers. 

They are outside linebacker Atoatasi "Atoa" Fox (San Diego), running back Miko Maessner (Kearney H.S.), and cornerback Javeer Peterson (Levittown, Pa.). Fox has two years of eligibility remaining with Maessner at four and Peterson three. Lynn expects to add a few more transfers prior to fall camp starting in August. 

Fox previously was at FCS-member Idaho State and Southwestern (Calif.) College. He ranked second on the SC Jaguars in tackles during the 2019 season with 53. The total included 10 tackles for loss while he also registered four pass breakups and two interceptions for 65 yards. Subsequently, Fox (6-2, 200 lbs.) was named first-team all-league.

The Bonita Vista High graduate spent two years in Pocatello, Idaho, with the Bengals. After redshirting in 2016 he recorded 25 tackles, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick over 11 games in 2017.

 

A wide receiver for the Iowa Western Reivers in 2019, Peterson (6-2, 185 lbs.) prepped at Harry S. Truman High just outside of Philadelphia. He was part of a 10-2 squad in 2018 and helped the program earn its first-ever state playoff win. Peterson was both a receiver and corner for the Tigers and earned first-team SOL National Conference All-League honors at each spot as a senior.

Maessner (6-1, 180 lbs.), who'll also run track for the Lopers, signed with FCS-member Princeton but never attended the Ivy League school due to the COVID pandemic. The Tigers had their 2020 fall season canceled and Maessner took online classes during the fall semester. 

For the KHS Bearcats he was the 2019 Class A 100- and 200-meter state champion. That speed helped him run for a school-record 1,264 yards and 12 TD's in the fall of 2019. Also the 'Cats career rushing leader (2,764 yards), Maessner had 1,549 all-purpose yards as a senior, bringing back two kickoffs for scores. Finally, he was a two-time Class A all-state selection and the 2019 Kearney Hub Territory Football Player of the Year.

UNK, coming off a 7-5 bowl season in 2019 and a 2-0 mark in the fall of 2020, is scheduled to begin spring workouts on March 15 (Monday). National Letter of Intent Signing Day for NCAA Division II schools is next Wednesday, February 3rd. With the Loper roster currently just a over 100 players a class of less than 20 is expected.