With the combine just weeks away (24 February to 3 March) invites are sent out and we now know who will represent Nebraska in Indianapolis.
Receiving invites were WR Isaiah Neyor, TE Thomas Fidone, DT Ty Robinson, and DB Tommi Hill. Noticeably absent from this list is DT Nash Hutmacher, who was also a standout on the defensive line with Robinson.
Hutmacher is projected to be a later round pick, and not going to the combine wont necessarily stop that at. Hutmacher participated in the East-West Shrine Bowl recently, are scouts praised his ability to eat up the run in the middle of the line. There were some scouting concerns with his agility, and his ability to pass rush. At the end of the day, there are a limited number of combined invitations, and if I had to guess he just missed the cut. I would absolutely be surprised to see him go undrafted.
For Neyor, scouts seem to like his speed and size (6’3”, 215). He didn’t wow anyone with his senior year at Nebraska, but he put up decent numbers his junior year at Wyoming. The same could be said for Fidone, who despite efforts at Nebraska never really broke out to be the player fans expected him to be. His early exit to the draft was controversial on social media, but he was invited to the combine, nonetheless. Fidone, a big body athletic tight end, who struggled at times with blocking, will have a chance to prove to scouts at the combine he is ready for the NFL. He is currently projected as a mid-round draft pick; I would guess somewhere in the 5th round. Ty Robinson was a standout at Nebraska for the last two years, and head coach Matt Rhule consistently and publicly stated he believed he was a first-round pick. Like Hutmacher, however, scouts have concerns with his pass rushing ability, although no one questions his ability to eat the run up the middle. Most online sources place Robinson as a mid-rounder as well, around the 4th round. I think he goes a little earlier than that, but I am not sure it would be in the first two rounds. Lastly, Tommi Hill, who missed most of his senior year with injuries, is looking like a later round pick. The injuries really took a toll on his senior season, and even when he tried to get back in the later games of the year, he looked like a shell of himself. He will have the combine to prove himself, but most scouts see him as a late round pick. Don’t be shocked if he goes undrafted but signs somewhere as an undrafted free agent.
Go big red!