Nebraska football received an update on one of their players Friday night. Defensive end Ochaun Mathis announced that he was going to the NFL Draft. He made the announcement via Twitter.
Mathis recorded 48 tackles and 3.5 sacks for Nebraska football this season. He had several key games over the course of the season. He recorded eight tackles in a game against Northwestern to open the season. Consistency followed toward the end of the season, as he recorded six tackles against Purdue.
One of his specialties was putting pressure on the quarterback. Although that did not always show up on the statistic sheet, he was able to get after quarterbacks and confuse offensive limes.
A key get for Nebraska Football
Mathis came to the Nebraska football program in May, announcing he would join the program for the 2022 season, in what was a busy time of transfer portal additions.
He finishes his collegiate career with 98 tackles and 16 sacks. He had his best season in 2020. 12.5 sacks and 44 total tackles were just some of the ways he strengthened the TCU defense. His edge-rushing made him stand out, and was one of the main reasons why he was a sought-after target for Nebraska football.
It will be intriguing to see what he does at the professional level. Right now, he is ranked the 174th overall player in the 2023 class and the 37th overall defensive lineman per NFLDraftBuzz.com. He holds an 81.3 out of 100 rating. The scouting site indicates pass-rushing is his best skill set at 81%.
It may have been beneficial for him to stay another year in Lincoln. He could have developed his skill set a bit more as a pass-rusher and refined his technique a bit. Nevertheless, he has the potential to make an impact at the NFL level.