NEWS: Husker Mash: Will Tommi Hill be able to maintain its ’23 momentum? Husker bracket discussion; Belichick & Rhule relationship

By the end of 2023, Tommi Hill had revealed more of her potential. Talk about brackets leading up to the weekend.

maximizing the weekend.

Talk of Tommi and the tournament. And a little Belichick, too? You betcha, to quote our pals from Minnesota (the Gophers are in town for a huge one this Sunday).

Since his days as a four-star recruit, Tommi Hill has been a captivating talent. However, in November in particular, it appeared that he was rewriting the history of his Husker career.

You may have seen the possibility in his extraordinary athleticism before then. But that was its situation. After the final month of the 2023 season, I saw a noticeable shift in the discourse surrounding Hill among the fan base and media. The nearly plays were turning into produced plays.

And although it even seemed like he may shift more reps toward wide receiver earlier in the season, there might have been some advantage to his locking in more at cornerback.

In fact, Pro Football Focus awarded Hill the highest overall grade of any Husker defense in the previous season (85.9), only behind Omar Brown. Hill also earned the team’s highest coverage grade of 87.1.

He must rank among the top three Huskers in the upcoming EA Sports College Football ’25 video game, am I right? Think about who on Nebraska’s team you rank highest for yourself, then think about what Husker secondary coach Evan Cooper stated even as recently as September about Hill.

Tommy possesses a truly exceptional talent. He is genuinely capable of doing anything at either of those two positions.” At the time, Cooper stated on the Huskers Radio Network, Hill was distributing his repetitions more between defense and offense. “He’s a ‘wow’ talent, so I try not to celebrate the ‘wow’ plays with him. It’s difficult to be a database librarian; it’s just a daily, regular job. He’s starting to recover. He is.”

That was particularly true in November, when Hill solidified his position as the front-runner going into 2024. Hill demonstrates that even for somebody possessing exceptional talent, it may require some time to properly iron pants. He persevered and is now in a position where he can truly succeed. If he isn’t invited to the NFL combine in the future, I’d be shocked.

It appears that during the course of the last year, Hill grew to be one of Rhule’s guys. I remember that early in October, Rhule showed the team a play by Hill in which Hill was completely domineered.

It seems like a difficult thing to perform in front of everyone. What happened next, though, was the lesson.

Rhule later stated, “He gets back up, he goes out, he continues to play on defense.” “We shout for him to go on offense because we need him to do so. When I tell one of the young guys I’m going to put him in at the end of the *(Michigan) game, it’s 45-something, and he says, “No, I’m going.” He was playing whatever many snaps last week, so I took him off of kickoff. He said, “No, I’m going on kickoff, don’t ever take me off again.”

That is a good, concrete illustration of how to recover and launch an attack.

However, he also serves as a broad illustration of how his Husker career has transpired. It seldom takes off for a player in Lincoln, or any college football town, during Week 1, or even Year 1. However, Hill persisted and by the end of 2023 appeared to be getting his footing. In 2024, where can he run now?

More than a high video game rating, maybe.

The NET ranking and KenPom status of Nebraska men’s basketball have been gradually rising. However, predictions regarding the Huskers’ probable seeding placement during their current three-game winning streak have essentially not changed.

Basically, around that 10-line.

If their team is in the bracket, most Husker fans probably don’t give a damn if their team is seeded 8, 9, or 10. They obviously hope that Nebraska can escape the “play-in” games in Dayton, but other than that, it would be a mission accomplished to get in and see where they can go.

Mike DeCourcy, studio commentator for The Sporting News and BTN, highlighted the significance of Nebraska’s 85-70 victory over Indiana on Wednesday in relation to that endeavor.

“It really dressed up that road record… ” said DeCourcy on BTN, knowing that one is way more than none in the specific case of narratives on a team. “It just looks so much better. It’s not exactly where they want to be but they still have a road game or two down the stretch that are winnable. They’re entire stretch run is winnable. That’s the thing that Nebraska looks at right now. There’s not much opportunity to achieve their results that would improve their quad metrics. They are what they are in term of Quad 1… So what they have to do now is continue to perform like they did against IU and get the results down the stretch that will secure themselves in the field. ”

Although he believes the Huskers can afford a 3-1 victory, he still believes they need to be cautious with their margin for error in the closing minutes.

A 3-1 victory, in my opinion, would definitely end the debate. or ought to. With a record of 22-9 overall and 12-8 in the Big Ten, they would likely qualify for the league tournament with a double bye.

Additionally, Nebraska’s Quad 1 discussion still has to be improved. Ohio State, which is ranked 67th in the NET right now, would need to remain in the top 75, although their Thursday travel game counts toward Quad 1. In the last moments, Husker supporters ought to be rooting for Kansas State as well. The Huskers’ victory in Manhattan would propel the Wildcats, who now rank 76th in the NET, into the Quad 1 division if they could place in the top 75 at the conclusion. It would help if K-State defeated No. 25 BYU on Saturday.

However, DeCourcy’s essential thesis is understood. Nebraska may not necessarily still be able to claim the “wow” victory. A portion of this involves maintaining momentum right now, which means defeating a fiery Minnesota squad on Sunday to ensure that your resume remains distinct from teams attempting to make late charges.

Regarding the packed Sunday match at PBA, DeCourcy remarked, “You’re trying to do a little damage to the competition, but you’re also trying to win for yourself.” “You could really hurt Minnesota’s charge, which Minnesota’s charge might help the entire league – but as you’re sitting somewhat close to the bubble, it doesn’t help you.”

Matt Rhule having Bill Belichick in as a keynote speaker for the Nebraska Football X&O’s Clinic this spring is obviously a cool deal.

Especially for those area coaches in the room who get to scribble down notes. Rhule will be among those, I’d bet.

Rhule has spoken before about certain ideas or practice pieces he’s stolen from Belichick – the highest form of flattery in coaching.

And Belichick, who did also speaks the 2012 Nebraska coaches’ clinic while Bo Pelini was here, was on the record a couple years back praising Rhule when the Patriots and Panthers had joint practices together.

“Ton of respect for Matt Rhule, yeah,” Belichick said then. “Matt did a tremendous job at Temple. Ran a great program there then, of course, went down to Baylor and did an outstanding job down there. You look at the draft this year and the number of players that came out of Baylor this year in the NFL draft, which are really his players. So, on all levels, whether it’s recruiting, motivation, strategic, development of players. Not all the players at those two schools are necessarily the top high school prospects going there, but he turned out a lot of good players.”

Then Belichick paid the ultimate compliment, referring to Rhule as “a football guy.”

Oh, to be a fly on the wall while they guys talked nonstop for a few hours. And when I think of “ball,” I envision a deep conversation about some specific special teams exercise.

I would be shocked if Belichick’s early April visit to Lincoln didn’t provide a few Husker practice station ideas.