Tommi Hill, Nebraska football senior cornerback and a top NFL Draft prospect once projected as a first-rounder after his strong start to the 2024 season, will not play in the final two regular season games against Wisconsin and Iowa.
Huskers head coach Matt Rhule announced the latest news on Thursday during his final press conference ahead of Nebraska-Wisconsin on Saturday.
“Tommi will be out the next two games,” Rhule said. “He’s tried to play. It’s obviously tough for him. He’s dealing with a lot, so I just shut him down. He’s been invited to the Senior Bowl. Maybe he’ll be ready for bowl practice, but he’s out there, he’s playing half speed, three-quarter speed. It led to the first touchdown in the Indiana game, led to the first touchdown in the Illinois game. So I feel for him, came here with high expectations, had the foot injury and it’s just never quite been the same.”
Rhule said the decision to shut Hill down was collaborative.
“Everything’s a collaboration, but I can’t put him out there anymore. He cares about his teammates and wants to be out there, but he’s only hurting himself and giving up touchdowns,” Rhule said. “So it’s unfortunate for him, but he has better days ahead. He’s going to graduate, he’s going to come in and rehab every day and get himself ready and hopefully go have a really strong Senior Bowl showing.
“When you’re a guy who relies on your speed to play, and you lose that, it’s tough. So it’s just an unfortunate break for us this year.”
Hill, a 6-foot, 205-pounder from Orlando (Fla.) Edgewater, has battled plantar fasciitis for much of the 2024 season and previously missed three games due to the injury before returning for the past two games against UCLA and USC.
Hill, one of 10 Huskers to earn a single-digit number in fall camp as one of the team’s toughest players, has played in seven games with five starts this season, recording 21 tackles and one pass breakup. He also had one pick-six, which happened in the Colorado game.
After playing his true freshman season at Arizona State in 2021, Hill spent the past three seasons at Nebraska, making 18 career starts. He started the first five games at corner in 2022 before switching to receiver. He was an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick at corner in 2023 after recording 26 tackles, four interceptions and 13 pass breakups.
Hill’s strong end to the 2023 season earned him preseason recognition — he was named to the 2024 Senior Bowl Watch List. And his success early in the season, before his foot injury, had him gaining NFL draft buzz.
The loss of Hill for the final two regular season games won’t make much of an impact as the defense has already been playing without him for the majority of the season. Against USC, Hill didn’t look healthy enough to compete at the level he needed to be at.
Ceyair Wright, a transfer from USC, has emerged as the Huskers’ top corner and has 32 tackles, five pass breakups, two interceptions, one sack and one forced fumble. Against his old team in Los Angeles last week, Wright had a pick-six to put the Huskers up 7-0 early. He’s been a bright spot after being a late addition to the team in the summer.
The corner position opposite of Wright, however, has been a bit of a problem area.
Marques Buford Jr., who has been a safety for much of his college career, held his own as a corner for the first seven games of the season before he swapped positions with then-safety Malcolm Hartzog Jr., who wound up starting the USC and Ohio State games at corner.
NU has a large group of first- and second-year players behind Wright and Hartzog that includes redshirt freshman Jeremiah Charles, sophomore Blye Hill and true freshmen Amare Sanders and Larry Tarver Jr.
Of that young-guy group, only Charles has seen extensive action. He started the UCLA game but was replaced after the Bruins’ first offensive drive.
Blye Hill, an intriguing offseason transfer addition from FCS St. Francis (Pa.), was looking like the starter opposite of Tommi Hill in the spring, but a knee injury in the spring game was a major setback for the 6-4 defensive back, and he hasn’t appeared in a game yet this season.
Both Sanders and Tarver, two products of Miami, Fla., have played in three games. Sanders has two tackles and one pass breakup. Tarver has yet to record a stat. Both players would be able to play in one of the final two regular season games (and a bowl game if that’s in NU’s future) and still keep their redshirt.
The Huskers’ 2025 class includes one true corner in it: three-star Bryson Webber, a rangy 6-3 athlete out of Missouri City (Texas) Ridge Point. Webber is a former receiver who turned his focus to corner and saw his recruitment take off.
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