Patriots met with high-upside Big Ten CB at Senior Bowl

Tommi Hill could be a mid-round draft option for the Patriots

The New England Patriots met with Nebraska cornerback Tommi Hill in Mobile at the Senior Bowl last week.

Hill was recruited to Nebraska as a wide receiver and made the switch to the defensive backfield following the 2022 season. It was at the cornerback position that the former two-way high school star found his groove at the collegiate level.

Hill had a promising start to the 2024 season, as he was thought to be one of the elite corners in the Big Ten. Plantar fasciitis hampered his season, and he played sparingly throughout the year. His last start came in Week 2 against the Colorado Buffaloes in a game where he cashed in on a pick-six.

All told, Hill recorded 21 tackles and a lone interception on the season. He looks to be a mid-round draft pick and a potential sneaky option for the Patriots.

Hill would certainly be an asset to a Patriots team that could use additional secondary depth. Even with his injuries over the last year, he could be a high-upside draft pick.

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10 players for Packers fans to monitor on the National roster during Senior Bowl week

Who should Packers fans know from the Senior Bowl’s National roster? Here are 10 players.

It’s officially Senior Bowl week and the NFL world has converged on Mobile, Alabama. Since 2022, Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has selected 18 players who competed at the Senior Bowl, including using eight of the 11 picks during the 2024 NFL Draft that were down in Mobile.

It’s a safe bet that Green Bay’s general manager will use a handful of picks in April on players he’ll get a close look at this week down in Mobile.

Let’s look at 10 players from the American roster that could be high on Green Bay’s board. If you missed it, here are four wide receivers from the National roster that could be high on Green Bay’s board.

Azareye’h Thomas, CB, Florida State

Thomas has all the tools that teams are looking for with his athleticism and size. He uses his length to choke passing windows and disrupt the catch point. The Seminole cornerback is physical and a willing participant in run support.

Jah Joyner, Edge, Minnesota

Joyner is a twitched-up pass rusher with an NFL-ready frame. With his length and first-step quickness, he has all the tools to develop into a force off the edge. During the last two seasons, Joyner recorded 12 sacks and 77 pressures.

Tommi Hill, CB, Nebraska

Hill is a physical cornerback. As a former wide receiver, he has plus ball skills and finished the past two seasons with five interceptions and 10 pass deflections. He has a high football IQ and shows good route instincts.

Darius Alexander, DT, Toledo

Alexander has a unique blend of power and quickness. He’s able to overwhelm offensive linemen with his brute strength and has the nimble feet to make plays up and down the line of scrimmage. Alexander finished this past season with 3.5 sacks and 37 pressures.

Darien Porter, CB, Iowa State

A converted wide receiver, Porter finished this past season with three interceptions. He’s a long cornerback with the ability to mirror and has the speed to stay attached vertically. A former track athlete, Porter has 970 special team snaps to his name and recorded 16 tackles, along with four blocked punts.

Landon Jackson, Edge, Arkansas

Jackson was built in the Brian Gutekunst edge rusher lab. He’s a power-packed edge rusher with an ideal frame. He’s a sledgehammer and finished this past season with 10 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks and 35 pressures.

Cody Lindenberg, LB, Minnesota

Lindenberg is a highly instinctive linebacker, who processes things like he was programmed by Tony Stark. He moves well laterally to hold up in coverage and weave his way through the trash to attack downhill.

Joshua Farmer, DT, Florida State

Farmer owns a quick first step to get up field quickly and has the power to drive offensive linemen backward. Farmer finished this past season with eight tackles for loss, four sacks and 26 pressures.

Caleb Rogers, OL, Texas Tech

Rogers finished his collegiate career with 2,547 snaps at right tackle, 1,473 at left tackle, 186 at left guard and 115 at right guard. The Texas Tech offensive lineman is a good athlete with good range as a run blocker and offers a ton of versatility.

Bilhal Kone, CB, Western Michigan

Kone is a fluid athlete with the easy change of direction skills to mirror and match in coverage. He’s feisty at the catch point and recorded 17 pass deflections over the past two seasons. As the Packers look to add talent to the cornerback room, Kone could be a target early on Day 3 of the draft.

Nebraska cornerback declares for NFL Draft

Where will the cornerback land in the 2025 draft?

Nebraska football cornerback Tommi Hill has declared for the NFL draft. He made the announcement on social media.

Hill came to Nebraska in 2022. He started his career as a cornerback before spending some time at the wide receiver spot. However, 2023 saw him settle in permanently at the corner position. He began to establish himself as a top-tier corner in the process.

The 2024 season saw him continue to be one of the top corners in the Big Ten. However, plantar fasciitis slowed him down throughout the season. Even still, he was able to produce at a high level. All told, he recorded 21 tackles, half a tackle for loss, a pass breakup, and an interception.

Hill was projected as a potential first-round corner before the 2024 season. He still has a chance to be an extremely athletic corner and a playmaker to boot. It will be exciting to see where he ends up in the draft as the Huskers attempt to reload at the position.

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Is Tommi Hill playing on Saturday? Injury updates for the Husker cornerback

Nebraska cornerback Tommi Hill is dealing with a foot injury. Here are the latest updates.

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule has confirmed that defensive back Tommi Hill will be out for the remainder of the regular season. The cornerback has been dealing with a foot injury for most of the 2024 season. In seven games this season, he’s recorded 21 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, one pass breakup, and one interception (returned for a touchdown). The coaches and media named him Honorable Mention All-Big Ten for the 2023 seasons. Hill entered 2024 with draft expectations and was invited to the upcoming Senior Bowl. Matt Rhule made the official announcement on Thursday afternoon.

Tommi Hill injury update

Matt Rhule said the following on Thursday

“Tommi will be out for the next two games. He’s tried to play. It’s obviously tough. He’s dealing with a lot. So I just shut him down. He’s been invited to the Senior Bowl and maybe he’ll be ready for bowl practice. He’s out there playing at half and three-quarter speed that led to first touchdown against USC and the first touchdown against Indiana and the first touchdown in the Illinois game. I feel for him, he came in with high expectations.”

How long will Tommi Hill be out?

On Thursday, Rhule announced that the senior cornerback would be out for the season’s final two games as he continues to rehab from his injury and prepare for the Senior Bowl.

The Huskers will face the Badgers this Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT and can be seen on Big Ten Network.

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Nebraska rules out starting cornerback for game vs. Wisconsin Badgers

Nebraska rules out starting cornerback for game vs. Wisconsin Badgers

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule announced on Thursday that starting cornerback Tommi Hill will miss the final two games of the 2024 regular season.

The first of those two games is Saturday, Nov. 23 against the Wisconsin Badgers.

Related: Ranking the biggest storylines entering Wisconsin’s Week 13 game at Nebraska

Hill has been battling a foot injury for the majority of the 2024 season. He played through it for an extended period, including during Nebraska’s last two games against UCLA and USC, respectively.

“Everything’s a collaboration, but I can’t put him out there anymore,” Rhule said during his press conference on Thursday. “[Tommy Hill] cares about his teammates and wants to be out there, but he’s only hurting himself and giving up touchdowns.”

Hill has recorded 21 tackles, one interception and one pass deflection through seven appearances in 2024. Those numbers are all a big drop from his production as Nebraska’s top cornerback in 2023 — 26 tackles, four interceptions and nine pass deflections.

As Rhule noted, the veteran cornerback has struggled at times this season while battling through the lingering foot injury. Rhule noted that he expects younger players to contribute in Hill’s absence both on Saturday against Wisconsin and in Week 14 against Iowa.

The veteran cornerback will now look to get healthy before the 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl and NFL draft process.

Nebraska enters Saturday’s matchup allowing 210.9 passing yards per game, including 259 to USC and new quarterback Jayden Maiava in the Cornhuskers’ Week 12 loss.

Wisconsin, meanwhile, needs an offensive boost after scoring just 36 total points over the team’s last three games — losses to Penn State, Iowa and Oregon, respectively. The Badgers fired offensive coordinator Phil Longo after the latest loss.

Hill’s injury may not completely change Saturday’s game, but it is a variable to consider when QB Braedyn Locke and the Badgers passing offense looks for its best performance in a month.

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Nebraska’s Tommi Hill headed to Reese’s Senior Bowl

Nebraska defensive back Tommi Hill is headed to Mobile this draft season

Nebraska cornerback Tommi Hill is one step closer to achieving his NFL dream.

On Thursday, it was announced that the senior defensive back has accepted his invitation to the 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.

A former Arizona State Sun Devil, Hill is in his fourth season with the Huskers. After entering the season as a potential first-round draft pick, the Florida native’s stock has dropped quite a bit, but he remains an NFL hopeful.

This fall, in seven games, Hill has recorded 21 tackles, including one tackle for loss, one interception, and an additional pass deflection. One season ago, Hill recorded 26 tackles, four interceptions, and nine pass deflections in 12 games.

The Senior Bowl kicks off the NFL Draft season every year, as prospects from around the country flock to Mobile, Alabama, for three days of practices before the game.

Historically, a late January event, this year’s Senior Bowl game will be on February 1.

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Four Huskers receive East-West Shrine Bowl invites

Four Nebraska football players were selected to the East-West Shrine Bowl.

Four members of the Nebraska football program were invited to the East-West Shrine Bowl on Wednesday evening.

Defensive linemen Ty Robinson and Nash Hutmacher as well as wide receiver Isaiah Neyor, and defensive back Tommi Hill were invited to the game.

Robinson and Hutmacher have been key pieces for the defensive line this year. Robinson has recorded 23 tackles and five sacks on the season. Hutmacher has been able to produce as well. He has tallied 18 tackles and two sacks on the year.

Hill has emerged as a key piece of the secondary despite battling plantar fasciitis throughout the entire year. He has 19 tackles on the year and recorded a pick-six against the Colorado Buffaloes back in September.

Neyor has proven to be a veteran playmaker in a young Huskers offense. The Texas Longhorns transfer has 25 catches for 48 yards and five touchdowns. He is coming off a stellar game against the UCLA Bruins that saw him record four catches for 89 yards and a touchdown.

The Huskers have undoubtedly had strong play from seniors this year. Their legacy could continue to grow this season alone, especially if the Huskers make the elusive bowl game.

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Husker cornerback Tommi Hill expected to play vs. Indiana

Tommi Hill is expected to play on Saturday against Indiana.

Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule indicated that corner Tommi Hill is expected to start on Saturday against Indiana. ESPN’s Pete Thamel first reported this.

Hill has been battling injuries this season. He was ready to play in Nebraska’s last game against Rutgers but ruptured the planter fasciitis as he was running out onto the field. Now, it appears he is in a spot where he can play.

The corner has had a tremendous season so far and has established himself as one of the best corners in the Big Ten. All told he has recorded 14 tackles and an interception on the season so far.

This latest news could give Nebraska the flexibility to have solid depth at the corner position. Hill could start opposite Ceyair Wright, who has emerged as a top-tier Big Ten corner in Hill’s absence. At the very least, this gives the Huskers another weapon defensively as they prepare for a challenging second half of the schedule.

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Matt Rhule updates injury status of two key Huskers

The injury bug has bitten the Nebraska football team.

Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule updated the injury status of two key players as the program prepares to take on Purdue this Saturday. Left tackle Turner Corcoran will miss an extended time due to a hamstring injury. Corner Tommi Hill is considered day-to-day.

The Corcoran injury is significant for the offensive line. He started every game this season for the Huskers but left Friday’s game against Illinois with the injury. Hill left Friday night’s game against Illinois with a foot injury in the first half.

This is certainly worth monitoring, as Hill has been an integral part of the defensive secondary. He has recorded 14 tackles and an interception on the year. ESPN projects him to be taken in the first round of the NFL draft.

Corcoran’s injury could make life difficult for the offensive line, while Hill’s injury may complicate things at corner. Ceyair Wright was able to step up and play the corner spot in Hill’s absence on Friday, while Gunnar Gottula took over for Corcoran.

The Huskers are set to take on Purdue this Saturday at 11:00 a.m. CT.

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Nebraska defensive back Tommi Hill continuing to impress draft scouts

Tommi Hill’s stock continues to rise.

Nebraska defensive back Tommi Hill had a stellar game on Saturday, recording a pick-six for a touchdown. ESPN has already predicted Hill to go in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft. NFL draft scout Matt Miller has Hill No.53 on his board.

Hill has seven total tackles on the season, in addition to the interception. He has established himself as a ball hawk over the past two seasons, as he tallied four interceptions in 2023.

Hill has become one of the best corners in the Big Ten and is now beginning to be recognized nationally.

He has become a bona fide star in the secondary after bouncing around on both sides of the football during the first couple of years in college. Now, stronger development has put him in a spot to truly excel. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season goes, with more formidable opponents ahead.

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