One of the best pass rushers in the transfer portal is coming to Nebraska.
A months-long pursuit of Ochaun Mathis culminated Saturday in the former TCU star committing to the Huskers. He will join the team right away and immediately becomes the most veteran and accomplished defender by far along NU’s front line.
Nebraska rolled out the red-carpet treatment for Mathis during his official visit during the spring game in early April. He brought with him his mother and three siblings and held court at midfield with coaches, athletic director Trev Alberts and others in the run-up to the scrimmage. A representative also visited Mathis in Texas to discuss financial opportunities within the name-image-likeness arena.
Ochaun Mathis (pronounced OH-shawn) becomes the 11th portal addition for the Huskers in this cycle. He and kicker Timmy Bleekrode (Furman) were the only ones not with the team this spring. Like Bleekrode, Mathis spent the time finishing his degree at his former university.
Of all of NU’s transfer additions, Mathis is only the third on the defensive side of the ball joining defensive backs Tommi Hill (Arizona State) and Omar Brown (Northern Iowa). He became a human wrecking ball across four years and 38 games at TCU that featured 30.5 tackles for loss (15.5 sacks) and 134 total stops. The 6-foot-5, 260-pounder was a two-time second-team All-Big 12 selection who saved his best for the biggest moments — 12.5 of his sacks came in conference play, including two at Oklahoma last year. He also blocked a field goal against West Virginia.
Mathis has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
The Texas native entered the portal Jan. 12 and spent months evaluating his options, which he eventually narrowed to a top five of Texas, Mississippi, USC, Penn State and Nebraska. He considered everything from roster composition to statistics to game atmosphere to the local community.
