Nebraska Football: Nash Hutmacher believes he’s better equipped to make an impact
Nebraska football’s Nash Hutmacher might weigh the same as he did a year ago. However, the defensive lineman thinks that while he’s sporting the same weight, it’s still quite a bit a different.
He weighs 330 pounds, just as he did last year. However, according to the Omaha World-Herald, he spent an offseason reshaping himself with the help of the Nebraska football program nutritionist Kristin Coggin in a way that has allowed Hutmacher to add muscle and shed fat. Now he feels like he’s a new Nash Hutmacher in a word that has quite a bit new to it.
It appears that he’s hoping he’ll be able to offer a little bit of consistency to a Nebraska football program that is looking for consistency. And shoulders to lean on. Certainly, his shoulders are big enough for a team to lean on.
Hutmacher isn’t trying to come out of anywhere. He played in one game his freshman year. Then not really at all as a sophomore. He then started the first game of the 2022 season in Ireland and played in every game for the Huskers. Unsurprisingly, he had his best season in Lincoln, recording 15 tackles.
While getting into every game, he lost out on some playing time to Ty Robinson and Colton Feist. Robinson is hurt, and Feist has left the program. That could give Hutmacher a chance to show the new coaching staff that the way he’s rebuilt himself translates into someone who can really get some serious playing time in 2023.
So far so good as far as convincing his new coaches he’s worth the time.
“He’s savvy. He’s really savvy,” defensive coordinator Tony White said recently.
"“You can tell he’s calm. First of all, the best thing about it is he’s done a really nice job of making sure his weight is down. He’s doing the things he needs to do to make sure that he knows he’s gonna play and play a lot, so that’s the first thing. And the second thing is, he’s smart. He’s absorbed a lot of the defense, and again, when you get him in there and you see him, you always notice him around the ball.”"
Should that positive attention continue, it’s hard to believe Hutmacher won’t get a real shot to get the starting nod at defensive tackle. Of course, that won’t be settled for real until the Nebraska football team gets to the fall.