Hutmacher happy to be a Husker

The last year or two have been pretty crazy for Chamberlain, S.D. standout Nash Hutmacher.

Not only was the 6-foot-5, 305-pound athlete a big football recruit, but he's racked three state titles as a heavyweight wrestler, won gold in the shot put and discus this past spring while also being named the South Dakota Wrestler and Male Athlete of the Year in May.

As of today, Hutmacher can scratch the recruiting process from his list of things as he announced his commitment to the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He said the decision mostly came down to the people at Nebraska.

“I went on my official visit to Nebraska this past April and I loved it,” Hutmacher said. “I really, really liked it. Just with Coach (Scott) Frost and everything that he’s doing down there as far as changing the mentality there. Just everything that he’s doing and then Coach T (Tony Tuioti). I really like Coach T.

“So I think the biggest thing for me that helped me narrow it down to Nebraska was the people. They all seem like they’re really good guys and they shoot you straight. They don’t tell you anything that isn’t true and that’s the biggest thing for me. From Coach Frost to Coach T, Coach (Erik) Chinander, Coach (Ryan) Held, they’re all really good guys and they are going to help me be the best that I can be.

“I called Wisconsin and Oregon’s coaches to let them know of my decision and they just wished me the best. So now I can just shut everything down and just focus on wrestling first because I have Fargo which is the biggest National Tournament out there. So I’ve got that coming up then I will just be turning my focus to football and everything else.”

Hutmacher said his parents had an idea that he was down to the Huskers and Wisconsin, but they weren't for sure where he was going to go until about a week ago or so.

“My parents didn’t really know it was Nebraska, but they obviously knew it was probably going to be Wisconsin or Nebraska,” Hutmacher said. “We were just sitting at home one night and I just told them that I want to be a Cornhusker and they were super excited and happy for me. But all the way through they were just very supportive and told me I could go wherever I wanted and that they would support me no matter what.”

The No. 1 prospect in the state of South Dakota said he had planned on letting the Nebraksa coach know this past Thursday or Friday, but he was so excited he just couldn't wait to tell them.

“They were super pumped," Hutmacher said about the reaction from Nebraska's coaches when he told them he wanted to be a Husker. "I actually called up Coach Frost and let him know then I called up Coach Chinander, Coach T and Coach Held too since he was the first coach that came up to the school to recruit me.

"I called them on this last Wednesday, but I was going to wait until Thursday or Friday, but I just couldn’t wait. I was ready to do to it so I just told them that I was going to do it on Saturday and they were all super pumped and excited to hear that.”

Now that his recruitment is final and Hutmacher is all set for Nebraska, he says Husker Nation can count on him to do whatever it takes to be great.

“I’m just a guy that gets in and works hard,” Hutmacher said. “I just try to be my best to help out the team and I’m just going to try and be the best player I can be for the next four years. I’m going to do whatever it takes to be great. That’s what (the fans) can expect from me. Just a hard worker that’s going to do all of that stuff.”