Ochaun Mathis declares for NFL Draft

Ochaun Mathis is headed to the NFL.

The Nebraska EDGE declared for the NFL Draft on Friday evening, choosing to end a five-year college career that saw him become a two-time Second Team All-Big 12 honoree across four seasons at TCU and one season at Nebraska.

"I want to start by showing my love and appreciation for the state of Nebraska and Big Red Nation for their unwavering support,” Mathis wrote in a tweet. “These are truly the greatest fans in the world. I would also like to express my gratitude to the coaching staff from the start of the season for recruiting and giving me an opportunity to be a part of a team that is geared toward greatness. As well as illuminating discipline here in a way that is unmatched. I would also like to thank Coach (Bill) Busch and Coach (Mike) Dawson for guiding the defense towards maintaining our faith, and the conviction that each week is a blessing to play and we should never take that for granted."

Mathis continued: “Mickey Joseph, coach, I appreciate you through all the challenges we have faced together and appreciate your advice and mentorship. Lastly, and most importantly, I would like to thank God and my family, without them none of this would be possible. This has been a long journey and I am excited for it to continue. With that being said, I am happy to announce I will be declaring for the 2023 NFL Draft. Thank you to all of my supporters!

Mathis was the Huskers' third-leading EDGE player this season in terms of snaps behind Garrett Nelson and Caleb Tannor. The 6-foot-5, 260-pound pass rusher finished second on the team with 3.5 sacks and added 5.0 tackles for loss and 50 total tackles with two pass breakups.

He played in 38 games in four seasons at TCU, including 34 starts in his final three years. He was a second-team All-Big 12 selection in both 2020 and 2021 and recorded 135 tackles, 30.5 tackles for loss, 15.5 sacks and four pass breakups in his TCU career.

In his Friday announcement, Mathis did not say whether or not he has signed with an agent or if he plans to sign with an agent. If he did return, Mathis would have one more year of eligibility left in college.

Shortly after the season, Mathis said that he would sit down and contemplate his future and whether or not he would return for one more year in college. That decision has been made.

Mathis is projected as a seventh-round pick (No. 219 overall) in the consensus rating compiled from several sources via NFL Mock Draft Database.

Mathis' draft stock has fluctuated throughout the season in those analyses and rankings. He has been listed as high as No. 66 in the draft prospect rankings and as low as No. 267. The most recent draft projection has him ranked No. 167 overall, which would put him as a late fourth-round pick.

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