A trio of Nebraska players will not play in the Pinstripe Bowl, Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule said Friday.
Offensive lineman Micah Mazzccua, cornerback Tommi Hill and wide receiver Isaiah Neyor will not play in the finale against Boston College, Rhule said.
Mazzccua, who has played both guard and tackle this season, underwent surgery on his labrum after playing most of the season with the injury, Rhule said.
«He played through it, which I appreciate,» Rhule said of Mazzccua’s injury. «He showed great toughness to do that. He moved to left tackle and played with an injured shoulder the last four games.»
Mazzccua played at guard to begin the year before moving to tackle where he split time with redshirt freshman Gunna Gottula down the stretch. Mazzccua appeared in nine games in his lone season at Nebraska.
Neyor will opt out of the bowl game. Neyor began his college career at Wyoming and then spent two seasons at Texas before coming to Nebraska for the 2024 season.
Neyor has appeared in every game this season with nine starts and has made 34 catches for 455 yards and five touchdowns on the season, and his absence will open more opportunities for younger players in the bowl game.
«He’s still in the building working out, but won’t play in the game — just getting ready for the East-West Shrine Bowl,» Rhule said. «He had the ACL at Texas and we want to keep him healthy and give him a chance and give our young guys a chance to show what they can do.»
Hill has long been expected to not play in the bowl game. He posted an announcement to his social media channels earlier this week, and hadn’t played in Nebraska’s final two regular season games against Wisconsin and Iowa, and missed three others games with a nagging foot injury that affected his play when he was in games late in the year.
Hill recorded 21 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, one pass breakup and one interception, which he returned for a touchdown against Colorado.
Hill has already accepted an invitation to play in the Senior Bowl.
«He graduated, which is the No. 1 thing I want for him, and he’s going to go get that foot right,» Rhule said.