Less than a month ago, Ty Hahn didn’t know if this was actually going to happen.
Months and months, summer camps and gameday visits and offers from FCS schools and then Mountain West stalwart Wyoming, but Hahn, the senior small-school star who lit up the field at Johnson-Brock, didn’t know where he stood with Nebraska.
Finally, offensive coordinator Troy Walters told him it would probably be just a straight walk-on offer.
“And I sort of thought, to be honest with you, that that was going to be it,†Hahn told the Journal Star.
But that wasn’t it. About two weeks ago, head coach Scott Frost called and had a revised offer: walk on for two years and play the final three on scholarship. Or, show up and earn it quicker than that.
So Hahn and his parents visited campus early in December.
People are also reading…
“It was an unofficial for me but it was the official visitor’s schedule,†Hahn said. “They wanted to get me up there, clarify some things, how it’s going to work, how much it’s going to cost and then to just be around the coaches. … Frost reiterated how much they want me and I got a lot of love on that Saturday. That really made the big difference for me. I had a really good official to Wyoming this weekend and I wanted to go out there again before I made my final decision.
“Ultimately Frost called me (on Sunday night) and we just talked about things and I committed to him.â€
This was not an easy call for Hahn, a 6-foot-2 wide receiver who could have been a scholarship player at a lot of schools, including the one in Laramie, where Nebraska native Craig Bohl is the head coach.
“Having a guy that knows where I come from and knows who I am and knows my family, it’s hard to turn that down. It truly was,†Hahn said. “As I look back on it, I’m just really thankful for all the schools that contacted me and offered me and showed interest in me and gave me a chance. A lot of kids don’t get this opportunity and I’m truly thankful for every opportunity I’ve gotten.â€
In the end, the opportunity to play in Lincoln was too much to pass up. He’ll sign this week, then turn his attention to basketball this winter and track in the spring before arriving on campus in late May.
Hahn’s developed a close relationship with Walters. Not only that, but at NU he’ll be in the same class with a large number of in-state walk-ons whom he’s become friends with over the years.
“A big part of my decision was just my connection with a bunch of the in-state guys. Xavier Trevino, Grant Tagge, Ashton Hausmann, Isaac (Gifford), obviously,†he said. “Those are guys that I’ve been talking to a lot, when we’d go on gameday visits, talking about how cool it would be to be in a house together potentially and just working together every day. We talk about it frequently.
“Isaac and I have talked throughout the recruiting process about what we’re hearing from everybody and what we were thinking in our own recruiting processes. I’m really excited to be able to go to work with these guys. I think it’s truly special and the in-state kids are really what make Nebraska, Nebraska.â€
On Friday, Norris grad and offensive lineman Nouredin Nouili announced he was transferring from Colorado State, where he started seven games, to Nebraska, where he’ll start out as a walk-on. Then on Monday, Gifford, the Lincoln Southeast standout, committed to a blueshirt arrangement, which pushes his scholarship counting against NU’s limit forward by a year. Now Hahn joins the group by starting out as a walk-on. That’s a lot of talent to add to a class without counting a scholarship against Nebraska’s 26-man limit for the class.
“The conversation really made things easier for me with what I wanted to do,†he said. “When I went up Saturday, my parents and I had about 45-minute long talk with Frost in his office and it was just good to talk about everything that’s with this offer and the things that I can do to possibly get a scholarship earlier.
“And just learning more about who my head coach is. Being around Frost and getting to know him better, that really helped.â€
So, too, does the long-range plan. Hahn said he met with performance nutrition director Dave Ellis, who told him he can eventually get to somewhere in the 215-pound range without sacrificing speed or athleticism. All the better for earning that scholarship as quickly as possible.
“For me, I feel pretty good because I can actually probably be lighter and feel really good running and stuff but still have weight and I’ll be fine,†he said. “That really excites me because I’ll have the size to be a really solid special teams guy and run."