Nebraska commitment from Omaha Westside kicker Tristan Alvano

Nebraska added a commitment from Omaha (Nebraska) Westside kicker Tristan Alvano on Friday.

Alvano announced his commitment to the Huskers on Twitter. He took his official visit this past weekend to Lincoln.

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The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Alvano is regarded as one of the best kicking talents the state of Nebraska has ever produced.

He now becomes the fourth player the Huskers will have on scholarship for the 2023 season, joining kicker Timmy Bleedrode, punter Brian Buschini and long-snapper Marco Ortiz.

100% ALL IN❤️❤️ #GBR pic.twitter.com/YdxXpJir8O

— Tristan Alvano (@AlvanoTristan) December 16, 2022

In Westside’s 43-41 state championship game win over Gretna, he connected on all five field goals – four from 40+ yards. His 45-yard field goal in the final seconds of the game captured the state championship for Wetside.

In all, Alvano made 16 field goals this season, which also set a state record.

“Nebraska said if he can already kick like that in our stadium right now, we want him on this team,” Warrior head coach Paul Limongi said.

The importance of Rhule and his staff

If there isn’t a head coaching change for Nebraska, there isn’t a great chance that Alvano would have ended up playing for the Huskers. The first coach to reach out to Alvano from Matt Rhule’s staff made an instant connection with him.

“I honestly think it was the relationships that I had with the new staff,” Alvano said. “They are incredible. From the first moment I spoke with coach Foley I had a connection with him and he was the special teams coordinator. That’s a big bond to have.

“I think that coach Rhule and the whole staff are great people. They are just so genuine and that’s what really sold me on Nebraska. As an in-state kid that’s important to me. There was a time with the old staff that I wasn’t a priority and I wasn’t talking to them.”

Alvano had to wait things out with Nebraska. The Huskers invited him to the spring game in April and stopped communicating with him until Scott Frost was fired.

“I got invited to the spring game and that was the last time I communicated with them until I was in my season. At some point I felt disrespected and it wasn’t the right fit. Then the new staff came in and it changed the game for me. They made me feel important and they made us feel like a priority.”

Interest started from Joseph, Rhule closed it

Give credit where it is due and Mickey Joseph deserves some of the credit for getting Nebraska back in the picture with Alvano. There is little doubt, however that Matt Rhule and his staff closed the deal.

“I think the communication only really started with Nebraska once Mickey Joseph was the interim head coach,” Alvano said. “So that was late September and more like early October. My first visit to Lincoln was for the Minnesota game. I got the PWO offer before the game which I was cool and I was happy from there.

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“Then the season when on and the state championship happened and I picked up an offer from Nebraska. And it was amazing. I thought to myself that I picked up an offer from my in-state school and went to games there for years with my family. And it was awesome.

“They eventually brought in Matt Rhule and he named his staff and it checked all of the boxes for me going to Nebraska. And they deserve all of the credit for keeping me home.”

Great opportunity at Nebraska

Nebraska sees Alvano sitting in the special teams’ room and possibly having multiple roles on special teams. Alvano says he is excited by the players already in the room and getting to compete with them and learn from them.

“Nebraska wants me to come in and compete right away,” Alvano said. “Whether I win one or more of the jobs will come through that competition. I could come in and at least kick next year or I could come in and redshirt and then be the guy for the next four years.

“With me, there are four scholarship guys in the special teams room with all of the kickers, snappers and holders combined. It’s really a perfect situation. I get to kick with Timmy Bleekrode who is 22 years and he’s been kicking the ball twice as long as I have.

“I could learn from him about kicking, the game, college and life advice in general. That’s a great opportunity for me to have. It’s just a great situation for me to be able to join that room with the guys that are in it.”

There were two D1 offers on the table for Alvano. But, many schools wanted Alvano to pay his way through a preferred walk-on process and allow him to come in and compete for a job which may have led to a scholarship.

“I had a D1 offer from Boston College,” Alvano said. “I was getting interest from Iowa, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Michigan State. The way kicking works I could get a PWO and earn my way through competing and winning a job. The only two D1 offers were Nebraska and Boston College.”