Honors & Awards

» Honorable-Mention Big Ten All-Freshman Team (BTN, 2013)

» Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Spring 2013)

Vincent Valentine was a mainstay on the Blackshirt defensive line for three seasons. The 6-3, 320-pound Valentine was an imposing run-stopper, while also showing great athleticism for his size. Valentine made the decision to forgo his final season of eligibility to enter the NFL Draft.

Valentine was limited by injury in 2015, but helped the Huskers rank among the nation’s top 10 rushing defenses. His best year was in 2014 as a sophomore, when Valentine tallied more than 40 tackles, and helped Nebraska rank among the nation’s best pass and third-down defenses. Despite giving up his final year in Lincoln, Valentine earned his degree in sociology in December of 2015.

2015 (Junior)

Valentine was slowed throughout the year by injuries, but played in 10 games with seven starts. Valentine finished with 10 tackles, but still flashed his play-making ability with three sacks and four tackles for loss.

Valentine was injured against South Alabama and missed three games. He returned against Wisconsin and had three tackles, including two tackles for loss and a seven-yard sack. He added an 11-yard sack the following week at Minnesota. He recorded his third sack of the year at Rutgerrs and made two tackles in the bowl victory over UCLA.

2014 (Sophomore)

Valentine played in all 13 games making 11 starts, and totaled 45 tackles, including seven tackles for loss and three sacks. He forced a fumble and added two quarterback hurries and two break ups. Valentine made at least four tackles six times in 2014.

Valentine recorded career highs at Fresno State with two sacks for 12 yards in losses and three tackles for loss. He set a career high with six tackles against Miami, including four solo stops. Valentine had five tackles at Michigan State and had a hand in two Nebraska takeaways. He notched a pass breakup that resulted in a Randy Gregory interception on the game’s opening drive and later forced a fumble. Valentine suffered an arm injury at Northwestern that limited him to only a few snaps against Rutgers.

He finished the season by tying his career high with six tackles against both Iowa and USC. Against the Hawkeyes, he had a 10-yard sack and two tackles for loss, then made his seventh tackle for loss of the year in the bowl game.

2013 (Redshirt Freshman)

Valentine played in all 13 games with six starts, including the first four games and the final two regular-season games. He made 21 tackles, including 11 solo stops, five tackles for loss and a sack.

He made four tackles against Wyoming and had eight tackles combined against Penn State and Iowa in the final two regular-season games, including a season-high five stops against the Hawkeyes. He also had three of his five tackles for loss in the last two games. He had two TFLs against Iowa, including an eight-yard sack.

2012 (Redshirt)

Valentine redshirted in his first season in the program in 2012.

Before Nebraska (Edwardsville HS)

Valentine was a second-team all-state, all-class pick in Illinois by the Chicago Tribune as a senior. He had 35 tackles, including 11 tackles for loss, and three sacks for Edwardsville, helping Coach Matt Martin’s team to a 5-5 record and a trip to the Illinois state playoffs. Valentine was also chosen as a first-team Class 7A all-state performer by the Illinois High School Coaches Association, and earned first-team All-Southwest Conference honors for the second straight season.

As a junior, Valentine made 33 tackles, while adding two sacks, forcing two fumbles and recovering a fumble. He was also a starter as a sophomore when he racked up 29 tackles, two sacks and had a fumble recovery. Valentine was ranked among the nation’s top 50 defensive tackles by both Rivals.com and 247 Sports. Valentine chose Nebraska over Florida and Illinois, and had dozens of other offers including Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin in the Big Ten.

Personal

Valentine was born on Feb. 23, 1994, and he is the son of Vincent Sr. and Angreha Valentine. He is a journalism major, and earned a spot on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in the spring of 2013. Valentine has volunteered his time with Uplifting Athletes and part of team hospital visits.