After one game, Nebraska’s running attack appeared to be potentially effective, as no clear leader emerged among the four leading running backs, each of whom had a comparable number of runs against UTEP.
This week’s Pregame Perspective focuses on that topic. What will the season bring for the Huskers’ running game? Who will emerge as the most active and effective runner?
On a beautiful afternoon in Lincoln before the Nebraska-Colorado game, I asked 100 Husker fans in the south parking lot of Haymarket Park, on the university campus and on South 12th Street this question:
“Which of these four Nebraska running backs will have the most rushing attempts this year?”
• Dante Dowdell
• Gabe Ervin Jr.
• Emmett Johnson
• Rahmir Johnson
• Everything about the same?
A clear frontrunner emerged. Dante Dowdell, a sophomore transfer from the University of Oregon, topped the list at 43 percent. Dowdell was a four-star prep player from Mississippi who got going early, rushing for 55 yards on eight carries and a touchdown to start the game, but then dropped the ball inside the UTEP 10-yard line and failed to make another run.
Gabe Ervin Jr. was second at 24 percent. The junior from Buford, Georgia, is recovering from a hip injury that sidelined him for most of last season. He scored two touchdowns and had 24 yards on six carries against UTEP.
In third place with 19 percent of the vote was sophomore Emmett Johnson, a Minnesota native whose playing time increased dramatically in the second half of 2023. Against UTEP, he had the longest run of the day, a 43-yard run, and had eight carries for 71 yards.
Rounding out the poll with 12 percent was Rahmir Johnson, a senior who got the first runs last week against UTEP and finished with 50 yards on 11 carries.
Two voters chose the option “everything about the same”.
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