'This is the Most Talented Room I've Had': E.J. Barthel Details Nebraska's RB Competition

The position coach made a bold claim about his running backs. Now, the group will look to back it up in 2026.

Isaiah Mozee breaks loose for a 21-yard gain against Northwestern last season. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Nebraska's running backs coach E.J. Barthel didn't stutter.

When speaking to the media after practice Tuesday, Barthel, who’s fresh off developing a first-team All-American in Emmett Johnson, said the 2026 iteration of his position group is the best he's ever had. This fall, they'll look to back that up in a very big way.

Here's everything we learned about his room during his time at the mic.

Johnson was responsible for 251 of the 334 total rushing attempts by Husker running backs a season ago. As a result, he became NU's first ball carrier to surpass the 1,000-yard mark in a single season since Devine Ozigbo in 2018.

Kwinten Ives rushes for short gain against Houston Christian last season. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Even so, Barthel believes Nebraska's depth is greater than what he had in 2025. In fact, he called it the most impressive unit he's ever coached.

“This is the most talented room I’ve had,” he said. “They push each other each and every single day. I think keeping them together is my biggest challenge, because there’s usually only one guy that's going to be out there getting the ball. The competition part of it has been paramount as far as guys getting better at what they need to get better at. There’s not much room for error… so the urgency of attacking each rep is very important.”

From top to bottom, there doesn't appear to be much Barthel doesn't like about his room. Asked what makes the group special, he didn't hold back his praise for the players he's responsible for developing this fall.

“You look at Mekhi, and he’s 4.4 speed that averaged nine yards a touch in a bowl game with an explosive run that got called back,” he said. “You’ve got Isaiah Mozee, who’s 215 pounds and can run slot routes, who runs 4.5, 4.4. You’ve got Jamal Rule, who’s 215 pounds and runs 4.4; he’s physical, he can run inside, he can run outside. Kwinten Ives is 215 pounds and can block in protection; he’s athletic enough to run routes, catch out of the backfield, who’s shown in the bowl game that he can be useful in short yardage and protection.”

“Conor Booth ran for 3,000 yards in high school,” he continued. “He’s having to compete just to get top reps. Vincent Genatone is a guy who’s 4.4, can jump out of the gym, and he’s fighting to get reps… To me, when I say the talent in the room is the most talented group of guys, that’s what I mean. We’ve got some special skill sets in that room.”

Quarterback Anthony Colandrea runs the ball during a fall camp scrimmage. | Nebraska Athletics via X

Barhel's unit won't be asked to shoulder the workload alone. Instead, they'll have the help of Anthony Colandrea, who was recently named the Huskers' QB1. To this point in his career, the UNLV transfer has rushed for over 1,100 yards. Barthel suggested he's looking forward to having that asset in the offense this fall.

“It’s our best friend,” Barthel said with a smile. “It’s like having an extra running back; you’ve got to defend for it. For us, his ability in the pass game and the run game, to make plays, to extend with his feet, just takes a lot of pressure off us… It’s really, really exciting to be able to have that element in our offense.” 

Still, NU will look to manage the number of times its starting signal-caller carries the ball. In short-yardage scenarios, though capable, Colandrea won't likely be the player asked to move the chains.

Jamal Rule is listed at 6-0, 205 pounds ahead of his true freshman season at Nebraska. | @official._rule/Instagra

Instead, it will be a trio of Husker ball carriers who are still competing for the role.

“We’ve got three guys really competing for it,” Barthel said. “Vincent Genatone’s had a great camp. Kwinten is in the running and so is Jamal. All of them are going to get shots at it… Those three are the bigger, physical guys that have been taking most of the reps.” 

Barthel now has an NFL player he can point to in recruiting and development that he helped produce. Though encouraged to see Johnson's success, Barthel noted that his former player's performance in the first couple of weeks of preseason games hasn't come as a surprise.

Emmett Johnson runs the ball during a preseason game with the Kansas City Chiefs. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“I’ve always felt like we had the best running back in the nation last year,” he said. “So, I was not shocked by any means by how he played these first two preseason games. The best part about that was we were able to watch his highlights and pause a play, and I would ask the room, ‘what’s the coaching point I’m going to say here?’ and the boys were able to answer it. That was evidence to them to say like, ‘That’s the standard’. They know what it looks like; they know how to do it.” 

Barthel said he felt emotions seeing Johnson's success. However, he's more focused on using it as an example to the players he currently has in his room.

“Teary-eyed,” he said. “It’s pretty cool. This whole experience has been great. Watching him develop and watching him grow — he’s got a lot of work to do, but he’s the type of kid that's going to continue to work to get better at things. I think it's been great for these other boys to see that. That’s the standard I expect from practice, each rep.” 

Mekhi Nelson gets a 41-yard gain on a pass play last season against Akron. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Johnson started all 12 regular-season games a season ago, and the Big Red will need someone to replace him this fall.Barthel sees multiple players capable of earning the nod.

“I’ll let the head coach make that decision as far as who’s going to be the guy,” Barthel said when asked about the starter. “But as far as I’m concerned, we have multiple starters. We have guys that can go be the guy. Different skill sets, but the top of the room, I feel comfortable with multiple guys starting right now.”

Mekhi Nelson is the only ball carrier on the Huskers' roster with a collegiate start. Whether it's Nelson, Mozee, Ives, Rule, or someone else, one thing is clear: Barthel is very confident in his group.

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