Jeremy Pernell: Nebraska Looking Solid at Running Back
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Second in a series breaking down Nebraska's 2023 post-spring roster by position. | HuskerMax discussion |
Heading into spring ball, one of the position groups that stood out and had Nebraska football coaches pretty excited was the running back room.
Unfortunately, the team lost promising redshirt freshman Ajay Allen to the transfer portal after the Red-White game. While this is a loss that stings a bit, it's not overly surprising. Allen followed former Husker running backs coach Bryan Applewhite when the coach left TCU and brought him along in last year's recruiting class.
Allen showed flashes of being a special player early last season before injuring his collarbone and having season-ending surgery in late September. He spent a lot of time in yellow and green jerseys this spring and was fourth on the depth chart coming out of practices. Nebraska can absorb his loss.
The Huskers still have a pretty deep running back room and should have a solid trio in 2023.
The new staff really likes sophomore Gabe Ervin Jr., whom the previous staff was also very high on. Ervin was the first true freshman running back to start a season opener for Nebraska in the modern era. He started two of the first four games in 2021 before his season was cut short after tearing the ACL and patella tendon in his right knee. Ervin wasn't completely recovered from the injury last year and also battled a turf toe. He's completely healthy now and made a big impression this spring. He's in line to be RB1 heading into fall camp.
Nipping at his heels will be senior Anthony Grant, who was actually high school teammates with Ervin at Buford High School in Georgia. Grant is a Florida State bounce-back who arrived at Nebraska last season via New Mexico Military Institute. Grant was ranked the No. 1 juco running back in the country after being named first-team All-American and winning NJCAA Player of the Year.
Grant started for the Huskers last season and finished with 915 yards and six touchdowns on his way to earning honorable-mention All-Big Ten honors. He was suspended by Matt Rhule at the start of spring but showed impressive resolve by doing what was necessary to earn his spot back on the team. Don't count him out of the starting lineup just yet.
Also impressing coaches this spring was junior Rahmir Johnson, who played at Bergen Catholic in New Jersey - an area that several coaches on staff know quite well. Johnson was Nebraska's primary starter in 2021 and has appeared in 30 career games. Despite speaking highly of him last offseason, the former staff kept him on the shelf offensively for most of the season.
That will be your top three. Incoming freshman Kwinten Ives joins the team at the end of the month. He was hand-picked by EJ Barthel, but it would be a pretty impressive feat to crack the rotation this fall. Instead, I expect he and redshirt freshman Emmett Johnson to fight for special teams reps this fall.
Looking ahead, the staff has put the full-court press on Nate Frazier, their top running back target for 2024. The four-star Frazier was in Lincoln for a couple days this spring as he was in town for the massive recruiting event March 25. He left talking about taking an official visit to Nebraska and wanting to attend a game in the fall. Coaches are on the road recruiting during the May evaluation period and EJ Barthel has already been out to Mater Dei High School in Southern California to see Frazier and a few other top targets. He'll be a tough pull, but you have to love Rhule and his staff taking their swing.
