Jeremy Pernell's 2025 Nebraska Football Preview: The Quarterbacks and Running Backs

With Dana Holgorsen running the offense, the Huskers' backfield will be counted on to put up substantially better numbers than last year.

Quarterback Dylan Raiola and running back Emmett Johnson are two key pieces of the Huskers' 2025 offense. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule likes to talk about the three stages of culture-building and the indication where the players have completely bought in to the standard. First, the players have to learn it. Then they'll start to live it. Finally, players will defend it. This team has officially entered the "defend it" stage.

The Cornhusker football team has officially made the transition from being coach-fed to player-led. "This is the team I've been waiting for," Rhule told reporters during a post-practice interview session this spring.

Excitement around the program is palpable and there's been a quiet aura of confidence inside the Osborne Legacy Complex all offseason. Games aren’t played on paper, but the pieces appear to be in place for a breakout season for Nebraska.

Let's take a look at this roster position-by-position to see what the 2025 team might look like. Let's begin on offense with the quarterbacks and running backs.

Quarterbacks

Projected depth chart:

1. Dylan Raiola (Soph.)
2. Jalyn Gramstad (Sr.) -or- TJ Lateef (Fr.)
3. Marcos Davila (RFr.)

The Husker offense spent the offseason laying the groundwork for an enduring connection between quarterback Dylan Raiola and offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen, which starts with Raiola seeing the game the same way so that he's an extension of Holgorsen on the field.

Being comfortable climbing the pocket could be a key to a more successful season for Dylan Raiola. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

It’s a complicated, turbulent process, but we've seen how special its been when Holgorsen has created that with former pupils Graham Harrell (Texas Tech), Case Keenum (Houston), Brandon Weeden (Oklahoma State), Geno Smith (West Virginia), Will Grier (West Virginia) and Clayton Tune (Houston). They all put up prolific numbers and got opportunities in the NFL after tutelage from Holgorsen.

By all accounts, Raiola has had an extraordinary offseason. I've talked about his arm talent and my affinity for him as a prospect ad nauseam since my initial write-up on him after he signed with the Huskers. The fact he wasn't one of the 36 players named to the preseason Davey O'Brien Award Watchlist is laughable.

The one area of his game I'll be paying the most attention to this season is how comfortable he is climbing the pocket when protection breaks down and he feels pressure on the edges. As a scout, I can tell you that's extremely difficult for QBs to do because it goes against their natural instinct, which is to roll out and bail out of the pocket under duress.

Raiola, expectedly, struggled a bit with that as a true freshman, but heck, there are a lot of QBs in the NFL who struggle with that on a consistent basis. But I'm telling you, if Raiola has made significant strides in that area of his development — watch out. He'll be one of the best QBs in the country.

Distributing the ball with quick throws is part of the recipe for a more efficient offense in 2025. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

In Holgorsen's system, Raiola will be asked to get the ball out of his hands quickly and distribute as a point guard on offense. Nebraska's offensive coordinator has talked about the importance of making routine plays and that those routine plays will lead to generating more explosive plays, something Nebraska sorely lacked last year.

The Husker offense ranked 103rd nationally in scoring (23.5 ppg) and was tied for 81st in plays of 20+ yards with only 52 on the year. Nebraska was also 96th in passing yards per attempt (6.8). Holgorsen wants Raiola to add at least a yard to that figure as a sophomore. Last year, 8 yards per attempt placed you in the top 30 nationally.

Raiola will need to be surgical hitting receivers in stride and giving his playmakers the chance to make plays in space. I've talked about my expectations of Raiola this season in my previous article covering the strength of the QB room. So you know I'm expecting big things this year.

Running Backs

Projected depth chart:

1. Emmett Johnson (Jr.)
2. Mekhi Nelson (RFr.)
3. Isaiah Mozee (Fr.)
4. Kwinten Ives (Soph.)
5. Conor Booth (Fr.)

There are two position groups that I believe will have the biggest impact on the success of this season. The first one is the RB room, even though the staff seems to be bullish on the group.

Nebraska is largely unproven and lack a proven workhorse — at least someone who has done it over the course of an entire season. In four games with Holgorsen calling plays last year, Nebraska's running backs averaged around 26 carries per game. Keep in mind they had Dante Dowdell, who averaged 10 carries in his three regular-season games under Holgorsen, and Rahmir Johnson, who had nine totes in the Pinstripe Bowl.

Those two are gone, and their production now falls on the shoulders of freshmen and a third-year sophomore with six career carries for seven yards.

Mekhi Nelson is in line to be RB2 for the Huskers this season. | Nebraska Athletics via Facebook

I really liked Mekhi Nelson when he was coming out of high school — I had a four-star grade on him. He joined the team in late June 2024 after reclassifying from the 2025 class and joined the program in time for fall camp. He's impressed coaches ever since and is in line to be RB2 this year. Nelson's a tremendous natural runner with great burst. If he can handle the other aspects of the position like pass blocking, he's going to be difficult to keep off the field.

Don't sleep on true freshman Isaiah Mozee just because he switched positions after spring ball. His situation is nothing like recent players Jaidyn Doss and Ismael Smith Flores, who were moved around because they couldn't distinguish themselves at any position. Had he stayed at WR, Mozee would have been part of the rotation this fall. Ironically, he's exactly what Scott Frost would have loved out of his Duck-R spot. Mozee can line up in the backfield and take handoffs or line up in the slot and be a major problem for a safety or linebacker to cover. He's your RB3 coming out of camp.

The Husker staff has long been complimentary of Kwinten Ives and he appeared to be in line to take the RB2 role after Dowdell transferred to Kentucky. Ives enjoyed a solid spring, but an injury to his right hamstring on the first day of fall camp (July 29) kept him out until Aug. 15. His absence has opened the door for true freshman Conor Booth to push for RB4 and to carve out a role as the short-yardage back that Ives was expected to occupy. His first offseason at Nebraska has been a good one.

Emmett Johnson finished strong in 2024 after Dana Holgorsen's arrival. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

It all might boil down to Emmett Johnson. Nebraska's returning part-time starter averaged around 15 carries per game and caught 23 total passes in four games under Holgorsen, averaging 121 all-purpose yards a game.

Can Johnson hold up for an entire season as RB1? Can he be counted on to absorb 200 carries this season and hold up? Holgorsen will want to get him at least 20 touches a game between handoffs and being involved in the passing game. If he looks like the player we saw the last four games of 2024 for the entirety of the upcoming season, this offense should be really good — and so will Nebraska.

Tomorrow, we'll take a look at the wide receivers and tight ends.

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