Money is Still Stopping Nebraska from Adding Transfer Running Backs

Matt Rhule couldn't add a running back last year because others "paid more money". It appears that this cycle has the same issue as Rhule looks to balance a roster that had plenty of needs after 2025.

Nebraska head football coach Matt Rhule | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Nebraska football still doesn't have enough money.

This has been an issue for the Huskers in the NIL era, and it continues into the revenue-sharing era as well. And that isn't speculation; it comes straight from the head coach.

For those who may have been under a rock for the past decade, college athletes can make money off their name, image, and likeness now. That means deals with collectives or marketing companies or local businesses, sometimes blurring the line of pay-for-play. As of the 2025-26 year, schools can also pay athletes directly, with that number being $20.5 million this year and rising in successive years.

Matt Rhule has led Nebraska to back-to-back bowl games. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

So Nebraska has *some* money. The Husker programs have had *some* money via 1890 Nebraska, which was the official NIL arm of the university. But it hasn't been enough, as exemplified by how Nebraska has chased the running back position over the last several transfer portal windows.

Following the 2024 season, Dante Dowdell left for Kentucky (and is now signed with Georgia). Emmett Johnson was also expected to hit the portal. Johnson was eventually convinced to stay, giving the Huskers a running back 25 games and nine starts under his belt.

Emmett Johnson declared for the NFL draft after the season, skipping the bowl game. | Cory Edmondson, KFGE

With no backs added during the first window, questions about the position continued through spring practices. Matt Rhule had said on multiple occasions that he wanted another running back to join Johnson in the backfield, but that never came.

Nebraska was linked to Omaha native and now-Miami Hurricane CharMar Brown during the second window of the cycle. Rhule said that he didn't have the resources to make it happen.

"Some people paid more money than I had," Rhule said. "That’s the reality of it."

Brown is playing for a national title on Monday.

Creighton Prep grad CharMar Brown has rushed for 469 yards and seven touchdowns as the No. 2 running back for the Miami Hurricanes, who will play Indiana for the national championship. | Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Meanwhile, Nebraska's top four returning running backs—Kwinten Ives, Mekhi Nelson, Isaiah Mozee, Conor Booth—have combined for 50 career games, with 36 of those coming this season. Their combined career rushing numbers are 83 carries for 410 yards and five touchdowns. That's less than Johnson's numbers pre-2025—207 carries for 1,009 yards and three touchdowns.

How much worse would the difference in returning production be if Johnson had played in the bowl game? Against Utah, Nelson, Mozee, and Ives combined for 23 carries for 134 yards and a touchdown. That single game amounts to 27.7% of their combined career carries, 32.7% of their combined career rushing yards, and 33.3% of their combined career rushing touchdowns.

Mekhi Nelson led the Huskers in Las Vegas with 88 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. but half of those carries for 72 yards and the score came on the first two drives of the game. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Johnson did more than just run the ball successfully; he had a standout 2025 in the receiving game. That propelled him to the top-10 list for all-purpose yards in Nebraska history.

But that further showcases the lack of production behind him. Of the top eight* all-purpose seasons by running backs, 2025 was the worst for rushing production from the backup.

*Johnny Rodgers is in the top 10 twice as a wing back. That meant Nebraska had true running backs getting carries during his seasons.

Season	Running Back	Total Yards	Rushing Yards	Second-Leading Rusher	Rushing Yards	Third-Leading Rusher	Rushing Yards	Team Record
1983	Mike Rozier	2,486	2,148	Turner Gill	531	Mark Schellen	450	12-1
2014	Ameer Abdullah	2,272	1,611	Tommy Armstrong	705	Imani Cross	384	9-4
2013	Ameer Abdullah	1,999	1,690	Imani Cross	447	Terrell Newby	198	9-4
1997	Ahman Green	1,982	1,877	Scott Frost	1,095	Joel Makovicka	685	13-0
1994	Lawrence Phillips	1,894	1,722	Cory Schlesinger	456	Clinton Childs	395	13-0
2012	Ameer Abdullah	1,884	1,137	Taylor Martinez	1,019	Rex Burkhead	675	10-4
1982	Mike Rozier	1,790	1,689	Roger Craig	586	Jeff Smith	569	12-1
2025	Emmett Johnson	1,821	1,451	Mekhi Nelson	147	Kwinten Ives	133	7-6

Comparing 2025 to some of Nebraska's all-time seasons for players and teams aside, Rhule is ready to run it back with a room that saw its leading rusher declare for the NFL and a pair of underclassmen running backs leave via the portal.

But, once again, it comes down to money. Rhule likes what he has in the room. There is talent and potential aplenty between the returning players and the high school signee, Jamal Rule. We just haven't seen it play out that much on the field, and Rhule noted on Sports Nightly on Friday that he had to utilize his resources elsewhere.

"When you look at the portal—if you don't lose a ton of guys—there's only so much money you have to compensate the rest of it," Rhule said. "When we look at the running back room, we believe in those guys and we're going to roll with them."

Nebraska has added 16 transfer portal players, including a quarterback in UNLV's Anthony Colandrea. He and TJ Lateef give the Big Red a pair of mobile quarterbacks to help alleviate the strain on the running back position. The Huskers also added a trio of offensive linemen to better protect the quarterback and open up better run lanes.

But Rhule is back to where he was a year ago: not having enough money. That cost him a running back that could have delivered more balance from the backfield and potentially have been around for 2026. It is costing him a clear No. 1 guy going into spring practices.

The day after the Penn State job opened, Rhule stumped for an increase in resources.

"In a world of $30 and $40 million rosters, which isn't going away, I'd like us to do the same thing," Rhule said. "There's sort of like a, 'Hey, that's not really the Nebraska way.' I'd like it to be. I'd like to invest. I'd like to be at the front of everything.

"We have a history here at being at the forefront in investing. I just don't want to stop that. I want to be the absolute best at it. I think we can be a perennial, one of the best teams in the country."

Matt Rhule hasn't been shy about talking about how far Nebraska has come to financially back the program for NIL. But is it enough yet? | Kaleb Henry

When Rhule signed his extension to keep him in Lincoln through the 2032 season, he noted that he got that financial increase.

"This'll be the first year we can do whatever we...we have the money now," Rhule said. "I can't complain anymore. We got what we need.

"In the previous couple years, I had to make a lot of hard decisions because we didn't have the money everyone else had."

Rhule's comments on Friday are saying that he had to make some hard decisions and that he couldn't do whatever he wanted. It becomes a complaint to file away for spring practice and fall camp when the questions about the running back room stay at the front of mind.

Emmett Johnson had the best season for a Husker running back in more than a decade, but he leaves behind a room lacking in on-field production. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

While the reality of only having so much money to go around is absolutely valid, so is the need for a proven running back.

At best, the decision not to add a running back for the fourth straight transfer portal window is an attempt to do more for the whole of the team with less money; at worst, it is more irresponsibility from a staff and head coach who need a big season to justify the resources that have already been poured into them.

Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to kalebhenry.huskermax@gmail.com.

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