Pregame Perspective: Who Will Lead the Nebraska Offense?

A new season always brings an element of uncertainty, but this seemed a bit excessive.

For my first Pregame Perspective Husker fan survey of 2026, I decided to ask this question: “Who will score the most touchdowns for Nebraska this season, from a combination of rushing, receiving and kick returns?”

I anticipated a lot of diversity in the answer, because Emmett Johnson, who had 15 touchdowns last season, moved on to the NFL. It’s doubtful anyone will run away with the team lead like EJ did last year.

On a hot, sticky Saturday morning in the Haymarket before the Huskers hosted Ohio University to start the season, I polled 100 Husker fans. Even though I assembled a list of eight names (which eventually grew to 11 because three fans added their own write-in candidates), a common response was, “I have no idea who’s on the team. I’m going to find out today.”

After I sorted through all that confusion and people studied my list for a while, junior wide receiver Jacory Barney Jr. emerged as the winner with 22 votes, edging transfer quarterback Anthony Colandrea, who got 19 votes.

Running a solid third place was wide receiver Nyziah Hunter (17 votes), followed by running back Isaiah Mozee (12) and true freshman running back Jamal Rule (11).

The results

• Jacory Barney 22
• Anthony Colandrea 19
• Nyziah Hunter 17
• Isaiah Mozee 12
• Jamal Rule 11
• Kwinten Ives 6
• Kwazi Gilmer 5
• Mekhi Nelson 3
• Quinn Clark 3
• Carter Nelson 1
• Janiran Bonner 1

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