Terrell Newby had a record day for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and it was a longtime coming for the junior I-back. Making his second consecutive start under Mike Riley, Newby was under pressure to produce immediately. While the players gave Coach Riley the game ball after the win, Riley put the game in Newby’s hands, and he didn’t disappoint.
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When offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf revealed Nebraska would shorten the I-back rotation earlier in the week, there was speculation on which running back would have their playing time cut. Turns out, the only featured back for the Huskers would be Terrell Newby, and the rest of the ball carriers would have to take a back seat on Saturday night.
One week after only carrying the ball 10 times, the Huskers fed Newby the rock 28 times for 198 yards. He also tallied a couple catches, to compile three total touchdowns in Nebraska’s 48-9 victory over South Alabama. More importantly, Newby ran hard, fast, and with the vision expected of a starting running back in the Cornhuskers’ program.
From the opening moments, Newby ran with passion, and he was attempting to prove he’s the No.1 I-back in the program. After only gaining 43 yards in the loss to BYU, there was concern about the Huskers’ running game overall. Despite averaging 4.3 yards per carry, Newby displayed little consistency in the running game. Now Nebraska should have renewed confidence when they make their first road trip to the Miami Hurricanes next Saturday.
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Mikale Wilbon and Imani Cross only combined for four carries in the game. Although Wilbon gained 21 yards on three carries, and Cross scored a nine yard touchdown on his only touch, it was evident who became the workhorse back on Saturday. Did Nebraska set the tone for next week’s game against Miami? If anything, the Huskers could have run the ball even more. Nebraska had 37 carries on the night. Interestingly enough, those 37 runs equal the same amount as last Saturday. Therefore, Nebraska is more concerned with quality and not quantity. They were also concerned with giving their running backs a rhythm to the game.
If that means going with one back, Nebraska may have found their man with Newby.