Nebraska Football: Devine Ozigbo continues to improve NFL draft stock

Nebraska football has a long tradition of sending running backs to the NFL and Devine Ozigbo looks to be the next in line.

At the start of the season when you talked about running backs with NFL potential, chances are Devine Ozigbo of Nebraska football wasn’t part of that conversation.

But after rushing for more than 1,000 yards during the regular season and getting invited to the East-West Shrine Game, Ozigbo is getting more and more attention among pro scouts.

While the East-West Shrine Game is actually set for Saturday, the most important part of the week for prospects is the practice. That is when players have a better chance to showcase their abilities and this week, Ozigbo has clearly stood out.

During his four seasons with Nebraska football, Ozigbo had an up-and-down career. He never rushed for 500 yards or more in a season until 2018, when he finally took off under the leadership of head coach Scott Frost.

When the 2018 season was over, Ozigbo ran the ball 155 times for 1,082 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also hauled in 23 receptions for 209 yards, showing the critical element of being able to catch the ball out of the backfield. The back finished his Huskers career with 49 receptions.

After notching just 90 yards on his first 29 rushing attempts of the season, Ozigbo went on a tear to close out his college career, eclipsing the 100-yard mark five times in the final five games. He also ran for more than 150 yards four times or more. Additionally, Ozigbo racked up 198 total yards against Purdue, as well as 196 against Illinois.

One thing that helps Ozigbo too is all the tread left on his tires. In four seasons at Nebraska football, he got just 419 carries. That is basically what you would expect a back to get in two full seasons as a starter, so he is going to the NFL as a relatively fresh back, something teams like.

Beyond that, Ozigbo has impressed with his skills in the passing game this week. He showed a penchant for breaking off long runs this season, which will also help his cause, but his ability to pass block and smoothly act as a receiver will also catch the attention of NFL scouts.

It will be exciting to see what Ozigbo can do during the East-West Shrine Game and it will also be interesting to see how high his draft stock can climb in the coming months.

Yet, no matter what happens, as of now, it looks like Ozigbo is well on his way to becoming the next Nebraska football running back to be drafted into the NFL.