The decline of the Nebraska football running back and how it parallels the program

The running back position for Nebraska football was once one of the greatest positions in the sport. From Mike Rozier to Ahman Green to Ameer Abdullah, the Huskers produced 29 seasons with a running back hitting the 1000-yard mark on the season between the Tom Osborne and Bo Pelini eras. In the decade since Bo was fired, only Devine Ozigbo was able to cross the 1000-yard mark in a season as a running back. What was once a force in college football has faded away.

Since Nebraska’s last 1000-yard back, 13 teams have had a 1000-yard back in the Big Ten, including Washington, USC, and Oregon, who have only played ten games as a member of the conference. UCLA had a 1000-yard running back in 2022 when Zach Charbonnet went for 1359 for Chip Kelly. Purdue and Maryland both had 1000-yard running backs in 2018, along with the Huskers. Purdue is the only team with a longer streak, having not had a 1000-yard back since Kory Sheets in 2008.

Strength and training programs have emphasized load management at all levels of sports, so one may think that the yards are just being divided amongst more players. However, since 2018, Nebraska has never had more than two running backs rush for over 250+ yards in a season, and it's unlikely that Rhamir Johnson will hit 250 this season. Bill Callahan had four running backs, Cody Glenn, Brandon Jackson, Marlon Lucky, and Kenny Wilson, all rush for 250+ yards in a historic passing season from Nebraska.

Load Management isn't the culprit for Nebraska football

Nebraska football’s running backs haven’t just been struggling for entire seasons. The only Husker running back to rush for 100 yards in a game for Matt Rhule was Anthony Grant against Louisiana Tech. Matt Rhule only had seven running backs crack the 100-yard mark while at Baylor.

Despite being known for the “air raid” offense, Dana Holgorsen produced a lot of backs who eclipsed 100 yards in a game. While at West Virginia, Holgorsen’s running backs had 48 100-yard games. Bo Pelini, who had a great run of running backs including Roy Helu, Rex Burkhead, and Ameer Abdullah, produced 54 100-yard games (albeit in one fewer season than Holgorsen had at WVU).

As an analytics-focused writer, it's important to note that rushing stats are often a symptom, not the cause of it. And Nebraska football has not been winning lately. Against elite offenses, though, it’s a valuable tool to help get your defense some rest and limit the opponent from putting up points. Nebraska needs to be able to run the ball better from the running back position to give it the ability to control games, protect its quarterback from unnecessary hits, and keep its defense rested.