It's unlikely that Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson will get many looks as a Heisman candidate. The Huskers already logging three losses probably ended that campaign. Especially with Indiana's Fernando Mendoza running away with the award. However, the NU junior's surge in the second half of the season should absolutely make him a candidate for an All-American bid.
Johnson's Saturday night against UCLA was truly the show of a player who was on another level from anyone else on the field. He hurt the Bruins while running the ball, racking up 129 yards on 28 carries and a touchdown.
Nebraska football's Emmett Johnson stakes his case for All-American status
He also hurt UCLA through the air, catching 3 passes for 103 yards and 2 touchdowns. And even when he wasn't breaking one for a long gain, he was making people miss as he has all season. EJ, in fact, leads the nation in missed tackles forced. On Saturday, he also became the only player this year who has had 100 yards receiving and 100 yards rushing in the same game.
🌽 32 Touches
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 9, 2025
🌽 129 RUSH YDS
🌽 103 REC YDS
🌽 3 TD@HuskerFootball RB Emmett Johnson is the only FBS player this season with 💯 rushing and receiving yards in the same game 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Yo2lFfVJkk
Johnson's rise for Nebraska has come just as the Huskers' coach finally seemed to realize what they had in the running back. He's now run for over 100 yards in three straight games and in four of his last five.
He's second in the entire nation in rushing with 1,131 yards, just 50 behind the nation's leader in Jacksonville State's Cam Cook. He's tied for 11th in the country in rushing touchdowns with 11. And he's second in the country among running backs in catches with 36. He's also got 300 yards receiving on the season and another 3 touchdown catches.
He's having the kind of season that hasn't really been seen since Ameer Abdullah. He's already surpassed the numbers of the last Nebraska running back who ran for 1,000 yards, Devine Ozigbo, who ran for 1,082 yards.
For some reason, there's still a lot of talk that Emmett Johnson won't get an All-American bid, perhaps because the Nebraska star didn't really start putting up eye-popping numbers until late in the season. However, he should at the very least get first-team All-Big Ten. And then hopefully, next year, come back for a real Heisman bid.