After spending most of the last few months looking like Matt Rhule and Co. were set at running back, the Nebraska football team made a new addition on Tuesday afternoon. The even better news here is that by securing the commitment of Tikey Hayes, they’ve managed to get a player who understands what it takes to play in the Big Ten.
Hayes started his college career at Penn State but left the program in January and was with Iowa Western Community College this spring. He was projected to be the Reivers’ starting running back this fall. HuskerOnline confirmed with IWCC head coach Scott Strohmeier that Hayes does intend to join the Huskers when fall camp opens later this month.
“They are taking him now as a late-season add from what I know,” Strohmeier said about his projected starter making the jump to Nebraska on Tuesday. “I was informed (on Monday) night.”
Tikey Hayes gives Nebraska football late running back depth before fall camp
The 5-foot-11, 200-pound running back played in just one game last year, though he did get to see what a bowl environment was like in the process. Hayes tallied 3 carries for 18 yards against Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl.
If nothing else, Hayes will add another body in a running back room that doesn’t have much depth. At the moment, the RBs who have any real college experience in Lincoln are Mekhi Nelson and Isaiah Mozee. Connor Booth is a talented in-state player but likely won’t start in the Big Ten, and true freshman Jamal Rule has plenty of Power 4 talent but hasn’t played a down in the college game and might suffer from growing pains, even if he does snatch some playing time.
While Hayes hasn’t really gotten a chance to show what he can do at the college ranks, he put up plenty of impressive numbers before joining Penn State. The former 3-star back rushed for 1,022 yards and 17 touchdowns on just 97 carries as a senior, 2,239 yards and 26 touchdowns on 230 carries as a junior, 2,011 yards and 33 touchdowns on 198 carries as a sophomore, and 1,723 yards and 23 touchdowns on 221 carries as a freshman at Aliquippa.
Hayes’ addition to the Nebraska running backs room immediately raises the question of whether Nelson might be on his way out. In the bowl game against Utah, the running back looked like he was staking a claim for starting running back this fall. However, he was arrested in Florida earlier this summer, and so far, the University hasn’t said anything about the fallout or his status with the team.
Certainly adding Tikey Hayes doesn’t guarantee there’s an opening on the roster. The Nebraska coaching staff took quite a bit of flak over the winter for not going out and getting a transfer running back to replace All-World back Emmett Johnson when he declared for the NFL Draft. It’s up in the air at the moment whether Rhule added the former Penn State back to replace Nelson, as an emergency in case Nelson leaves, or simply to have another body in the room.
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