While the Nebraska football team had a very successful 2024 recruiting class, there was one position where the Huskers were left woefully wanting. Matt Rhule and company did not land a single running back signee on Early Signing Day.
Now it looks as though the Cornhuskers staff is looking to right that wrong. While they may have lost out on Kewan Lacy, they’re looking to replace him in the class with former Oregon running back Dante Dowdell.
Dowdell will be in Lincoln on Friday, January 5 and when he does come, it would appear that the Nebraska football team is poised to close the deal. That would give the Huskers a weapon they’ll need in order to revamp an offense that was among the worst in the Big Ten towards the end of the season.
One area where the Cornhuskers did have success was on the ground, though over the course of the season, the shallowness of the running back room was shown. Injuries to Gabe Ervin and Rahmir Johnson left Anthony Grant and Emmett Johnson as the only remotely proven commodities at the position.
Grant is gone now. Out of college football eligibility. Emmett Johnson is back. Ervin and Rahmir Johnson are expected back and fully healthy as well. Having said all that, Dowdell would almost certainly immediately take the #2 spot on the Nebraska football depth chart.
Nebraska football appears poised to land Oregon transfer RB
Dowdell, a former four-star recruit, spent just one season in Eugene before he decided to move on. In 2023, he had 17 carries for 90 yards and one touchdown.
The 6-2, 215-pound running back will have three years of eligibility remaining. He was a top-ten running back in the class of 2023. He chose Oregon over schools like Ole Miss and Missouri.
Now the Nebraska football team is hoping they can add the talented back to its stable and start to rebuild itself as Tailback U.