A New Bell Cow Back in the Beef State

The Nebraska running back is one of the most iconic positions in college football. Legends like Mike Rozier, Lawrence Phillips, Ahman Green, and Ameer Abdullah have all lined up in the backfield for the Huskers over the years.

Lately, it has been a notably quiet position. In fact, a running back has been the leading rusher for Nebraska in just two of the last five seasons. The reasons for this shift are clear: in the Big Ten era, Nebraska’s quarterbacks have been a major part of the running game. Adrian Martinez (2020) and Taylor Martinez (2011) both had seasons where they accounted for over 30% of the team's rushing yards. This has certainly eaten into the workload of the Huskers' running backs over the last fifteen years.

Thursday night in Kansas City may have represented the return of something not seen in Nebraska for a while: the bell cow running back.

Emmett Johnson: the New Workhorse

With Nebraska moving to a more pocket-passing offense with the arrival of Dylan Raiola, the running backs will shoulder the rushing load. In 2024, the workload was divided fairly evenly among the backs, overall. Dante Dowdell, the early-season workhorse, finished the season with almost a third of the Huskers' carries, whereas Emmett Johnson, Dana Holgorsen’s preferred back, received about 27% of the rushing attempts.

However, against Cincinnati, Johnson had 25 carries, becoming the first Husker to do so since Anthony Grant against Indiana in 2022. That season, Grant was the only Husker in the Big Ten era to receive over half of the team’s carries. He was also the only Husker in the Big Ten era to account for over 60% of the team’s rushing yards with 915 that year.

Only two other players have been responsible for over 40% of Nebraska’s total rushes for a season: Ameer Abdullah (48.7% in 2013, 45.6% in 2014) and Rex Burkhead (47.8% in 2011). If Johnson continues to receive 25 carries per game, he'd break Lawrence Phillips’ record of 286 carries set in 1994. He'd also likely join Le’Veon Bell as the only Big Ten player since 2011 to have over 70% of his team's carries in a single season.