What is the standard for NU RBs going forward?

[huskerj12]

It's been interesting to see the vibes around NU RBs change over the years. The caliber of RBs just doesn't seem to be a very urgent concern, for previous coaching staffs or for fans who can always talk ourselves into whoever ends up at the top of the depth chart. I think our RB play has been seen as "average" to a lot of fans. Obviously it would be wild to expect to see another LP/Rozier/Green again, but I happen to think our late 00s/early 10s RBs are a better standard, and I also think it's realistic to be able to get guys comparable to Roy/Rex on a regular basis, with a true star like Ameer thrown in every so often as well. Looking at our past decade of RBs since those guys left is kind of stunning.

Leading RB rushers by year:

2023: Anthony Grant - 413 yards
2022: Anthony Grant - 915 yards
2021: Rahmir Johnson - 495 yards
2020*: Dedrick Mills - 396 yards (594 yard pace if full season)
2019: Dedrick Mills - 745 yards
2018: Devine Ozigbo - 1,082 yards
2017: Devine Ozigbo - 493 yards
2016: Terrell Newby - 879 yards
2015: Terrell Newby - 765 yards

Only one guy passed 1,000 yards, and even he didn't average 100 yards per game. I feel like 1,000 yards should be NU's baseline for a starting running back, no matter what kind of offense we run. We should be able to attract RBs who can do that.

For comparison:

Ameer had seasons of 1,611 yards, 1,690 yards, and 1,137 yards.
Rex had seasons of 1,357 yards and 951 yards (while splitting time with Helu)
Helu had seasons of 1,147 yards and 1,245 yards

Those guys are NU heroes, but none of them were college football legends or Heisman finalists or anything like that. They were 3-4 star recruits who were scrappy and got developed into awesome players. We should be able to keep doing that on a regular basis, and hopefully Emmett Johnson is on his way to being the next guy to jump up into that group!

Is that realistic to you? Does Rhule's offense seem calibrated to that expectation? Are my standards too high/too low?

 

[Red Finger]

I think the lack of production was a result of poor recruiting by Frost and now Rhule is playing catch up. It's still mind boggling to me how awful Frost was in certain areas. It's hard to know exactly what the running game expectation is under Rhule imo. The QB effected so much last year. If Emmett Johnson is an NFL RB, he's a niche specialty RB at best. (unless he can pack on some significant good weight and maintain speed) Doesn't mean he can't be good for us though.

The expectation in my eyes is Nebraska should always have NFL running backs and NFL OL. There's no reason with the resources they have, as well as the conference they play in that that shouldn't be the case. From a recruiting standpoint, they should easily be picking from the top 1/8 of RBs from the HS ranks. Might have to build it up a bit since we don't have any recent names to point to, but that shouldn't be that hard to do. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

[KidsSeeGhosts]

Have a lot of hope for EJ this year. Ron Brown can scout RB talent.

 

[RedSavage]

God what a disappointment Grant was last year. Anything under 800 yards is a disappointment IMO (unless there's no clear starter and reps are really spread around).

 

[Fargo Husker]

One would think (hope) that not having a run-first QB should boost the yardage for the RBs by default, assuming our OL continues to progress.

 

[DrumMonkeyRobot]

One would think (hope) that not having a run-first QB should boost the yardage for the RBs by default, assuming our OL continues to progress.

Also, having a functioning passing game will open up the field. That has to help the run game.

 

[Alcaus]

It's been interesting to see the vibes around NU RBs change over the years. The caliber of RBs just doesn't seem to be a very urgent concern, for previous coaching staffs or for fans who can always talk ourselves into whoever ends up at the top of the depth chart. I think our RB play has been seen as "average" to a lot of fans. Obviously it would be wild to expect to see another LP/Rozier/Green again, but I happen to think our late 00s/early 10s RBs are a good standard, and I also think it's realistic to be able to get guys comparable to Roy/Rex on a regular basis, with a true star like Ameer thrown in every so often as well. Looking at our past decade of RBs since those guys left is kind of stunning.

Leading RB rushers by year:

2023: Anthony Grant - 413 yards
2022: Anthony Grant - 915 yards
2021: Rahmir Johnson - 495 yards
2020*: Dedrick Mills - 396 yards (594 yard pace if full season)
2019: Dedrick Mills - 745 yards
2018: Devine Ozigbo - 1,082 yards
2017: Devine Ozigbo - 493 yards
2016: Terrell Newby - 879 yards
2015: Terrell Newby - 765 yards

Only one guy passed 1,000 yards, and even he didn't average 100 yards per game. I feel like 1,000 yards should be NU's baseline for a starting running back, no matter what kind of offense we run. We should be able to attract RBs who can do that.

For comparison:

Ameer had seasons of 1,611 yards, 1,690 yards, and 1,137 yards.
Rex had seasons of 1,357 yards and 951 yards (while splitting time with Helu)
Helu had seasons of 1,147 yards and 1,245 yards

Those guys are NU heroes, but none of them were college football legends or Heisman finalists or anything like that. They were 3-4 star recruits who were scrappy and got developed into awesome players. We should be able to keep doing that on a regular basis, and hopefully Emmett Johnson is on his way to being the next guy to jump up into that group!

Is that realistic to you? Does Rhule's offense seem calibrated to that expectation? Are my standards too high/too low?

I think years of really shit OL development had an impact.

 

[LoudHogRider]

1,000 yard rusher is THE standard here. We're clearly not imposing our will on our opponents if that historic benchmark cannot be achieved.

 

[Mr.Bojangles]

Hold on to the ball that would be top on the standard list for me.

 

[2010sarenevercomingback]

1,000 yard rusher is THE standard here. We're clearly not imposing our will on our opponents if that historic benchmark cannot be achieved.

Especially with the change to a 12 game regular season (also includes the postseason, not that that's mattered the past few years😢), we're talking about a guy who can average 83 yards a game.

If you have one RB who carries the ball on half of the team's running plays, gets the NCAA average for YPC, assume a 50/50 run-pass split, and an average number of offensive plays per game, you get there. Agree it should be a very doable thing for a team that wants to have a physical identity.

Barring injury or a "we-backs" type of split, really no reason to not be hitting this like 2 out of every 3 years minimum.

 

[Steveweiser316]

didn’t realize how good we had it with Roy - Rex - Ameer until they were gone.

 

[WillBoltsBurner]

Did anyone else see Jeyvon Ducker hit the portal last week? I would not be disappointed if Nebraska added him their roster.

 

[Dr.DrakeRamoray]

Did anyone else see Jeyvon Ducker hit the portal last week? I would not be disappointed if Nebraska added him their roster.

He hasn’t don’t anything at Memphis. Was a stud at NIU though

 

[Walter Sobchak]

Did anyone else see Jeyvon Ducker hit the portal last week? I would not be disappointed if Nebraska added him their roster.

His old man won't let him come here. He really really hates Nebraska. Allegedly.

 

[Frogsker30]

His old man won't let him come here. He really really hates Nebraska. Allegedly.

So much that he let his step son ride the pine at Auburn instead of playing for nebraska. allegedly

 

[Walter Sobchak]

So much that he let his step son ride the pine at Auburn instead of playing for nebraska. allegedly

Yup. Swimtowners gonna swimtown

 

[Husker1]

The jury is still out on Barthel. Wasn’t he predicted to “explore other options” this offseason? He’s not exactly known as a player’s coach and his recruiting has been subpar to date. Conversely, he has developed EJ into a good back

 

[herbsinator]

The standard is the standard.

 

[Stan Raymond]

It's been interesting to see the vibes around NU RBs change over the years. The caliber of RBs just doesn't seem to be a very urgent concern, for previous coaching staffs or for fans who can always talk ourselves into whoever ends up at the top of the depth chart. I think our RB play has been seen as "average" to a lot of fans. Obviously it would be wild to expect to see another LP/Rozier/Green again, but I happen to think our late 00s/early 10s RBs are a better standard, and I also think it's realistic to be able to get guys comparable to Roy/Rex on a regular basis, with a true star like Ameer thrown in every so often as well. Looking at our past decade of RBs since those guys left is kind of stunning.

Leading RB rushers by year:

2023: Anthony Grant - 413 yards
2022: Anthony Grant - 915 yards
2021: Rahmir Johnson - 495 yards
2020*: Dedrick Mills - 396 yards (594 yard pace if full season)
2019: Dedrick Mills - 745 yards
2018: Devine Ozigbo - 1,082 yards
2017: Devine Ozigbo - 493 yards
2016: Terrell Newby - 879 yards
2015: Terrell Newby - 765 yards

Only one guy passed 1,000 yards, and even he didn't average 100 yards per game. I feel like 1,000 yards should be NU's baseline for a starting running back, no matter what kind of offense we run. We should be able to attract RBs who can do that.

For comparison:

Ameer had seasons of 1,611 yards, 1,690 yards, and 1,137 yards.
Rex had seasons of 1,357 yards and 951 yards (while splitting time with Helu)
Helu had seasons of 1,147 yards and 1,245 yards

Those guys are NU heroes, but none of them were college football legends or Heisman finalists or anything like that. They were 3-4 star recruits who were scrappy and got developed into awesome players. We should be able to keep doing that on a regular basis, and hopefully Emmett Johnson is on his way to being the next guy to jump up into that group!

Is that realistic to you? Does Rhule's offense seem calibrated to that expectation? Are my standards too high/too low?

Combination of a lot of things, we haven't had great backs, poor OL play, inconsistent passing game and some bad defense that has had us playing catch up. Combine that with the trend of the first string back not getting as many carries and 1,000 yard backs aren't as common.

I don't know if Rhule will have one back get enough carries to get to 1,000, probably depends on if a player truly stands out from his peers. If we do have a 1,000 yard back I think it will be an indicator of a very successful year. I think a stat that we will see more often and still lead to success is if the RBs together have over 2,000 yards.

 

[Herbie]

I’d like them to not get injured.