Isaiah Mozee has gone from receiver to running back, and Nebraska is counting on the transition sticking.
What started as a position change has become a full-time shift. Over the past year, Mozee has been learning the details that come with life in the backfield, adding weight and getting ready for the kind of weekly punishment Big Ten running backs have to absorb. He’s taken the job seriously, and by all accounts Nebraska’s coaches have liked what they’ve seen.
That’s why Mozee lands at No. 17 on our Most Indispensable Huskers.
The Huskers’ bigger question is how they replace Emmett Johnson. The answer may not be one player so much as the whole group working together.
“Absolutely, you kind of hear, 'Hey, we should go get a portal back, hey, we should do this.' But the coaches believe in us and I think we showed a little of that…”
Mozee said that after the spring game.
“So you got to see a snippet of what was going on in the spring. And I feel like we all have grown over this spring. And I feel like we're going to be special this year.”
That confidence matters because Nebraska still has uncertainty around Mekhi Nelson’s status, and Mozee’s role is important either way. The Huskers need him to be durable, productive and reliable.
He’s already flashed what he can do in space. Last fall, Mozee finished with more receiving yards than rushing yards - 155 on 14 catches, compared with 115 on 26 carries.
“We know what he can do on the perimeter,” said Husker running backs coach EJ Barthel. “And his focus this spring is running behind his weight and becoming a really dynamic inside runner.”
Mozee spent last season playing 121 snaps, and by spring he had built himself up to 215 pounds. He joked that he’s too big to go back to receiver now.
The progress showed up in Las Vegas. In the bowl game, Mozee played 26 snaps and posted a 72.4 offensive grade from PFF, along with a 75.8 mark in pass protection.
“I just feel like we put our head down. Cancel out the noise,” he said this spring.
“At the end it's us on the field. We have to count on each other.
Just believing in each other. I feel like it's helped us this spring.”
Entering the summer, Nebraska’s running back picture centered on Nelson, Mozee and Jamal Rule. Whoever is available, the job description is clear: survive the physical grind and keep producing as the season wears on.
That’s part of what made Emmett Johnson so valuable. He could handle 25 or 30 touches and still look fresh the next week.
Nebraska doesn’t necessarily need one back to absorb that kind of load, but the position is going to demand more than just talent. It’s going to demand toughness, durability and a real understanding of the job.
“I've developed in every aspect: pass blocking, chipping, tight zone, outside zone,” Mozee said at spring’s end. “It kind of slowed down for me this spring a little bit.”
The son of Husker assistant head coach Jamar Mozee, he’s approached the move with the kind of steady professionalism the staff has come to trust. Barthel now views him as a true running back, and Nebraska will need him to be a true threat.
In Other News...
Jamarques Lawrence Return Hopes Just Got New Life At Nebraska
An Ohio judges injunction against the NCAA has added a fresh wrinkle to the eligibility picture for players trying to squeeze out one more season, including former Nebraska guard Jamarques Lawrence. The ruling gives 24 players a path to five seasons of competition and adds another legal precedent to a growing set of challenges around how the NCAA plans to handle its new five-year framework.
For Nebraska, the timing is notable because the NCAA is still working through how it will codify the rule and which players it intends to leave out. Lawrence does not automatically get another year out of the Ohio decision, but the case gives his side something to point to, much like the recent Douglas County District Court ruling that granted Omahas Isaac Ondekane an extra year after his own injury-related argument. [Read more 🡒]
Matt Rhule Has Nebraska Back In A Conversation Fans Missed
The old Big Eight and SEC powers that ruled the 1990s have spent much of the last decade-plus trying to reclaim that place in the national conversation, and Nebraska is once again at least part of that discussion. Tennessee has already shown under Josh Heupel that a once-proud brand can climb back into the playoff picture, while Nebraska and Virginia Tech have been working through coaching changes and the longer grind of rebuilding. For Cornhuskers fans, just hearing their program mentioned alongside those names again is a reminder of how far the conversation has shifted.
A recent prediction on a college football show pushed the idea even further, imagining Nebraska, Virginia Tech and Tennessee all reaching the College Football Playoff in the same season. It is the kind of thought experiment that says as much about where those programs have been as where they might be headed, and for Nebraska it lands in a season where Matt Rhule has at least restored some stability after years of losing. The Big Ten path is still a steep one, but the fact that the Huskers are being discussed in a playoff context at all feels like a sign of progress. [Read more 🡒]
Matt Rhule Just Got A Telling Big Ten Reality Check
Matt Rhules standing in the Big Ten took a noticeable hit in USA TODAY Sports latest coach rankings, where the Nebraska head coach dropped to No. 9 after sitting at No. 5 a year ago. The slide comes after a season that still had plenty for Nebraska to hang its hat on, including a 6-2 start and a second straight bowl appearance, but the finish left a different impression as the Huskers again spent too much time trying to patch holes up front.
USA TODAYs evaluation points straight at the trenches, where Nebraskas line play on both sides of the ball remains the clearest test of whether Rhule can push the program higher. The offense and defense both had stretches that undercut the bigger picture, even with Emmett Johnson producing a standout rushing season, and the late-season issues gave the ranking a harsher edge. Nebraska now turns the page toward Sept. 5, when it opens 2026 at Memorial Stadium against Ohio on FS1. [Read more 🡒]