Nebraska’s offense is entering a season full of questions, and the running back room sits right in the middle of them.
Matt Rhule raised the bar last week when he told the Big Ten Network that the 2026 Huskers are his best team, by far. If that turns out to be true, the offense is going to have to back it up with a much bigger leap in production. That’s especially true with offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen now in the final year of his two-year contract at Nebraska.
Holgorsen’s first full season calling plays did bring meaningful progress across most of the offensive board. The one area that went the wrong way was passing yards per game, where the Huskers actually slipped. So while there’s plenty of reason to point to improvement, there’s also a clear sense that another jump will be expected if Rhule’s assessment holds up on the field.
The challenge starts up front and in the backfield. Nebraska has an offensive line that has not played together.
It also has a new quarterback who last took a snap against a Big Ten team in 2023, when he was at Virginia. And then there’s the biggest personnel loss of all: All-America running back Emmett Johnson, who accounted for 40.7% of Nebraska’s offensive yards last season.
That kind of production does not get replaced by one player, and the Huskers don’t appear to have a Johnson-type runner waiting in the wings. The expectation is a more committee-based approach, with multiple backs sharing the workload.
Conor Booth and Tikey Hayes are among the names that could get involved, but the bigger point is that Nebraska is heading into the season with virtually no starting experience in the running back room. That makes the position one of the biggest swing factors on the roster.
With the schedule ahead, the offense and the ground game could end up deciding whether Nebraska gets to eight wins, or even nine. On this edition of the Husker Doc Talk Podcast, Travis Justice and Dr. Rob Zatechka dig into Holgorsen and the running backs, while also laying out Nebraska’s offensive statistics and rankings from last season.
In Other News...
Nebraskas Running Back Room Just Got More Unsettled Before The Season
Nebraskas running back room keeps shifting as the season approaches, and the latest change came with Tikey Hayes no longer on the roster. Hayes had joined the program just over a month ago and was in the mix for playing time at a position group that was already trying to sort out its depth chart.
The timing makes the situation more notable, since it came shortly after Mekhi Nelson was cleared to rejoin the team. Nebraska still has time to settle things before the opener, but the backfield picture is looking a little less settled with each passing week. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraskas Reworked Secondary Just Opened A Fascinating Ballhawk Battle
Nebraskas defensive backfield is going through a real reset heading into 2026, and the changes have created one of the more intriguing competitions on the roster. With the Cornhuskers sorting out roles in a new 4-2-5 look, the secondary is being asked to define itself quickly, and names like Donovan Jones, Victor Evans III and Dwayne McDougle III are suddenly central to that conversation. The additions from the transfer portal only add to the sense that this group could look very different by the time the season starts.
What makes the picture especially interesting is how much turnover can change the ball production at the back end. Nebraska is trying to build a secondary that is not just dependable, but disruptive, and the players in the mix all bring a case for why they could end up making the biggest plays on the ball. If the Cornhuskers are going to turn this reworked unit into a strength, they may have to find out quickly which defenders are best suited to seize those opportunities. [Read more 🡒]
Jamarques Lawrence Could Give Nebraska Fans An Awkward Return To Lincoln
Jamarques Lawrences path through college basketball has already taken a few turns, and Nebraska fans briefly had reason to wonder if it might circle back to Lincoln again. The former Cornhuskers guard was eligible for a fifth year after the latest rulings, which at least opened the door to another stay in the program where he had already been part of a transfer-heavy journey from Nebraska to Rhode Island and back again for the 2025-26 season.
Instead, the next step appears to be somewhere else, with Lawrence exploring options away from Lincoln as he looks to continue his college career. Michigan, USC, Troy and Fresno State have all been in touch, leaving Nebraska to watch a familiar name move toward yet another new home rather than setting up the awkward reunion some fans may have been bracing for. [Read more 🡒]