Post-spring position recap: Does Nebraska finally have a 1,000-yard rusher in its midst? | Football

Spring ball is in the rearview mirror and Nebraska football now moves into the next phase of the offseason.

There is plenty of movement on the horizon in the transfer portal around the country, so every team is constantly in at least some state of flux. However, it’s a good time to look at the Husker roster and recap spring developments and forecast the coming weeks and months.

We now look at what may be one of the team’s strongest position groups.

What we learned this spring: Perhaps the most compelling revelation was Anthony Grant’s emergence. But not far behind in that conversation was Jaquez Yant’s strong spring. 

Meanwhile, Rahmir Johnson, the top returning rusher at the position, remains prominent in the overall picture. In fact, Johnson started the Red-White Spring Game with the first-team offense. 

New Nebraska running backs coach Bryan Applewhite has a pretty solid situation on his hands, or so it appears. 

Grant, the transfer from New Mexico Military Institute (by way of Florida State), peeled off the most impressive run of the spring game, a 60-yard sprint to pay dirt (in a touch-football situation). During the course of spring, the 5-foot-11, 210-pound Grant established himself as a leading contender to win the starting job. 

Yant, though, also is a top candidate. The 6-foot-2 Florida native played last season at about 250 pounds, he said, but now tips the scales at about 230. His stamina improved as spring practice progressed, Applewhite said. 

Of course, Johnson, one of the team’s fastest players, could end up being the starter once again. The 5-10, 185-pound sophomore last season carried 112 times for 495 yards and four rushing touchdowns while making 16 catches for 197 yards and two more TDs. He had plenty of bounce in the spring game. 

Questions remaining: What happens to the pecking order when Gabe Ervin Jr. returns to full speed after suffering a knee injury early last season? He’s expected to be full-go by the time preseason camp begins in earnest in early August. A 6-foot, 215-pound redshirt freshman, Ervin Jr. started two of the first four games last season before suffering his injury at No. 3 Oklahoma. 

Can 6-1, 230-pound Markese Stepp find a groove? He showed promise at times last season, finishing with 177 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 45 carries. 

And what about incoming freshmen Ajay Allen Jr. (Monroe, Louisiana) and Emmett Johnson (Richfield, Minnesota)? Do they have the ability to shake up the depth chart? 

Quotable: Count Nebraska cornerback Tommi Hill, a transfer from Arizona State, as a believer in Grant.

“Every time he busts a gap, he’s gone,” Hill said. “I’ve been trying to get him. But that’s a dog right there.”

“He’s got vision, speed, he’s shifty,” Hill said. “I talk to him about his vision. I see him hitting a gap when it’s not even developed yet.”

Best-case scenario: Nebraska’s had only one 1,000-yard rusher since Ameer Abdullah ran for 1,611 yards (6.1 yards per carry) in 2014. Since then, only Devine Ozigbo has cracked the 1,000-yard barrier, rushing for 1,082 in 2018 (7.0 ypc). Scott Frost has said he would love to see a bell-cow back emerge. Does NU have that guy? If it does, it would take pressure off basically everyone involved.