Transfer back making a move, wide receivers gaining good weight

The way Nebraska running backs coach E.J. Barthel sees it, he has the job of finding three guys who can play and help the Huskers win games.

Two weeks into training camp, Barthel believes he has that, and given NU’s stable includes starters Emmett Johnson, Rahmir Johnson and Gabe Ervin, that’s not a shock. 

But Nebraska might have a fourth player joining the fray: Oregon transfer Dante Dowdell. 

“He’s really shown a lot of positive things this camp thus far,” Barthel said. 

Dowdell had a handful of carries last season for the Ducks before transferring to NU. When he arrived, Barthel said, Dowdell was closer to a “high school-type running back” who tried to run over defenders instead of combining his power with good reads. 

“He’s starting to understand tempo, pre-snap, he’s starting to understand reads,” Barthel said. “He’s really come from a short-yardage, powerful kid to transitioning to a guy we can now put in on every down. That comes with repetition and experience.”

Barthel wants his top backs capable of making a big play, a guy who can “pound the football — 4 yards and a cloud of dust” and someone who can function in pass protection. 

Rahmir Johnson, in his sixth year, has bounced back strong from his season-ending shoulder injury.

“I think his focus, his physicality, his protection, the way he runs the football — his burst through the hole — this is the best I’ve seen him,” Barthel said. “He’s clearly determined, and he’s ready to play.”

Ervin, coming off a torn hip muscle, has returned to full speed. Emmett Johnson has considerably more confidence, Barthel said, than he did last year, and he’s better in pass protection. 

* True freshman running back Mekhi Nelson has good instincts, Barthel said, and has picked up the playbook faster than expected. Nelson is still likely headed toward a redshirt year, though, given the depth and experience at the top of NU’s room. 

* NU receivers coach Garret McGuire said sophomore and Lincoln East graduate Malachi Coleman has matched his athleticism with physicality. Omaha Westside graduate and sophomore Jaylen Lloyd is up to 179 pounds. Senior Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda is up to 198 pounds and made plays, Wednesday night, that were “really frickin impressive.” 

* Ainsworth freshman Carter Nelson is a “competitor,” McGuire said, while freshman Jacory Barney, capable of making the spectacular play, needs to “make the routine plays routinely.” Another freshman, Keelan Smith, has “unbelievable ball skills” who, like Barney, needs to polish his fundamentals.