Nebraska
Nebraska Football Alum Ameer Abdullah Posts Career Day for Las Vegas Raiders
As it turns out, Ameer Abdullah still has plenty left in the tank.
The 10-year National Football League veteran and former Nebraska football running back posted a career day Sunday, aiding the Las Vegas Raiders in a 25-10 road victory over the New Orleans Saints.
Abdullah finished with a career-best 147 scrimmage yards and topped 100 rushing yards for the first time as a professional. The former Husker finished his day in the Superdome with 20 carries for 115 rushing yards to go along with three receptions for 32 yards. The triple-digit rushing performance boosted the 31-year old back’s season rushing total to 311 yards.
Although Abdullah didn’t score, he did come close in the second quarter, adding an emphatic celebration before a review that ruled him down at the one-yard line after a 13-yard reception.
“Honestly, we were just beating them up up front,” Abdullah said after the game. “I feel like our guys leaned on them, they understood when to come off on double teams. And when you have that type of synergy with the O-line and the backs, we just do our job. We felt like the O-line had an advantage.”
Abdullah has played for four NFL franchises since entering the league in 2015 as a second-round draft pick by the Detroit Lions. After a four-year stint with the Lions, Abdullah was moved to the Minnesota Vikings in 2018 until 2021, when he joined Matt Rhule’s Carolina Panthers. Abdullah finished the final 11 games of that season with Rhule, rushing for 136 yards on 44 carries for the Panthers.
After Rhule was let go by Carolina in 2022 and then hired by Nebraska, Abdullah’s name has reappeared as a voice for praise for the head coach.
“I know you guys are just as excited as I am to watch Coach Matt Rhule to Lincoln, Nebraska,” Abdullah said in a social media clip aimed at Husker fans in early December 2022. “Now I spent a shorter extent with him with my time with the Carolina Panthers. Not only are we getting an excellent, excellent football coach. We’re getting an even better human being, someone who is going to lead the program the right way, someone who is going to lead it the Nebraska way.”
Rhule has been complimentary of Abdullah from the start of his Nebraska tenure, saying he was “1,000 percent” a better coach for his time in Carolina – espcially working with the former Husker running back.
“Dealing with the professional athlete was probably the best. Having a conversation with Ameer Abdullah and Christian McCaffrey, they are two guys, in the same position but completely different people,” Rhule said during his introductory press conference for Nebraska football. “It really taught me, it’s not coach-player, it’s people-people. We all have different roles, but we are all just people. I think that interaction with the players really taught me.”
Since 2022, Abdullah has been a rotating backfield option and special teams asset for the Raiders, recording 50 games played for the Silver and Black. Former teammates, including Will Compton – a Nebraska and Raiders teammate during Abdullah’s stops at both locations – noted the back’s performance from Sunday afternoon.
How about the boy Ameer Abdullah today for the Silver & Black?!
23 touches for 147 yards!!!
☠️☠️☠️☠️ pic.twitter.com/NZucZ4F45u
— Will Compton (@_willcompton) December 29, 2024
Abdullah was a significant offensive threat for Nebraska during his four-year career in Lincoln. He ended his tenure as Husker with 4,588 rushing yards, 39 rushing touchdowns, 690 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns. Early in his career at Nebraska, Abdullah was a lethal return man, returning a punt and a kickoff for scores. Abdullah ended his Husker career as the second leading rusher in program history, falling 192 yards shy of Mike Rozier’s 4,780 yards.
Abdullah had four 200-yard rushing performances for the Huskers, including a high of 232 yards against Florida Atlantic to start the 2014 season.
Abdullah will wrap up his 10th season in the NFL on Sunday, Jan. 5, with a home game against the Los Angeles Chargers. The Raiders have had a lackluster season, sitting in the cellar of the AFC West at 4-12 and projected for the eighth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
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Nebraska
Nebraska Football Offers In-State Legacy Offensive Lineman
New Husker offensive line coach Geep Wade has stayed busy in his first few weeks on the recruiting trail for Nebraska football.
Nebraska extended a scholarship offer Saturday to in-state offensive lineman Barrett Kitrell. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound Class of 2027 interior lineman from Ashland confirmed the offer on social media. Iowa offered him earlier in the week, and he has other Division I offers from South Dakota State, Kansas and Iowa State.
Kitrell has visited a number of schools through his junior season, stopping at South Dakota State, Wyoming, Iowa State, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska.
God is so good! After a great conversation with coach @GeepWade I am blessed to receive my 6th D1 offer from Nebraska! @HuskerFootball @AGBluejayFball pic.twitter.com/h3ciXeG727
— Barrett Kitrell (@BarrettK54) January 10, 2026
Kitrell has family ties to Nebraska football across two generations. His father, Barry, was a fullback for the Huskers from 1984-88. His brother Bo was a Husker fullback and tight end 2014 to 2018.
In addition, Barrett’s brother Blake was a Tulsa wide receiver, while brothers Brett and Bryce played at Ohio, having been recruited by Frank Solich.
Barrett Kitrell is a three-sport athlete for Ashland-Greenwood, competing in football, basketball, and track and field for the Bluejays. He has seen varsity action in all three seasons of his football career, playing in 33 games. The Bluejays have won a playoff game each of the past three seasons, advancing to the Class C1 semifinals this past year.
Kitrell becomes the third offensive line prospect offered by Wade and the Huskers this week, joining Grinnell, Iowa, prospect Will Slagle and 2028 prospect Wyatt VanBoening from Mundelein, Illinois. VanBoening also is the son of a former Husker, Simon VanBoening, a linebacker on the Huskers’ 1997 roster.
The Huskers are aiming for a massive overhaul of their offensive line, starting with replacing Donovan Raiola as the position coach. Wade, who came to Nebraska from Georgia Tech, has been retooling his line in early 2026 with transfer portal additions, bringing in Iowa State’s Brendan Black and South Carolina’s Tree Babalade. Nebraska has seen three linemen choose to exit via the portal: Brian Tapu, Houston Kaahaaina-Torres and Jason Maciejczak.
Kitrell could add athleticism to the offensive line, as he finished second in the Class B discus as a sophomore with a personal-best throw of 172’2 while finishing fourth in the shot put. Kitrell averaged four points and four rebounds per game for the Ashland-Greenwood basketball program as the Bluejays claimed the Class C1 championship in 2025.
Kitrell becomes the 16th interior offensive line offer for Nebraska’s 2027 class. The class is headlined by four-star quarterback Trae Taylor and in-state rising stars Tory Pittman III and Matt Erickson.
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Nebraska
IU dominated but then ‘it was just turnovers’ to blow 16-point lead vs Nebraska
Indiana basketball starting lineups, introductions video
The Hoosiers met undefeated Nebraska on Jan. 10. Here are the starting lineups from Assembly Hall.
BLOOMINGTON — Indiana men’s basketball coach Darian DeVries thought his team played well for about 28 minutes Saturday afternoon.
In those 28 minutes, IU built up as much as a 16-point lead against undefeated Nebraska. The Hoosiers went on a 12-2 run to end the first half, then extended that lead early in the second half.
Then, the defense started crumbling. Tucker DeVries picked up two fouls in the course of 21 seconds, forcing him to the bench. The Hoosiers started turning the ball over.
And Indiana’s upset bid fell apart, as the Hoosiers dropped an 83-77 decision to the Cornhuskers (16-0, 5-0 Big Ten).
“It’s disappointing, for sure,” Darian DeVries said. “We played well for a good 25, 27, 28 minutes, whatever, and then just had a bad stretch in there, and the game flipped. That’s why the turnovers are a big piece of that. We had, (a 16-point lead) and Tucker picked up his third and fourth foul on back-to-back possessions. Then they went on a 10-0 run right after that. That was a big turning point in the game, I thought, when he picked those two up.”
It seemed like the coaching staff (and fans) didn’t agree with those fouls, either.
Tucker DeVries’ third foul came as he fell on the ground while trying to defend Berke Buyuktuncel’s shot. Buyuktuncel continued to attempt a shot after the fall, and he got tangled in DeVries’ legs, falling himself, and officials called a foul on DeVries. Both Tucker and Darian DeVries, along with the crowd of 13,000 fans, didn’t agree with that foul.
Tucker DeVries’ fourth foul, which forced him to the bench for eight minutes, came just 21 seconds after his third. On the Hoosiers’ next offensive possession, DeVries attempted to shoulder his defender to get more space, and got called for the offensive foul and the turnover.
Indiana (12-4, 3-2) turned the ball over on four of its next five possessions, Darian DeVries said, and Nebraska capitalized for a 12-2 run to tie the game.
“I just think we didn’t have the type of possessions we needed after (Tucker DeVries) went out again, and most of them, it was just turnovers,” Darian DeVries said. “We didn’t get shots at the goal. I thought there might’ve been one or two in there where I think Lamar (Wilkerson) drove it hard and tried going through contact, and we didn’t get one there, but outside of that, we just didn’t get very good possessions. Our movement wasn’t as good.”
After Nebraska went on that run, all the momentum shifted to the Cornhuskers. In ways, the Hoosiers couldn’t get out of their own head, and the mistakes kept coming.
“We’ve talked to them a lot about that next play mentality,” Darian DeVries said. “Win that next play, and not compound mistakes. I thought tonight, again, for a stretch there was a period where we let one mistake turn into two. Then, instead of digging in and really making sure we get a quality possession the next time, we compounded it with another turnover. It led to back-to-back-to-back. All of a sudden your lead is gone, and momentum is real. It shifted pretty quickly there.”
This game, especially taking into account the 16-point lead Indiana once had, was a crucial opportunity for the Hoosiers to get their first Quad 1 win of the season.
But the Hoosiers, sitting at No. 30 in the NET rankings, still have three straight Quad 1 opportunities coming up in two road tilts at Michigan State and Michigan and a home game against Iowa in the next two weeks.
Those games, much like Nebraska, will be tall tasks. But, DeVries said, if the Hoosiers can execute for a full game like they did in those 28 minutes on Saturday, they’ll have a chance at them.
“When they’re executing the way that they did the first 25 minutes, it looks really good,” DeVries said. “And they’re doing a great job, and they’re defending and getting movement and things.”
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Nebraska
$3,125 Nebraska Pick 4 winning ticket sold in York
LINCOLN, Neb. (KSNB) – One lucky player who bought a Nebraska Pick 4 ticket for the Thursday drawing is holding a ticket worth $3,125.
The ticket was sold at Pump & Pantry #16, 109 Lincoln Avenue, in York. The winning numbers from Thursday’s Nebraska Pick 4 draw were 09, 06, 01, 02.
Winning Nebraska Lottery Lotto tickets expire 180 days after the drawing. Tickets with total prize amounts of $501 to $19,999 must be claimed by mail or at a Regional Lottery Claim Center. Additional information about claiming prizes can be found at the Nebraska Lottery website, nelottery.com, or by calling 800-587-5200.
Nebraska Pick 4 is a daily Lotto game from the Nebraska Lottery. Players select four numbers, each from a separate set of digits 0 through 9, for a chance to win up to $6,000. Players decide what type of play style and potential prizes to play for by choosing from one of six bet types. The odds of winning the $3,125 prize in Nebraska Pick 4 are 1 in 10,000.
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