One of the top running backs in Nebraska football history believes the current lead-back is ready for the next level.
Speaking on Hurrdat Sports Live on Friday, former Huskers Ameer Abdullah and Kenny Bell joined hosts Damon Benning and Ravi Lulla. With three-time All-Big Ten running back and 11-year NFL veteran Abdullah on the show, the conversation quickly turned to Emmett Johnson.
“The similarities I see in Emmett is just the dynamic ability to do so many things,” Abdullah said after former teammate Kenny Bell said they had someone able to do it all from the running back position during their time in Lincoln. “You see the screen that he took for 56 (yards) last week. It’s just scratching the surface of what his potential can be as a weapon.”
Ameer Abdullah was a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2013, making the second team in 2012 and 2014. He was taken in the second round of the 2015 NFL draft. / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
Abdullah believes Johnson is displaying abilities that will earn him a spot at the next level.
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“When you look at the NFL landscape, I know scouts are going to be drooling about a guy like that who can make guys miss in space,” Abdullah said. “I think what is most similar in our games is his anticipatory nature. He sees it before it happens.”
Abdullah said being able to anticipate and manipulate the defenders is a sixth sense that you have to have for success.
“You can’t really coach that for a back who can do it really consistently,” Abdullah said. “I feel like that’s what I had at Nebraska, which allowed me to have my senior year, tons of long runs. You saw that jump for Emmett this year, where it went from just marginal gains to boom, big runs, because that anticipation is right on mark.”
Nebraska Cornhuskers running back Emmett Johnson is recognized after becoming a Maxwell Award semifinalist and launching a Heisman Trophy campaign during the first half against the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks at Pinnacle Bank Arena. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
Johnson is expected to be in the running for the Doak Walker Award, and the university has put together a Heisman Trophy campaign for him. He’s just the second Husker to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season since Abdullah, and in the UCLA game became the first Husker running back to notch rushing and receiving yards of more than 100 yards each.
“I’m proud, man, because it’s been a while since I could look at that backfield and be like, ‘That’s a guy.’ And Emmett is a guy. It took a while for a lot of people to really believe that, but he just shows up every single week,” Abdullah said.
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Abdullah and Johnson have built a relationship over the past couple of years, with the current Husker seeking advice.
“He sought me out,” Abdullah said. “I didn’t go to him. He messaged me online and was like, ‘Dude, give me any game you can. Whenever you come back, let’s rap.’
“He came and volunteered at my camp two years in a row without asking for anything. He just wanted to be around me and soak up the energy and soak up the knowledge in any way that he could.”
Nebraska Cornhuskers running back Emmett Johnson is the second Husker to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since Ameer Abdullah. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
As for that knowledge Johnson is soaking up, Abdullah is using his own experience to offer advice at a critical junction for the younger back.
“The advice I got was, ‘Go back and finish your degree,’” Abdullah said. “But if I could go back, I probably would have left early and the reason why is because I’m in my 11th year in the NFL and I play running back. It’s just a very gruesome position.”
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Abdullah noted that he’s the only running back remaining from his draft class in 2015, and he’s the longest-tenured running back in the league.
“I just know from a wear-and-tear standpoint what could have been… if I had taken that one year off of my body in college,” Abdullah said. “I understand now the landscape of the NIL changes things.
“But when it comes to EJ, I definitely think that, looking at this draft class of running backs, looking at the year and the momentum that he has, I definitely think he needs to take advantage of this opportunity.”
Ameer Abdullah has rushed for more than 2,000 yards in his NFL career, adding nearly 1,500 yards via receptions. / Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Abdullah noted that a number of teams in the league have aging running backs and need a player who can do it all from the backfield, like Johnson has shown this season. The 2026 NFL draft is scheduled for April 23-25 in Pittsburgh.
Nebraska’s regular season continues Saturday with a night game at Penn State, before closing with a Black Friday affair at home against Iowa.
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Three starters will sit out as they begin to prepare for the NFL draft.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jim Harding assistant coach hugs offensive lineman Spencer Fano (55) as they celebrate the Utes’ win over Kansas State.
Three University of Utah starters have decided not to play in the Las Vegas Bowl, head coach Kyle Whittingham says.
Offensive tackles Caleb Lomu and Spencer Fano and defensive end Logan Fano have all declared for the NFL draft.
Lomu, a 6-foot-6, 300-pound sophomore, and Spencer Fano, a unanimous All-America selection this year, are both expected to be first-round picks in April.
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“Some people, it’s a lot higher stakes. We’ve got a couple of first-rounders and things like that,” Utah quarterback Devon Dampier said of the opt-outs. “We know those guys love us. … We still support those guys.”
Dampier and senior linebacker Lander Barton both said this week that they intend to play in the game.
“There are definitely conversations that you have to have with agents and people that are around you in your circle,” Barton said of his choice.” But ultimately it’s up to each player.”
Whittingham said a few walk-ons and scout team players have also opted out of the game as they prepare to enter the transfer portal.
“And we also have a handful of guys that are going to go in the portal at that are still practicing with us,” he said. “I think that what we have right now is what we’re going to have.”
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The No. 15 Utes take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers on New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas (1:30 p.m. MT, ESPN). It will be Whittingham’s final game as the Utes’ head coach.
“This team has been one of my favorite years,” Whittingham said. “The team’s attitude. The leadership. The work ethic. Just the personality on the field, the vibe of the team is outstanding. Having the chance to be around these guys one more month and go to battle one more time with them was something I wanted to do.”
OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – President Donald Trump’s executive order to reclassify marijuana at the federal level is reigniting debate in Nebraska, where voters approved medical marijuana in 2024.
Trump signed the executive order on Thursday, directing federal agencies to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug to Schedule III. The move does not legalize marijuana nationwide but opens the door for more medical research.
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers joined attorneys general from seven other states in releasing a statement saying they are “concerned” with the order. Hilgers said the science shows marijuana should remain a Schedule I drug.
Sen. Pete Ricketts also opposes the move. He signed a letter with 14 other Republican senators urging Trump not to reschedule marijuana. The letter argues marijuana is linked to mental health issues, impaired driving and workplace accidents.
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Local medical marijuana advocate Lia Post disagreed with state leaders’ opposition.
“It just comes to the point, when is enough enough?” Post said.
Post said the argument from state leaders ignores what Nebraska voters decided in November 2024 when they overwhelmingly approved medical marijuana.
“It does open up the door for research, which really makes me happy, and the ability to speak to my doctor. It’s hard to be excited when you know you’re just a part of the big, giant grift that is going on,” Post said.
The federal change would allow the FDA to study marijuana’s medical uses. That could potentially help veterans, seniors, and people with chronic pain. Advocates said it also removes excuses for state leaders to delay implementation.
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“I feel like we are in the exact same place we always are with the people wanting medical cannabis, the current law supporting medical cannabis, but the elected officials stopping medical cannabis,” Post said.
The federal rescheduling process could take several more months to finalize. The executive order does not legalize recreational marijuana. Trump made that clear Thursday, saying he is not open to that.
“It is a big deal, it is change, and change is always a big deal. Anything to do with medical cannabis and politics, I have to find the joy in whatever small wins there are, because there are so few,” Post said.
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Nebraska football is bolstering its staff with the addition of a run game coordinator and a defensive edge coach.
On Friday, head coach Matt Rhule announced the hiring of run game coordinator Lonnie Teasley and defensive edge coach Roy Manning.
Teasley spent the last five seasons with South Carolina, serving as the Gamecocks’ offensive line coach for the last three years.
He was also an assistant offensive line coach on Rhule’s Temple staff in 2014. Teasley also had stints with the Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Tech.
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“Lonnie Teasley brings a wealth of offensive line coaching experience to our staff,” Rhule said in a press release. “Lonnie has had great success throughout his career and specifically has been one of the elite offensive tackle coaches in the country. He also has a proven track record as an excellent recruiter. Lonnie will make a positive impact on our coaching staff and the Nebraska Football program.”
Manning worked with new defensive coordinator Rob Aurich as a defensive edge coach at San Diego State in 2025. He helped the Aztecs rank among the nation’s top defenses.
Manning has also spent time coaching at USC, Michigan and Cincinnati.
“We are excited to add Roy Manning to our defensive staff,” Rhule said. “Along with Coach Aurich, he was a key part of the defensive transformation at San Diego State this past season. Roy has experience coaching defense from front to back and has coached at high-level programs throughout his career.”
Nebraska fired three assistant coaches following a lopsided loss to Iowa in November: defensive coordinator John Butler, offensive line coach Donovan Raiola and defensive line coach Terry Bradden.
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Aurich has been hired to lead the defense and Geep Wade is Nebraska’s new offensive line coach.
SEE ALSO: Report: Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola to enter the transfer portal
