Matt Rhule Reveals Major Nebraska RB Depth Chart Change

Nebraska head football coach Matt Rhule revealed running back Gabe Ervin Jr. will be the team’s starting running back, according to a Saturday article from AllHuskers.

Ervin Jr., a former three-star recruit in Nebraska’s 2021 football recruiting class, rushed for 94 yards on 20 carries in 2022. He recorded as many as 60 rushing yards on seven attempts during a loss to the Oklahoma Sooners in September, leading the team in rushing yards as Oklahoma defeated the Cornhuskers in a 49-14 win at Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium. He will headline a running back room that includes Anthony Grant, Rahmir Johnson and Emmett Johnson.

“From the day I got here, I was just like, ‘Wow, that’s what they’re supposed to look like.’ He’s big. He’s powerful,” Rhule said of Ervin, via Lincoln Journal Star Sports Reporter Wilson Moore. “He can run behind his pads. He can run inside zone, outside zone, power, counter. Anything you want to run.”

Nebraska ended its 2022 football campaign with 123.3 rushing yards per outing, putting them at 10th in the Big Ten, according to BigTen.org. Grant led the squad with 915 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns on 218 total carries in 2022. He took eighth place in the Big Ten in total rushing yards, earning spots ahead of Northwestern running back Evan Hull, Maryland running back Roman Hemby and Purdue running back Devin Mockobee. Running back Ajay Allen, who took second place on the roster with 190 yards, transferred to Miami in May.

Nebraska will kick off against Minnesota on Aug. 31. The Golden Gophers allowed 109 rushing yards per contest in 2022, putting them in fifth place in the Big Ten ahead of Penn State, Ohio State and Maryland. It will move on to matchups with Colorado, Northern Illinois and Louisiana Tech before facing the Michigan Wolverines at Memorial Stadium.