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Can Nebraska’s Running Backs Take ‘the Next Step’?

Position coach E.J. Barthel seeks more explosive runs, elusiveness at second level

Joe Hudson

Nebraska's Emmett Johnson carries the ball during the Huskers' 2023 game against Maryland
Nebraska's Emmett Johnson carries the ball during the Huskers' 2023 game against Maryland / Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports


Four days before the Nebraska football spring game, running backs coach E.J. Barthel is looking for more from his ball carriers. "Good enough" simply isn't good enough.

Barthel said after Tuesday morning's practice that he wants to see his backs "make some guys miss at the second level" and "make some more explosive runs."

"The big challenge for us is to take the next step," Barthel said. "Not just be good enough, but ... let's really dominate. That's what we're looking for Saturday, me as a coach."

Barthel said sophomore Emmett Johnson is "a step ahead" of last season and has "grown up fairly quickly." Junior Gabe Ervin Jr. is "working his tail off" to get back to full health after missing most of last year with a hip injury. Ervin is being limited to individual drills this spring.

"I feel good," Ervin said. They're just really trying to take precautions, get me even more healthy. Summer, I'm going to be rolling. Fall camp, I'll be rolling."

Offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield said freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola played with the energy of a kid on a playground during last Saturday's scrimmage, in which the offense had a stellar day.

"We challenged him ... to get his energy going because people are gonna feed off him," Satterfield said. "He played like he was at recess, he played like he was in third grade out on the playground: flying around, moving around, dancing around, giving people high-fives. I think that bled into our offensive guys, gave them a lot of confidence to go out and do some really good things."

Scroll past the video for more from Tuesday's practice, the 13th of spring ball. Refresh this page to see the latest additions. Asterisk indicates item may require a subscription. | HuskerMax discussion

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Joe Hudson
JOE HUDSON

Joe Hudson has operated a Husker-related website since 1995 and joined forces with David Max to form HuskerPedia (later renamed HuskerMax) in 1999. It began as a hobby during his 35 years as a newspaper editor and reporter, a career that included stints at the Lincoln Star, Omaha World-Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer and Denver Post. In Denver, Joe was chief of the copy desk during his final 16 years at the Post. He is proud to have been involved in Pulitzer Prize-winning projects in both Philadelphia and Denver. Joe has been a Nebraska football fan since the mid-1960s during his childhood in Omaha. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in journalism and economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1976. He resides a few freeway exits north of Colorado Springs and enjoys bicycling and walking his dogs in his spare time. You can reach him at joeroyhud@outlook.com.

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