Tad Stryker: Huskers Must Pass to Run in 2024

Throwing early, running late could be effective for Nebraska football and coach Matt Rhule.

Nebraska wide receiver Isaiah Neyor catches a pass during a 2024 spring football practice. The transfer from Texas could figure in Nebraska's short passing game this fall. / Nebraska Athletics

Almost as soon as he was hired, Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule said he wanted to establish a “body blows” offense, an attack that would pound on the opponent and wear him down in the fourth quarter. Husker fans of a certain age, who remember Tom Osborne and Frank Solich doing that regularly, were exhilarated.

Sure enough, the Huskers ran the ball a lot in 2023. In fact, they ran it about 64 percent of the time, but they had only 16.5 first downs per game, so they couldn’t maintain possession and didn’t quite average 40 running plays per game.

Consequently, they didn’t wear anybody down while doing it. A mediocre offensive line and a mediocre backfield produced less-than-mediocre results from anyone running the ball not named Heinrich Haarberg or Jeff Sims. Leaning too heavily on quarterbacks breaking occasional big plays actually did the converse, wearing down Haarberg more than it did the defenders who tackled him.

Could a “body blows” running game happen in 2024? It could, if the offensive line shows outstanding improvement, and a “running back-by-committee” results in three different backs to rotating, each carrying the ball about 10 to 15 times a game. But I think it’s a stretch for this season.

Look for the Huskers to run the ball at a lower rate in 2024, but wear down their opponents more effectively. Having a quarterback who’s an actual threat to complete passes certainly will reduce the number of eight- and nine-man boxes Nebraska will line up against this fall. But the Huskers will be better equipped to attack on the flanks as well.

Husker wide receiver Jahmal Banks catches a pass during a 2024 spring practice. Banks transferred from Wake Forest to Nebraska during the offseason. / Nebraska Athletics

The key in Year Two of the Rhule era is the wide receivers, who give every indication they are built to deliver some blows. I envision Isaiah Neyor and Jahmal Banks blocking for each other and dealing out some punishment. It’s not what I originally pictured when Rhule talked about his goal to make the Huskers more physical, and it’s not the long-term solution, but it will be a step in the right direction nonetheless.

This year, look for Nebraska to pass the ball in order to set up the run.

Seems like it’s been a while since Nebraska had even one athletic 6-foot-4, 220-pound wide receiver, let alone two who can line up with each other and catch well-thrown screen passes, all in the same season. Even when the Huskers had an Omar Manning or a Quincy Enunwa, they couldn’t execute the play well enough to make it worth anybody’s while.

I’m definitely a “Run the Damn Ball” guy, and I’d rather see the Huskers get a top-notch back who can run the toss sweep down your throat. Physicality is something that’s been missing on offense far too long. It was an element former Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany famously kept hoping would return, thereby allowing Nebraska to “get back to being Nebraska again.” Neither Scott Frost nor Mike Riley could pull it off, because neither one made it a priority as head coach. Bruising running backs have become scarce in Lincoln, mainly because recruiting them has not gone well.

Long term, Nebraska needs one excellent running back each season and a couple of good ones to back him up. Aside from Devine Ozigbo’s fleeting comet of a season in 2018 and a couple of good stretches from Imani Cross in 2014 and ’15, there’s really been nothing of the sort after Rex Burkhead and Ameer Abdullah left the campus.

I hope I’m wrong, but in 2024, I don’t see that back on this roster. I see a bunch of pretty good backs, none of whom is going to strike fear into a defense, so using wide receiver screens as an extension of the running game makes a lot of sense. It’s something Frost said he’d do, but never accomplished, and eventually, after enough 2-yard gains and negative plays piled up, I advocated eliminating the call from the playbook altogether. But not this year. I think there will be enough accuracy at quarterback and moxie at wideout to make a go of it. I see some wide receivers and a tight end named Thomas Fidone who could distract and wear down a defense.

Nebraska tight end Thomas Fidone runs after making a catch during an August 2024 practice. / Nebraska Athletics

Whatever makes Nebraska a more physical football team, I’m in favor of. But no matter who is dealing out the blows, the Huskers have to wear down defenses enough to the point where their running backs can get 75 yards on the ground in the fourth quarter, preferably on 12 to 15 carries. Gotta find a way to make that happen.

And to clarify, I said the Huskers are likely to run the ball at a lower rate, not necessarily run the ball fewer times per game. If all goes well, the Husker passing game will pick up first downs and open up the run.

In 2016, Nebraska ran 70 plays per game. Last season, it was just under 62 plays per game. That has to increase.

Bottom line, if NU can get enough first downs to run up that play count to 70 per game, and it runs the ball about 57 percent of the time, it would run the ball 40 times a game and pass it 30 times, which seems like a good balance. Pass the ball early, run the ball late.

With wide receivers (and maybe Haarberg at wildcat) delivering a significant portion of the running game in 2024, the offense can improve from ineffective to average.

And keep shooting for the moon on recruiting a top rusher. Looking a year or two into the future, with a dynamic alpha running back and a couple of steady backups, the offense can climb into the realm of highly effective.

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