With Thompkins at No. 2, Husker RB rotation clearing up
One of the few known commodities Nebraska’s offense had going into the start of fall camp was senior running back Dedrick Mills, who was playing as well as any Husker at the end of last season.
After him, however, the rest of NU’s backfield depth chart was anyone’s guess.
That picture finally got some clarity on Tuesday, as running backs coach Ryan Held confirmed that redshirt freshman Ronald Thompkins would be the No. 2 behind Mills going into this week’s opener at Ohio State.
Redshirt freshman Rahmir Johnson is likely to be the No. 3, while true freshmen Marvin Scott and Sevion Morrison and walk-on Cooper Jewett will fill out the rest of the gameday rotation.
Held has repeatedly referred to Mills as Nebraska’s “bell cow” at running back, but he’s also made it clear that in a season with nine Big Ten games over nine weeks, his entire group needed to be ready to go at all times.
"The most depth we've ever had since we've been here," Held said of his RB room. "We're preparing as many guys as we can because you just never know how the season will go. The more guys you have, the better."
Thompkins, who endured two torn ACLs and three major knee surgeries over the past three years, was one of the best stories of Nebraska’s fall camp.
Once all but written off entirely from NU’s running back conversation, the former four-star recruit has finally been able to stay healthy and has made the most of every opportunity he’s gotten this fall.
"This is going to be his first action in a long time,” Held said of Thompkins. “He's going to get better and better as the year goes on, getting used to where everything hits in our offense, understanding concepts. I'm not going to put more on him than need be, but he's going to help our football team…
"He's a slasher. He's got the ability to make cuts. He's got tremendous hands, can really catch the ball out of the backfield. He's one of the better guys on our team catching the football."
Then there’s Johnson, who played in four games last year as a true freshman to preserve his redshirt eligibility. The New Jersey native showed flashes in 2019, finishing with 64 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries with one catch for 12 yards, nearly all of which coming in a blowout win at Maryland.
While the running back depth chart finally got some answers, the fact remains that Mills will be carrying the bulk of the workload in the backfield this season.
After a slow start to last season, the former Georgia Tech and junior college transfer flipped a switch for the second half of the year.
Mills rushed 143 times for 745 yards on (5.2 ypc) and 10 touchdowns as a junior, becoming just the second Husker in six years with 10 rushing scores in a season. Over the final three weeks against Wisconsin, Maryland, and Iowa, Mills averaged 115.6 yards on just over 17 carries per game.
“Anything they’re ready to give me,” Mills said when asked what type of workload he felt he could handle this season.
“I’ve prepared myself. I’ve been doing this for a while. I feel like I can go the whole game… I just feel like I’m a workhorse for whatever they need me to be.”