Inexperience has been the knock against the Huskers' running backs all offseason. The greenest guy in the room, however, is emerging as a reason for fans to rest a little easier.

Mekhi Nelson and Isaiah Mozee return from last season as a possible 1-2 punch in the backfield, with veteran Kwinten Ives also contending for carries.

True freshman Jamal Rule, however, is not to be ignored. It's clear that the Huskers' play caller, offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen, has taken notice.

“He’s going to play”

"He doesn't look like a freshman to me," Holgorsen said after a practice last week. "He's 6-2, 210, runs fast, has breakaway speed. ... He's going to play. We'll see it in a few weeks."

The former three-star recruit from North Carolina turned heads in late March with nine carries for 119 yards in the Huskers' spring game, which included a 75-yard TD run. Five months later, his performance in fall camp might be putting pressure on some of the older guys in the room.

Reporter/columnist Steven Sipple certainly thinks so. Sipple, who has observed portions of practices this month and during the spring, said recently on 93.7 The Ticket: "Rule's real. ... I think he's going to be hard to hold off for some of those veteran guys."

Sipple did say Rule's youth makes things tougher to predict. And he sees Nelson and Mozee as bigger and stronger than a season ago. As for how it will all play out, Sipple said: "I think Mekhi will start the season and will have to hold off Rule."

Rule is attacking “whatever is in front of me”

Being in the conversation about starting is far more than what's normally in store for someone so young, but Rule appears to have a mature mindset going for him. Interviewed this week by the Huskers Radio Network's Jessica Coody, he talked about fall camp and how he is approaching it:

"Obviously, I have some room for growth and stuff like that... I just want to keep growing every day; there's always something you can fix... Whatever is in front of me, I just attack it to the best of my ability."

It's important to be humble and willing to learn anything and everything, and Rule seems to know that.

His position coach, E.J. Barthel, said on "Sports Nightly" that there's nothing freshman-like about Rule's approach. "He's first to meetings, knows his assignments, knows his alignments," Barthel said. That has helped Rule reach the point where, as Barthel put it, "the jitters are out."

There’s major production to replace

His confidence in the room is encouraging given the task at hand: replacing the production of last season's All-American, Emmett Johnson. While Johnson amassed 1,800-plus offensive yards, his 25 touches per game meant there were limited chances for backups like Nelson and Mozee. For most of the room, gaining experience and seasoning took a back seat in 2025.

A team must decide whether to go with a 1-2 punch at running back or lean hard on a bell cow. With the former appearing more likely this season, Rule could enjoy a greater role than any of this year'year's returning backs had last year.

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