Training camp preview: Nebraska's running backs have vet experience, and tight ends have raw talent

Omaha World-Herald 10 hrs ago
Below is a snapshot preview of Nebraska's running back and tight end position groups as the Huskers prepare to begin training camp. Here's who to watch, the prove-it players and the pecking order.
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Who's here
Running back: Anthony Grant, Rahmir Johnson, Gabe Ervin, Emmett Johnson, Kwinten Ives.
Tight end: Nate Boerkircher, Thomas Fidone, Arik Gilbert, Janiran Bonner, Jake Appleget, Chase Androff, Ismael Smith Flores, Luke Lindenmeyer.
Who’s new
Ives is a freshman addition out of New Jersey.
Smith Flores is a freshman addition from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
Who’s hurt
No one, which is notable for multiple likely contributors.
Fidone is full go after his second ACL tear in the spring of 2022, while Ervin is another year removed from the same injury he suffered at Oklahoma in September 2021.
Gilbert’s status is the most uncertain with an NCAA waiver still pending as a multi-time transfer.
Snapshot
RUNNING BACK
Running back is a veteran group with upside, so much so that it was the rare position Nebraska’s new staff didn’t look to augment through the transfer portal.
Ervin was one of the biggest spring risers a year after carrying 20 times for 94 yards in his return from a knee injury.
Rahmir Johnson inexplicably got just 20 touches (19 carries) following 128 two seasons ago.
Grant flashed in his Husker debut but physically wore down.
All — along with redshirt freshman Emmett Johnson and Ives — are revival candidates with a fresh start under different coaches.
TIGHT END
Tight end features similar raw talent but with less experience.
Fidone and Gilbert were both among the very highest-rated prospects at their positions out of high school who have combined to appear in four total games since 2021.
The veteran incumbent is Boerkircher — awarded a scholarship in the spring — with six grabs for 52 yards and a touchdown last season.
Bonner is a converted receiver splitting time at fullback while Appleget shifts over from linebacker.
Androff redshirted a year ago.
Walk-on Luke Lindenmeyer also drew spring praise.
Tight end is emerging from its share of offseason turnover: Three players left the team in the offseason and two others moved to defensive line.
Prove-it players
RUNNING BACK
Rahmir Johnson. The fifth-year junior was ready to roll as a do-everything “wideback” in 2022 and didn’t get the call after exploding as a consistent chunk-play threat a year prior.
The 22-year-old will get another crack under coach Matt Rhule but the time is now to show he deserves touches that can help the Huskers win and earn him a shot at pro ball.
TIGHT END
Thomas Fidone. It’s hard to believe two seasons have passed and the borderline five-star prospect has seen a grand total of three snaps in one game.
Injuries were the reason, of course, but he’ll be nearly 18 months removed from his second major knee injury and another year into college life and reshaping his body when the Huskers kick off in Minneapolis.
The wait has been long — for him perhaps most of all — in realizing his considerable on-field potential.
Walk-on to watch
Luke Lindenmeyer. Much like Boerkircher before him, the Papillion-La Vista grad made a spring move coming off a redshirt year. Rhule even mentioned him as a contender to start.
The best performers will earn key roles and the 6-foot-4, 250-pound Lindenmeyer has been up to the challenge behind the scenes.
Training camp pecking order
RUNNING BACK
1. Ervin
2. Grant
3. Rahmir Johnson
4. Emmett Johnson
5. Ives
TIGHT END
1. Boerkircher
2. Fidone
3. Bonner
4. Gilbert
5. Lindenmeyer