A fully healthy Husker running back Gabe Ervin Jr. becoming leader in “relentless”, loaded Nebraska RB room
Running back Gabe Ervin Jr.‘s time at Nebraska has been a complete rollercoaster with maybe loops, ups and downs.
In 2021, he started his career by becoming the first true freshman running back to start at Nebraska in that modern era. However, he reached a low when he tore his ACL against Oklahoma.
Last season, the 6-foot-0 sophomore played in eight games and rushed for 94 yards on 20 carries.
He said on Thursday that he wasn’t 100 percent last season. His knee wasn’t as strong as possible. He also had turf toe, which caused him to overcompensate and impacted his knee.
Now at the start of Nebraska’s fall practices, Ervin is riding at the very top of the rollercoaster. He feels completely healthy and even added 12 pounds of muscle during the offseason through lifting and a new nutrition program.
“Now I’m fully healthy and I thank God for it because everything feels good,” Ervin said. “I’m so grateful to be out there because I know how it is when you’re not out there, so I don’t take every day for granted. I just try to strive each and every day, try to get one percent better. I keep on saying one percent better, that’s what coach Rhule drills in your brain.”
His new running back coach E.J. Barthel challenged him to become a leader in Nebraska’s RB group, despite not having much extensive experience.
“Mentally, he’s really accepted his daily approach,” Barthel said. “I think during the spring, the one thing was teaching him how to be a guy. What I mean by that is like as far as how you prepare for practice, how you take care of your body, your expectations when coming in the meeting room, coming in the meeting room prepared.
“He’s really accepted it in the spring but now he’s showing it. He’s really confident, really focused on the daily task at hand but also, being a really mature player off the field. That’s key. I got the chance to work with Christian McCaffery. You got to see that, guys like Mike Davis, you got to see how they prepare. That’s the biggest emphasis that Gabe has accepted since we’ve gotten here. He’s really taken ownership of being a mature veteran player, which is hard to do when you haven’t played a lot. That’s a really key point.”
Ervin came in as a freshman and made a huge impact in his first three games as a Husker. A long list of great running backs has come from Nebraska, many have gone on to play many years in the NFL. For Ervin to be the first to start as a true freshman reflects on the times changing but also his talent.
However, he recognizes that he was mature as a freshman.
“As a freshman, I came here as a mature young freshman and I just developed that over the years, just to become that guy, that leader in the room, just like I have to shift the standard in the room,” Ervin said. “I want to leave those guys in the right direction so I got to approach myself differently. I’ve got to be the standard so it’s been good throughout this whole fall camp, ready to just keep on pushing, keep on stacking days.”
A deep RB room with lots of experience
Even though Ervin has become a leader for the Huskers’ running back room, he doesn’t have the most experience.
Anthony Grant was Nebraska’s starter last season and started every game. He led the Huskers with 218 carries (the most by a Husker since 2014) and had 915 rushing yards with six rushing TDs.
Nebraska’s third former starter is Rahmir Johnson. Johnson played in four games as a true freshman and in six games in 2020 as a sophomore. In 2021, he started in seven of the 10 games he played. He had 112 carries, 495 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns with two receiving touchdowns too.
Last season, Johnson played in 10 games on offense and special teams. He rushed for 85 yards on 19 carries.
Along with Ervin, Nebraska has three backs with experience starting at the position and in the Big Ten.
Nebraska Thursday Fall Camp nuggets: Satterfield talks offense, running backs
“I love our running backs,” Ervin said. “We fight each and every day and it’s just gonna make us the best running back room in the country.”
Even though he is proud of and confident in his teammates, Ervin wants to be Nebraska’s No. 1 RB.
“I want to be the guy,” he said. “I really want to be the guy, but we have a lot of running backs. Coach Rhule is going to rotate all of us. It’s gonna be 1-2, 1-3. So we’re going to keep on coming. Coach Rhule talks about “relentless,” we’re going to be a relentless running back room.
“They’re going to not only be able to not stop me, they’re not going to be able to stop Rahmir Johnson, Anthony Grant, Emmett Johnson, it’ll be all the guys. That’s what’s going to make the difference in our running back room. We’re going to be relentless.”
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