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After going through three straight transfer portal windows without adding a running back, Matt Rhule is set to get one just weeks before the start of fall camp.

On3 reports that former Penn State running back Tikey Hayes will be joining the Huskers. He has four years of eligibility remaining.

Hayes was a four-star prospect (247Sports Composite) out of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. He was dynamic all four years of high school. As a freshman, he rushed for 1,723 yards and 23 touchdowns. He followed that up with back-to-back 2,000-yard seasons, eclipsing 25 touchdowns each year. As a senior, his carries were cut in half, but he still ran for 1,022 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Penn State won his services over the likes of Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio State, West Virginia, and Tennessee, among others.

While a Nittany Lion true freshman in 2025, Hayes saw game action just once. Against Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl, he ran three times for 18 yards.

Hayes entered the transfer portal in January, leaving the FBS for Iowa Western. The junior college program is in Council Bluffs, Iowa, just across the river from the Cornhusker State.

Nebraska's Running Back Need

Hayes brings some much-needed depth to the running back room in Lincoln.

First, the Huskers lost All-American and Big Ten Running Back of the Year Emmett Johnson to the NFL. He had one season of eligibility remaining, but his strong 2025 performance created too much opportunity for the next level. He was taken in the third round by the Kansas City Chiefs.

Through the transfer portal window, Nebraska did not add anyone to the room. Rhule dealt with the harsh reality of ever-increasing costs for a position of need. He had said in November that Nebraska had the money to do what it wanted going forward, but the prices in 2026 were more than what NU wanted to pay. Also, Rhule and Co. liked the pieces set to form the room for the next campaign.

"When you look at the portal—if you don't lose a ton of guys—there's only so much money you have to compensate the rest of it," Rhule said before the spring. "When we look at the running back room, we believe in those guys and we're going to roll with them."

The left Mekhi Nelson, Isaiah Mozee, and Kwintin Ives as returning backs who had any carries of consequence. Conor Booth notched three carries in his redshirt season, all against Akron and Houston Christian.

The only addition to the room was coming through the high school ranks with the signing of three-star Jamal Rule.

Nelson is currently going through legal issues stemming from accusations of battering a pregnant woman in Florida. In 2025, he had 27 carries for 147 yards and two touchdowns, adding eight receptions for 102 yards.

Mozee is a converted wide receiver, but perhaps the most dynamic of the bunch. He carried the ball 26 times for 114 yards last year. In the passing game, which saw him also line up in the slot due to injuries, he had 14 receptions for 155 yards.

Ives was supposed to be the undisputed No. 2 a year ago, but injuries slowed his progress. He returned in the fall to play in eight games, taking 20 carries for 133 yards and two touchdowns. He is also the oldest guy in the room as a junior.

Rule is on campus as just a true freshman, but he might be the starting running back to open the season. He has already made a good impression in Memorial Stadium, rushing for 121 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries in the Red-White Spring Game.

"Jamal had a really good spring," Rhule said after the annual exhibition. "What he looked like today, he looked like all spring long. He's very conscientious. He's big, he's tough, he's fast, he's got home run ability."

Hayes enters as a depth piece that could compete for a rotational spot on the field. While nobody enters 2026 with expectations of replicating Johnson's 2025 campaign, getting more talented bodies in the room is helpful ahead of a stout 2026 schedule.

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