EMMETT JOHNSON Named Big 10 Running Back of the Year & To Both All-Big 10 1st Teams
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It was announced today that Emmett Johnson has been awarded the Big 10 Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year Award. He becomes the first Nebraska Cornhusker to receive the honor since its inception in 2011. It is named for former Wisconsin running backs Alan “The Horse” Ameche and Ron Dayne.
Johnson so far has rushed for 1451 yards which leads the Big 10 and is 3rd nationally. His 46 catches for 370 receiving yards leads all running backs nationally and gives him a total of 1821 yards from scrimmage which is also tops in the Big 10, is 2nd in the nation and tops among P4 conference players. He averages of 120.9 rushing yards per game to leads the Big Ten and rank 4th nationally.
Johnson is just the seventh Big Ten player since 1956 to have 1,400 rushing yards and 350 receiving yards in a season. Johnson and Penn State’s Saquon Barkley (2015) are the only Big Ten players to reach those milestones in the past 20 years.
He has become the Huskers’ most prolific rusher since Ameer Adullah, a 2-time All-American who finished his Husker career in 2014 and remains in the NFL.
Johnson became the team’s first 1000-yard rusher since Devine Ozigbo in 2018. In rushing for 200 yards against Iowa’s top 25 defense last Friday, he became the first Husker to top that mark in a game since Abdullah accomplished the feat against Illinois in 2014. He has eclipsed the 100-yard mark in 8 games this season including 6 times in 9 Big 10 contests. With a bowl game remaining, he has a chance to eclipse 2000 total yards for the season.
This selection should all but guarantee his selections to the first units of both Big 10 All-Conference teams. While it appears the Heisman and Maxwell trophies are now long-shots, he should very much be in the running for All-American honors which would make him the first Husker to do so since Abdullah.
Two additional offensive players were recognized by the Big Ten on Thursday. Junior tight end Luke Lindenmeyer and senior offensive guard Rocco Spindler were both honorable-mention selections by the league’s coaches and media panel.
Lindenmeyer caught 28 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns, including a career-high seven receptions against Michigan. In his only season at Nebraska, Spindler was a key part of the Husker offensive line that led the way for Johnson’s award-winning season.
Additionally, senior tight end Heinrich Haarberg was recognized as Nebraska’s recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. A fifth-year senior, Haarberg made the move to tight end this season after playing his first four years as a quarterback. Haarberg is also a four-time Academic All-Big Ten selection.
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