Remember three weeks ago when the Nebraska football team released the depth chart? Remember when that depth chart depicted a three-way tie for the starting running back job between Tre Bryant, Mikale Wilbon and Devine Ozigbo? It appears that might have been about as misleading about a gameplan as mike riley is ever going to be. Now that the Huskers have played two games this season, it's pretty clear that Tre Bryant is the man. For good reason. Tre Bryant has absolutely played like the man.
The sophomore running back has run over, around and through both Husker opponents at an impressive clip.
Through two games this season, Bryant already has more yards than he amassed in all of 2016. In fact, he has 127 more yards on just eight more carries. He's also already doubled his touchdown total. It's the carries we and the Husker coaching staff should be focusing on. Tre Bryant is averaging 25.5 carries a game so far this year. That includes 20 carries last week despite missing a significant chunk of the second half with a knee injury. He amassed those 20 carries quickly, despite the fact that he missed time the week before the Oregon game, with the same knee injury.
Time for the other Nebraska football running backs to step up and step in
The good news, is that Mike Riley says the injury Bryant received against Oregon isn't a new one.
It's one that sparked up after the back carried 31 times for 192 yards against Arkansas State. That means the coaches already knew about the injury and expect it to be one that they and he can deal with. The bad news is that Bryant is again going to miss Monday's practice and the coaches don't really know when or if he's going to be totally healthy.
Knowing that Bryant is banged up already, the question has to be asked, why aren't the two players who were supposedly neck and neck with Bryant for the starting job, getting more carries?
Ozigbo in the dog house?
It's not just that Wilbon and Ozigbo aren't getting anywhere near as many carries as Bryant so far, it's that they're barely getting any at all.
After entering the season with concerns about a "running back by committee" approach, Bryant has 51 of the Nebraska football team's 56 carries this season. Mikale Wilbon has the other five. Ozigbo has none. There has been some talk, especially after a second straight game where Bryant was run into the ground, that Ozigbo might have found his way into the coaches' dog house. Unless he's also hurt, it's hard to argue against it especially considering Wilbon has looked (ahem) not great, in pass protection.
If Ozigbo is in the doghouse, he needs to find a way out of it. Or Jaylin Bradley needs to be allowed to step up because even if Bryant can go in the Nebraska football game against Northern Illinois, he shouldn't be tasked with 90% if the carries. Not until he can practice the folowing Monday at least.
