Nebraska running backs Gabe Ervin Jr., Rahmir Johnson ruled out for season

The injury bug continues to bite the Nebraska Cornhuskers just a few weeks into the football season as the team has now suffered two losses to their backfield.

Husker Online’s Sean Callahan reported Monday that running backs Rahmir Johnson and Gabe Ervin Jr. will miss the remainder of the football injuries after sustaining injuries, Johnson with an injured shoulder and Ervin with an injured hip.

Ervin currently leads the team in rushing yards with 196 on the season, with Johnson gaining all 66 of his yards on the year in the team’s Week 2 loss to Colorado.

Running backs Gabe Ervin Jr. (hip) and Rahmir Johnson (shoulder) both suffered injuries and are out for the season.

— Sean Callahan (@Sean_Callahan) September 18, 2023

Ervin has appeared in all three of Nebraska’s games this season making two starts, quickly achieving season highs in his increased role. He started in two of the Cornhuskers’ first four games as a true freshman before suffering a season-ending injury, and last season rushed for 94 yards on 20 carries in eight games.

In three games he reached career highs in carries, yards, and yards per carry, but will unfortunately be missing another entire season to injury after making a significant impact on Nebraska’s rushing attack.

The Cornhuskers lose their top rusher and their third leading running back rusher in Johnson, a veteran who was in the midst of his fifth season with Nebraska. He’s piled up 172 carries for 739 yards and eight total touchdowns in his career with the team, and his production and veteran presence in the backfield will surely be missed this season.

Rhule answers whether Nebraska will open up quarterback competition

After securing its first win of the season with Jeff Sims on the sideline with an ankle injury, there’s some question as to whether Nebraska might open up its quarterback competition going forward.

Even so, Matt Rhule knows that there’s a lot left for them to sort out at that position.

“We figured out that both quarterbacks are good quarterbacks,” Rhule said during his press conference. “The situation that Jeff went and played in the first two games was difficult. And a lot of things that weren’t his fault were pegged on Jeff Sims. So we’ve got a lot of confidence in Jeff.”

“We’ve known all along that Heinrich can play,” Rhule said. “We’ve got a good situation. I won’t talk any hypotheticals, I don’t know who’s going to be healthy, who’s not. I know we can win with both guys. And you guys know how I feel about Chubba (Purdy).”

If nothing else, it’s clear that Nebraska at least has some options now.