Rahmir Johnson position change requiring time, learning at Nebraska

Nebraska has gotten off to a shaky start to the 2022 season, first dropping a heart-breaker to Northwestern in Ireland in Week 0 and then struggling to put away North Dakota last weekend. While plenty has gone awry, many fans have come away asking one question.

Where is Rahmir Johnson?

Johnson was the team’s leading rusher from the running back position a year ago, racking up 495 yards and four touchdowns on 112 carries. He also recorded 16 catches for 197 yards and another two scores, leading coach Scott Frost to believe he could also play receiver if needed.

So far, though, Johnson has been lost in the shuffle as he pivots to playing receiver more. Through two weeks he doesn’t have a touch offensively.

“We kind of had a plan to get him in more than we got him in Saturday, but we’ll keep looking for spots to use him because he’s got a lot of talent,” Frost said Monday.

Rahmir Johnson position change requiring new learning

At this point, veteran JUCO addition Anthony Grant has established himself as the top option for the Huskers at running back. He’s chalked up 290 yards and four touchdowns through the first two weeks, averaging 6.9 yards per carry.

Meanwhile, Ajay Allen appears to have asserted himself as the top backup.

That’s left Johnson fighting for snaps primarily at receiver, where he has yet to make a mark. Frost, though, remains encouraged by his potential to contribute at that spot down the road.

There’s just a steep learning curve in his offense.

“He had an unbelievable week of practice last week at receiver,” Frost said. “There’s still some detail as you’re spending a lot more time at that position, there’s some detail to it that it just takes a while to learn. He’s one of the guys I feel the worst for right now, but I have no doubt he’s going to be a big part of what we’re doing through the course of the season. He’s too good a player not to.”

In the transfer portal era, it would be easy for Johnson to get discouraged and look for an opportunity elsewhere. Given his contributions a year ago, not seeing much action the past couple weeks has to be tough.

It remains to be seen whether that changes in the coming weeks as the Rahmir Johnson position change continues to unfold, but Frost has continued to speak positively about the 5-foot-11, 200-pound running back.

“One of the things I really respect about him he’s going to do whatever it takes to help the team,” Frost said. “Obviously he did a lot of that last year as a running back. He’s looked really good out there. He’s capable of helping us a lot of places. We have more depth at both those spots than we’ve had in the past. It’s going to take him a little while to get really comfortable outside. We know we can move him back in the backfield any time we need.”