With the Big Ten Championship just days away, the conference announced the all-Big Ten and individual award winners for the 2025 season. Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson took home a major award, being named the Big Ten Running Back of the Year.
Johnson earned the Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year award and first-team all-Big Ten following a remarkable junior season, where he tallied 1,451 rushing yards on 251 carries for an average of 5.8 yards per run. He is the first Nebraska running back to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since 2018.
Advertisement
The Minneapolis, Minnesota, native also hauled in 46 catches for 370 yards, bringing his all-purpose yards total to 1,821, which ranks second in the nation for running backs. His 1,451 rushing yards placed him third in the nation.
Johnson became the driving force for Nebraska’s offense, accounting for a nation-leading 40.7 per cent of the team’s total yards. He earned eight separate hundred-yard games and capped off the regular season with a career-high 217 rushing yards against Iowa, the most surrendered by the Hawkeyes this year.
Johnson also became the first running back in school history to rush and receive for 100 yards in a single game. He achieved this against UCLA, where he rushed for 129 yards and hauled in three catches for 103. He also caught two touchdown passes in the win, setting a school record.
Johnson is the first Big Ten running back to tally 1,200 rushing yards and 40 receptions since 2017 and just the seventh Big Ten player to total 1,400 rushing yards and 350 receiving yards since 1956. Johnson is also one of two Big Ten players in the last 35 seasons to total 1,100 rushing yards and 300 receiving yards, standing alongside 1995 Ohio State Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George.
Advertisement
Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: Nebraska’s Emmett Johnson named Big Ten Running Back of the Year
