Nebraska football continued to fortify several positions with its 2024 recruiting class. Among the handful of decommitments the staff dealt with during the cycle, none was more impactful than Lancaster (Texas) running back Kewan Lacy. The four-star Lacy had been committed for four months until backing off his pledge in late October, leaving the staff without a desperately needed class running back.

When Matt Rhule and his coaching staff got to Lincoln after the 2022 season, every skill position on the offensive side of the ball needed to be seriously addressed. After two offseasons, the running back room is still full of questions.

The Huskers came into this offseason with just four scholarship running backs set to return. Gabe Ervin Jr. (dislocated hip) and Rahmir Johnson (dislocated shoulder) are both coming off season-ending injuries sustained in September. Emmett Johnson, who started six games last season, returns after rushing for 411 yards — just behind the now-graduated Anthony Grant’s 413 — which is the fewest by a team-leading NU running back in a full season since 1958. Kwinten Ives, signed in Rhule’s transition class, redshirted and is still an unknown commodity. The position group as a whole accounted for just seven total touchdowns last season.

Rhule has stated he wants to be a body-blow program. He wants to be a physical team that wears you down through three quarters and suffocates you in the fourth. If he wants to foster that identity, he needs to build up the talent in that room.

To that end, the staff spent the offseason trying to do just that. In late June, longtime EJ Barthel target Mekhi Nelson reclassified in order to join the team this fall.

Nebraska also took steps to address the room after the 2023 season was over. Husker coaches had less than two months to try and replace Lacy in the ’24 class. Without a viable high school option, they shifted their focus toward the transfer portal seeking a high-upside talent.

Oregon running back Dante Dowdell’s high school career in Mississippi was legendary. He was selected first-team all-state as a junior and senior by the Mississippi Association of Coaches. He was named the MaxPreps Mississippi Player of the Year as a junior and was MHSAA 5A Mr. Football as a senior after leading Picayune Memorial High School to back-to-back state championship.

During Picayune’s two state championship playoff runs, he rushed for 1,491 yards and 21 touchdowns, averaging 6.8 yards per carry and 186.4 yards per game — being named the games MVP both years.

Across his junior and senior seasons, Dowdell rushed for 4,720 yards on 586 carries (8 yards per carry) and 59 touchdowns in 28 games.

He signed with Oregon over finalists Alabama, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Penn State and LSU, while holding notable Power Five offers from Arkansas, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas A&M and West Virginia.

Dowdell was selected to play in the prestigious All-American Bowl as well as the Mississippi/Alabama All-Star Classic.

A consensus four-star recruit in the 2023 class, Dowdell was regarded as a top 10 tailback by all four prominent recruiting services and was ranked the No. 109 (Rivals), No. 165 (ESPN), No. 166 (On3) and No. 192 (247Sports) overall player in the country.

After enrolling in January, the 6-foot-2, 225-pound Dowdell was part of a talented and crowded backfield in Eugene. He spent last season battling for the No. 3 spot, playing behind second-team All-Pac-12 Bucky Irving and Jordan James, who finished the season with 696 yards and 11 touchdowns.