After entering his name in the transfer portal just last week, Emmett Johnson has made the decision to return to Nebraska next fall. In the last two games of the season, Johnson showed glimpses of what won him Mr. Football during his high school days in Minnesota. Retaining Johnson is a big win for new Offensive Coordinator Dana Holgorsen, who, according to Johnson, was a key contributor in bringing him back.
“He (Holgorsen) just showed how much he wanted me here,” said Johnson, adding that “it was more of him having my trust and me having his trust.”
Johnson was underutilized for the majority of the season, and it’s obvious why he was hesitant to stick around, but if Holgorsen’s first three games calling plays for the Cornhuskers have any implications for what next season has to offer, Johnson will be a significant beneficiary in the offense.
In other big news around Nebraska football, Head Coach Matt Rhule has promoted Defensive Backs Coach John Butler to Defensive Coordinator.
Butler, 51, brings decades worth of experience and knowledge to the team. The move by Rhule to promote Butler was not surprising. After he was initially hired in July, the jump from Defensive Backs Coach to Coordinator was something already being tossed around. When Tony White announced he would be leaving for Florida State, Butler’s name was at the top of the list for people to be his replacement.
White leaves Butler with big shoes to fill, but Matt Rhule is confident in his decision.
“John had the best secondary in the NFL for five years,” Rhule said. “They (the players) felt like, after 3 or 4 years in college, John had brought a professionalism and next level mentality to them that they thought was going to prepare them for the next level.”
While filling the void at Defensive Coordinator was a step in the right direction, the wheel spins because of players making plays, and the Huskers picked up a huge commit in the transfer portal earlier this week.
Former 5 Star and top ranked Edge Rusher in the 2024 class, Williams Nwaneri, has committed to the Huskers. Nwaneri, a Missouri native, spent his first year of college football with the Missouri Tigers where he saw limited action, totaling two tackles and one sack on the season. He comes to Lincoln with all four years of eligibility remaining.
It’s been a long time since Nebraska had a truly dominant presence on the edge, going back to Randy Gregory in 2014, but Nwaneri has the potential to join that conversation and cement himself as one of the all time great Blackshirts.
