Yesterday during HuskerOnline’s Red Sea Scrolls chat someone asked the question, “Is EJ Barthel coming back?” Steve Sipple replied. “He gone.” Of course, a few minutes later Sipple found out Barthel had signed a new contract for another two years and gotten a pay raise. I felt for Sipple. Granted he has more inside information than I do, but when you are on the outside looking in as we are, all you can do is wet your finger, hold it in the air and try to gauge which way the wind is blowing.
My take was like Sipple’s. I expected Barthel to leave and for Matt Rhule to promote Jamar Mozee to running backs coach. Mozee is more than qualified and a superior recruiter. I also knew Barthel’s contact had run out and by not hearing anything, I figured he was returning. So, I wrote in my Sunday article ‘Getting to 105, Running Backs’, that Barthel was coming back. Since Holgorsen had said earlier that he liked this staff, and the only new hire was Shorts, I figured the two had a good working relationship.
Then the news broke yesterday that Barthel was being pursued by Penn State and Texas. Penn State wasn’t a big surprise as Barthel was a recruiting coordinator for James Franklin at Penn State in 2017. He also coached at Connecticut and played high school and college football on the east coast, so he’s at home and familiar with the area.
I found Texas’s interest harder to believe. His only connection with the school is the current OC Kyle Flood. The two coached together at Rutgers. Otherwise Barthel didn’t really seem like a good fit for Texas from a recruiting standpoint. And with Sarkisian’s connections, I would’ve guessed he had a pretty talented pool of coaches to choose from.
As far as Barthel leaving Nebraska, most fans would have been indifferent about it, I mean it isn’t like Nebraska’s running backs have been tearing up the world since Barthel arrived. In fact, the Husker running backs have only rushed for more than 100 yards in a game twice. Gauging Barthel on that may be unfair. Some will point at the offensive line, others will say Haarberg got all the carries in 2023, and still others will say the offense hasn’t been conducive to running backs. But I base it on an overall lack of production, and you haven’t heard anyone clamoring over Barthel’s work, from the inside or outside the program.
Former coach Bill Busch of 93.7’s Early Break suggested a running back coach’s performance is typically graded on two things, ball security and pass blocking. If a coach’s players excel at these two things, that’s where he earns his money. Those two things haven’t been strong suits for Husker running backs the last two seasons. While no one was saying Barthel must go, the overall perception among Husker fans was it wouldn’t be a loss if he did.
Much of that stems from Matt Rhule’s first game at Minnesota when Anthony Grant fumbled late in the game, allowing Minnesota to win. Grant had been having ball security issues throughout spring ball, and yet with the game on the line he was on the field. When asked about that, Rhule said he would have to talk to Barthel and find out his reasoning. That won’t happen moving forward, with Dana Holgorsen as the OC, he’ll make it clear what personnel he wants on the field.
Husker fans are also still baffled as to why Emmett Johnson didn’t touch the ball a single time in the Illinois game this season. It brings up questions about Barthel’s judgement if he’s making those calls. But even if OC Marcus Satterfield was asking for certain personnel, Barthel’s knowledge of his players should push him to advocate for putting the best talent on the field.
And in Barthel’s first two seasons he seems to have struggled in recruiting and keeping top tier backs. Nebraska was unable to keep 2024 four-star running back Kewan Lacy on board last year after he committed. He eventually ended up at Missouri. This season Emmett Johnson and Dante Dowdell both entered the portal. Johnson withdrew and Dowdell left to go to Kentucky.
Despite that, Barthel was awarded a two-year extension with his pay increasing from $293,00 to $450,000 a year. Barthel’s had a new contract offer dated January 1st, but the terms of the contract weren’t disclosed. So, there could have been changes after discussions with Penn State and Texas. Which brings up the question of just how serious Barthel was about leaving.
The Huskers need to see improvement from the running back position this season. They need a 1,000-yard rusher in order to have the kind of season they want and we all expect. We’ve seen improved quarterback play and improved offensive line play. We’ve witnessed an effort to improve the receiver’s room. Now it’s time to see big improvements from the running backs. The answer will come over the next two seasons, Ives, Nelson, Parker and Booth are all Barthel recruits. If one or two of these guys can separate themselves and play on the level of a Rex Burkhead or Ameer Abdullah, then people will think differently of Barthel.
Until then, Husker fans will question if Barthel is the right guy. And if not, no one will be surprised if he leaves before his contract comes up for renewal. As we’ve seen from Matt Rhule before, there is always a backup plan.
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