HOL: Top Husker RBs since 2002

[Enhance]

From a pure statistical standpoint, the rushing stats between Burkhead and Abdullah are actually a bit closer than I expected.

Helu compiled 3404 career yards, 5.9 YPC, and 28 TD's. Burkhead had 3329 yards, 5.2 YPC and 30 TD's. Burkhead also played in three fewer games.

The two had comparable receiving statistics, but, Burkhead managed to score five receiving TD's compared to Helu's zero.

I think what put Burkhead over the top was his passing influence. 4/7 and threw three TD's. Helu had none of this.

 

[kchusker_chris]

I think what put Burkhead over the top was his passing influence. 4/7 and threw three TD's. Helu had none of this.

Beacuse in Helu's final season we rarely passed the ball - and in his prior 3 he wasn't a better passer than the QB. You can't exactly say the same for Burkhead - who for his few years very well might have been a better passer than our QB

 

[Enhance]

I think what put Burkhead over the top was his passing influence. 4/7 and threw three TD's. Helu had none of this.

Beacuse in Helu's final season we rarely passed the ball - and in his prior 3 he wasn't a better passer than the QB. You can't exactly say the same for Burkhead - who for his few years very well might have been a better passer than our QB

True. But, at least one other factor at play - Rex Burkhead accounted for 210 points during his career - Roy Helu 168 points.

 

[Landlord]

It's just crazy how Helu was quickly forgotten about because of how damn good Rex was, and then Rex was kind of forgotten about because of how damn elite Ameer was. All three guys were really damn good runningbacks, and all three are in the league.

 

[Savage Husker]

Part of what made Rex stand out to me is he could turn a nothing play or even a negative play into positive yards. There are many plays that stand out, but the epitome of Rex was that Iowa win when he ran up the middle and continued to keep driving his legs while getting help from teammates to push the pile for a first down, or darn close to a first, which helped kill the clock for the win.

 

[Landlord]

Part of what made Rex stand out to me is he could turn a nothing play or even a negative play into positive yards. There are many plays that stand out, but the epitome of Rex was that Iowa win when he ran up the middle and continued to keep driving his legs while getting help from teammates to push the pile for a first down, or darn close to a first, which helped kill the clock for the win.

He had about 9 guys on him for a full 9 yards. You literally can not even see him on that play.

 

[Hammerhead]

This is still my favorite play from Rex:



Making that catch and juking a DB coming full speed right at you almost at the same time takes some freakish athletic ability.

 

[Joe_5700]

Part of what made Rex stand out to me is he could turn a nothing play or even a negative play into positive yards. There are many plays that stand out, but the epitome of Rex was that Iowa win when he ran up the middle and continued to keep driving his legs while getting help from teammates to push the pile for a first down, or darn close to a first, which helped kill the clock for the win.

Exactly. He would somehow pop out through a tiny crease when it looked like the play was going to end up in a loss of yards on so many occasions. After Rex had the injury, AA started doing the same thing.

 

[TGHusker]

So the current question is who will be the next Rex, AA or Roy and really standout. Is he on this team and waiting to be developed or will he be a new recruit? Due to lack of playing time, I not sure if any of the current group is in that league this year.

 

[Redux]

Seems like it's Newby by default. I really hoped Cross could have it ready by the time this chance arrived but his ceiling sounds nearly met.

I would be okay with a stable of RB's this year but in 2016 we need one guy to be "the guy".

 

[cg_8]

This is still my favorite play from Rex:

Making that catch and juking a DB coming full speed right at you almost at the same time takes some freakish athletic ability.

The awareness of knowing the DB is coming while simultaneously making the catch. That is incredibly impressive. Not a lot of guys have the awareness that Burkhead and these guys had.

 

[Mavric]

Part of what made Rex stand out to me is he could turn a nothing play or even a negative play into positive yards.

This. Exactly this.

I don't know how many times Rex made a guy miss two yards deep in the backfield and turned it into a 4-5 yard gain. But it was A LOT.

 

[Blackshirt_Revival]

What happened with the tail end of Lucky's senior year anyway? Did he get injured? His "Huskers.com" bio said he started 11 games up until the CU game where he didn't play because of injury. Or did he find the doghouse?

Prior to the blowout loss to OU, he had led the team in carries each game, a few were close to split carries, but he started and carried bulk load. During and after that OU game, he hardly touched the ball, and last 2-3 games never even saw the field. Just seemed weird.

It wasn't just the tail end of his senior year; it was his entire senior year. In the offseason we were all freaking out because Helu was listed as an "or" at the #1 RB spot on the depth chart, and from the start Lucky just wasn't the same player, for whatever reason.

He gets a bad rap though. Up until his disappearing act, he was a damn good all-conference level runningback. He'd be remembered differently moreso if he was on better teams than if he wasn't a 5 star, imo. He was barely second string to Jackson, who has him beat by two spots on this list, and who only had one productive year, whereas Marlon had 2 really productive years and 2 mostly productive ones.

I have to say I think this is a bit revisionist. Marlon Lucky was hardly the best running back in any given year he was here, the only exception being 2007 when the clearly superior, and up until his junior year, severely underutilized Brandon Jackson had declared for the draft, and Kenny Wilson broke his leg prior to the beginning of the season. This left the then skinny and green freshman Roy Helu, Jr. as the only real competition for the feature back position, and Helu just wasn't quite ready to overtake Lucky at that point in his career. Helu would clearly emerge as the superior running back in 2008, however.

Lucky's 2007 season was arguably the most forgettable and underwhelming 1000 yard rushing season in the history of Husker football. He should definitely get credit for being a great receiver out of the backfield, though, and putting up big numbers there. Lucky did earn 2nd team All Big 12 Honors that year, but I think you would have been hard-pressed to find anyone besides a hardcore Nebraska fan who thought he was an all-conference level running back in 2007, or ever during his career.

I don't think people remember him in such a light simply because he was a 5 star, but because there was a feeling this status may have prevented running backs who ended up being clearly better than him from getting playing time (particularly earlier in his career, although this is no fault of Lucky's personally). He never really owned the feature back position here, being supplanted twice by lower rated but much better backs. Couple this with his running style (propensity to go down on first contact) and his association to the Bill Callahan era (which is unfair, I agree), and just not being a very commanding, dynamic or memorable back, and I think these are the reasons why Lucky isn't held in such high regard, or is not remembered as anything particularly special.

 

[NUance]

This is still my favorite play from Rex:

Ha ha! I can watch that play over and over. What an awesome move by Rex! The DB totally whiffs. Lands flat on his face. Just imagine the ribbing he took when that play flashed up on the screen Monday morning during tOSU films.

 

[ZRod]

This is still my favorite play from Rex:

That dude was a punk too. He was talking trash all game, and got his jock handed to him in the finest fashion.