Joel Klatt gives expectations for Gabe Ervin, Nebraska running game in 2023

Matt Rhule and Nebraska want to run the ball in 2023 during the head coach’s first year in charge in Lincoln. And Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt is bullish on the Cornhuskers potential to do just that.

With a re-tooled offensive line and no shortage of running backs — plus a capable running quarterback in Jeff Sims — Klatt thinks the Nebraska run game could be quite feisty. And he highlighted third-year running back Gabe Ervin Jr. has a potential breakout candidate.

Klatt recalled the 2021 matchup between the Sooners Cornhuskers to help make his point.

“They went into a game in the non-conference against Oklahoma, a game that Gus [Johnson] and I did, actually. I remember Oklahoma was throwing a fit about playing in the marquee window on Fox at 11 a.m. central. And turns out that they also didn’t show up and also didn’t play very well, squeaked by and got a win. But Gabe Ervin Jr. stole the show for a bit of that early section of the game,” Klatt said. “And I really loved what I saw from him on film and what I saw that day until, unfortunately, he blew out his knee. That knee injury has slowed him ever since and he’s never gotten back to the point where I thought he was playing that year. I think he’s back to that point. I believe he is healthy and this run game should be pretty good.”

Ervin had burst onto the scene a week prior, rushing 10 times for 56 yards and a pair of touchdowns against Buffalo. He was getting fed the ball early against Oklahoma — nine carries — before his knee injury.

Klatt thinks Ervin is back in a spot to absorb a lot of carries and be productive for Nebraska again. Plus, the overall running back depth is another reason for confidence.

“They’ve also got Anthony Grant, who was productive for them. Rahmir Johnson is a guy that can be a back, also a slot possible guy. And then they like their tight ends. That’s what you’ll see on the offensive side from Nebraska,” Klatt said.

Rhule wants Nebraska to be able to line up and run on anyone

When push comes to shove, Rhule wants his Nebraska teams to be able to line up and run it. He explained his desired offensive balance further on the “Always College Football” podcast with Greg McElroy.

“Our mindset’s always going to be to go out and, we want to run the football. You should see some days out here. We had a practice, I think it was two weeks ago, if you threw the ball it literally was getting blown back into your face. So, coach [Tom] Osborne was one of the first to tell me that, like, ‘Matt, the wind here is a factor.’ So we have to be able to run the ball at all times. But we also want to be explosive. We want to throw it. We want to push the ball down the field. So, that balance of, ‘Hey, on any play they could do anything’ I think is important to us,” Rhule said.