In the first half of Nebraska’s opening game of 2012, starting running back Rex Burkhead went down with an MCL sprain, inspiring a collective groan from Husker faithful that could surely be heard all the way in… I don’t know, Omaha or something. Burkhead was primed for a huge senior season after racking up just over 2300 yards in 2010 and 2011. His backup was an inexperienced sophomore who was impressive returning kicks but had rarely notched more than a handful of carries in meaningful game situations.
Fortunately for Nebraska, their worries were erased immediately. Abduallah averaged 5.4 yards a carry in finishing out that first game and added nearly 300 more and two scores in the next two before Burkhead’s return. That wasn’t it for Ameer in 2012 though, as Burkhead would miss four more starts after re-aggravating the sprain. Abdullah topped 100 yards in each game that Burkhead missed. All told, he ran for 1137 yards on 226 carries (5.03 average) and for all intents and purposes was the primary back for the Huskers last year, landing on the Big Ten Coaches’ 2nd team and earning an honorable mention from the Big Ten media.
In watching Abdullah’s highlights, I noticed that he has a burst that he seems to like to turn on after first contact (something he likely developed through returning kicks) that makes him a very scary back. You’ll see it in the video below, particularly against Michigan and UCLA:
I would expect Adbullah to get close to 300 carries this year, taking some pressure off of Taylor Martinez. It would not surprise me if he turned in 1600 yards or better in 2013.
Previously on MotSaG’s Best of the B1G
#12 Jared Abbrederis
#13 Venric Mark
#14 Devin Gardner
#15 Kenny Bell
Best of the B1G, #20-16
Best of the B1G, #25-21
I really like Ameer and think even though he is a smaller back his skills and speed make up for it big time.