Observations: Nebraska's red-zone run game could have a Georgia Tech flavor

Nebraska’s run game was the strength of its offense in 2025. Emmett Johnson proved doubters wrong along the way to becoming an All-American, the Big Ten Running Back of the Year and an NFL Draft pick of the Kansas City Chiefs while running behind an offensive line that majored in downhill schemes.

But while evaluating his program this offseason, head coach Matt Rhule wanted to make next season’s Emmett-less run game more dynamic, especially where it matters most: the red zone.

Nebraska scored a touchdown on just 56.6% of its 53 drives that reached the opponent’s 20-yard line, which ranked 15th in the Big Ten and 95th nationally. In 88 red-zone rush attempts, the Huskers averaged 2.86 yards per carry — 10th in the Big Ten — with 16 touchdowns.

Part of Rhule’s evaluation process involved parting ways with offensive line coach Donovan Raiola and replacing him with Georgia Tech offensive line coach Geep Wade. Wade had been Brent Key’s O-line coach for three seasons in Atlanta. Rhule and Key were on the same Western Carolina staff in 2004.

Wade’s 2025 offensive line at Georgia Tech made the 10-team semifinal list for the Joe Moore Award, which was ultimately won by Iowa. His unit was the driving force behind a Yellow Jackets’ rushing attack that averaged 197.46 yards per game, 21st nationally. Led by an uber-tough and physical dual-threat quarterback in Haynes King, Georgia Tech’s offense averaged 5.54 yards per carry, ranking eighth nationally.

One aspect of Georgia Tech’s offense — a unit coordinated by Buster Faulkner, now Jon Sumrall’s play-caller at Florida — that stood out to Rhule was how well it ran the ball using counter run blocking schemes.

“They were about as good as there was in the country in terms of running counter,” Rhule said in December.

Counter was a core run play for Georgia Tech, and the Yellow Jackets had more success running the ball in the red zone than Nebraska, though they weren’t facing Big Ten-caliber of run defenses. In 98 red-zone rushes, Georgia Tech averaged 3.36 yards per carry — that mark would have ranked sixth in the Big Ten — and scored 22 touchdowns.

As Nebraska transitions from the pocket passer Dylan Raiola to the dual-threat Anthony Colandrea, counter run — and its variations that can include the quarterback as the ball carrier — could help Dana Holgorsen’s unit become harder for defenses to stop when the field shrinks.

“Both offensively and defensively, the red zone really hurt us in terms of what we’d like to get done,” Rhule said. “So, the ability to add different run game, especially quarterback run, and counter is a great answer for that. So the minute Geep got here, he started on counter, started putting in all the different kinds — GT, ZT, OF.”

Because of Raiola’s limited mobility, Nebraska’s red zone offense was limited as well, often relying on Johnson’s elite-level elusiveness in the traditional handoff run game. But Colandrea can change how the offense operates in the red zone. If everything clicks in the fall, he can have a Haynes King-like impact.

“We’ve been a good duo team, we’ve been a good inside zone team, so if we can add some of the counter,” Rhule said. “I think moving forward we’d like to have quarterbacks that are able to add in the run game, sort of like Haynes King was able to do at Georgia Tech.”

But what would it look like? How did Georgia Tech utilize King in the counter run game in the red zone, and what could it look like at Nebraska with Colandrea?

Here are Inside Nebraska’s observations from Georgia Tech’s red zone run game that could have an influence on how Nebraska goes about its business in the red area.

The clip below, from Georgia Tech’s game at NC State, shows King follow the counter blocking in front of him for a touchdown.

Georgia Tech faces a first-and-10 from NC State’s 12-yard line. King is operating out of an empty set with 02 personnel (no running backs, two tight ends). In this particular play, King sends redshirt freshman tight end Luke Harpring (#15), a 6-foot-3, 240-pounder, in motion. At the snap, right guard Keylan Rutledge (#77) pulls to the field side while Harping follows.

The front-side in-line tight end, the 6-5, 255-pound Josh Beetham (#17), does a great job of helping his left tackle on a combo block before climbing to the second level to get a hat on NC State inside linebacker Kenny Soares, Jr. Both Harpring and Rutledge execute their blocks, and King does the rest.

This is a play that Nebraska could use with the pieces it has. Picture Iowa State transfer right guard Brendan Black pulling while tight end Luke Lindenmeyer follows as the motion man. Perhaps Eric Ingwerson, a massive human at 6-7 and 255 pounds, would make sense as the in-line option:

Obviously, King and Colandrea are different kinds of runners. King is physically built better for runs inside the tackles at 6-3, 215 pounds. Colandrea is smaller at 6 feet, 205, and isn’t the wrecking ball King is, but has elite quickness and burst, and is able to do things King can’t, like this:

And this:

Keeping Colandrea healthy and upright for the entire season is something Holgorsen will remember when putting together game plans. As Husker fans are well aware, Big Ten defenses can do damage to running quarterbacks. King missed one game in 2025 due to injury but was largely able to withstand the punishment that 185 carries brought.

While Colandrea has stayed healthy for his career despite his risky running style, defenders in the Big Ten are among the most physical in college football.

“I don’t think you want to do it a whole lot. I don’t care who your quarterback is,” Holgorsen said in the spring of how much he’ll want to use Colandrea in designed quarterback runs.

While he’s not the prototypical size, toughness is not an issue with Colandrea, who has shown he’s OK lowering his shoulder if it means he can move the chains or put points on the board for his team.

In the clip below, from UNLV’s game against UCLA, head coach Dan Mullen dials up a quarterback power with an eye-candy motion from a 12 personnel set. Colandrea gets behind his big 350-pound pulling right guard, Alani Makihele (#73), and turns upfield as soon as he sees a pocket of space open:

The clip below, from Georgia Tech’s game at NC State again, shows King scoring a touchdown using a GT counter bash concept.

The Yellow Jackets are using 11 personnel (one back, one tight end) and have a counter run blocking scheme up front, with the front side of the line down blocking while the backside guard and tackle (GT) pull.

In the backfield, there’s a mesh point between King and his running back, Jamal Haynes (#1). Haynes’ run action goes away from the pullers (bash = back away), drawing the eyes of linebackers and backside defenders.

King follows the blocks of his pulling left guard, Joe Fusile (#67), and left tackle, Jameson Riggs (#70), and makes NC State linebacker Caden Fordham (#1) miss in the hole for the score.

If this was Nebraska, picture projected starting left guard Paul Mubenga and left tackle Elijah Pritchett on the move paving the way for Colandrea:

Of course, quarterbacks can have the option to hand the ball off once the defense starts cheating and keying on the quarterback keeping the ball.

In the clip below, from Georgia Tech’s game at Clemson, the Yellow Jackets are in 21 personnel (two backs, one tight end) and run a quarterback counter bash again. Except this time, King reads Clemson edge Jahiem Lawson (#15) staying home, so King gives the ball to the running back Haynes (#1), who has two lead blockers in front — a tight end and fellow running back in the backfield:

Another counter play that Georgia Tech seemed to have success with was when it added a toss read into the mix.

In the clip below, from Georgia Tech’s game at Wake Forest, watch how the fake toss to the running back pulls the second-level linebackers slightly out of position, which allows King to score untouched behind his pullers in the right guard Rutledge (#77) and tight end J.T. Byrne (#88).

Nebraska has run-blocking tight ends to make many of these counter runs work, like Lindenmeyer and Ingwerson, as well as Cayden Echternach and maybe even Luke Sorensen, the true freshman out of Anaheim (Cali.) Servite:

Inside Nebraska’s final take

Rhule wanted to beef up his run game in 2026, and for good reason. At times last season, Nebraska was a bit too predictable because Emmett Johnson was everything and the only real threat to run the ball. But now with Colandrea in the mix, quarterback run will truly be available.

Having a run threat like Colandrea in the backfield will make life harder for defenses and force them to account for an extra runner and defend an extra gap. In the red zone, where space tightens and defenses are triggering aggressively downhill, that can be the difference between a field goal and a touchdown.

With Wade now in control of the offensive line room, perhaps Husker fans will see more counter run — and its variations — when the offense is knocking on the door of a touchdown.

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