Before they got to Lincoln, the 2020 Huskers were slinging passes, accumulating touchdowns, breaking records and winning state titles. This fall, we highlight some Huskers who shined bright under Friday night lights.
Rahmir Johnson
Year and position:Â Redshirt freshman running back.
Recruiting class:Ìý2019.
High school:Â Bergen Catholic (Oradell, New Jersey).
Of note:Â Johnson also shined on the track oval. His time of 21.46 seconds in the 200-meter dash is a county record, and his time of :10.50 in the 100 is a school record. He also competed in the long jump.
Johnson rushed for 555 yards and six touchdowns during his junior season as Bergen Catholic won a state title. He followed by rushing for 1,334 yards and had 12 total touchdowns as a senior, becoming the school's first 1,000-yard rusher since 2009. Bergen finished as state runner-up in Johnson's final season there.
An injury to another elite back meant the Crusaders had to rely more on Johnson.
"We had to make him just the full-time two-back I-back, tailback," Bergen football coach Vito Campanile said this week. "He carried our team. He was a guy that just did everything we asked him to do as a downhill runner."
Once Johnson committed to Nebraska, he went to work to expand his skill set.
"It wasn't natural for him to catch the ball, and I just remember from April straight through Thanksgiving weekend and (Johnson) catching a hundred balls a day just to work to get his hands to the point where he can be a slot receiver," Campanile said.
The game vs. Grayson
It was the first game of Johnson's senior season, and Bergen traveled to Georgia to play No. 4 nationally ranked Grayson, which had nine Division I recruits on defense alone.
Grayson made a big rally, but Johnson had some big runs to help Bergen hold on for the win. He rushed for 130 yards.
"What he did from a toughness standpoint …," Campanile said. "There was a couple runs we just totally screwed up in the front and he just made a couple jump cuts. Their defense had nine Power Five players and Rahmir just hands down took over the game.
"At that point I kind of felt like, 'Yeah, we've got something that's a little different here."
A model player
Campanile can rave and rave about Johnson's athletic talent.
"His breakaway speed was so different," he said. "I could probably circle 15 to 20 plays where you're like, 'That's God-given ability.'"
But it's how Johnson carried himself off the field that impressed the coaches the most. Campanile said he would lay down in traffic for Johnson.
"He just does everything the right way," said Campanile, who was college roommates with NU outside linebacker Mike Dawson. "I don’t think if you went upstairs and talked to our principal right now or talk to our vice principal or dean of discipline … everybody would always point to Rahmir Johnson as a guy like, 'Be like that guy.' Be a quiet leader, be a guy that does things the right way."
A blazing sixth-grader
Campanile recalls the first time he saw Johnson, who came to a Bergen junior football camp as a sixth-grader.
Johnson popped for a :4.68 40-yard dash, "and we're like, 'Get the hell out of here. Send that kid back and make him do it again,'" Campanile said. "And then he did it again. Come to find out, he's one of the best track kids in the Northeast.
"It's a thing of beauty to watch him run."
Photos: Iowa hangs on to beat Nebraska to claim the Heroes Trophy for sixth straight year
Reach Clark Grell at 402-473-2639 or cgrell@journalstar.com. On Twitter at @LJSSportsGrell.