RB Devine Ozigbo, Nebraska

6’0” – 230 lbs. – N/A
Carried the ball 38-209-1 as a freshman, then dealt with an ankle injury as a sophomore en route to 97-412-5. Had a junior year of 129-493-3 and then finished as the team’s leading rusher in 2018, with a line of 155-1,082-12, his yards-per-carry nearly doubling. Very big, thickly-built running back on the borderline between a running back and fullback size-wise. Has the type of running style his size would suggest; the type of back who can rumble up for a few yards, with the leg drive to push the pile and pick up yards after contact, finishing his runs by falling forwards. Knows when to put his head down, get behind his pads, and barrel ahead for a few sure yards instead of trying to hit home-runs. Also demonstrates the vision and footwork to shuffle and locate holes to run through, working in a powerful stiff-arm when he runs off-tackle. Not the fastest or most explosive runner, but can be a handful to bring down, especially when he reaches the edge and can get one-on-one matchups with linebackers and defensive backs. Needs to gather to cut in the open field and sometimes struggles to maintain his balance through ankle tackles, but also flashes the ability to use effective back-jukes to make defenders miss near the line of scrimmage. Has pretty solid ball security, with only four fumbles on nearly 460 career touches. Often stayed on the field on passing downs, but wasn’t integrated too heavily into the game as a receiving back; did play some wide receiver in high school, but usage at the college level was limited to your typical swing passes and releases into the flats as a relatively little-used safety valve. Looks like he offers more as a blocker, where his size, strength, and competitiveness allow him to mix it up with defenders, delivering effective chip blocks to buy time. Could use his arms more consistently but already looked like a pretty valuable asset in blitz pickup even without the most technically-sound approach. Struggled to produce prior to this past season, but finally managed to put it together and enjoyed a successful season which should put him on the radar of pro teams seeking a power back for a rotation. The fact that he wasn’t invited to the Combine suggests that he may be more of a late-round option.