Rahmir Johnson (14) accepts the MVP award after the game against Boston College at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024 in New York City, New York.
Senior Sports Editor
Rahmir Johnson (14) accepts the MVP award after the game against Boston College at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024 in New York City, New York.
On a fourth-and-one, gotta-have-it play late in the fourth quarter, Nebraska turned to its sixth-year man: Rahmir Johnson. Who else?
Johnson took his final collegiate handoff for 11 yards, clinching the Huskers’ first bowl game victory in nearly a decade and pushing his career rushing total to exactly 1,000 yards. As confetti rained down on the Yankee Stadium turf, Johnson hoisted the Pinstripe Bowl MVP trophy.
You couldn’t script a better homecoming story for the Harlem native.
Johnson spent six long seasons in Lincoln, fully devoted to Nebraska Football at every stop. He clawed back from injury time and time again, stuck around through multiple regime changes and chose to return after a devastating injury ended his 2023 campaign prematurely.
But the biggest obstacle didn’t come until late in his final season.
Matt Rhule shared postgame that Johnson’s mother passed away in November. Though she was placed in hospice care during the season, Johnson refused to let his grief be a distraction for the team.
“I love this program. I’m dedicated to this place,” Johnson said of Nebraska. “Even with news like that I still want to play for these guys and that’s the type of person I am.”
Johnson waited to travel home until the bye week, only telling fellow running back Emmett Johnson about his trip to New York. He asked Rhule to avoid sharing with anyone else.
“Rahmir has never allowed anyone to know what happened to him this year,” Rhule said, adding, “I asked him to go home and he wouldn’t go home. He had to play that game. He had to stay here with his teammates.”
There’s no better picture of pure selflessness. Johnson, who had every excuse to become jaded, fought for his teammates until the bitter end. 60 rushing yards, a touchdown and a trophy celebration capped off his Husker career just miles from where his football journey began.
Johnson’s decision to come back this season was for moments like Saturday. In the stat sheet, his fourth-quarter scamper will go down as another first-down conversion. But for a New York kid who spent his entire collegiate career at the same Midwest university, it meant so much more.
“We worked six years to get to this point, and I’m glad we left the field as a winner. I’m glad we paved the way for the future,” Johnson said while gesturing to Dylan Raiola. “I see special things coming in the near future for this team.”
Johnson and the rest of Nebraska’s seniors played a pivotal role in Rhules’ cultural overhaul. Getting over the bowl-game hump was the first step. Now, the onus is on Rhule’s first few recruiting classes to carry on that legacy.
In an era of unlimited transfers and NIL dashes for quick cash, Johnson set a shining example of what program loyalty looks like. The experience of sharing a sideline with him — and other longtime Huskers who trusted the process — will pay dividends for Nebraska’s young stars.
“This is for life, this brotherhood that we built,” fellow sixth-year senior Ty Robinson said postgame. “It just shows what kind of person Rahmir is, to go through that type of adversity. I kind of understand it from a different perspective but you know it takes a lot.The mental toughness he had throughout the season just proves how good of a man he is.”
Robinson’s journey to this point — one that earned him a lucrative NFL contract — was grueling. The same goes for many of Nebraska’s graduate seniors.
Javin Wright battled back from multiple blood clot diagnoses to lead the Huskers with eight tackles in his final collegiate outing. John Bullock began his career as a walk-on before changing positions and becoming a central piece of the Blackshirt defense. Nash Hutmacher, Bryce Benhart and Issac Gifford stayed true to Nebraska through countless heartbreaking seasons.
“Those are the kids that got me into coaching,” Rhule said, flooded with emotion. “Those are the men that keep me in coaching.”
The seniors won’t see the methodical culture-building plan come to full fruition. They’ll be chasing post-grad dreams by the time Rhule and company return the program to national contending status. But Saturday’s victory is a reminder of their sacrifice for this program. Sure, it’s only the Pinstripe Bowl. But the pure elation on the field and in the locker room postgame tells the full story.
Johnson understands the weight of the moment.
“When I came back for my sixth year, I wanted to do something special,” Johnson said. “Everything I do is for Nebraska and this team.”
With his entire family and youth football team looking on, Johnson honored his mother’s legacy in the best way he knows how: Going out with a victory in New York City.
“I told him I was going to share that because it’s never been about him,” Rhule said. “He loved his mother, he lost his mother and he cares about this team. I think this was a fitting end for him, so I hope he wears his pads home on the subway.”
Joseph Maier is the Senior Sports Editor at The Daily Nebraskan. Follow him on X at @JosephMaier29.
Senior Sports Editor
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