HUSKER FOOTBALL The relationship between Nebraska running backs coach EJ Barthel and his newest commit began before Barthel stepped foot in Memorial Stadium. Mekhi Nelson, a 6-foot, 190-pound athlete from St. Thomas More Academy in Connecticut , first heard from Barthel when the coach worked for UConn.
Back then, Nelson still played in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Barthel took the job at NU. Nelson traveled up to STM, where one former Husker (Alante Brown) and current Husker (Marques Buford) plied their trade.
The two talked on the phone, Nelson said, three times a week. "He kept watching me, he kept telling me, 'keep grinding, you're my guy,' and then, eventually all the pieces fell into place," Nelson said before he announced his commitment to NU. "I love everything about him.
I see him as an uncle." And the Huskers see Nelson — a three-star prospect according to 247 Sports and unrated elsewhere — as a versatile recruit. He could be a running back.
He could play wideout. He could play defense. "They see me as a JackOf-All-Trades," Nelson said.
"They could put me on either side of the ball at any skill position and know that I'm going to go out there and make a play. I prefer running back or a little bit of a slot receiver — I mainly like playing offense, I'll say — but they'd look at me on defense. Punt returner, all that.
" Nelson said he had a good year at STM after spending several seasons at Wilkes-Barre High School. In 2022, Nelson rushed for 1,670 yards and 22 t.
