Honors & Awards
» Academic All-Big Ten (2023)
» Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2022; Spring 2023)
» Brook Berringer Citizenship Team (2023)
» Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2023)
2023 (Redshirt Freshman)
Emmett Johnson played in 12 games as a redshirt freshman, emerging as Nebraska's starting running back with six starts over the final seven games. Johnson had 90 carries for 411 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 4.6 yards per carry to help Nebraska rank second in the Big Ten in rushing. He also caught seven passes for 46 yards and returned one kickoff for 15 yards.
Johnson had one kickoff return for 15 yards at Minnesota. Johnson had his first two career carries against Louisiana Tech, gaining three yards on each carry. Johnson had two carries for nine yards against No. 2 Michigan, and he also caught the first two passes of his career, totaling 20 receiving yards. He started the first game of his career at Illinois and totaled seven carries and 29 rushing yards. Johnson started against Northwestern and had 12 carries and 73 rushing yards. In his third consecutive start against Purdue, Johnson set then-career highs in carries and rushing yards for the third straight game with 13 carries for 76 yards. He scored on a 28-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that marked the longest run of his career and his first career touchdown. Johnson set career highs with 17 carries and 84 rushing yards in a start against Maryland. He had 13 carries for 50 yards in his start at Wisconsin. Johnson had 11 carries for 27 yards against Iowa, and he also caught an 11-yard pass.
2022 (Redshirt)
Emmett Johnson played in four games while utilizing his redshirt season in 2022. He made his Husker debut by playing on special teams against No. 17 Illinois, and he also saw action on special teams against Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.
Before Nebraska (Academy of Holy Angels)
Johnson came to Nebraska as the top high school player in Minnesota. As a star running back and two-way player for the Academy of Holy Angels, Johnson was named Mr. Football by the Minnesota Football Coaches Association in 2021.
Honored as the top player in the state, Johnson rushed for more than 2,500 yards and scored 42 touchdowns in his senior season. He had at least 100 rushing yards in all 11 games as a senior, including seven 200-yard rushing efforts. Johnson also had eight four-touchdown games and accounted for more than 2,800 all-purpose yards. He also played safety for Holy Angels, recording 85 tackles and 13 tackles for loss in 2021. As a junior, Johnson carried the ball 174 times for 1,521 yards and 12 touchdowns.
In his prep career, Johnson ran for nearly 5,000 yards and totaled nearly 6,000 all-purpose yards with more than 130 tackles on defense. He was a two-time District MVP, three-time all-district selection, two-time all-metro pick and an all-state honoree. Johnson was named the Offensive MVP for the South team in the Minnesota High School All-Star Game following his senior season. Johnson also played basketball and competed in track and field for Holy Angels.
The top running back in Minnesota, Johnson was ranked among the top 10 overall players in the state. The three-star prospect chose Nebraska over scholarship offers from numerous FCS programs and interest from several Big Ten schools.
Personal
Emmett was born on Oct. 10, 2003, and he is the son of Charles and Precious Johnson. He is majoring in advertising and public relations. Emmett has volunteered his time with the Nebraska Football Road Race, Thanksgiving hospital visits and the Huskers’ Day of Service.