2021 (Sophomore)
Markese Stepp played in seven games with two starts in his first season at Nebraska in 2021. He rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns on 45 carries.
He had three carries for 10 yards in his debut at Illinois, while adding a career-long 30-yard reception. The next week against Fordham, Stepp posted the first 100-yard rushing game of his career by rushing 18 times for 101 yards. Stepp earned his first career start against Buffalo and gained 17 yards on nine carries. He had a two-yard carry at No. 20 Michigan State. He rushed five times for 29 yards against Northwestern. Stepp earned the start at No. 19 Wisconsin in place of injured starter Rahmir Johnson and carried the ball nine times for 18 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown on Nebraska’s opening possession.
Before Nebraska (USC/Cathedral HS)
Stepp played in five of USC’s six games in 2020, rushing 45 times for 165 yards and three touchdowns, while adding three receptions. Stepp opened the season with 14 carries for 53 yards and a touchdown against Arizona State and tallied 12 carries for 82 yards and a score a week later against Arizona. In the Pac-12 Championship game against Oregon, Stepp had 25 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Stepp played in seven games in 2019 before being injured. He rushed for 307 yards on 48 carries and scored three touchdowns. Stepp rushed for better than 50 yards in four games. He had 53 yards on nine carries at BYU and gained 62 yards on 10 carries against No. 17 Washington. Stepp matched his then-career high with 82 yards and a touchdown at No. 9 Notre Dame and had 13 carries for 66 yards and a touchdown against Arizona, before leaving with an ankle sprain.
Stepp appeared in four games in 2018, allowing him to redshirt. He totaled seven carries for 33 yards, with a season-high 23 yards on five carries against Notre Dame.
Stepp earned 2017 PrepStar All-America honors at Cathedral High in Indianapolis. He also earned Indianapolis Star All-Central and All-City accolades and made the Indiana Super Team. Stepp rushed for 975 yards and 17 touchdowns, while averaging nearly eight yards per carry as a senior. Stepp missed most of his junior season with an injury. As a sophomore he ran for 888 yards on 104 carries with 12 touchdowns.
Personal
Markese is the son of Marcus and Uyvette Stepp, and he was born on Feb. 11, 2000. A communication studies major, Markese earned his bachelor's degree from Nebraska in December of 2022. Stepp’s father, Marcus, played football at Miami (Ohio) in 1994 and 1995. His brother, Marcus Jr., was an outside linebacker at St. Francis (Ind.) from 2015 to 2018, winning NAIA championships in 2016 and 2017.