Johnson 'training like a track athlete' for draft
Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson tells Connor Rogers and Lawrence Jackson Jr. which legendary running backs he looks up to, how he got his childhood nickname, what he enjoys most outside of playing football and more.
Video Transcript
Connor Rogers here at the NFL Combine alongside Lawrence Jackson And Nebraska running back Emmit Johnson.
You were one of the biggest breakout players in the country this year.
There's just no way around it.
Yes, sir.
We have the Big Ten on NBC.
We loved watching you week in and week out.
What was this like for you from going from, you know, a good year but, like, prime time spotlight always on you?
Yeah.
Yeah, man.
I would just say so it's been a blessing, and, opportunity is everything, man.
I feel like, you know, Dana Holgorsen, you know, came in and just gave me the opportunity to be myself and go out there and just play freely, and that's what I did.
my preparation, you know, that, that's another thing.
Dur- throughout the season, teams threw different things at us 'cause they understood I was getting the ball week to week.
And so I had to just prepare that much more and just, yeah, super motivated my whole life.
Man, you got great burst and agility coming through that hole, man.
That's right.
And then another part of your game is you could catch the ball out of the backfield.
Yeah.
Led your team in receptions.
When a running back- Yeah leads a team in receptions- I don't care what team it is, like- Yeah it's like we gotta get him the ball as a receiver.
Mm-hmm.
So knowing all of that stuff, who would you compare your game to, because you're a very versatile running back?
Yes, sir, man.
I would say a lot of different guys.
Barry Sanders is one of them.
Um- I, I like that one, man Yeah, I was about to- For a, for a young guy- Yeah I like you bringing that up, man.
Yeah.
Yes, sir.
Barry.
You know, I'll go LaDainian Tomlinson.
Another one.
Little bit of McCaffrey, you know.
In today's day and age- Yeah my coach also coached him, so I feel like the receiving ability, from him.
And then a little bit of Walter.
Yeah.
Y'all, y'all might not know, but if y'all go watch the tape- Walter- Little bit of Walter you talking about Walter Payton?
Yeah.
Oh, ooh- Different yeah, we know about Sweetness.
Yeah.
Yes, sir.
We're, we're older than we look.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
I, I do my research on great backs, so you know I make sure- Man, I, I love that, man I put in that respect for the game.
Like, yeah.
Yes, sir.
Man, and, and you know what's cool is, like, the guys you bring up, we see that when we watch you play.
Yes, sir.
The shiftiness, the creativity in the open field.
Mm-hmm.
It's, you know, I was laughing when you walked up with the sleeveless- 'cause I, I love when the running backs come in with the sleeveless- Yeah, yeah.
What, what that bench looking like, man?
Yeah, yeah.
What- Y'all gonna see on Sunday.
Yeah.
I'ma keep the number cool, but yeah, it's up there for sure.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
What's the routine right now?
Like is it This is different than football season kinda routine.
Yeah.
Kinda training like a track athlete, man.
Um- Right spending a lot of time with that.
You know, Pete Bommarito is a great trainer up in Florida.
I've been there before.
Uh- It's intense yeah, and I've been out that cold too.
You know, I grew up in Minnesota, so being, being in Florida during the wintertime has been a blessing.
And so, I've been out there just training every single day, man.
It's a lot of, lot of d- ups and downs.
There's days you feel like, you know, you might feel a little slower or not as strong, and it's a lot of mental tests.
But as you just believe in the process and just, you know, grind out, you, you'll see the s- success.
I haven't s- seen it yet, obviously- Yeah 'cause I haven't ran yet, but- Yeah I feel real good right now.
Okay.
I've been training really hard, so- Let's go yeah.
Yeah.
You t- you talked about being from Minnesota.
You mentioned Adrian Peterson.
Yeah.
Did you grow up a Vikings fan?
Yeah.
I grew up a Vikings fan, man.
every single, every single day I used to tell my dad, man, AP was somebody who- Yeah my family, like, I literally modeled my game after growing up.
Yeah.
just how downhill he was.
Yes.
I, I feel like if you watched my tape, I finish a lot of my runs, moving forward.
Yes, yep.
And I feel like the violence part came from AP.
AP all day.
I watched Ja- Jam- Dalvin Cook too up there.
Not James.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Dalvin Cook up there.
yeah, so a lot of great backs.
What- Yeah what would it mean for you to potentially- play for that team?
Like- Hey, man, it would mean a lot.
I grew up in the inner city.
I live about 10, 15 minutes, you know- Mm-hmm from US Bank Stadium, and so, I had a great formal meeting with them and O'Connell.
and yeah, I w- I would love to go back home.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, you know he could, he could draw it up too, man.
Yeah, he could.
Definitely.
Yeah.
And they need a running back right now- Yeah, they do.
Yeah badly that you could step in.
Yes, sir.
And, you know, speaking to him, is there a scheme that, that you like?
We know of with, with O'Connell we've seen so much outside zone over the year, years- Yes, sir coming from the Rams.
We've seen you do a lot of different things- Mm-hmm with all the touches you got this year.
Is there a, a comfort or something that you feel like you excel in?
Really any.
Yeah.
If I'm being honest.
I feel like different parts of my games work in different systems.
But, I watched the 49ers earlier play against the Colts in the season and, just seeing what they do with McCaffrey out of the backfield was cool.
but I would definitely say any offense.
my ability and my skill set as a runner, I'll be able to play in any, any offense, all 32, so.
Yeah, yeah.
And- Yeah now shifting gears a little bit, I see that this piece around your neck right here.
The E, the E. E money.
Now, y- your name is E, so they, they call you E Money.
Yeah.
E do- They call me E Money.
E- E dollar sign.
E Money.
Yep.
What it They got a tie dollar sign, so they, we can't call you E. uh- Yes, sir.
But yeah, that, that's cool.
Do your partners call you E Money?
They call me E Money, man.
I grew up, like I said, I was big on math and numbers.
You know- Okay I was like a math nerd growing up.
Okay.
And, my classmates always would just call me Money Man.
Like, whenever there was some type of, equation or something for solve- Yeah I would always be the first one.
There you go.
They would call me Money Man.
And this girl was just like, "I mean, your name starts with E." She used to call me E Money.
Yeah.
And this is at elementary school.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I kinda just like, "That's kinda catchy."
Yeah, yeah.
Like, "I should just keep continuing with it."
And so as I grew up and got to college, you know, obviously too, NIL and, and things like that, branding- Yeah has been good to, you know, use E Money, you know, as a nickname.
I like the story behind that.
I throw up the sign sometimes too.
Yeah, it's cool.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
Another thing we've read about you is love for the outdoors, nature- Yeah being outside and everything.
Yeah.
How did you develop that?
And with your teammate Dylan Raiola as well, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
So yeah, like I said, me and Dylan, you know, spent a lot of time doing things in the community in Nebraska.
I would just say growing up, man, I've, I've learned over the years, my older brother Charles Johnson always tells me, "You gotta find something outside of football-" Right "just for the mental health."
You see what's happening, you know, RIP, you know, Rondell Moore, things like that- Right that's going on right now.
And so the mental aspect of it is everything.
And so nature was just what I found.
for me, I, I grew up loving sunsets, sunrise and sunsets, so I would just go outside, just enjoy nature.
I feel like when we're kids, we enjoy that so much, and we get older, we kinda, you know, don't go outside as much or enjoy that.
Yeah.
And so nature's something that I definitely, you know, do outside of football.
Man, you, you talking about going outside, you naming all these old running backs.
Like, that, like- Yeah you, you are ready for the NFL- Yes, sir man.
Yes, sir.
and speaking of that, so you went 100 yards rushing in the game.
Same game, 100 yards receiving.
Yeah.
Nebraska backs, they don't do that.
And s- since you know all of these- Yeah and I say that because Nebraska has, especially historically- Great great running backs.
Great.
So- Yeah man, what does that mean to you just to be the f- the guy to do that- Mm-hmm and, you know, knowing they have so much great lineage?
It means a lot, man.
When I was being recruited, you know, obviously I was under-recruited, and, Nebraska was the only Power Five scholarship I had.
So, you know, I made sure I did my research.
Yes.
You know, I went down there.
I looked up guys like Mike Rozier, Ahmad Green.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Amir Abdullah.
Yeah.
You know what I'm saying?
Lawrence Phillips.
Yeah.
You know, he was- Yeah RIP to him, but he was one- Yeah of the best running backs- Yeah to ever play there.
For sure.
I did my research, and I was just like, "This is a great university."
And also the fan base.
Yeah.
Like, they got 90,000 fans every home game.
Yep.
And so I was just like, you know, I told my brother, I said, "Once I get in that stadium, you know, I don't care what it is.
I'm coming in as a freshman.
I don't care who's starting.
I'm just gonna work my butt off, and I know eventually I'll be playing in front of this crowd."
And so it means a lot, man.
Yeah.
It's a great history of running backs.
I know the '90s, we dominated college football.
Yep.
Unfortunately, we couldn't win a Natty when I was there, but it's definitely something that I live, you know, and I'm happy about.
Emmit Johnson, man, we, we've loved watching you this year.
Yes, sir.
What a season for you, and what a future you have in the NFL.
Yes, sir.
Thank you so much for your time.
Appreciate it, man.
God bless.
