Husker Big Red Daily: Nebraska football boosts RB room with transfer, Mekhi Nelson update

Welcome to Husker Big Red Daily, your daily stop for the latest Nebraska football news, recruiting buzz, transfer portal updates, and Huskers headlines. Here’s a quick look at the latest storylines surrounding Nebraska athletics.

There was an unexpected addition to the running back room for Nebraska football on Tuesday, as the Huskers have added a former four-star running back, Tikey Hayes.

Hayes spent one season with the Penn State Nittany Lions (2025) after signing with the Nittany Lions as a four-star recruit. He left Penn State this winter and was slated to be Iowa Western Community College’s starting running back.

Hayes only got three carries for 18 yards last season, with all of those attempts coming in the Pinstripe Bowl. There was a coaching change, and he got lost in the shuffle after leaving the program to enter the portal.

Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule played for Penn State. He has shown a willingness over the years to add players late, just before camp, and with the Huskers’ running back depth in question, this seems like a low-risk, high-upside move.

Even though Hayes signed with Penn State, he also had an offer from Ohio State after over 3,700 rushing yards and 56 touchdowns in his junior and senior years of high school. He was a four-star in the 2025 class, has four years left to play, and could be the transfer portal addition Nebraska football has been missing at running back.

Mekhi Nelson’s legal update

Nebraska running back Mekhi Nelson, who was charged with aggravated battery last month for an incident in Florida, will not have charges filed against him, according to a news report. 

The state of Florida decided to drop the charges after the victim decided not to press charges. It’s not clear what this means for the future of Nelson in Lincoln.

Nebraska football has been mum on that topic. The program has refused to comment, but with practice starting next month for the 2026 season, we should find out soon enough.

Key Nebraska baseball player returns

Case Sanderson, who earned second-team All-Big Ten honors last season at first base, announced that he will be back with Will Bolt’s team in 2027. Sanderson will be a senior next season and led Nebraska baseball with a .367 batting average. He was also credited with six home runs, 17 doubles, two triples, 49 RBI, and 60 runs scored. Sanderson had a .488 on-base percentage with 29 multi-hit games.

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