We are now seven weeks from Northwestern football’s season opener against South Dakota State, and Inside NU is counting the days with a position preview series. Each week, we’ll break down a different position group and what to expect from them heading into David Braun’s fourth season at the helm.

Here are the position previews we’ve already published:

7/6, Quarterbacks: https://www.insidenu.com/northwestern-football/68591/northwestern-football-position-previews-quarterbacks

Today, we will look at running backs.

Returners: Daniel Anderson (R-Fy.), Caleb Komolafe (R-Jr.), Joseph Himon II (Gr.), Ronny Johnson (R-Fy.)

Losses: Cam Porter (graduated), Albert Kunickis III (transferred to Butler), Dashun Reeder (transferred to UConn)

Newcomers: Gavin Sawchuck (Gr., transferred from West Virginia), Mar’Kel Porter (R-So., transferred from Bowling Green), Sean Morris II (Fy.)

Despite seeing three spots worth of change during the offseason, Northwestern’s running back room should feel pretty familiar to most ‘Cats fans. There was little change at the top of the depth chart outside of Cam Porter, who missed most of 2025 with an injury anyways, and Robby Preckel, who carried the ball 42 times for 149 yards last season, but isn’t listed above because he’s technically a tight end.

The position’s leader will be Caleb Komolafe, the redshirt junior who was vaulted atop the depth chart early last season after Porter suffered a season-ending injury. In his new role, Komolafe had an incredible breakout campaign, leading all Northwestern rushers with just over 1,000 all-purpose yards and 12 total touchdowns.

Backing up Komolafe will be Joseph Himon II and Florida State transfer Gavin Sawchuk.

Himon II also slid up a spot in the depth chart last year following Porter’s injury, carrying the ball 99 times for 486 yards. The Little Rock native, who is relatively small at 5-foot-9, 190 pounds, was also the ‘Cats’ standout receiving back, with 21 receptions for 118 yards.

Meanwhile, Sawchuk joins NU as a three-star transfer who carried the ball 109 times for 486 yards and eight touchdowns last year at FSU. Sawchuk, who started his career at Oklahoma, brings one-cut explosiveness to the backfield, which has allowed him to rack up seven carries over 30 yards during his four-year college career.

The ‘Cats also managed to retain both Daniel Anderson and Ronny Johnson, at least based on what has been publicly reported, who both redshirted their first-year seasons last year. Both Anderson and Johnson were hardly involved in NU’s 2025 running attack, though Anderson did carry the ball three times for nine yards.

To round out the depth chart, Northwestern added Mar’Kel Porter, a three-star transfer from Bowling Green who rushed for 93 yards on 31 carries with two touchdowns as a redshirt freshman, and Sean Morris II, a three-star recruit from Orange, California, ranked as the No. 52 running back in the Class of 2026.

Northwestern’s running backs room’s X-factor for the coming season is set to be the FSU transfer Sawchuk, who is yet to play his first snap in a purple jersey.

Though Himon II will have a consistent role in the ‘Cats’ offense as a receiving back, behind Komolafe, Sawchuk is likely the ‘Cats’ best pure rusher and is likely to get some early-down touches throughout the season and certainly see an elevated role if (though, with running backs it’s almost more appropriate to ask “when”) Komolafe or Himon II miss time with injury.

Sawchuk is an explosive rusher. He hits holes with power, combining patience with speed to deliver explosive energy to the backfield:

Over his career, the Littleton, Colorado, product has averaged 5.1 yards per carry, with his best season coming in 2023 as a Sooner, when he carried the ball 120 times for 744 yards, averaging 6.2 yards per carry. That year he finished the season with five straight 100-yard rushing performances, though he failed to reach the 100-yard mark in 2024 and 2025.

Playing his last collegiate season, this is the final chance for Sawchuk, who has NFL aspirations, to give himself an opportunity to play on the next level. If he can channel that energy into a few explosive touchdown runs, Sawchuk could really help take the NU running back room to the next level this coming season.

Just how good is Caleb Komolafe going to be as a full-season starter for the ‘Cats?

After carrying the ball just 54 times during his first two seasons as a Wildcat, Komolafe entered his redshirt-junior season behind standout starter Porter on the depth chart, with little expectation of grand production.

However, everything took a turn when Porter was sidelined with a year-ending lower-body injury in the second week of the season. The ‘Cats were left without the star of their offense, with Komolafe next in line.

Incredibly, Komolafe was more than up to the task, excelling in his extended role behind a strong offensive line. The Texas native thrived as a true downhill rusher, racking up 941 yards on 190 carries, rushing at a clip of 5.0 yards per carry which ranked him No. 12 among Big Ten rushers with over 100 carries.

Komolafe was also great in the season’s biggest moments, carrying the ball 19 times for 72 yards and scoring the game-winning touchdown in NU’s upset win over Penn State, while rushing for 129 yards and scoring two total touchdowns in NU’s bowl-clinching victory against Minnesota.

After his breakout 2025 campaign, Komolafe will enter the upcoming season having had a whole offseason of work as the No. 1 guy in the running back room. The junior is set to lead a Northwestern rushing attack that looks stronger than ever, led by new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, whose offenses finished top six nationally in rushing yards per game every season from 2007-2012 at Oregon.

All this is to say that there’s no doubt that Komolafe has the tools as a running back and equivalently that Northwestern’s offense now has the tools to breed a successful Big Ten run game. The ‘Cats are going to run the ball, a lot, and they have the capability to do it at a high level.

The question is: Just how good will Komolafe and Co. be?

With 1,000 yards, Komolafe would become the first NU running back to reach 1,000 since Evan Hull in the 2021 season. However, considering Komolafe’s 2025 season playing just 11 games as a starter, it’s not crazy for ‘Cats fans to dream of Justin Jackson-type numbers from the 5-foot-11, 210-pounder.

It could be a landmark season on the ground for the junior Wildcat.

Projected 2026 Depth Chart

First string: Caleb Komolafe

Second string: Joseph Himon II

Third string: Gavin Sawchuk

After nearly eclipsing 1,000 rushing yards in the 2025 season, despite starting the year as NU’s second-string back, Komolafe will enter this season as the ‘Cats’ first choice running back. Right behind him are Himon II and Sawchuk, with Himon II likely to play as the third-down back and see a lot of work as a receiver.

With three strong options in the running back room and Chip Kelly calling the shots, it’s no secret the ‘Cats are gearing up to pound the rock.