Photo by: Griffin Quinn / Northwestern Athletics
Inside the Wildcats’ Running Back Room: Experience and Depth Set the Stage for 2025
8/12/2025 5:09:00 PM | Football
By: Charlie Spungin, NUSports.com
Dan and Susan Jones Family Head Football Coach David Braun and Offensive Coordinator Zach Lujan are facing one of the best problems a football team can have.
Graduate student Cam Porter, redshirt junior Joseph Himon II, and redshirt sophomore Caleb Komolafe are all returning to Evanston. With this, Northwestern brings back 98.9% of its rushing yards from running backs, ranking second in the Big Ten to only reigning College Football Playoff semifinalist Penn State.
"The three of those guys are three of our best football players," Braun said. "Finding ways to make sure that all three are having a huge impact on the game, whether it be through rotation or having multiple guys on the field at one time, will be a huge part of the week-to-week game plan."
Leading the room now is running backs coach Aristotle Thompson, who was named the team's position coach in February, following the departure of Chris Foster. In the six months since Thompson took leadership of the unit, he has made an immediate impact.
A key component of Thompson's short time in Evanston has been dedicated to film study, including watching footage from last season, years prior, and NFL games.
"It's just different with him," Himon said. "He's a film junkie. He just really helps us break down defenses from a whole and try to see what everybody does, not just our read. He helps us see everything, and that helps us just understand the game more."
Porter, Himon, and Komolafe each feel that Thompson has helped elevate their knowledge of the game to the next level. And this is good news for the Wildcats, as according to Thompson, the depth of the running back room is what will allow it to thrive in 2025.
"If you look at any team in the country that has had success running the ball, or just overall win total, there's not just one guy doing it," Thompson said. "The room has to support each other, and everybody has various roles within it."
Gearing up for another year of Big Ten football, all three running backs have spent hours in the weight room this summer.
Starring in the backfield, Porter is the grind-it-out veteran of the group who has totaled over 2,000 scrimmage yards during his career. Himon is a versatile weapon, thriving as an explosive playmaker. Komolafe, the youngest, is physical and full of upside.
"I think we got one of the best (running back) rooms in the Big Ten, hands down," Porter said.
After serving as a captain and donning the No. 1 jersey in 2024, Porter opted to return for his sixth year of college football. In doing so, he is now the longest tenured player on the roster.
Porter, who led the team with 126 carries, 501 rushing yards, and a career-high six rushing touchdowns last season, decided to come back for the 2025 season with hopes of returning to winning ways.
"Obviously, I had a bad taste in my mouth from last season," Porter said. "That's not the way that I wanted to go out, so I'm excited to come back this year. I feel like we have all the pieces that we need to have a successful season."
With 1,771 rushing yards in his career, Porter ranks fourth among active Big Ten running backs in career rushing yards. Given his vast experience, Porter has seen nearly every coverage or scheme deployed against him, and he passes down his wealth of knowledge to the younger Wildcat running backs.
"He's a great person to have around in our room with that leadership aspect and experience," Komolafe said. "What he sees on the field — it helps us grow. Watching him, I've learned a lot."
Complementing Porter as perhaps Northwestern's most explosive playmaker, Himon is coming off a season where he took 52 carries for 257 rushing yards. His 4.9 yards per carry were the most by any Wildcat running back with at least 50 carries since 2021.
Himon also has proven to be a strong pass-catcher out of the backfield. All three of Himon's touchdowns in 2024 came from at least 20 yards out, including the team's longest offensive score of the year — a 51-yard run against Purdue. In 2023 against UTEP, Himon memorably took a reception 85 yards for a touchdown, marking the third-longest pass play in program history.
"It's just my speed, honestly," Himon said. "My mentality going into every play is to have an explosive play, try to score a touchdown."
Komolafe rounds out the trio, looking to improve on a fruitful redshirt first-year campaign. The coaching staff trusted the Katy, Texas, native with 50 carries last season, the most by a first-year Northwestern running back since 2021.
Thompson said he has seen Komolafe's mentality elevate in recent months, as he has seen the young running back become "a guy who wants to be an elite player in this conference."
Since taking the reins of the running back room, Thompson has introduced a culture where the room pushes one another to be their best. As a result, the first-year coach has seen progress out of younger players, such as first-year Daniel Anderson and redshirt first-year Dashun Reeder.
"It's very competitive but tight-knit, and that's one of the things that AT brought coming in," Komolafe said. "We really support each other. We want to compete also. I see Joe have a big run, and I want to have a big run."
With one of the deepest returning running back groups in the conference, Thompson has high hopes for his unit during his first season in Evanston. And there's little doubt the group has the talent to meet his goals.
"I'm expecting the best season that the running backs have had here in a very long time," Thompson said. "I have some little benchmarks and things in mind that I won't even talk to them about yet. Once they hit some of those, we'll talk about them, and I'll say, 'Hey, there are the things that I expected from you guys, and you guys have surpassed that.'"
Dan and Susan Jones Family Head Football Coach David Braun and Offensive Coordinator Zach Lujan are facing one of the best problems a football team can have.
Graduate student Cam Porter, redshirt junior Joseph Himon II, and redshirt sophomore Caleb Komolafe are all returning to Evanston. With this, Northwestern brings back 98.9% of its rushing yards from running backs, ranking second in the Big Ten to only reigning College Football Playoff semifinalist Penn State.
"The three of those guys are three of our best football players," Braun said. "Finding ways to make sure that all three are having a huge impact on the game, whether it be through rotation or having multiple guys on the field at one time, will be a huge part of the week-to-week game plan."
Leading the room now is running backs coach Aristotle Thompson, who was named the team's position coach in February, following the departure of Chris Foster. In the six months since Thompson took leadership of the unit, he has made an immediate impact.
A key component of Thompson's short time in Evanston has been dedicated to film study, including watching footage from last season, years prior, and NFL games.
"It's just different with him," Himon said. "He's a film junkie. He just really helps us break down defenses from a whole and try to see what everybody does, not just our read. He helps us see everything, and that helps us just understand the game more."
Porter, Himon, and Komolafe each feel that Thompson has helped elevate their knowledge of the game to the next level. And this is good news for the Wildcats, as according to Thompson, the depth of the running back room is what will allow it to thrive in 2025.
"If you look at any team in the country that has had success running the ball, or just overall win total, there's not just one guy doing it," Thompson said. "The room has to support each other, and everybody has various roles within it."
Gearing up for another year of Big Ten football, all three running backs have spent hours in the weight room this summer.
Starring in the backfield, Porter is the grind-it-out veteran of the group who has totaled over 2,000 scrimmage yards during his career. Himon is a versatile weapon, thriving as an explosive playmaker. Komolafe, the youngest, is physical and full of upside.
"I think we got one of the best (running back) rooms in the Big Ten, hands down," Porter said.
After serving as a captain and donning the No. 1 jersey in 2024, Porter opted to return for his sixth year of college football. In doing so, he is now the longest tenured player on the roster.
Porter, who led the team with 126 carries, 501 rushing yards, and a career-high six rushing touchdowns last season, decided to come back for the 2025 season with hopes of returning to winning ways.
"Obviously, I had a bad taste in my mouth from last season," Porter said. "That's not the way that I wanted to go out, so I'm excited to come back this year. I feel like we have all the pieces that we need to have a successful season."
With 1,771 rushing yards in his career, Porter ranks fourth among active Big Ten running backs in career rushing yards. Given his vast experience, Porter has seen nearly every coverage or scheme deployed against him, and he passes down his wealth of knowledge to the younger Wildcat running backs.
"He's a great person to have around in our room with that leadership aspect and experience," Komolafe said. "What he sees on the field — it helps us grow. Watching him, I've learned a lot."
Complementing Porter as perhaps Northwestern's most explosive playmaker, Himon is coming off a season where he took 52 carries for 257 rushing yards. His 4.9 yards per carry were the most by any Wildcat running back with at least 50 carries since 2021.
Himon also has proven to be a strong pass-catcher out of the backfield. All three of Himon's touchdowns in 2024 came from at least 20 yards out, including the team's longest offensive score of the year — a 51-yard run against Purdue. In 2023 against UTEP, Himon memorably took a reception 85 yards for a touchdown, marking the third-longest pass play in program history.
"It's just my speed, honestly," Himon said. "My mentality going into every play is to have an explosive play, try to score a touchdown."
Komolafe rounds out the trio, looking to improve on a fruitful redshirt first-year campaign. The coaching staff trusted the Katy, Texas, native with 50 carries last season, the most by a first-year Northwestern running back since 2021.
Thompson said he has seen Komolafe's mentality elevate in recent months, as he has seen the young running back become "a guy who wants to be an elite player in this conference."
Since taking the reins of the running back room, Thompson has introduced a culture where the room pushes one another to be their best. As a result, the first-year coach has seen progress out of younger players, such as first-year Daniel Anderson and redshirt first-year Dashun Reeder.
"It's very competitive but tight-knit, and that's one of the things that AT brought coming in," Komolafe said. "We really support each other. We want to compete also. I see Joe have a big run, and I want to have a big run."
With one of the deepest returning running back groups in the conference, Thompson has high hopes for his unit during his first season in Evanston. And there's little doubt the group has the talent to meet his goals.
"I'm expecting the best season that the running backs have had here in a very long time," Thompson said. "I have some little benchmarks and things in mind that I won't even talk to them about yet. Once they hit some of those, we'll talk about them, and I'll say, 'Hey, there are the things that I expected from you guys, and you guys have surpassed that.'"
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