FanHouse Roy Helu

Nebraska dismissed junior Quentin Castille from its football program on Saturday, turning the Cornhuskers' potentially potent 1-2 running back punch of Castille and Roy Helu Jr.. into a one-man show.

Castille, a bruising 6-foot-1, 235-pound back, rushed for 467 yards and six touchdowns last season while sharing time with Helu and Marlon Lucky. He stole the show in Nebraska's Gator Bowl win over Clemson, though, carrying 18 times for 125 yards.

With Lucky off for the NFL, Castille and the athletic Helu were expected to form a dynamite thunder-and-lighting duo. The storm's suddenly lost some potency.

DALLAS -- Embracing the traditions of Nebraska football is something second-year coach Bo Pelini is all about.

Warming up to any conversation about when the Cornhuskers will return to the Nebraska of old is quite different.

"It's honestly not my focus," Pelini said during the first day of the Big 12 Football Media Days Monday. " My focus is to do the best job I can on a daily basis and to win football games. If I do the job I set out to do every single day each season, then we will be where we need to be."

We've already checked in on the quarterbacks, so why not delve into what's new with the running backs of the Big 12.

We'll start at Texas, where the biggest question mark of the spring is who will replace Jamaal Charles? Charles led the Big 12 in rushing in 2007 on the strength of a fantastic second half of the season. Three backs will fight it out over the starting running back gig in 2008.

Sophomore Vondrell McGee will get first shot at the starting job after serving as Charles' understudy a year ago. When Charles was having consistency problems at midseason in 2007, McGee actually got more playing time, specifically on short-yardage and goal-line plays. He gained 297 yards overall and scored eight touchdowns.

Redshirt freshman Fozzy Whittaker and McGee share the same, low-to-the-ground build. Both resemble miniature linebackers.

Whereas McGee prefers the I-formation, Whittaker is more comfortable running out of the shotgun. That's how he made his yardage at Pearland High School, where he finished with the sixth-best rushing total in Class 5A history.

The third member of the committee is Chris Ogbonnaya, a well-known offensive commodity. The Longhorns often turned to Ogbonnaya on third-down situations last fall because he was as adept at running pass routes as he was at picking up the blitz. He caught 21 passes a year ago. To prepare for this season, the fifth-year senior dropped 12 pounds to improve his speed. He's now at 215.

We'll look elsewhere in the Big 12 after the jump.