Preseason honors continued to roll in for senior I-back Rex Burkhead on Thursday, when he was named a second-team All-American by Sports Illustrated. Burkhead was one of four running backs tabbed as a preseason All-American, joining Wisconsin’s Montee Ball to give the Big Ten two All-America backs.

For Burkhead, it was his second preseason All-America honor, as Athlon also tabbed him as a second-team running back. A native of Plano, Texas, Burkhead is also one of 50 players on the watch list for the Walter Camp Award (college football player of the year) and one of 65 candidates for the Doak Walker Award (nation’s top running back).

Burkhead carried 284 times for 1,357 yards last season in a workhorse role for the Huskers. He posted the second-highest carry total in school history, while tallying the seventh-highest rushing total in NU history and the highest by a Husker I-back since 1997. Burkhead ranked 19th nationally in rushing last fall, averaging 104.4 yards per game. He enters his senior season with 2,654 career rushing yards, good for 12th place in school history. He is only 90 rushing yards shy of moving into Nebraska’s all-time top 10.

Burkhead also set school records for single-game carries (38 vs. Iowa) and most consecutive games with a touchdown (10) in 2011. He was a first-team All-Big Ten selection and was one of 10 semifinalists for the Doak Walker Award.

An outstanding student-athlete, Burkhead is also a returning CoSIDA Academic All-American, after earning first-team honors as a junior in 2011. Burkhead was also chosen as one of Uplifting Athletes Champions of 2011-12 for helping to put a national focus on helping children with rare diseases. An active member of the community, Burkhead earned his third straight appointment to the Brook Berringer Citizenship team this past spring.

— Matt Smith, Nebraska Sports Information