Braylon Heard Transferring...

Nebraska had one of the most prolific offenses in the nation last year; Heard was just a small part of that so I think we will be fine. I do believe that he has talent and potential and I hate that he is leaving. But having said that... the reality of the situation is that when a team brings in stud recruits every year, in this day and age of college football, it is only natural that some talented people will transfer. Just my take.

 
Just cuz they asked him to move, he didn't have to agree w it.

And I'm sure the coaches have enough maturity to accept that he didn't want to move.

I certainly wouldn't have see it as him being a poor teammate if he "competitively declined."

He could have said, "I know we have some frosh coming in and I know I've bee behind AA, but entering my 3rd yr I just want to stick there and earn my spot. What can I do or what do I need to work on to get more of the carries and snaps? Please respect my decision and give me a shot to play the spot I really want to."

Instead he just leaves. Dammit. How does this guy not get 90-110 carries last year?? AA coulda STILL carried the ball 185 times and Heard woulda been around 100.

 
BIGREDIOWAN said:
Why the hell would they ask him to move again? Ridiculous, he's a very capable running back and we have great receivers so there was no reason to move him.
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I am not happy with the roster mismanagement...especially with what happened to Heard. He will be missed, but NEB is landing the players that can potentially step up and fill the void quickly.

 
knapplc said:
Some more about Heard's reasoning from an Ohio newspaper interview with his High School coach:

Heard says he will leave Nebraska football program

When Nebraska’s coaches asked Braylon Heard to change positions for the third time in three years, Heard decided it was time to change schools instead.
Rather than move to wide receiver, Heard, a former All-Ohio running back at Cardinal Mooney, will finish this semester in Lincoln, then transfer to a school to be determined, one of his high school coaches, Chris Amill, confirmed Tuesday.

“He’s tired of being moved around so much,” said Amill, who has been close to Heard for years. “He just wants a shot to play running back.”

...

After the season, Heard met with offensive coordinator Tim Beck (a Mooney graduate) and running backs coach Ron Brown, who asked him to move to receiver, Amill said. Heard then called head coach Bo Pelini to inform him of his plans to transfer, Amill said. That contradicts a report in the Lincoln Journal Star; Pelini told the newspaper that neither Heard nor anyone else told him of the running back’s plans to transfer.

“They had an idea it was coming,” Amill said. “Maybe he was hoping that when some time passed, Braylon would change his mind.

“Braylon was really debating what he wanted to do, but at the end of the day, he felt like it was time to go. He’s kind of down about it because he felt like they stuck with him when he was struggling [to qualify academically]. He loves the fans there and the relationships he’s built with his teammates, so it was hard for him to walk away.”

Heard, who did not respond to requests for comment, is the second Mooney player to spurn the Cornhuskers this week. On Monday, Cardinals senior Marcus McWilson changed his verbal commitment from NU to Kentucky.

“I think that’s a coincidence,” Amill said. “With Marcus, it came down to distance, so it’s easy on his parents to go to games.”
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I'm most struck by this paragraph:

After the season, Heard met with offensive coordinator Tim Beck (a Mooney graduate) and running backs coach Ron Brown, who asked him to move to receiver, Amill said. Heard then called head coach Bo Pelini to inform him of his plans to transfer, Amill said. That contradicts a report in the Lincoln Journal Star; Pelini told the newspaper that neither Heard nor anyone else told him of the running back’s plans to transfer.
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Someone ain't tellin' the whole truth here.

 
He probably didn't want to turn into the next Marcus Mendoza. Lots of talent and speed but shuffled from position to position only to never get play time. If Heard wants to play RB and the staff keeps wanting to move him then I can't fault him for leaving.

 
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QMany said:
Junior said:
Someone ain't tellin' the whole truth here.
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19-year old kid or Ron Brown and Bo Pelini? Hmmm ...
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I honestly don't care who is, or isn't telling the truth, and I don't think we will ever know. Either way, I think we would have the same outcome.

BUT...

It makes me wonder if Heard actually voiced his opinion on the position change, because Bo has stated many times, he won't switch a player's position, unless they are willing to do so as well. I wonder if Heard would have voiced his concerns and what he wanted, rather than possibly being a "hush puppy", if we would have this issue right now.

Maybe Coach Brown sees Cross and Abdullah as the main contributors next year, because he after all is the positions coach, and wants to do all he can to get Heard more active. I am not at practices, but maybe he isn't pulling his weight behind closed doors? I don't know, and I am sure many of us don't know, so I am not going to judge a coach or Heard for whats going on. Braylon just needs to do whats best for him, whether its staying a Husker or moving on.

 
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Chaddyboxer said:
BIGREDIOWAN said:
Why the hell would they ask him to move again? Ridiculous, he's a very capable running back and we have great receivers so there was no reason to move him.
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I am not happy with the roster mismanagement...especially with what happened to Heard. He will be missed, but NEB is landing the players that can potentially step up and fill the void quickly.
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I don't think it's fair to call it roster mis-management. If Heard was better than Abdullah or even Burkhead for that matter, he would have found himself on the field more. Plain and simple. There is no way in hell the coaches kept him off the field due to mis-management.

He had the signs of a hell of a RB but maybe he just wasn't what the coaches were looking for. I will give him the most credit to being a team player the first 2 years with switchin positions.

 
I'm so sick of the "roster mis-management" argument. The people that use this act like players are never given a chance to see the field. These coaches put out the players they think gives them the best chance to win games. If you want to see the field more, give the coaches a reason to put you out there.

It is almost like we should set the roster using one of two ways or both:

1) Do athletic testing in fall camp and the best athletes are the ones that get on the field no matter if they know the play book or perform the position well.

2) All recruits coming in with more than 3 stars behind their name automatically get the starting roll no matter if someone who has proven to be productive on the field is ahead of them.

 
He was gonna be a utility type guy. A way to get him on the field. He doesnt want to. He wants to be a running back. He's going to transfer to a lower-tier program where he can be that guy. So be it. It is what it is. Call me crazy, stupid, whatever. I never saw out of Heard what most proclaim. Abdullah is the better back. It's not even close. Cross brings more to the table from a power standpoint. Sure he averaged 7 ypc, but that just doesnt mean anything to me. Like I said in another post, Jay Sims was 5th on the RB depth chart in '95, and averaged 9 yards per carry. Highest of any back or qb. Supposedly he had issues with pass blocking. Supposedly he had injury problems. Regardless, we're fine with Ameer and Imani. "What happens if Ameer goes down?" Last year this time when Green left, it was "What happens if Rex goes down?". Well, we were fine. We would be fine again. There's plenty in the stable.

Runningback is the least of my worries. I'm more concerned about our interior lines and qb. What happens if Taylor goes down? That's a scary thought.

 
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Junior said:
knapplc said:
Is it our program or the nature of college football today? It's not a Nebraska-only issue.

Here's Scout's 2010 list of top QBs. Two seasons later, eight of the top ten aren't with the school they signed with.

LINK

1 - Jake Heaps; signed with BYU, now with Kansas

2 - Philip Sims; signed with Alabama, now with VCU

3 - Paul Jones; signed with PSU, now with Robert Morris

4 - Blake Bell; signed with Oklahoma, still with the Sooners

5 - Devin Gardner; signed with Michigan, still with the Wolverines

6 - Jesse Scroggins; signed with USC, now with Arizona

7 - Scotty Young; signed with Texas Tech, now with Louisiana Tech

8 - Rob Bolden; signed with PSU, now with LSU

9 - Connor Wood; signed with Texas, now with Colorado

10 - Bryan Bennett; signed with Oregon, now with Southeastern Louisiana.
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It certainly isn't unique to Nebraska, but with someone like Heard, you have to ask yourself if getting a very gifted runner more carries would help... Abdullah is a great back, but I think Heard can be just as good. Instead of relying on one back for 20-25 carries a game, why not spread it around to this great stable of backs we are supposed to (and seems like we do) have?
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Because no matter what the staff does, not everyone is going to be happy. This isn't pee wee football where everyone gets to play... If we would have benched AA in favor of Heard, then maybe AA wants to bolt. Who knows... You split the carries evenly and then fans will complain that we are not letting any backs get into a groove or we are pulling backs that are "hot". You just cannot keep everyone happy...

 
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