Walk on program

S

SoCal Husker Terry

Walk-on
I know this was a highly successful program that, correct me if I'm wrong, Clownahan basically did away with. What about Riley, anybody know if he had walk ons in Oregon? Walk ons can be pretty good football players, Schlesinger wasn't bad, Clay Mathews walked on at USC and aint bad either...

 
Yes Riley talked to the importance of walk ons at Oregon St. and how a few of his best players started out as walk ons. He will continue to stress walk ons here at NU.

 
Clay Mathews had plenty of offers just wanted to go where his dad went and could afford to and was put on scholarship almost immediately. Any way I'm sure Riley will continue to emphasize the walk on program. Nebraska has snow disadvantages can't afford not to use a tool like the walk on program

 
At his intro presser he got side tracked telling stories about walk-ons at OSU. He said he thinks that it is a critical part of a program. So we should have no worries there. Hell, if he's friendlier with the Nebraska high school coaches than Pelini was, things could get better actually.

 
SoCal Husker Terry said:
I know this was a highly successful program that, correct me if I'm wrong, Clownahan basically did away with. What about Riley, anybody know if he had walk ons in Oregon? Walk ons can be pretty good football players, Schlesinger wasn't bad, Clay Mathews walked on at USC and aint bad either...
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  i'll say he did, hell brandon cooks one of the better new wr's in the nfl was a walk on at osu, he had a ray guy winner as a walk on as well.
 
strigori said:
At his intro presser he got side tracked telling stories about walk-ons at OSU. He said he thinks that it is a critical part of a program. So we should have no worries there. Hell, if he's friendlier with the Nebraska high school coaches than Pelini was, things could get better actually.
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  it sounds like he is, oregon highschool coaches loved him for how he dealt with them.
 
strigori said:
At his intro presser he got side tracked telling stories about walk-ons at OSU. He said he thinks that it is a critical part of a program. So we should have no worries there. Hell, if he's friendlier with the Nebraska high school coaches than Pelini was, things could get better actually.
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From my understanding it wasn't really about friendliness it was about local offers, and if Riley is recruiting at an optimal level he'll likely end-up annoying local coaches on that aspect too.

 
SoCal Husker Terry said:
I know this was a highly successful program that, correct me if I'm wrong, Clownahan basically did away with. What about Riley, anybody know if he had walk ons in Oregon? Walk ons can be pretty good football players, Schlesinger wasn't bad, Clay Mathews walked on at USC and aint bad either...
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yes, u are wrong.

 
Vuren said:
SoCal Husker Terry said:
I know this was a highly successful program that, correct me if I'm wrong, Clownahan basically did away with. What about Riley, anybody know if he had walk ons in Oregon? Walk ons can be pretty good football players, Schlesinger wasn't bad, Clay Mathews walked on at USC and aint bad either...
Click to expand...
  i'll say he did, hell brandon cooks one of the better new wr's in the nfl was a walk on at osu, he had a ray guy winner as a walk on as well.
Click to expand...
cooks was not a walk on, I think you're thinking of mike hass
 
Danimal said:
strigori said:
At his intro presser he got side tracked telling stories about walk-ons at OSU. He said he thinks that it is a critical part of a program. So we should have no worries there. Hell, if he's friendlier with the Nebraska high school coaches than Pelini was, things could get better actually.
Click to expand...

From my understanding it wasn't really about friendliness it was about local offers, and if Riley is recruiting at an optimal level he'll likely end-up annoying local coaches on that aspect too.
Click to expand...
There was a sentiment with the Nebraska high school coaches that they were second class. Comments I have heard amount to they never came around under Pelini. Now the coaches have a good idea who is major college talent and who is not. But actually showing up and listening to them might get some kids nudged to the walk-on program instead of NDSU or the like.

 
strigori said:
At his intro presser he got side tracked telling stories about walk-ons at OSU. He said he thinks that it is a critical part of a program. So we should have no worries there. Hell, if he's friendlier with the Nebraska high school coaches than Pelini was, things could get better actually.
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I think the Oline/Dline needs a few of those walkons from the farm towns to get to Lincoln. Even if they don't play much, they inject the team with life, energy and attitude with their stories of watching the Huskers since they were small.

 
1995 Redux said:
kchusker_chris said:
SoCal Husker Terry said:
I know this was a highly successful program that, correct me if I'm wrong, Clownahan basically did away with. What about Riley, anybody know if he had walk ons in Oregon? Walk ons can be pretty good football players, Schlesinger wasn't bad, Clay Mathews walked on at USC and aint bad either...
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yes, u are wrong.
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How so?
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...because of the 12-15 yearly walkons that Cally brought in during that time - including a couple of my friends. He had open tryouts even if I remember correctly.

Cally didn't "kill" the walk-on program, he just didn't maintain a roster of 200+. Neither did Pelini - so saying he "restored" the walk-on program to the glory days of Osborne is not accurate either, and i'm 100% confident Riley won't take it to that level either.

Every program from USC to Florida St. has walk-ons on the roster. Many earn scholarships. This is not unique to NU, and not changing drastically in one direction or the other from the prior 3 head coaches.

 
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Yeah, the notions of what Cally did to the walk-on program are greatly overrexaggerated. This is one of few things that I can say I've never been on the wrong side of. The walk-on program dimished for far more reasonable circumstances that just "Callahan killed it".

What was unique to Nebraska was how many walk-ons actually wound up having a pretty high impact on the field by the time their career was over. This was a result of nothing more than being so much better than anyone int eh whole country in terms of strenght and conditioning, nutrition, and team psychology. That's all.

Callahan may have toned it back some in terms of focus on walk-ons, but to say he came in and just "killed such program cuz he thought they werent good enough" is wrong. I know there are people that think that. To this day even.

Lastly, I cant stand the fact that I involved myself in this converstation in a manner of sticking up for anything of the Callahan regime. All is lost. Woe is me.

 
True, Callahan didn't "kill" the walk-on program.

True, he brought in a number of walk-ons.

Also true during that time (based on guys I knew in the program) the attitude towards them changed as far as how the coaching staff viewed them. Instead of being looked at as a possible good resource for the program, the coaching staff had an attitude (and instilled it in the scholarship players) that they were never going to amount to anything and didn't give them much of a chance.

So, yes, it was still there. There were still walk-on players. But, it wasn't used in the same way to benefit the program.

 
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