Just the beginning of some great recruiting I think. Hard to meet coach Riley in your living room and not like him. Never had him mine, but he would be welcome. Moms are going to love the guy. He represents what parents want their kids to be. I am a Nebraska fan, have been for a very long time, but I really like this guy and what he brings to the table.
Thanks for sharing Saunders45
That I can agree with about Riley- not sold on great recruiting just yet. But from a does it feel good to have my son play for coach X standpoint- yes he passes that test with flying colors.
With the Caveat- this isnt Oregon State and we arent shooting for 6-7 wins a year here. I expect NU to recruit better players than OSU got thanks to the brand, resources and facilities. Im no coolaid drinker- I dont expect us to rank in the top 10 recruiting wise- but fewer misses than last staff, better retention and more wins over the long haul with the better 3 star and low 4 star recruits.
When I travel Im surprised a bit at what people say about our team and coaching staff
Most of the people here talk football with other people from Nebraska- that is a very different viewpoint because IF you pay attention you can find surface level stuff about the program in the local media 364 days a year. Most Nebraskans will know on the surface level anyways much more about NU football than most people in California or Georgia.
In the last 5+ years probably 150 trips, 30-35 states. The coaches always ask and talk NU football, I spend hours with a bunch of these guys at every stop, dinner, beers etc. 100s of guys. These are people in the field who know football, know coaching and pay attention.
To put it conservatively this was roughly the breakdown on what they thought of Bo Pelini:
5% liked him- old school hard line guys
15%- think coaches sometimes need to be hard, knew his kids liked him, might be some good under it all, thought he knew how to coach D at some point in his career. They were tolerant of him.
20%- no opinion- or too polite to say anything one way or another
20%- Moderately disliked him- his performance was sub standard to what NU was used to or deserved
40% really disliked him, couldnt believe NU would have a coach like this- would never consider letting their son play for a guy like that, an embarrassment to the University
Im not sure how any casual mom fan who watched Bo would let Bo into her living room to recruit their son. That alone should give us a little bump. Yeah he had the kids back and would make sure they graduated, but he doesnt even get into the living room of many. Im no Bo fan, but he did connect well with some people 1-1 and I know several of my former players love the guy, Im guessing Riley should do much better on that front
All of the TV tirade shots of Bo did him no favors when it came to national public opinion- Bo did that all to himself. Bos no CEO or face of a program, in over his head as a HC in a big program- never learned how to manage. Riley has the CEO, management and PR thing down, now let's see if he can execute and recruit the kind of kids we need to win league titles.