500 Mile Radius

JJHusker1 said:
I've always wondered why people seem to be so obsessed with the 500 mile radius considering there are a helluva lot more, and better, players outside that radius. Sure, pickup a few gimmes in the radius but, other than a few easier recruiting jobs, wouldn't we be best served going after more and better wherever they may be?

Seems like concentrating on that radius is code for that's the best we can hope for.
Click to expand...
Nebraska will always have to recruit nationally. Just part of it. But if there are 5-8 kids each year who are legit prospects that can help Nebraska win football games then why not recruit them. KC and STL will routinely put out talent that can help us. IF those kids want to come to Nebraska then by all means.

 
wiuhusker said:
JJHusker1 said:
I've always wondered why people seem to be so obsessed with the 500 mile radius considering there are a helluva lot more, and better, players outside that radius. Sure, pickup a few gimmes in the radius but, other than a few easier recruiting jobs, wouldn't we be best served going after more and better wherever they may be?

Seems like concentrating on that radius is code for that's the best we can hope for.
Click to expand...
Nebraska will always have to recruit nationally. Just part of it. But if there are 5-8 kids each year who are legit prospects that can help Nebraska win football games then why not recruit them. KC and STL will routinely put out talent that can help us. IF those kids want to come to Nebraska then by all means.
Click to expand...
This is a good point and should be a goal, however we have to remember that some of these kids aren't going to fit our system and some of these kids want to go see a different part of the country. I'm sure the staff sometimes gets an early indication from the kids that they are looking for something different.

 
Flip side of the coin. Many of these kids would rather stay in the midwest but want to play for a winner. Missouri and Kansas aren't exactly on the upswing. Colorado and Iowa were pretty good. South Dakota doesn't have an FBS program. Illinois has a new coach who may generate some interest. If a kid has talent and wants his family to so most of his home games then by all means see if we can get them here. It may take a year or two in some cases to get them game ready but if our coaches are good enough they will get there.

 
I feel like I say this in many other threads. But wherever Wisconsin goes to get their players, we need to go.

 
BoneyardHusker said:
I feel like I say this in many other threads. But wherever Wisconsin goes to get their players, we need to go.
Click to expand...
^^This, besides skill player. They don't have much at Qb or WR on offense and psu made that secondary look average. Something we weren't able to take advantage of.

But if we coild recruit the OL they have and the front 7 on defense we could win some conference titles.

 
OMFG...so now we're looking to f'ing Wisconsin as the model? Pardon me whilst I vomit. Especially since Barry Alvarez fashioned Wisconsin AFTER Nebraska.

The "500 Mile Radius" was always meant to be the heart of the team.

Find the kids within 500 miles of Lincoln who would rather die than to see Nebraska lose...that's what the 500 mile radius represents.

Then, fill in the recruiting class with speed/skill position players from Texas, California, Florida, or where ever we find them.

The 500 mile radius is, and always has been, the heart of the team.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Interesting to read back through this. Seems like the plan changed quite a bit from what was originally thought.

And I merged the new with the old.

 
I was actually looking through the old thread because I thought I had numbers on how many 500 mile radius guys we'd taken over the years. Can't find it. Maybe I'll go counting when I have time.

Callahan said this morning that his preference would be 65% of a class from the 500 mile radius.

Currently 5 out of 15 are in the radius (I included Bando).

 
Unless we land Lewis, Johnson, and Lenoir, it seems the Calibraska connection will not provide as much return on our investment as we had all hoped. Some of the guys we have lost out to (Porcher, Calvin) seem to be a result of the distance factor which typically is the case. I would like to see this staff take a more balanced approach with where they spend their time and energy and hit some targets within the 500 mile radius a bit harder. Here are some of the key areas I think Nebraska should focus on:

1. Chicago-We seem to spend very little time and energy here, and I can tell you there is a lot of talent here, and most of it is going out of state given how poorly Illinois is (and Northwestern is just average but has no great appeal from a tradition perspective)

2. St. Louis-Again, a lot of good talent, and while Missouri is now in the SEC, St. Louis still is part of the midwest and Big Ten country.

3. Kansas City-We have done well here and should continue efforts here.

4. Minneapolis

5. Denver

6. Oklahoma City

And just outside 500 miles, we should be hitting the DFW metroplex harder as well as Indianapolis. I think we are hitting some of these areas, but it seems we should push harder than we are. Also, we should dominate getting the best talent out of Nebraska, the Dakotas, Wyoming, and Kansas. If we can get 70% of our class from these areas with a star average of 3.75, that will set us up well to get the final 25% from the West coast and the Southeast.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top