McKewon: The Great Nebraska Talent Debate

[Hoosker]

I'd be interested to see how we stack up with other P5 programs when it comes to players leaving/transferring.

And yeah, Bo's last couple classes have shown to be a major part of the 4+ L /year problem. This draft confirmed it. A lot of good, not great players.

 

[Roll Skers]

who will get drafter next year? Id think Kieron Williams, Chris Jones, Josh Kalu for sure

 

[BIG ERN]

All I know is that the recruiting at Nebraska is trending to be so significantly better than when Bo was here. We are killing it on social media, FNL is way more known of a recruiting product along with the spring game. It also doesn't hurt having the Williams' on our side.

Bo had two good years of recruiting in 7 years, but that was even overdone by the amount of top prospects not even getting or staying on campus which inflated his best year of getting talent. I feel like this talking point is overdone though (see below). He did however always pull together some solid 3

products like Abdullah, Dennard, Henry, Gomes, Enunwa, Bell, Valentine, Gerry, & Collins. Not to mention some amazing JUCOs along the way like David and Gregory. Burkhead and Westerkamp are the only 2 top end recruits that ever really panned out for Bo --crazy to think about.

2008

David Whitmore

2009

Dijon Washington

Chris Williams

2010

Chase Rome

Brion Carnes

Braylon Heard

Chase Harper

2011

Aaron Green

Todd Peat Jr

Bubba Starling

Ryan Klachko

Tyler Moore

David Santos

2012

Greg McMullen

2014

Monte Harrison

--------------------------------------------

2015

Jordan Stevenson

We very well could look back if Riley is around another 4-5 years and see the players who didn't finish in Lincoln. It happens at every school, and sometimes it has nothing to do with the coaches. I didn't however list the countless 3 star players who hurt Nebraska's depth a ton during the Bo to Riley transition either. Either way I can slowly see this Riley era coming into fruition. The biggest factor in all of this will be the play of the QB. For the past 4 seasons we had a player who was a career 53%. That will simply not cut it in the offense that Danny wants to run. The offensive line will be improved along with the defense under Diaco. At the end of the day we need to win the West and get to Indy. If not, everything else is just noise.

 

[Red Five]

Also while Nebraska might have only had 1 player drafted this year (Nate Gerry) there are a number of guys who are also getting serious looks/interest and/or signed from/by NFL teams right now. (Dylan Utter, Michael Rose-Ivey, Brandon Reilly, Jordan Westerkamp, Josh Banderas, Cethan Carter, Sam Hahn, Alonzo Moore, T Armstrong, T Newby). To me the bottom line is Riley's teams have not been as talentless as McKewon makes them out to be and 2015 especially should never have been that bad.

I don't think having a handful of undrafted free agents is a good thing in the "talent" debate. It means that NFL personnel people rate our guys lower than their peers who were drafted.

And NFL teams have 90 man rosters during the offseason, so they need bodies to go through rookie mini-camps and then training camps.

 

[SuperBigFan69]

I think the talent is down. I think it is the best in the west though. I just want all the lame excuses gone.

 

[Saunders]

I think the talent is down. I think it is the best in the west though. I just want all the lame excuses gone.

I think our skill talent is, but our lines (specifically the OL) aren't great. And it's not because we're recruiting lower rated guys on the lines compared to the Big Ten West either.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

I think the talent is down. I think it is the best in the west though. I just want all the lame excuses gone.

I think our skill talent is, but our lines (specifically the OL) aren't great. And it's not because we're recruiting lower rated guys on the lines compared to the Big Ten West either.

I sense some criticism towards the current o-line coach.

 

[NUance]

All I know is that the recruiting at Nebraska is trending to be so significantly better than when Bo was here. We are killing it on social media, FNL is way more known of a recruiting product along with the spring game. It also doesn't hurt having the Williams' on our side.

Bo had two good years of recruiting in 7 years, but that was even overdone by the amount of top prospects not even getting or staying on campus which inflated his best year of getting talent. I feel like this talking point is overdone though (see below). He did however always pull together some solid 3

products like Abdullah, Dennard, Henry, Gomes, Enunwa, Bell, Valentine, Gerry, & Collins. Not to mention some amazing JUCOs along the way like David and Gregory. Burkhead and Westerkamp are the only 2 top end recruits that ever really panned out for Bo --crazy to think about.

2008

David Whitmore

2009

Dijon Washington

Chris Williams

2010

Chase Rome

Brion Carnes

Braylon Heard

Chase Rome

Chase Harper

2011

Aaron Green

Todd Peat Jr

Bubba Starling

Ryan Klachko

Tyler Moore

David Santos

2012

Greg McMullen

2014

Monte Harrison

--------------------------------------------

2015

Jordan Stevenson

We very well could look back if Riley is around another 4-5 years and see the players who didn't finish in Lincoln. It happens at every school, and sometimes it has nothing to do with the coaches. I didn't however list the countless 3 star players who hurt Nebraska's depth a ton during the Bo to Riley transition either. Either way I can slowly see this Riley era coming into fruition. The biggest factor in all of this will be the play of the QB. For the past 4 seasons we had a player who was a career 53%. That will simply not cut it in the offense that Danny wants to run. The offensive line will be improved along with the defense under Diaco. At the end of the day we need to win the West and get to Indy. If not, everything else is just noise.

+1. Yeah, I can remember how excited I was for each one of those 4* commits. Looking back it's sobering to see how much talent either didn't pan out, or else left school early. I certainly hope that's a trend that Riley is able to reverse.

 

[QMany]

All I know is that the recruiting at Nebraska is trending to be so significantly better than when Bo was here. We are killing it on social media, FNL is way more known of a recruiting product along with the spring game. It also doesn't hurt having the Williams' on our side.

Bo had two good years of recruiting in 7 years, but that was even overdone by the amount of top prospects not even getting or staying on campus which inflated his best year of getting talent. I feel like this talking point is overdone though (see below). He did however always pull together some solid 3

products like Abdullah, Dennard, Henry, Gomes, Enunwa, Bell, Valentine, Gerry, & Collins. Not to mention some amazing JUCOs along the way like David and Gregory. Burkhead and Westerkamp are the only 2 top end recruits that ever really panned out for Bo --crazy to think about.

2008

David Whitmore

2009

Dijon Washington

Chris Williams

2010

Chase Rome

Brion Carnes

Braylon Heard

Chase Rome

Chase Harper

2011

Aaron Green

Todd Peat Jr

Bubba Starling

Ryan Klachko

Tyler Moore

David Santos

2012

Greg McMullen

2014

Monte Harrison

--------------------------------------------

2015

Jordan Stevenson

We very well could look back if Riley is around another 4-5 years and see the players who didn't finish in Lincoln. It happens at every school, and sometimes it has nothing to do with the coaches. I didn't however list the countless 3 star players who hurt Nebraska's depth a ton during the Bo to Riley transition either. Either way I can slowly see this Riley era coming into fruition. The biggest factor in all of this will be the play of the QB. For the past 4 seasons we had a player who was a career 53%. That will simply not cut it in the offense that Danny wants to run. The offensive line will be improved along with the defense under Diaco. At the end of the day we need to win the West and get to Indy. If not, everything else is just noise.

Where are these rankings from? Is that a comprehensive list?

247 recruiting rankings by year (and recruits > .9000 rating):

• 2017: 23rd (Lindsey .9756, Blades .9351, Roberts .9248, Gebbia, .9184)
• 2016: 24th (Jackson .9582, Raridon .9435, O'Brien .9189, Dismuke .9064, Farniok .9049)
• 2015: 30th (Lee .9414, Barnett .9207, Stevenson .9160)
• 2014: 36th (Farmer .9021)
• 2013: 22nd (Newby .9404, Gregory .9166, Taylor .9058, Banderas .9053)
• 2012: 31st (Thurston .9357, McMullen .9068, Cross .9065, Westerkamp .9060, Rose-Ivey .9040, Armstrong .9003)
• 2011: 16th (Green .9813, Turner .9658, Jackson .9606, Starling .9433, Moore .9288, Stafford .9167, Peat .9163)

 

[The Dude]

2010

Chase Rome

Brion Carnes

Braylon Heard

Chase Rome

Chase Harper

2011

Aaron Green

Todd Peat Jr

Bubba Starling

Ryan Klachko

Tyler Moore

David Santos

 

[BIG ERN]

All I know is that the recruiting at Nebraska is trending to be so significantly better than when Bo was here. We are killing it on social media, FNL is way more known of a recruiting product along with the spring game. It also doesn't hurt having the Williams' on our side.

Bo had two good years of recruiting in 7 years, but that was even overdone by the amount of top prospects not even getting or staying on campus which inflated his best year of getting talent. I feel like this talking point is overdone though (see below). He did however always pull together some solid 3

products like Abdullah, Dennard, Henry, Gomes, Enunwa, Bell, Valentine, Gerry, & Collins. Not to mention some amazing JUCOs along the way like David and Gregory. Burkhead and Westerkamp are the only 2 top end recruits that ever really panned out for Bo --crazy to think about.

2008

David Whitmore

2009

Dijon Washington

Chris Williams

2010

Chase Rome

Brion Carnes

Braylon Heard

Chase Rome

Chase Harper

2011

Aaron Green

Todd Peat Jr

Bubba Starling

Ryan Klachko

Tyler Moore

David Santos

2012

Greg McMullen

2014

Monte Harrison

--------------------------------------------

2015

Jordan Stevenson

We very well could look back if Riley is around another 4-5 years and see the players who didn't finish in Lincoln. It happens at every school, and sometimes it has nothing to do with the coaches. I didn't however list the countless 3 star players who hurt Nebraska's depth a ton during the Bo to Riley transition either. Either way I can slowly see this Riley era coming into fruition. The biggest factor in all of this will be the play of the QB. For the past 4 seasons we had a player who was a career 53%. That will simply not cut it in the offense that Danny wants to run. The offensive line will be improved along with the defense under Diaco. At the end of the day we need to win the West and get to Indy. If not, everything else is just noise.

Where are these rankings from? Is that a comprehensive list?

247 recruiting rankings by year (and recruits > .9000 rating):

• 2017: 23rd (Lindsey .9756, Blades .9351, Roberts .9248, Gebbia, .9184)
• 2016: 24th (Jackson .9582, Raridon .9435, O'Brien .9189, Dismuke .9064, Farniok .9049)
• 2015: 30th (Lee .9414, Barnett .9207, Stevenson .9160)
• 2014: 36th (Farmer .9021)
• 2013: 22nd (Newby .9404, Gregory .9166, Taylor .9058, Banderas .9053)
• 2012: 31st (Thurston .9357, McMullen .9068, Cross .9065, Westerkamp .9060, Rose-Ivey .9040, Armstrong .9003)
• 2011: 16th (Green .9813, Turner .9658, Jackson .9606, Starling .9433, Moore .9288, Stafford .9167, Peat .9163)

The star rankings used were from Rivals

 

[Saunders]

I think the talent is down. I think it is the best in the west though. I just want all the lame excuses gone.

I think our skill talent is, but our lines (specifically the OL) aren't great. And it's not because we're recruiting lower rated guys on the lines compared to the Big Ten West either.

I sense some criticism towards the current o-line coach.

I think the jury is out on Cav (he has this year to prove it, IMO), but Cotton and Garrison weren't great either. It's no secret how Iowa and Wisconsin have pushed NU to 3rd (or worse) in the division, and it definitely isn't because recruiting or raw talent.

 

[suh_fan93]

Well, it should be pretty easy to explain:

- new system, new coaches; acclimation period

- one hell of a lot of razor-close games

The interesting thing is the W/L causes a perception that the '15 team was so much worse than the '16 team. They weren't so far apart. Frankly, I think the '15 team might have the edge (though part of that is due to injuries causing the fade at the end of last year). What do you hate about such pieces?

The acclimation excuse is just that. An excuse that is 'easy' to throw out there while there are other coaches who inherited/took on new teams only to have them miraculously do better. (Scott Frost, Jim Haraugh) and that's just a few off the top of my head. Also while Nebraska might have only had 1 player drafted this year there are a number of guys who are also getting serious looks/interest from NFL teams right now. For me the bottom line is Riley's teams have not been as talentless as McKewon makes them out to be and 2015 especially should never have been that bad.

uhhh, Michigan just put 11 players in the draft...

So that means Nebraska only had 1 talented player on the entire team last year?

It means Michigan was still pulling in guys like Jabrill Peppers (who at one point was considered the top prospect in his class) before Harbaugh was even hired. Per 247, they had 25 four star players and 2 five stars between the '13 and '14 classes (17 of those fours stars being in '13!!). Compare that to our 9 four stars between the '13 and '14 classes (with only 2 of those guys in the '14 class). I get that stars don't mean everything, but come on.
To compare Riley situation here to Harbaugh's Michigan tenure thus far is asinine.

First off the article isn't about comparing Michigan to Nebraska but if you want to go there then in case you couldn't figure it out Brady Hoke couldn't do what Jim Harbaugh stepped in and did with the very same talent.

you were the one who brought up michigan, and my point is that we don't have that kind of talent.

You missed the point entirely (acclimation period) with my mentioning of Harbaugh but sure.

I think they got your point. It's easier to acclimate when you have 11 nfl players on your roster as opposed to 1.

Yet it took a brand new coaching staff to get anything out of that existing talent. Same old excuse...

 

[BigRedBuster]

All I know is that the recruiting at Nebraska is trending to be so significantly better than when Bo was here. We are killing it on social media, FNL is way more known of a recruiting product along with the spring game. It also doesn't hurt having the Williams' on our side.

Bo had two good years of recruiting in 7 years, but that was even overdone by the amount of top prospects not even getting or staying on campus which inflated his best year of getting talent. I feel like this talking point is overdone though (see below). He did however always pull together some solid 3

products like Abdullah, Dennard, Henry, Gomes, Enunwa, Bell, Valentine, Gerry, & Collins. Not to mention some amazing JUCOs along the way like David and Gregory. Burkhead and Westerkamp are the only 2 top end recruits that ever really panned out for Bo --crazy to think about.

2008

David Whitmore

2009

Dijon Washington

Chris Williams

2010

Chase Rome

Brion Carnes

Braylon Heard

Chase Harper

2011

Aaron Green

Todd Peat Jr

Bubba Starling

Ryan Klachko

Tyler Moore

David Santos

2012

Greg McMullen

2014

Monte Harrison

--------------------------------------------

2015

Jordan Stevenson

We very well could look back if Riley is around another 4-5 years and see the players who didn't finish in Lincoln. It happens at every school, and sometimes it has nothing to do with the coaches. I didn't however list the countless 3 star players who hurt Nebraska's depth a ton during the Bo to Riley transition either. Either way I can slowly see this Riley era coming into fruition. The biggest factor in all of this will be the play of the QB. For the past 4 seasons we had a player who was a career 53%. That will simply not cut it in the offense that Danny wants to run. The offensive line will be improved along with the defense under Diaco. At the end of the day we need to win the West and get to Indy. If not, everything else is just noise.

Whenever I see this list, I always wonder how many of these did we end up with because other coaches realized there were issues that would cause them to possibly not pan out in college?

 

[Hilltop]

The talent gap is a moot point if we had a QB the last 2 years. Put a 60%+ guy under center and we win 10 or 11 games both years. Riley critics have to ask themselves- is there a coach in the country that could have compensated for Tommy's play? Sure hope the fan base can give Riley a fair shake with his recruits.