*** 2024 Recruiting ***

[Dr. Strangelove]

Or you can trust recruiting services who have 30/40 guys with little coaching experience, evaluating guys from all position groups from all over the country against all different kinds of levels of competition. Either way it is a grab bag. Most of our staff has p5 or nfl experience and have had hands on experience with these players. It is also June so we are not just filling spots to fill spots. I think the staff really likes these guys or they wouldn’t accept the commitment.   But we will all have to wait a few years to see who is right. I am personally excited to see local guys excited to be N!!

A lot of staffs have this experience and they have chosen not to offer these players. They either know something 64 other P5 coaches don't or they're wrong and the odds of an unrated player becoming a contributer are very low. 

Bring that same energy if we start winning games too okay?

I will be very happy if Nebraska starts winning games. 

I'm not going to act like taking unrated players is a good strategy, because it's not. 

 

[Husker816]

The problem is that when huge chunks of the roster need development, it's a bad omen.

Dozens of other coaches have seen the film and works camp circuits. They chose not to offer.

This recruiting is flat out not good enough. 

How many years have we had top 25 classes that amounted to s#!t? I get qhat youre saying but if you can't develope guys it doesnt matter. 

 

[TherealTomOsborne]

How many years have we had top 25 classes that amounted to s#!t? I get qhat youre saying but if you can't develope guys it doesnt matter. 

^

 

[J-MAGIC]

Nebraska beat out Missouri Southern State for this one. 

Matt Rhule is going to have to turn Nebraska into the best developmental program in the country with the talent they're bringing in. This is pretty pathetic.

You're in all three threads today whining about this. It's three guys out of the class with a bunch of other highly rated dudes. It's also June, so after more coaches see them they'll probably end up with more offers. We blindly chased star rankings under the last two coaches and half of the players bounced when they weren't immediate starters or never developed because they were overrated. Rhule clearly has a process here that has delivered proven results at other schools, so maybe give him a chance to prove it instead of being a giant baby?

 

[J-MAGIC]

Nebraska beat out Missouri Southern State for this one. 

Matt Rhule is going to have to turn Nebraska into the best developmental program in the country with the talent they're bringing in. This is pretty pathetic.

Double post, whoops

 

[gobiggergoredder]

Nebraska beat out Missouri Southern State for this one. 

Matt Rhule is going to have to turn Nebraska into the best developmental program in the country with the talent they're bringing in. This is pretty pathetic.

Pathetic?  A little dramatic don’t you think?

You’d have to assume he sees no talent in kid. You’d have to assume he’s settling on a sub par player.  You’d have to assume he doesn’t believe this kid will add value.  Very few places except college athletics are “candidates” value declared by others.  When I’m hiring someone I don’t ask what other company wants them or how many stars they have.  I evaluate their skills and how the fit what I need.

Whats pathetic is Nebraska’s last two decades as a football program.  Give the guy a chance.  I find it refreshing Rhule clearly is clearly trying something different than what we “think” is the “right way”.

Given all these are unlikely, plus it’ll take years to see if it pans out, the only thing that is pathetic is the take.  At a minimum it’s lazy.

 

[funhusker]

^

How many years have we had top 25 classes that amounted to s#!t? I get qhat youre saying but if you can't develope guys it doesnt matter. 

True. I think most fans want to believe Rhule will develop players.

Would you rather see him develop 4/5 stars or Div 2 guys?

If he’s truly a developer, I’d wager on the higher recruited guys making a better team. Just based on the statistics of championship teams recruiting more highly touted players.

 

[teachercd]

A lot of staffs have this experience and they have chosen not to offer these players. They either know something 64 other P5 coaches don't or they're wrong and the odds of an unrated player becoming a contributer are very low. 

I will be very happy if Nebraska starts winning games. 

I'm not going to act like taking unrated players is a good strategy, because it's not. 

Amen.  

We did this "I love diamonds in the rough" and "Our coach will put the stars on the player" bit before. 

We also did the "I don't want the entitled 4/5 star guys...give me a kid with heart" bit.

 

[RedSavage]

I've said this before but at what point do we call some of these what they are in reaches?  It may not be Braylen or even all of these unranked players we're going after, I'm sure some of them will be good players but I can guarantee if Frost was recruiting these same guys people would be losing their s#!t.

 

[Mavric]

Moved a bunch of posts from several recruit threads here.

So we (hopefully) don't have to have the same conversation in several different threads.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

How many years have we had top 25 classes that amounted to s#!t? I get qhat youre saying but if you can't develope guys it doesnt matter. 

Nebraska did a terrible job developing players, I'm not arguing they haven't. But developing 4 star players is the only way Nebraska is going to have a chance to compete with the top 4 teams in the conference.  "Developing" low or unranked players is a risky strategy that many teams try to employ, most unsuccessfully. 

As stated, whenever Virginia Tech, Arizona, Oregon State or any number of schools hire a coach, they all inevitably say they want to develop players and they all express confidence in doing so. The reality is, that's difficult. 

Pathetic?  A little dramatic don’t you think?

You’d have to assume he sees no talent in kid. You’d have to assume he’s settling on a sub par player.  You’d have to assume he doesn’t believe this kid will add value.  Very few places except college athletics are “candidates” value declared by others.  When I’m hiring someone I don’t ask what other company wants them or how many stars they have.  I evaluate their skills and how the fit what I need.

Whats pathetic is Nebraska’s last two decades as a football program.  Give the guy a chance.  I find it refreshing Rhule clearly is clearly trying something different than what we “think” is the “right way”.

Given all these are unlikely, plus it’ll take years to see if it pans out, the only thing that is pathetic is the take.  At a minimum it’s lazy.

My take is simply a function of years of data spanning thousands of recruits and dozens of teams. The odds of a college football team becoming successful recruiting low ranked players is extremely low. Only Utah, Wisconsin and perhaps Oklahoma State have built years of winning 9/10 games. And even amongst the teams that turn low ranked talent into stars, Utah is the only team to win a conference championship. The new B1G schedules present a challenge that even the best developmental program in the country - Utah - would struggle against. 

 

[Mavric]

Nebraska did a terrible job developing players, I'm not arguing they haven't. But developing 4 star players is the only way Nebraska is going to have a chance to compete with the top 4 teams in the conference.  "Developing" low or unranked players is a risky strategy that many teams try to employ, most unsuccessfully. 

As stated, whenever Virginia Tech, Arizona, Oregon State or any number of schools hire a coach, they all inevitably say they want to develop players and they all express confidence in doing so. The reality is, that's difficult. 

My take is simply a function of years of data spanning thousands of recruits and dozens of teams. The odds of a college football team becoming successful recruiting low ranked players is extremely low. Only Utah, Wisconsin and perhaps Oklahoma State have built years of winning 9/10 games. And even amongst the teams that turn low ranked talent into stars, Utah is the only team to win a conference championship. The new B1G schedules present a challenge that even the best developmental program in the country - Utah - would struggle against. 

Michigan State put together six double-digit win seasons in an eight-year span including three Top 10 teams and two conference championships built on recruiting classes mostly in the 30s.

So you do have a point.  But you're being fairly over-dramatic about it.

 

[BigRedBuster]

Nebraska did a terrible job developing players, I'm not arguing they haven't. But developing 4 star players is the only way Nebraska is going to have a chance to compete with the top 4 teams in the conference.  "Developing" low or unranked players is a risky strategy that many teams try to employ, most unsuccessfully. 

As stated, whenever Virginia Tech, Arizona, Oregon State or any number of schools hire a coach, they all inevitably say they want to develop players and they all express confidence in doing so. The reality is, that's difficult. 

My take is simply a function of years of data spanning thousands of recruits and dozens of teams. The odds of a college football team becoming successful recruiting low ranked players is extremely low. Only Utah, Wisconsin and perhaps Oklahoma State have built years of winning 9/10 games. And even amongst the teams that turn low ranked talent into stars, Utah is the only team to win a conference championship. The new B1G schedules present a challenge that even the best developmental program in the country - Utah - would struggle against. 

I'll guarantee you that there is not one person on this board that doesn't wish we had nothing but 4-5 star players that Rhule then can develop into first round draft picks after winning multiple conference championships and playing for NCs.

You know what though?  We aren't getting nothing but 4-5 star players right now, the way our program has been.  We will get some in this class.  But, the staff has to prove they can win here, before we get more than our usual percentage of 4 star players.

Kick back, have a beer and enjoy the process.  I'm more confident that Rhule and staff can develop the current players into winners than I was with the staff over the past few years.

 

[gobiggergoredder]

My take is simply a function of years of data spanning thousands of recruits and dozens of teams. The odds of a college football team becoming successful recruiting low ranked players is extremely low. Only Utah, Wisconsin and perhaps Oklahoma State have built years of winning 9/10 games. And even amongst the teams that turn low ranked talent into stars, Utah is the only team to win a conference championship. The new B1G schedules present a challenge that even the best developmental program in the country - Utah - would struggle against. 

Fair enough.  I think that's a reasonable explanation........

I just remember watching film of Eric Fields (2023) and wondering why no one would offer the kid a scholarship.  Even the Ives kid at RB looks like a huge find.  But who knows?  The offer lists on these kids was pretty tiny.

This sounds ridiculous, but I still think football is one of the only sports someone can just "pick up".  Even saying that you have to understand that's not a QB or even a lineman.  The roster turnover is so high now that the player is no longer locked in.  Find athletes and take a chance.  This is why I think the Gaitlin Bair kid is also worth a shot.  I don't find his football film terribly impressive, but he's a freak athlete.  Put athletes on the field (that seem to fit our culture) and see what happens.

We are not in a spot to wait and see what this elite "rated" talent tells us what they are going to do.  We have to put a product on the field that makes Rhule's preaching believable.  From my standpoint that's putting this team in a bowl game.  If he does that it'll be different in 2025.  It may even be different mid season 2023 if changes are obvious, but you just can't wait.

 

[Lorewarn]

My take is that it's unreasonable to expect our level of recruiting in year one after 6 losing seasons in a row before Rhule has coached a single quarter to be championship caliber.

Why people are looking at the current recruits and worrying about winning conference championships is insane. It's a process and a build.