What did we learn Michigan Game

[JoeHuskers!]

What makes this season sort of worse is that we see how horrible the West really is, like, we always knew it was super lame but this year is even lamer.

So, basically this should be a Bo year, 6 conference wins, get smoked by 1 team, lose to a crap team, something like that. 9-3 with a lame bowl game against some 4th place SEC team.

Well, we already lost to Minny... got smoked by Michigan... so basically we are gonna win out!

 

[JJ Husker]

How do we know we are a major player yet also nobody really knows to begin with?  Not trying to pick directly towards you JJ, you just happen to be the latest one to say what others have been saying.  
 

When NIL started, almost every article about it said this would give Nebraska an advantage.  I can only speak for myself, but I take that as an advantage over the other perennial top 25-30 teams and not an advantage over Alcorn State or Northern Illinois.  
 

Plus, didn’t Trev just waste like $10 mill or more to buy out Frost 2 or three weeks early?  To get the team a grand total of 4 wins last year?   I understand that money was “donated” to buy him out, but couldn’t Trev have talked a little common sense and say “let’s ride with Scott for three weeks and you all put that money into a collective and let’s blow out NIL opportunities these next two years ON TOP of everything else we currently do to recruit players”.   I say “on top of” because people keep saying “ you can’t just only throw NIL money to get top recruits”.  
 

We are constantly in the Top 5 of these high 4 star kids and once in awhile some 5 star kids.  Maybe being the top NIL school for a few years, giving the kids much more than anywhere else will be what gets these kids over the hump and pick NU.  

TBH I’m not sure if we’re a top NIL player or not. It sure sounds like we are and we’ve been punching above our weight on recruits so I assume that means we’re at least holding our own with NIL.

As far as the articles saying NIL would give us an advantage, I always kind of figured that was just relative to our natural recruiting handicaps and the fact that our football does pretty good financially (even tho that is not exactly the same as NIL).

I just don’t see any point in acting like it must be a problem, that we’re not doing enough. Of course we could always use more and better talent but the much bigger problem is that we haven’t been developing or effectively using the talent we do get. Also, I’ve never been a big fan of NIL anyway. Sure get the players a piece of the pie but we all knew it would get out of control. It’s basically NFL free agency with no rules and no caps. IMO it’s frikken ridiculous.

 

[Enhance]

How do we know we are a major player yet also nobody really knows to begin with?  Not trying to pick directly towards you JJ, you just happen to be the latest one to say what others have been saying.  

To be honest, I don't think anybody outside the program really knows much. A lot of the details are not publicly reported.

But, somebody the other day here put the situation into some fair context in my opinion (I can't remember who it was, but if anyone else does, we can tag them for credit) - we have a fair amount of anecdotal evidence that suggests Nebraska is in a strong and competitive position with NIL, and we have virtually no evidence to suggest they're not. "Strong and competitive" can of course be interpreted, but the general narrative has been that there's very little concern of Nebraska being able to compete at a high level from an NIL standpoint.

And then @Mavric shared this the other day which I thought was interesting. Sean Callahan said the following a couple of days ago when someone asked him a snarky NIL question, and Sean probably has more knowledge of the situation than most anyone else who is willing to talk about it.
 

They have over 100 guys on deals getting paid monthly payments to the current roster, which is in the multi-million dollars. What do you expect it to be? They have 26 kids committed. They lost Brandon Baker to Texas.
 

I don't get posts like this? Literally, this place eats its own. People that have no clue about anything post stuff like this, which no knowledge over something that's supposed to be kept private. NIL and NIL deals aren't public anywhere. I just don't understand the point of these posts are?

So, anecdotal evidence of it being good, virtually no evidence of it being bad. If one were to take a stand either way there is at least some substance to the former. Most of the criticisms or questions I've seen about NIL have been rooted in discontent regarding the production on the field, but I don't think that's necessarily a direct indictment on NIL. Could be bad talent identification, bad coaching, or perhaps even Nebraska's recruitment ceiling is just a bit lower than preferred right now because the program has been in a rut for so long. Money is just part of the equation.

 

[Archy1221]

To be honest, I don't think anybody outside the program really knows much. A lot of the details are not publicly reported.

But, somebody the other day here put the situation into some fair context in my opinion (I can't remember who it was, but if anyone else does, we can tag them for credit) - we have a fair amount of anecdotal evidence that suggests Nebraska is in a strong and competitive position with NIL, and we have virtually no evidence to suggest they're not. "Strong and competitive" can of course be interpreted, but the general narrative has been that there's very little concern of Nebraska being able to compete at a high level from an NIL standpoint.

And then @Mavric shared this the other day which I thought was interesting. Sean Callahan said the following a couple of days ago when someone asked him a snarky NIL question, and Sean probably has more knowledge of the situation than most anyone else who is willing to talk about it.
 

So, anecdotal evidence of it being good, virtually no evidence of it being bad. If one were to take a stand either way there is at least some substance to the former. Most of the criticisms or questions I've seen about NIL have been rooted in discontent regarding the production on the field, but I don't think that's necessarily a direct indictment on NIL. Could be bad talent identification, bad coaching, or perhaps even Nebraska's recruitment ceiling is just a bit lower than preferred right now because the program has been in a rut for so long. Money is just part of the equation.

I get what you are saying and appreciate the response, but I gotta push back a bit because you are arguing a few points I’m not even arguing.  
 

we have a fair amount of anecdotal evidence that suggests Nebraska is in a strong and competitive position with NIL, and we have virtually no evidence to suggest they're not. "Strong and competitive" can of course be interpreted, but the general narrative has been that there's very little concern of Nebraska being able to compete at a high level from an NIL standpoint.

I’ve always assumed and stated here that NU’s NIL position was in the Top 30.  That is strong considering there are over 115 D1 teams.  The point some of us are trying to make is why can’t or isn’t NU a top 10 or 5 positioned NIL school.  NU is disadvantaged in recruiting base, why not make it up some in NIL and work to be a top 10 program there (if they aren’t already). 
 

And then @Mavric shared this the other day which I thought was interesting. Sean Callahan said the following a couple of days ago when someone asked him a snarky NIL question, and Sean probably has more knowledge of the situation than most anyone else who is willing to talk about it

All Sean is saying is 100 kids are getting paid.  That really doesn’t mean or say much.  Didn’t we all assume all the scholly’s kids had some sort of NIL deal?  Don’t we assume most kids on most P5 schools have an NIL deal.  I know I did, but I also figured not all were the same in value.  
 

Money is just part of the equation

I agree and said as much earlier.  Talent identification probably needs to improve (sometimes there is a good reason low 4 star/high 3 star kids from the south are available to NU and their warts show up once they get here) , same with development needing improvement ( including continued development of a QB throwing motion so it’s solid once they become a starter ) , and in game coaching.  Get better at everything and lead in NIL.  
 

Appreciate the discussion anyhow. 

 

[Archy1221]

@Enhancehere is a recent example of why IMO Sean saying 100 people get NIL so NU is fine comment doesn’t mean much for me is  Utah rolling free truck leases (outside of taxes) to 85 kids. 
 

 

[BigRedBuster]

I’ve always assumed and stated here that NU’s NIL position was in the Top 30.  That is strong considering there are over 115 D1 teams.  The point some of us are trying to make is why can’t or isn’t NU a top 10 or 5 positioned NIL school.  NU is disadvantaged in recruiting base, why not make it up some in NIL and work to be a top 10 program there (if they aren’t already). 

Who says they aren't and where's the proof they aren't?

 

[Mavric]

Alabama must have terrible recruiting, an awful OL coach and must not be very competitive in the NIL space to put a product on the field like this.

 

[Archy1221]

Who says they aren't and where's the proof they aren't?

Who says they are and where’s the proof they are?   Btw….I literally said “if they aren’t already”. 

 

[Red Five]

he point some of us are trying to make is why can’t or isn’t NU a top 10 or 5 positioned NIL school.  NU is disadvantaged in recruiting base, why not make it up some in NIL and work to be a top 10 program there (if they aren’t already). 

When you say top 5 or 10 NIL school do you mean that we need to be paying the players at a top 5 or 10 rate?  If so, are you complaining that people are not donating enough money?  

I find it hard to believe that we can sustain a top 5 NIL based on dollars (5-10, maybe).  Sure Nebraska fans are rabid, but it is a small state (37th nationally in population, WV is the only state with a smaller population with a P5 school).  We have a small alumni base compared to other P5 schools (Nebraska is 13th in the B1G in enrollment).  Sure we have large "donor's of substance", but what I am getting at is that there is just a smaller base for donations compared to an Ohio St or Texas (and not to mention other areas of the country have more lucrative businesses like Oil $$$ in Texas).

 

[Red Five]

All Sean is saying is 100 kids are getting paid.  That really doesn’t mean or say much.  Didn’t we all assume all the scholly’s kids had some sort of NIL deal?  Don’t we assume most kids on most P5 schools have an NIL deal.  I know I did, but I also figured not all were the same in value.  

I posted this 10 or so pages ago:

I think I heard it from a podcast this week (Calahan maybe?), but we are paying around 100 fb players NIL deals. The “top players” are getting $200k-$300k, and a healthy amount are around $100k.  The bottom 1/3 or so are getting $20k.

 

[Red Five]

@Enhancehere is a recent example of why IMO Sean saying 100 people get NIL so NU is fine comment doesn’t mean much for me is  Utah rolling free truck leases (outside of taxes) to 85 kids. 
 

A decent chuck on our upperclassmen/starters have cars.

 

[JJ Husker]

I get what you are saying and appreciate the response, but I gotta push back a bit because you are arguing a few points I’m not even arguing.  
 

Well I wasn’t really arguing anything. My first 2 paragraphs addressed your post and the 3rd was merely explaining my feelings on the matter. That was not intended as a dispute to anything you may or may not have said.

 

[Archy1221]

When you say top 5 or 10 NIL school do you mean that we need to be paying the players at a top 5 or 10 rate?  If so, are you complaining that people are not donating enough money?

Yes to your first and no to your second. 
 

I find it hard to believe that we can sustain a top 5 NIL based on dollars (5-10, maybe).  Sure Nebraska fans are rabid, but it is a small state (37th nationally in population, WV is the only state with a smaller population with a P5 school).  We have a small alumni base compared to other P5 schools (Nebraska is 13th in the B1G in enrollment).  Sure we have large "donor's of substance", but what I am getting at is that there is just a smaller base for donations compared to an Ohio St or Texas (and not to mention other areas of the country have more lucrative businesses like Oil $$$ in Texas).

I get all that you are saying, yet somehow NU is top 10 in profitability of football program, I can post source in a bit, and someone else posted top 15 in brand value (from 2018). 
 

I think I heard it from a podcast this week (Calahan maybe?), but we are paying around 100 fb players NIL deals. The “top players” are getting $200k-$300k, and a healthy amount are around $100k.  The bottom 1/3 or so are getting $20k.

And how does that $200-$300k for our top players compare to top players on top 15 teams?  I don’t know, but reports (which all anyone goes on says the top QB’s get more) 

 

[Archy1221]

A decent chuck on our upperclassmen/starters have cars.

I knew this and never said they didn’t :dunno .  My post was in reference to what Sean said.   I was just pointing out other programs have BIL deals for all their scholly’s players too.  The extent of those is what’s up for debate. 

 

[Enhance]

@Enhancehere is a recent example of why IMO Sean saying 100 people get NIL so NU is fine comment doesn’t mean much for me is  Utah rolling free truck leases (outside of taxes) to 85 kids. 
 

Again though, this is all trying to be weighed out in a bubble of uncertainty. The trucks are cool from a marketing perspective but it doesn't necessarily prove anything about the overall money being spent and/or the value players are getting. Unless we're setting the bar at getting a leased truck while on scholarship then yeah, sure, NU apparently doesn't have that. And if that make Utah's NIL better than Nebraska's then that's certainly a perspective someone could have, even if it's based on incomplete information.

I don't really have a dog in the fight on the NIL situation other than I think a lot of people (not saying you, just a lot of people) seem to think something's wrong with it because the production on the field isn't meeting their expectations. IMO that's faulty logic. I think it's fair to question if NIL is being handled appropriately but to turn a question into an indictment is a pretty big leap, particularly when NIL is just a piece of the puzzle.