Can someone explain to me why he isn't on the radar?
It's a moot point now that Ole Miss hired him, but I would like an explanation regarding why you thought he would be a good fit here at UNL.
Good question. I must admit I am somewhat ignorant about Nutt's past. I was very impressed with Ark in the LSU game last week. I was particularly impressed with the play calling and his style of doing things in that game. I'm sure there are things about him that I don't know which are undesirable based on the comments here, but he sure kicked the sh#t outta Bo's defense. *ducking and doning flame suit*
B
It would take quite a while to detail everything, so I'll hit the high points...
1. Despite what you may have seen from the LSU game, Nutt has had 10 years in which his offense has consisted almost entirely of a running game only. There has been one exception - when he first arrived at Arkanasas and his quarterback was a guy named Clint Sterner. Clint had a cup of coffee in the pros - he wasn't a bad quarterback. A friend of mine had a son that was a tackle on the team at that time, and according to him, Clint routinely checked out of running plays and into passing plays - against Nutt's wishes. However, since it worked more often than not - and since there was no viable backup - Nutt let him do it. This year has been only marginally better - but only marginally.
2. Related to Number 1, Nutt absolutely does not trust his quarterbacks. There has not been a single one - again, other than Sterner - that did anything other than hand off to the running backs. Latravis Jackson - with the Vikings - was on the Arkansas team for a while, then transferred to an Alabama school because Nutt kept the offense locked into a run-only mode.
3. Lackluster recruiting. Arkansas produces limited numbers of D-1 talent - and Nutt has lost a lot of it. A few years ago, he lost all but one of the so-called "Springdale 5" (Mitch Mustain, Dameon Williams, Ben Cleveland, etc.). He eventually managed to get 4 of them - but Mutain and Williams (the highest rated of the 5) transferred to USC when it was clear that the offense would remain one-dimensional. Last year, two of the three highest rated players (a quarterback and an offensive tackle) committed to Auburn. A 5-star running back committed to USC. This year, the highest rated player - a receiver named Adams, another 5-star, I believe, committed to USC. This has been a pattern. In addition, his out-of-state recuits have been servicable, but hardly stellar.
4. He has a poor record against most teams in the SEC. His 0-fer against Georgia and Florida in the SEC East. He has had some good wins over SEC West teams - but mostly when those teams were a bit down. He has a good season about every 5 years, usually because the line consists of mostly 5th year seniors. When they lack that, their running game is dead in the water because Nutt insists on retaining as his line coach a guy that does a lousy job (sound familiar?).
The list goes on and on, but that's a start.
