Done this Year (or maybe one more)?

[robsker]

Could be wrong but with JPP, Bennie Logan, Justin Brown and Equage (Sp?) all gone elsewhere and no real leads on anyone else, except possibly Eric Martin.... well, NU could be done with recruiting at this point.

I don't know if that is good, bad, or indifferent but.... our class, as it sets today (minus those that will not qualify; numbered, potentially, at three) is likely what we are looking at (with perhaps Martin added in).

If we get Martin and we lose no one to grades then the class looks solid, maybe pretty good. In a worse case scenario, if we don't get Martin and also lose three players to grades (say Byrd, Washington, and Robinson), then the class ends up just south of solid and is merely OK.

Likely NU will end up in between the two extremes.

Is this a reasonable assessment?

 

[melscott62]

Could be wrong but with JPP, Bennie Logan, Justin Brown and Equage (Sp?) all gone elsewhere and no real leads on anyone else, except possibly Eric Martin.... well, NU could be done with recruiting at this point.

I don't know if that is good, bad, or indifferent but.... our class, as it sets today (minus those that will not qualify; numbered, potentially, at three) is likely what we are looking at (with perhaps Martin added in).

If we get Martin and we lose no one to grades then the class looks solid, maybe pretty good. In a worse case scenario, if we don't get Martin and also lose three players to grades (say Byrd, Washington, and Robinson), then the class ends up just south of solid and is merely OK.

Likely NU will end up in between the two extremes.

Is this a reasonable assessment?

yes and no. you never know with recruits.... but going on the info that we have, it seems fair. I am pretty happy with it. I dont think this is bo's strength and I think as we improve as a program we will be able to draw more people.

 

[robsker]

Could be wrong but with JPP, Bennie Logan, Justin Brown and Equage (Sp?) all gone elsewhere and no real leads on anyone else, except possibly Eric Martin.... well, NU could be done with recruiting at this point.

I don't know if that is good, bad, or indifferent but.... our class, as it sets today (minus those that will not qualify; numbered, potentially, at three) is likely what we are looking at (with perhaps Martin added in).

If we get Martin and we lose no one to grades then the class looks solid, maybe pretty good. In a worse case scenario, if we don't get Martin and also lose three players to grades (say Byrd, Washington, and Robinson), then the class ends up just south of solid and is merely OK.

Likely NU will end up in between the two extremes.

Is this a reasonable assessment?

yes and no. you never know with recruits.... but going on the info that we have, it seems fair. I am pretty happy with it. I dont think this is bo's strength and I think as we improve as a program we will be able to draw more people.

I'd agree that it (recruiting) does not appear to be Boo's strength either. Honestly, given the historic stature of the program, our recent reasonable year, our fan base, facilities and how nice both Lincoln and Nu are --- well I would have expected to reap a real big recruiting year of heralded players. Seemingly that did not happen. Perhaps after a good season next year what now is a hopeful expectation of being competitive nationally will be solidified as certain and the recruiting will get better.

It could come to pass that Bo (and his staff) is/are outstanding recruiter(s). So far, seemingly such a positive assessment awaits the future.

 

[caveman99]

Could be wrong but with JPP, Bennie Logan, Justin Brown and Equage (Sp?) all gone elsewhere and no real leads on anyone else, except possibly Eric Martin.... well, NU could be done with recruiting at this point.

I don't know if that is good, bad, or indifferent but.... our class, as it sets today (minus those that will not qualify; numbered, potentially, at three) is likely what we are looking at (with perhaps Martin added in).

If we get Martin and we lose no one to grades then the class looks solid, maybe pretty good. In a worse case scenario, if we don't get Martin and also lose three players to grades (say Byrd, Washington, and Robinson), then the class ends up just south of solid and is merely OK.

Likely NU will end up in between the two extremes.

Is this a reasonable assessment?

yes and no. you never know with recruits.... but going on the info that we have, it seems fair. I am pretty happy with it. I dont think this is bo's strength and I think as we improve as a program we will be able to draw more people.

I'd agree that it (recruiting) does not appear to be Boo's strength either. Honestly, given the historic stature of the program, our recent reasonable year, our fan base, facilities and how nice both Lincoln and Nu are --- well I would have expected to reap a real big recruiting year of heralded players. Seemingly that did not happen. Perhaps after a good season next year what now is a hopeful expectation of being competitive nationally will be solidified as certain and the recruiting will get better.

It could come to pass that Bo (and his staff) is/are outstanding recruiter(s). So far, seemingly such a positive assessment awaits the future.

I will withhold judgement until these players get on the field. Right now I am pretty happy with who they have. Would like to see Martin though.

 

[robsker]

Could be wrong but with JPP, Bennie Logan, Justin Brown and Equage (Sp?) all gone elsewhere and no real leads on anyone else, except possibly Eric Martin.... well, NU could be done with recruiting at this point.

I don't know if that is good, bad, or indifferent but.... our class, as it sets today (minus those that will not qualify; numbered, potentially, at three) is likely what we are looking at (with perhaps Martin added in).

If we get Martin and we lose no one to grades then the class looks solid, maybe pretty good. In a worse case scenario, if we don't get Martin and also lose three players to grades (say Byrd, Washington, and Robinson), then the class ends up just south of solid and is merely OK.

Likely NU will end up in between the two extremes.

Is this a reasonable assessment?

yes and no. you never know with recruits.... but going on the info that we have, it seems fair. I am pretty happy with it. I dont think this is bo's strength and I think as we improve as a program we will be able to draw more people.

I'd agree that it (recruiting) does not appear to be Boo's strength either. Honestly, given the historic stature of the program, our recent reasonable year, our fan base, facilities and how nice both Lincoln and Nu are --- well I would have expected to reap a real big recruiting year of heralded players. Seemingly that did not happen. Perhaps after a good season next year what now is a hopeful expectation of being competitive nationally will be solidified as certain and the recruiting will get better.

It could come to pass that Bo (and his staff) is/are outstanding recruiter(s). So far, seemingly such a positive assessment awaits the future.

I will withhold judgement until these players get on the field. Right now I am pretty happy with who they have. Would like to see Martin though.

Agreed in that final assessment really is in about three years when we see how it all plays out. I also agree that martin would be a nice addition. I hope he commits. That said, we now have a pretty good stable of LB's --- mostly young, many having already shown promise and a bunch of redshirts coming in. I really like Martin as a player --- but position wise, it seems that a DT especially (or a DE) would be more needed. But... can't always get everything. martin seems really promising.

 

[Huskers Forever]

I think Bo has surrounded himself with excellent recruiters, and I think his straight foward, no b.s style will pay off bigtime in the future. You have to remember, we have been irrelevent for many years now, and these kids were babies when we were in our prime, so our tradition means little to them at this point. What Bo did this year, with as little talent as we had, is nothing short of amazing. I think next year we will be in the top 15 in recruiting, and with our coaches ability to develope the athletes, that will translate into a top 10 finish in 2011.

 

[robsker]

I think Bo has surrounded himself with excellent recruiters, and I think his straight foward, no b.s style will pay off bigtime in the future. You have to remember, we have been irrelevent for many years now, and these kids were babies when we were in our prime, so our tradition means little to them at this point. What Bo did this year, with as little talent as we had, is nothing short of amazing. I think next year we will be in the top 15 in recruiting, and with our coaches ability to develope the athletes, that will translate into a top 10 finish in 2010.

great perspective and fine points! I hope you are right --- and you very might well be.

On the recognition that NU 's glory years were before these kids followed football is true. And it makes me feel old! I have been a Husker since I was a student there starting in 1983 (Graduate School). I have, like many of you, had the privilege of being a Husker fan for 25+ years. What a wonderful ride. And yes, these youngsters NU recuits have seen little of what we have seen. very true.

 

[glm09]

I think you are correct about being done. Outside of Martin there is only L'damian Washington, a receiver who reportedly is back committed to La Tech (soft verbal). One can only assume that the list is set.

That makes WR LB and DL of upmost importance next year then, as we didn't close the year with any of these spots. Unless we get Martin (hope so).

We might as well be happy with the class we have, for they are the future of husker football.

 

[Huskers Forever]

I think Bo has surrounded himself with excellent recruiters, and I think his straight foward, no b.s style will pay off bigtime in the future. You have to remember, we have been irrelevent for many years now, and these kids were babies when we were in our prime, so our tradition means little to them at this point. What Bo did this year, with as little talent as we had, is nothing short of amazing. I think next year we will be in the top 15 in recruiting, and with our coaches ability to develope the athletes, that will translate into a top 10 finish in 2010.

great perspective and fine points! I hope you are right --- and you very might well be.

On the recognition that NU 's glory years were before these kids followed football is true. And it makes me feel old! I have been a Husker since I was a student there starting in 1983 (Graduate School). I have, like many of you, had the privilege of being a Husker fan for 25+ years. What a wonderful ride. And yes, these youngsters NU recuits have seen little of what we have seen. very true.

But the great thing is once we get them on campus, they find out very quickly how great our tradition is. Most are blown away when they see all the trophys and All-Americans that we have. If Oklahoma can come back from how bad they sucked in the 90's, and get the best recruits, so can we.

 

[huskerswrkhavoc]

only other thing i can really say with this not being Bo's "strength" and with all factors expecting to see a big group of heralded players also due to the successful season is that a lot of recruits already have it down to a couple and this season probably wasn't playing very big of a factor in what it came down to those decisions between the final couple of schools... maybe it did with one or two, but for the most part, i'm guessing that factor will play more into next year and the future.

 

[huskers1]

I totally agree with that statement...also after the last few years of recruiting I don't think anything is done until they actually sign...I know that is like every other post but what I mean is that with the Travis Lewis deal and David Ross and Jermaine Love there are always a few surprises in the last couple hours before signing day and the past few years have not gone our way but I can still hold out hope that something very good will happen on signing day.

 

[TMul]

I think Bo has surrounded himself with excellent recruiters, and I think his straight foward, no b.s style will pay off bigtime in the future. You have to remember, we have been irrelevent for many years now, and these kids were babies when we were in our prime, so our tradition means little to them at this point. What Bo did this year, with as little talent as we had, is nothing short of amazing. I think next year we will be in the top 15 in recruiting, and with our coaches ability to develope the athletes, that will translate into a top 10 finish in 2011.

Pelini found out this year he's no longer at LSU or OU, I take it he understood the obstacles before taking the job and again hopefully it doesn't burn him up. Recruiting this year had to have been a shocker given NU had a pretty good year. Turner Gill fully knew everything about NU. Let's not kid ourselves in the recruiting game is no b.s. style, in fact it's all about that. That's what sales is. (See Dan Hawkins at CU and watch out if they have a good season.) They can keep telling you no, commit elsewhere, but you don't stop. There's a reason why Ekeler is a self made millionaire, that guy can sell the hell outta things. Also why he's NU's best recruiter and will always have a job in CFB somewhere. Like John Blake. It has to say something that NU's best recruiters are first year assistant coaches and Tim Beck. Watson is a good recruiter, he pulled in C. Green and Cotton pulling in the majority of the O-line recruits did a good job. That's about it. TO didn't get over the hump until he hired bullsh!ter extraordinaire K. Steele who pulled in tons of studs for him in the early 90s. Maybe Ekeler can be that guy?? I do agree with you about the tradition deal and that the majority of the kids could care less about it. See Notre Dame, Michigan, NU. I don't mean to be doom and gloom but when the Big 12 was formed Texas more or less cut NU's head off. I've come full circle with this and I'm just glad NU and TO got that last MNC in this conference. I've accepted the fact that NU will always have to play with Texas/OU leftovers and will be recruiting on par with Kansas. 8-4 to me is pretty good considering the league NU plays in and the current environment of CFB . Also it could be worse, we could be aTm fans, lost.

I agree that we should be happy with who we've got, they are the future of Big Red Football and I hope they have a great experience!!

 

[BiggerRed]

I think Bo has surrounded himself with excellent recruiters, and I think his straight foward, no b.s style will pay off bigtime in the future. You have to remember, we have been irrelevent for many years now, and these kids were babies when we were in our prime, so our tradition means little to them at this point. What Bo did this year, with as little talent as we had, is nothing short of amazing. I think next year we will be in the top 15 in recruiting, and with our coaches ability to develope the athletes, that will translate into a top 10 finish in 2011.

Pelini found out this year he's no longer at LSU or OU, I take it he understood the obstacles before taking the job and again hopefully it doesn't burn him up. Recruiting this year had to have been a shocker given NU had a pretty good year. Turner Gill fully knew everything about NU. Let's not kid ourselves in the recruiting game is no b.s. style, in fact it's all about that. That's what sales is. (See Dan Hawkins at CU and watch out if they have a good season.) They can keep telling you no, commit elsewhere, but you don't stop. There's a reason why Ekeler is a self made millionaire, that guy can sell the hell outta things. Also why he's NU's best recruiter and will always have a job in CFB somewhere. Like John Blake. It has to say something that NU's best recruiters are first year assistant coaches and Tim Beck. Watson is a good recruiter, he pulled in C. Green and Cotton pulling in the majority of the O-line recruits did a good job. That's about it. TO didn't get over the hump until he hired bullsh!ter extraordinaire K. Steele who pulled in tons of studs for him in the early 90s. Maybe Ekeler can be that guy?? I do agree with you about the tradition deal and that the majority of the kids could care less about it. See Notre Dame, Michigan, NU. I don't mean to be doom and gloom but when the Big 12 was formed Texas more or less cut NU's head off. I've come full circle with this and I'm just glad NU and TO got that last MNC in this conference. I've accepted the fact that NU will always have to play with Texas/OU leftovers and will be recruiting on par with Kansas. 8-4 to me is pretty good considering the league NU plays in and the current environment of CFB . Also it could be worse, we could be aTm fans, lost.

I agree that we should be happy with who we've got, they are the future of Big Red Football and I hope they have a great experience!!

So you don't think that Pelini will improve much from his first full year in recruiting or on the field? Seems a bit pessimistic to me. Now I don't think that we are going to go back to the mid 90's or anything, but eight wins shouldn't be a "pretty good" year. It should be the watermark. As for recruiting, we are ranked ahead of Kansas in Rivals, so I wouldn't say we are on par with them. If you look at Scout, they don't like Kansas' class nearly as much and we are well ahead of them. I would guess that our recruiting will be similar to Virginia Tech's. Most years, I would guess that we'll end up somewhere between 15th and 25th.

 

[macroboy]

I believe in this staff's ability to evaluate talent and even more in their ability to develop that talent.

I'm cool with this class. I do think we get 1 or 2 more but if not we can use the scholly's next year.

 

[TMul]

So you don't think that Pelini will improve much from his first full year in recruiting or on the field? Seems a bit pessimistic to me. Now I don't think that we are going to go back to the mid 90's or anything, but eight wins shouldn't be a "pretty good" year. It should be the watermark. As for recruiting, we are ranked ahead of Kansas in Rivals, so I wouldn't say we are on par with them. If you look at Scout, they don't like Kansas' class nearly as much and we are well ahead of them. I would guess that our recruiting will be similar to Virginia Tech's. Most years, I would guess that we'll end up somewhere between 15th and 25th.

Yea, I agree with your post. I hope he does better, and if the winning comes, so does the recruits. Some of it had to do with the fact that NU was very much underneath the radar. All the W's except for the gator bowl was non televised for the most part. As for your correlation to Va Tech, I would be very, very happy with a program similar to Va Tech's in Lincoln. I would love it and a program to be very proud of. I highly respect Beamer's program at Va Tech. One of the last "True HCs" of CFB that I see it as not coaching for the money or pumping out kids to the league. Yet in the process they do put out some NFL draft picks, 8 last year. Beamer doesn't sell his soul to the devil in getting the blue chippers in the area and they don't run his program. You see the results, they are always a top 20 program for the most part yet tons of "so called" blue chippers in the area leave for top notch recruiting schools. He has good student athletes in his program and he develops talented players. A top 20 recruiting class year after year for NU would be excellent and all we should ask for at NU-IMO. I would be very, very happy with this considering I know all the challenges that face NU. If Bo can develop a program very similar to Va Tech and Beamer I will be a very, very happy NU fan. Miami and FSU thought they would rule that conference before it started, Va Tech has given them complete and utter fits. Would love to see NU give OU, Texas complete fits.

I also agree that Bo can develop great football players. I just worry that he won't be able to get the proper raw materials. I used to think talent was everything, but look at FSU and Miami, don't tell me that USC has more talent then those schools. After the Cally :star :star :star :star years I said I wouldn't worry about it, but it's hard and I can be brainwashed and caught up in it sometimes.