Pelini is trying to make an immediate impact though. He knows that in order to get more HS :star :star :star :star kids he has to be win, get a lot of media attention, and be ranked high in the polls. Schools like Florida State and ND don't have to win to bring people in consistantly, unfortunately we do. I think it is better for this class to have 3 JUCO players because that means there are more immediate impact players who can win for us next season, rather than having to be developed... which paves the way for players to knock on our door for a chance to play for NU, players that are from far away states that is. I'm from Texas, born and raised here a husker fan my whole life. And I can tell you that down here, people outside of those who have been raised husker fans, think NU had a good defense last year, but that was because of SUH and they don't forsee us being a consistant top 10 team in the future. I have lived in Texas my whole life and there are VERY FEW people in this state that have respect for current Nebraska. They know we used to be a power house in the 70's-90's, but we have a generation of HS kids right now who don't remember 1994,1995, and 1997. Do I think that knowledge of the program and belief in the program is improving? YES. But I think it is going to take 3-4 years of top 10 rankings from Nebraska before we will land consistent top 10 recruiting classes. One good season isn't going to do it. So the fact that we have some killer JUCO players enables us to be able to succeed quicker, build on a solid season from last year, prove to skeptics that we are a quality TEAM not just SUH (eventhough suh is incredible), Beat teams like Texas and OU a few years in a row, and win some BCS games. If NU can do these things soon, then it will: help demolish the stereotypes people have about NU, show the world our Program, build respect, and give NU national respect by not only coaches, but HS players across the country.
Bottom Line: NU needs back to back to back successful seasons, BCS games, and wins over Big 12 south teams to gain respect from large amounts of quality HS players in major recruiting states (Texas, Florida, California). Large amounts meaning Florida, Texas, Alabama, OU recruiting numbers.