Cottons

I really don't understand why people are bashing these kids. Ben is one of our top 2 TE's and is the best blocking TE we have. Jake looked very good at RT during the spring and is just a Redshirt Freshmen. Sam looks like a decent athlete at a position of need. The Cotton's appear to be late bloomers and you know what you are getting. The coaching profession is precarious at best. If your kids get offers they should take them as having 3 kids in college would prove to pretty draining if you don't have a job. I would also say if Pelini and the staff feel a player merits an offer than they get one. They are their own person and shouldn't be treated any differently either for or against regardless of who the father is.

Is Barney the greatest coach in the world? Maybe not, but he has some very good points. He is a good recruiter. He is loyal to the University. He knows his stuff as Bo has said that many times. He has a good understanding of the big picture. They are getting the numbers back in the OL and that will help him. The offense is changing and that will help him. He is getting more help with Garrison and Stai and that will help them. I feel very positive that we are headed in the right direction. I am willing to give it some time. There were some good signs last year.

 
panhandle husker said:
It blows my mind that NU has wasted 2 scholarships on Barney's sons. Ben definately deserves to be a scholly TE, but his bros(who both didn't have any other offers), would have walked on anyway. Am I the only one that sees this? Barney shouldn't still be coaching at NU anyway, he is a terrible OL coach. It makes me sick to see Pelini give his kids free rides(Chadron State was never even intersted in the younger Cottons). We are not a better team with the younger Cottons, or as their father being the OL coach. Look back when Barney was Frank's OL coach, worst OL NU had in 30yrs, but look at NFL rosters and they are still playing ball. Barney takes talent and doesn't have a clue how to coach them. His 2 younger sons SHOULD HAVE BEEN WALKONS!!!! With such a small class this year, Sam Cotton, like his brother last year should have gotten an invite to walk on.
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While what you you say may be possible their isnt a doubt in my mind BOTH younger Cotton guys would have gotten offers SOMEWHERE.I honestly think it was a foregone conclusion that Jake was getting an offer last year. I just think the staff KNEW their would be some backlash (like you right now) from the fan base saying he doesnt deserve a scholarship. I even think they tried to hide Jakes position as well saying he would play DT here. I NEVER thought he would be anything more than an OL here and that has proven to be the case. THAT SAID Jake has ALREADY proven myself and many others wrong and he hasnt played a down of college ball yet. Hes busted his a$$ and as of right now is probably the most athletic OL on the team and THAT says a lot. Looking like he also has a great chance to crack the two deep AS A FRESHMAN. Again thats nothing to sneeze at. Especially when you have guys like Sirles,Marcel,Hardrick all coming back AND a great recruit like Moore coming in.

Now Ben has DEFINITELY proven his worth and Jake IMO will prove all you gus wrong this coming year and in the future.I HONESTLY dont know what to make of Sam yet. Hes said to be better than both but Im not so sure. In fact I like his film better as a DE than I did as a TE but looks like he will play TE. Either way I think the athleticism is there and I trust the coaches on this one. So AGAIN I see where you might think these guys could have walked on but if they deserve ships why not give them to them? Dont think for a minute if Iowa,Ohio,or Indiana thought they could get EITHER of those Cotton boys they would have offered them.

NOW I have to say I DO tend to agree with you on BARNEY Cotton. I dont think he is very good OL coach. I think he is average at best. I also think as a University with our tradition for great OL we can do a LOT better than him. I think Garrison and Stai being brought on to "help" him may be somewhat telling. Cotton seems to be a very good recruiter and that has suprised me . He is definitely "doing work" in that department but to say that his coaching is average would be about right . I just think we could do better than him as an OL coach.

I wont hold it against his kids though. Ben is a monster TE and imo has an NFL future.Jake looks like the prototypical LT with great athleticism and with PROPER COACHING I could see him on Sundays as well. Ill give Sam the benefit of the doubt that I DIDNT give jake and see what he looks like after a RS year. If its anything like his brothers Id take him ALL DAY.

 
HuskerT said:
Don't get me started on this topic. I've put my two cents in on this topic in the recruiting forum, but I'll keep it simple here.

If anyone thinks that any of the Cotton boys would have been good enough to earn football scholorships to the University of Nebraska (especially in a year when schollys are at a premium)if their father wasn't a coach then they are a moron. Therefore they are wasted scholorships.

Having said that I respect the fact that they want to be Huskers and I hope they prove me wrong.
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According to who/what? Recruiting services? Or on-the-field performance. Either way, you're very wrong.

 
its so suprising to see so many educated coaches in here. If you know so much about talent and coaching, why arent you working for a D-1 team or the NFL? I can probably guess not a single person posting in here actaully has some sort of credntials to back up his/her statement.....

Nothing worse than recliner-coaches.

 
Forge said:
its so suprising to see so many educated coaches in here. If you know so much about talent and coaching, why arent you working for a D-1 team or the NFL? I can probably guess not a single person posting in here actaully has some sort of credntials to back up his/her statement.....

Nothing worse than recliner-coaches.
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I guess you're right. You have to be an expert to realize we are fortunate to have been able to steal a kid a away from D1 powerhouses like Ohio and Tulsa! :sarcasm

 
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To the guy that said I'm bashing the Cotton kids, Ben Cotton was definately a scholarship tight end, if BO doesn't hire Barney, He's playing elsewhere. By the way, I really doubt if Ben plays any pro ball, but he's the most legit of the 3. I have found out since i started this thread that you really do get a huge dicount on tuition if your folks work for a college, pretty much next to nothing, even at a small college. Not sure if NCAA issues are involved here, but what about some poor kid that really NEEDS his tuition to be paid or he never gets a chance at college? I'm not bashing the Cotton kids at all, but if their daddy didn't work for the athletic department, they get no offer from BIG RED, period!! If anything, I'm bashing their daddy.

 
panhandle husker said:
To the guy that said I'm bashing the Cotton kids, Ben Cotton was definately a scholarship tight end, if BO doesn't hire Barney, He's playing elsewhere. By the way, I really doubt if Ben plays any pro ball, but he's the most legit of the 3. I have found out since i started this thread that you really do get a huge dicount on tuition if your folks work for a college, pretty much next to nothing, even at a small college. Not sure if NCAA issues are involved here, but what about some poor kid that really NEEDS his tuition to be paid or he never gets a chance at college? I'm not bashing the Cotton kids at all, but if their daddy didn't work for the athletic department, they get no offer from BIG RED, period!! If anything, I'm bashing their daddy.
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:yeah I couldn't agree more. Barney's a tool and any criticism he gets from this is absolutely deserved. I can understand giving one of his kids who is a borderline D1 prospect a scholarship, but all three? Come on now pay the discounted price and let your kids walk on and actually try and earn a scholarship.

 
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I'm a bit surprised so many people do not know the employee discounts for tuition remission here at UNL. It is 15 credit hours (half a year) during a calendar year. This means no summer school paid for. A normal student who takes a few summer school classes is bound to pay at least 4,000 on schooling for the year. Still a sizable chunk. Throw in room and board and you're talking about a large amount of money. It's not like you pay peanuts to go here. You get an Athletic scholarship and you save enough money that instead Barney can throw that cash into a downpayment on each of his boys first homes. The overall package must be worth at least 40,000-50,000 over the course of their 4-5 year tenure here. That is just comparing to a faculty member's child. And if you have two children you don't get additional tuition remission if I recall. This means that he would be paying full price (in-state) for two of his kids right now. Now we're talking what, like 20,000 in tuition plus room and board.

If you wanted to game the system, you could offer Barney a 25,000 a year raise and he could pay their way. Sure this is easy. The issue is our coaches have pride and morals.

 
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I could care less about how much Barney has to pay or not pay. My problem is that all three of his sons who are borderline D1 prospects have all been offered and accepted scholarships. The right thing for Barney to do would be to have his sons walk on and if they eventually earn scholarships then that's great and its a good story, but to me the situation is a joke and I have zero respect for Barney. Like it or not that's my opinion.

 
Ben has definitely earned his scholarship. He started every game last year and another game his Freshman year. He helped pave the way for at least two of Helu's long runs against Missouri, and I'm pretty sure he was involved in at least a couple of TMagic's runs as well.

Something nobody is saying, but I believe to be true, is that children of coaches must count towards scholarships. WhatDoIKnow is driving at this, but I believe the reason for this is that if they did not count against the limit, there'd be nothing stopping a coach from adopting a :star :star :star :star :star player or three and loading his team. I have no idea what the actual rule is, but I've had it explained to me that way in the past.

 
knapplc said:
Ben has definitely earned his scholarship. He started every game last year and another game his Freshman year. He helped pave the way for at least two of Helu's long runs against Missouri, and I'm pretty sure he was involved in at least a couple of TMagic's runs as well.

Something nobody is saying, but I believe to be true, is that children of coaches must count towards scholarships. WhatDoIKnow is driving at this, but I believe the reason for this is that if they did not count against the limit, there'd be nothing stopping a coach from adopting a :star :star :star :star :star player or three and loading his team. I have no idea what the actual rule is, but I've had it explained to me that way in the past.
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Watson's son was a walk-on...so this is not true.

 
kchusker_chris said:
knapplc said:
Ben has definitely earned his scholarship. He started every game last year and another game his Freshman year. He helped pave the way for at least two of Helu's long runs against Missouri, and I'm pretty sure he was involved in at least a couple of TMagic's runs as well.

Something nobody is saying, but I believe to be true, is that children of coaches must count towards scholarships. WhatDoIKnow is driving at this, but I believe the reason for this is that if they did not count against the limit, there'd be nothing stopping a coach from adopting a :star :star :star :star :star player or three and loading his team. I have no idea what the actual rule is, but I've had it explained to me that way in the past.
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Watson's son was a walk-on...so this is not true.
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Well..... poop.

Nevermind. :D

 
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