Mavric

There is going to great lengths to defend the coaches and then there's trying to suggest that they'd be fine with four scholarship DTs on the roster after this year and none in two straight classes.

Nice work on that. Moved it to a thread where I think it fits a little better. I think the trend line is basically flat at about 25. Callahan gets a lot of credit for the one good class but that was mostly quantity, not necessarily quality. Pelini's 2009 class definitely wasn't great but I think ended up better than it looked on Signing Day - Burkhead, Martinez, Sirles, Gomes, Qvale and Spencer Long were top notch plus Ankrah, Randle and Martin. Not very deep but not too shabby for a "worst" class. Most everything else is 20-30. The 2011 class definitely had talent but not a lot of it helped the Huskers. And it's balanced out by the 2014 class that was low-rated but seems to be well out-performing their ratings (Gates, Wilbon, Akinmoladun, DPE, Kalu, Cockrell, Chris Jones, Drew Brown already plus Farmer, Foster, Gifford, Stoltenberg and King with possibilities).

Yep, if we had an offense or even some set plays to go to, we wouldn't see nearly this many long scoring droughts. It's basically an every-game occurrence. If we had half as many big guys on the team now as Miles inherited when he got here, we'd be in decent shape.

Eh, I'd argue that our scheme is really bad but that's a different discussion. We always need guys at all positions but I don't think DB was as big of a need as other positions. We still have Jones and Kalu for two more years and I think the two Williams will be good Safeties. Plus we had Antonio Reed, Avery Anderson and Eric Lee who haven't seen the field (on defense) yet and have 3-4 years left. So we had a "need" at DB - which is why I thought we'd take at least 2 Corners and 2 Safeties. But I don't think they were as pressing of a need as QB, OT and DL.

Wouldn't argue with that. My priority list evolved throughout the year. This was just where we stand at the end of the year. Here's my initial priority list from one year ago:

Putting a wrap on this year. Priority: OT - Getting Farniok was a must. Could have used at least one more. WR - Two small burners. Needed at least one big. TE - Filled two spots. DT - Really think we should have taken at least one. DE - Got two guys. Not sure if either are difference makers. ----------------------------------------- QB - 1 - PATRICK O'BRIEN RB - 1 - TRE BRYANT WR - 3-4 - JD SPIELMAN, DERRION GRIM TE - 2-3 - JACK STOLL, DAVID ENGELHAUPT OT - 2-3 - MATT FARNIOK OG/C - 2-3 - BRYAN BROKOP, JOHN RARIDON, BOE WILSON DT - 1-2 - DE - 2-3 - BEN STILLE, COLLIN MILLER LB - 3-4 - QUAYSHON ALEXANDER, GREG SIMMONS, PERNELL JEFFERSON CB - 2-3 - DICAPRIO BOOTLE, MARQUEL DISMUKE, LAMAR JACKSON S - 2-3 - JoJo DOMANN, TONY BUTLER P/K - 1 - CALEB LIGHTBOURN

Watched this guy in the state championship last year. Great player, not at all deserving of a D1 scholarship (at least not B1G D1). I agree. Fun to watch but not a scholarship. Could walk on but I would think he'd go to a smaller school and get a scholarship.

Polls open for Pipeline Voting - Center, Offensive Guards and Offensive Tackles

Offensive Tackle: QB Protection - The left OT has to be the best athlete on the line. As most QB's are right handed, their blind side is the left side. Since the best rushing DT is normally coming from the blind side, the left OT has to use finesse to keep him away from the QB - many times with no help from the TE! So, this poster should be very active, be able to have his ideas stand alone from others, and has the flare to his posts that keep the members happy! Physicality - For a right OT, physical strength is important because most offenses run over the right side of the line. The OT needs to create the outside lane for a RB on a standard run play (In the immortal words of Vince Lombardi at the blackboard: "What we need is a seam here," etc...). This poster comes strong with his ideas and creates a lane for others to make a topic grow and grow. Big guys with foot speed - Just as with an OG, the tackle should have a big presence on the line. At the same time, this giant should possess the ability to use his feet to gain leverage on an opposing defender. Basically, they can run through those rope squares really fast! I would say the ideal OT should be a poster that has big ideas in one message (that take a lot of space!) but still has the speed to contribute to as many forums as he can. VOTING CLOSES FEBRUARY 7

Offensive Guard: Big - Offensive lineman are probably the largest players on the field - they are normally about 320 pounds!!! They stuff up the line as best as they can to keep the QB safe and able to pass. I would therefore say this poster should be one who is "long-winded" and likes to write a lot on any particular subject. One sentence answers aren't this guy's modus operandi - this poster likes to get all the ideas out of his head on every reply he makes. Pulling ability - We've all heard of the "pulling guard!" On the snap, this guy can laterally move behind his other line mates to create a running lane on the other side of the field - especially on sweeps and "counter trey" misdirection plays. The nominee likes to try to use his wit and cleverness to "pull" an argument to his side of the field. He'll also "counter" once in a while in order to create an pro-con scenario. Leverage - The Offensive Guard needs to use good leverage to keep the opposing tackles or ends from getting around them. It's all about "staying low" and "getting dirty" - you know, hands under the armpits once in a while! He might not always be the first person in a conversation (lower in the order for good positioning!), but he knows what he's talking about and likes to add his two cents to get into the conversation (in the trenches)! "Right" (or Left) Hand Man: The guard, who plays, next to the Center and QB, is in charge of all the inside plays. He has to work well with the rest of the offense. He is in on every play, but doesn't always get the credit or make the big play. But he is there regardless. He is always posting, but his posts may not be the most glamorous, but they are there and have a role. VOTING CLOSES FEBRUARY 7

Center: Snapper - This guy gets his hands on the ball on every play. His job is simple: to get the football from the grass (or turf) into the hands of the QB without causing a fumble. On shotgun plays, the center has to deliver the ball on target and at a waist-high level as to give the QB time to find his receivers. As a HuskerBoard center, the poster should either start many, many topics because he "touches the ball first." When posting from a "shotgun" format (well after a topic is started), he should give the starter of a topic a nice straightforward answer/comment as to further the point stated. Blocking ability - On any type of screen play, the center needs to get off of the line and help create a "mini-wedge" for the receiver. At the same time, he has to make sure he doesn't go past the line of scrimmage before the screen goes into effect! I would say the ideal Huskerboard center likes to help out the arguments of posters and keeps himself restrained - meaning he doesn't go way off base with his comments. Intelligence - In many football games you may see the center pointing out defensive alignments to the QB and his linemates before he gets into snapping position. The center has to anticipate what the defense is doing and relay it to his team. The football knowledge of this poster should be quite vast, and his ability to point out the strengths/weaknesses of other's posts should be quickly ascertained. Underrated - This poster does a lot in helping HuskerBoard but doesn't always get recognized for their help. VOTING CLOSES FEBRUARY 7

As for turnovers, it's 2.4 per game to 1.7 per game. That's worse for Shields but I'm not sure that's by far. Less than one per game. And that may be due to some extent to Shields getting stuck with the ball at the end of the shot clock and having to force things as everyone else watches.

White is our best scorer. He shoots a higher percentage and has a higher average. But he's a one-trick pony on offense. He averages less than one assist per game. That's hard to do when you're on the floor for 30 minutes per game. So he's either terrible at setting his teammates up or our offensive system is bad. Shields is only 1.4 ppg behind White but averages about 3 assists per game. Over four times the assists that White has and leads the team. That's a far more complete offensive player. I'm not sure what other statistics there are to be ahead in. I wonder how may points White has scored off Shields assists compared to the other way around.

Shields is a post player now? Seems like a wing to me.

And Houston might have had the best class of any non-Power 5 school ever.