Saint Boseph

he would agree And probably has the biggest bank account....(a measurable stat) I've always wondered but never did see something for sure on this, but I feel like that's what you're alluding to. Is Pat a member of the very well-to-do Ricketts family?

Mike brown Josh Bullocks Barron Miles Ralph Brown Fabian Washington Mike Minter If we're talking about best right hooks, Kellen Huston is number one in a landslide.

+1

also, my money is on afalava being a terror much in the same way Thomas Brown is being raved about. Afalava's high school film reminds me of terrell farley and demorrio williams. He's a heat-seeking missile out there.

Definitely. It seemed opposing O-coordinators would try to exploit Stafford more than any other player (you could make a case for compton). He was a huge sucker for the play-action and did not recover well. Overall, very uncontrolled aggressiveness to the point that he played like a wild man out there.

At what position? Wide Receiver. I think he would be a better slot, but he could also be a great outside WR. I think he would be a perfect player to run some reverses and end arounds with.

There is merit in this statement as well. Can't go wrong either way with an athlete like him. Looks better physically than taylor in my opinion and I think he has the same speed as him.

I would rather seem him on offense. When someone averages eleven yards per touch, put the ball in his hands and let him do some damage. I think he would be a killer WR to add to the skill player arsenal of newby, taylor, alonzo moore, westerkamp, and armstrong/stanton down the road.

ROLB Anderson Newby/Love/Banderas MLB Santos Rose LOLB Brown Afalava ^That would be my preference for the LB 2-deep come fall. That's some serious speed. With that as a 2-deep, there likely wouldn't be any Slot-backs burning the LB's on slants and crosses like UCLA loved to exploit with franklin on Compton and whaley.

While a loaded backfield is a good problem to have, it still sucks when this stuff happens. I disagree with the others who are knocking his ballcarrying ability and saying he only has a future at DB. From what I heard his lack of playing time was almost solely due to his inconsistency as a pass blocker, which is a huge element for our RB's in our offense. Watch his high school film. it's jaw dropping how quickly he accelerates past the second level, and he showed that acceleration here too. One of the most impressive film reels I've seen out out of an NU recruit. In my opinion his HS film was better than Rex, Aaron green's or Marlon Lucky's (some of the higher touted backs we've recruited recently). With this news I think Newby doesn't RS but Taylor still does. Before this news I woulda said both would be RS'd. Newby's film is equally impressive as heard's in much of the same ways. They get past the second level in an unbelievably short amount of time. Best of luck to the guy. as i have with most transfers out of NU, I'm gonna keep close tabs on the him.

@knapplc You're right, all of my threads are displaying viewpoints that are relatively uncommon. I did that for a reason. The value for me in this website is not achieved in me starting a topic that reflects a relatively common viewpoint, which I know it may not seem like it, but I do Hold many common sentiments as an average NU fan. But I learn nothing new by posting diatribes that are a regurgitation of LJS or OWH content. Everyone will just agree and nothing is achieved. Virtually all of my threads reflect uncommon viewpoints because I like to bounce my bizarre theories and ideas off other husker fans to see whether there is merit to them or not and I also enjoy hearing other husker fans' interpretations. There have been a few instances where posters have offered their insight and I became persuaded of their viewpoints. I stand by all of those threads save for the Bowl game thread. The bowl game's pass defense was indeed abysmal and that thread was started more as my paranoid reaction as something to quell the fire-Bo sentiment after the CCG. The DB's in the Cap1 game contributed to the loss more than any other position group, but I wasn't completely off-base in that thread. I said we would hang with Georgia for a half to 3 quarters, and It should be noted that at least one of Martinez's INT's and AA's fumble proved unbelievably costly. And Andrew Rodriguez's miscues on the drive after Georgia tied the game at 31 stalled out the drive (holding and getting schooled by Jones) and caused the Georgia fans in the stadium to turn up the noise considerably. I'm not quite the basket-case your post seems to imply, but I do certainly have some alternative viewpoints on some husker subjects. I won't start threads with subjective opinion anymore if you think it's becoming too much of a disruption. I have no problem people calling me an idiot for having those views because I like to hear other husker fans' take on topics that are not your run-of-the-mill husker subjects, and I may learn something new. Hope that clarifies the thought process behind those posts

Don't know if this was a reference to my post, but in case it was, I didn't mean that he wouldn't have a large role. Quite the opposite, both literally and figuratively. His role as the big back will be huge and extremely vital to have, since as it stands he is just about the only player on the roster who can play that role at a high level. The big bruiser role adds tangible value to our speedster-laden offense in providing that change of pace. My argument was that under Tim Beck, the offense will likely never primarily run out of formations that use him. Just making a prediction that he won't usually get more than 40-50% of carries in a game on a consistent basis (not including QB carries), barring drastic attrition at the RB position. Not a knock on the kid at all, it's a product of circumstances that are mostly out of his control, which are genetic limitations (sounds ironic to say given his beastly frame). He could do well as an every-down back, especially in a pro-style offense, but as long as Tim Beck runs the offense he does, and based on most of the formations I've seen that Tim Beck likes to run, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to predict that our other backs are going to be ahead in the pecking order for most plays and have more packages/plays designed to feature them. We're moving towards plays that are conducive to getting smaller and shiftier backs in space, But we will by no means as a program abandon altogether our use of big bruiser backs, Imani will likely produce some good highlights over his career. I know we love all our RB's and dream up scenarios where we have 3-4 100 yard rushers in a game consistently, but it's unrealistic. With one ball and so many good players, it's inevitable that some people are going to end up getting a lesser or greater workload than others. And my guess is that Imani is going to be one of those RB's that will get a lesser workload compared to the others, but by no means does that make his contributions less valuable.

This is a rather eccentric statement to make given the lack of an apparent connection between the two teams and the fact that this was posted on a message board for a team that is neither of those. But, to each his own. The more on here, the merrier also, the tag you added to this thread made me chuckle.

yeah I don't find myself yearning too much for those games with ISU, KSU, or Kansas. Low-upside, high-downside games. If we blew them out, which we usually did, we didn't get much credit for it, but if we lost or got played close, then mockery by the rest of the nation ensued. Definitely didn't look forward to them as much as the games with the Big 12 south teams, which for a time not too long ago, was called the best division in college football.

I agree, at least from the looks of it on TV. But in a special situation like the diamond, the luxury of having so many talented RB's creates a good dilemma, in being required to split hairs and find a reason to favor one over others. In this particular situation, I think top-end speed and acceleration should be the emphasis. Just a conjecture of mine; not preaching it as gospel since I am no offensive whiz.

1

Really would like them not to. I am a HUGE fan of Andy Janovich after his performance this past season. Becoming a starter as a true-freshman walk-on at a BCS program is no small feat. ESPN gave him big ups in our first game with wisconsin, playing a replay a couple times where he destroyed Wisco's Senior starting LB Borland. His wrestling prowess lends well to his position, as his grasp of the concept of leverage to maximize blocking strength is further developed than most his age. Agree on the last two sentences. RS'ing one or both seems wise unless one of them is making significantly more plays in practice than Ameer or Braylon that you can't keep them off the field. But I disagree with your first sentence as I didn't really forget as so much intentionally leave him out. I am of the persuasion that having a big-thumper back in the place of a capable speed back option is inefficient in this particular formation. It's effectiveness seems like it is created based on the rapid pace at which it develops. If you have guys who accelerate quickly in any formation, the defense cannot diagnose it as fast, but this confusion is magnified with the diamond formation plays' dizzying and variable nature. Way less margin for error for a defense defending that compared to a singleback pro-set. I think that's part of its appeal to fans; it's so hard to predict what will occur out of a large range of ball-carrier possibilities and directions to be able to run in. Given Cross' lack of speed compared to abdullah, heard, Newby, or Adam Taylor, it seems like it would be not maximizing the diamond's value as well as any combo of the previous 4, and could lend itself to the opposing linebackers being able to diagnose the play and the flow of it quicker, with a comparatively slower back like Imani. I don't know, I could be off, but I'd prefer to have 4 guys back there who all run 4.3's or 4.4's (I think Taylor runs in the 4.4 range) in this particular package over cross' 4.5 speed, which is still really good for his size and more than adequate for a majority of our other formations. A significant amount of linebackers on BCS rosters can run 4.5's. I am however, hard pressed to identify one who runs 4.4 or better. not sure if i would call it jumping, cross is never gonna be an everydown back in this offense he just doesnt have the skill set of the other rb's on the roster i dont ever see him being more than a short yardage back or some one to line up in an i-formation a pound the rock to run the clock out Agree with both posts. Our offense by nature lends itself to creating the most opportunities for RB's who have Ameer and Newby's skillsets, which is usually to get the speedsters out in space and let them use their elite ability to make tacklers miss in the open field. I don't think we'll see Cross ever hit 1,000 yards in a season and be anything more than the 2nd-most prominent back as long as Beck is running his offense, which is not really Cross' fault at all. He could be the feature back at a place like Alabama or LSU. I get the sense that he he will average ~10 carries a game in the future with the occasional increased workload (i.e. the PSU game) where the situation is better suited to have him run it up the gut for 3-5 yards a pop. Fortunately for his football prospects, there is a consistently high demand for his style in the NFL. Very preliminary since he's just a freshman, but I think he'll get a chance with an NFL team even if he doesn't get to be the feature back here.

Nailed just about everything in this post, especially the bolded sentences. After a few days of irrational hysteria at the thought of getting a recruit stolen by Kentucky, I have come back to the realm of reason, realizing that he probably had his own personal reasons for picking them besides prestige. Good luck to the kid, by all accounts he sounded like a high-character, level-headed individual who would have been a positive representative of the program both on and off the field. Won't be surprised if he has an outstanding career at UK. I think we may trump up 'tradition' more than it may be worth ( I know that sounds like blasphemy). Extending the 'tradition' sales-pitch to recruits, like blessed2bahusker alluded to, Old glory stories make us feel warm and cozy inside as fans but it has decreases in impact as a selling point with each year we don't sustain that level, or very near that level, of winning, making the winning of championships a 'tradition'. Our traditions of prior success is long-gone and we had to start back up from scratch after 2007 to hopefully try to get near that level (it was a ridiculous standard of winning that will likely never be replicated again in CFB and unrealistic to expect). As the years go on recruits will be less and less familiar with our prior status unless they catch the occasional reference on ESPN. My perception is that the tradition and the pageantry that elicits the fuzzy feel-good sentiments for fanbases of CFB powerhouses, is becoming less and less of a selling point for top recruits anyway these days. In this hyper-commecialization era, it seems finding the school which gives you the best chance to make yourself into a bona fide marketable, superstar athlete to eventually land in the NFL has increasingly become one of the biggest priorities for many of the nation's top recruits. I could be completely wrong though, I'm not the one visiting recruits in their living room.

My only second-guesses about leaving the Big 12 are that Bo was hitting his stride in terms of structuring his defensive roster to combat the spread-laden Big 12, and the league is still very much so. He was pretty consistent in shutting them down and/or slowing their pace considerably. Then to abandon that project as it was about to become an established component of the program, administrative politics completely irrelevant to football matters dictated a conference move that demanded scrapping of the previous project and starting a new one.

+1 I remember when the game was announced, couldn't believe it myself when I saw that Miami for once is getting off their lazy butts to come up here and play us. Really was unfair back in the day that we had to play them so much on their home turf with such huge stakes on the line.

As an alternate perspective, that's kind of incredible that Bo is able to consistently pull 9-10 win seasons, gone to championship games 3 out of his 5 years and going to the best non-BCS bowl game the past two years. I know those turnovers are the difference between winning and losing championships but to even be in championship contention makes me feel a tad appreciative of the state of our program given the lowly company we're keeping in the turnover department. Our 10 win season sticks out like a sore thumb in that list in the second column. I'm inclined, as a irrationally fervent supporter of Bo, to think that it's his coaching intangibles, intensity, and flat out stellar coaching ability that he's able to draw those results from his teams with such a significant amount of self-imposed obstacles. Most other BCS coaches seem like they could hardly top 6 wins in any of those given seasons if dealt a similar set of circumstances. It's really the only thing holding us back (hoping the past two years' lack of turnover production is an anomaly). If we clean that up, we will be consistently top 10 ( I know it's a big IF and coaches have been talking about it for years). But the thing is, it's really the only thing we need to improve as a program and it's really the only fix (grouped with penalties). If we keep hammering away at it, the floodgates will really open in the wins department. Comfortable wins on a more regular basis will return back to Memorial stadium once this gets fixed. But it is no justification to fire Bo and set this program back an extra 30 years.

Also, I guess I'm tone-deaf because I didn't think the validity of firing Solich was so hotly contested as many of you are indicating. I never really got why some folks are so adamant he should have stayed. Yes, he did get fired after a 9-3 season, but I think the big reason he was fired was more because of that horrible 2002 season. I still can't decide which season has left the worst taste in my mouth, 2002 or 2007. It was under Solich's watch the winning season streak ended, and generally has some merit to note that it happened on the first roster composed 100% of his recruits. The turnaround in 2003 was almost 85-90% because of Bo Pelini. The offense regressed considerably that year as that was the first year Solich gave up calling plays as HC and he put a certain someone in charge of that role who had lesser play-calling acumen than any other husker Offensive coordinator I can think of in our program's modern history. That offense was woeful at times, evidenced by Memorial stadiums uncharacteristic booing of the team (due to the offense's struggles) at halftime in the 2003 season opener against OSU. The defense on the other hand could be prone to chip in a touchdown or rack up multiple turnovers in any given game, it was interception-fest that year. Bo deserves the lion's share of the credit for that 2003 turnaround, in the span of about 9 months no less. Solich was a decent coach, but I didn't get the vibe that he would ever be considered a truly excellent coach. I am completely of the belief Solich would have led us into sustained mediocrity. Just about the only mistake I can think of by Tom Osborne.

Tell me one thing. At what point was the defense so bad that Cosgrove had to go. It wasnt after 2006. That defense was playing at a championship level second half of 2006. 2007 went haywire. Obviously Callahan wouldve made a change after 2007 if given the chance, but there was no reason to get rid of Cosgrove after 2006, or even after 2005 for that matter after the improvements the team made on both sides of the ball down the stretch of that season. I'm just trying to be a voice of reason. We all look back and say "derka derpa, fire Cosgrove, la de da", but really, he wasnt that bad until the last season for Callahan. I get that, but usually Callahan outsourced most of the defensive strategy and play-calling to Cosgrove to focus almost solely on offense, and usually the offense held up their end of the bargain in BC's tenure. 2006's defense was blessed with a freakishly good Defensive line. We led the nation in sacks that year with 50 I believe. A disruptive D-line can mask potential deficiencies of a defense, which I think were exposed badly in 2007. Cortney Grixby getting consistently schooled was exposed his senior year in 2007, was not exposed when he started at CB in 2006 because the QB had time to throw it to his receivers in 2007. I felt emasculated when I read Chase Daniel described Coach Coz's defenses as "stuff he saw in high school". Nothing against Coz as a person at all. I've met him a few times and he's a stellar, stand-up guy. His son was one of the nicest people I have ever met.

Forgiveness might not be the right sentiment, as many are pointing out that at this point in time, it is a moot point and doesn't have any practical implications for the current husker program. But what sparked the creation of this thread was the recent discussion about Tim Brown's accusations against BC. Some of Husker Nations' members, whenever Bill Callahan is brought up, bring up strong negativity that doesn't seemed like it has eased up one bit in it's intensity since he got fired. It may be time for the large portion of Husker fans who post vitriolic statements about Callahan online to tone down the comments I've seen on online media. I'd be inclined to think his family doesn't have too many fond memories of Nebraska since the end of his tenure was marred by harassment and threats towards him and his family, which I didn't feel good about. One thing I thought Nebraskans usually prioritize above Husker football is standard, salt-of-the-earth Nebraskan values like treating folks with that classic Midwestern hospitality. Also, many of you are citing things such as the tossing aside of any Husker traditions, perceived arrogance/ego, and sterilized NFL- like atmosphere in the program as reason for continued persona non grata status. I was dismayed to see these things myself, but as much as I hate to admit it, if Bill Callahan was winning championships with his own formula, I tend to think I would gradually ignore it, soak in the good vibes of winning weekly and embrace that new era of the program. Our defining tradition is a tradition of excellence and winning championships. BC had me sipping the kool-aid and 100% behind him from about the 2005 Alamo Bowl through the pinnacle of his coaching career in the 9-5 2006 season (not saying much since Bo has had a better record every year of his tenure), and even after the loss to USC in 2007. I stopped the kool-aid consumption after the debacle at Missouri. He had shown inconsistent return on investment and it was time to cut the losses. Bo on the other hand has been a steady investment, delivering returns much more consistent with his salary.