Kernal

Mike Welch ‏@RealMikeWelch 42m42 minutes ago Mike Riley proved to a lot of people by firing Hank Hughes that he doesn't view #Huskers as a retirement job. He's here to win titles.

Give us a name(s) who would fit that description. Of coarse i have no Idea if they can coach.. But Winstrom, Peters, to name a few. Who could sell playing D-Line and being a blackShirts better then them? Please be joking. Why? What is Peter going to do as coach, just tell them how he did it in the 90s? Also, any 17 year old kid will have no idea who he is, so it's not like he would be a great recruiter just because of his name. Nothing against guys like Peter and Wistrom, but they aren't coaches. They are not in the coaching profession, they shouldn't be considered. I get what yall are saying and probably right. I was thinking more of a recruiting area. I know if former legends walked through my door to recruit me eye would be all ears and eyes. Its mainly a pipe dream i get it. If the Thompson guy can coach and recruit sign him up. But, 17 year old kids outside (or even inside) Nebraska don't even know that Jason Peter and Grant Wistrom are "Husker legends". A lot of the current Nebraska players don't know much about the former players.

Give us a name(s) who would fit that description. Of coarse i have no Idea if they can coach.. But Winstrom, Peters, to name a few. Who could sell playing D-Line and being a blackShirts better then them? Mike Welch @RealMikeWelch Jason Peter can't come on the show today, but did tell me he supports John Parrella for the next #Huskers DL coach. 3:52 PM - 5 Feb 2016

Some of the topics discussed: recruiting redshirting coaching differences from last staff leadership coaching change former staff roster management differences now from when they played

I agree. Coach Riley did a great job with most of the initial staff. I'm sure he'll find a good fit for where we all want our program to go. Might be a little easier to find a good fit for one position coach, too, than to fill a whole staff in a short period as he did last year.

I want another Bray/Williams -type coach. If Thompson fits that bill I'm all in. ^ This!!! Have experienced coordinators who can also recruit, but have young, ace recruiters as position coaches. And a HC to provide the vision and manage it all. I'm sold.

Jason Peter?

I want another Bray/Williams -type coach. If Thompson fits that bill I'm all in.

Haha. That guy, even if he would have come to NU, would probably be leaving for another gig already (and taking his recruits with him). I think NU should try to avoid coaching changes and turmoil, not seek them out.

Who is that a picture of? "TE coach" grad assistant Tavita Thompson. I've read good things about him, but is he/could he coach the DL?

I hope Coach Hughes finds a soft landing spot. But I'd be lying if I said I were less than thrilled at this development. Wow! What an opportunity to upgrade.

Sharp and Benning this morning did a roundtable with Tom Banderas, Abdul Muhammed, Jay Foreman, and Steve Sipple It's very good and the podcasts are up. They go over quite a lot of topics. I really enjoy hearing the former players' takes on all these Husker topics. http://www.1620thezone.com/SharpandBenningPodcastPage.aspx

I would agree with your assessment of the individual groups. If you treat it like school grades, yours would come up with a 3.5 GPA or a B+. I think the D line is important enough to weight it down to a B. Still a very good class that we can use to build on into the future. we are really good at building for the future.......its who we are! it's what we do! Ummmm....that's what a football recruiting class does. Were you expecting this class to win a championship next year for us? Last year!

All of them!

I feel pretty good about DT position. Kevin Williams is great when he's healthy, and Kevin Maurice has been great when he's had the opportunity to play. If the Davis's and Stoltenberg can come along, we'll be fine there. ----------------------- It would take quite a turnaround in luck to win the 7 games we lost this year. And then also, we'd have to maintain the luck we had in those 6 wins. It's all unlikely, but for the criteria laid out in the article, I guess Nebraska is as likely as any of those other teams. I predict we'll rely less on luck next year. If we take care of business we won't need luck to win games decided by razor-thin margins.

LP's 1994 championship ring is for sale on ebay for $27,500.00. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1994-LAWRENCE-PHILLIPS-NATIONAL-CHAMPIONSHIP-RING-/321976646713?hash=item4af74dbc39

I voted no. I don't believe it's impossible, but I don't think it's going to happen. What we need, in my opinion, to repeat that success is a top, top coach like Saban, Meyer, or Harbaugh. It's not a knock on Riley, but those three guys are media and recruiting machines as well as good CEO/coaches. Lots of players would come to Nebraska to play for Saban, or Meyer, or Harbaugh. Anybody not from Alabama that would go to Tuscaloosa isn't picking a school based on location. Alabama struck gold landing Saban. Meyer is from Ohio and OSU has a ton of recruiting advantages, and Harbaugh attended Michigan (and the jury's still out on Harbaugh at UM anyway). Unless NU can hit the jackpot and pay through the nose for the next Saban, which we won't, then it's up to somebody like Scott Frost to a) become a great HC, and b) want to come back here. The other way to do it is to have a staff stay together for a couple decades with a HC that emerges as one of the better OCs and HCs of all time. Just doesn't seem likely these days.

I agree with your statement 100% with the exception of the bolded part. I think to be an elite athlete (heck, elite anything) you need to be inherently selfish whether that's reps in practice, film room study, whatever. I have no issue with players chirping saying they are the best and should be playing. Now, if you're chirping about wanting to play more and you aren't outworking or putting in the time needed to unseat the starter, then you need to pipe down. The impression I got from the interview was that it was simply players second-guessing lots of things the coaches were doing, and much of that second-guessing was being egged on by social media comments from fans, undoubtedly from Pelini-apologists like cm husker who took every opportunity this year to run around screaming "the sky is falling." I'm glad the players finally, apparently, stopped listening to the Chicken Littles of the world. The future can be very bright for this program if everyone approaches it with an open mind and hard work. I thought it was a great interview and I really like Jano. I hope (and trust) he'll do well in the NFL.

What a shame.

Yep, if it were later in the season, or if there were any buildup to the game whatsoever, the 2014 team would find a way to lose it.

WowSo, your answer is "worse", it makes you feel worse. Got it. Yes. Worse. Forgot to state the obvious. Have there been lots of people feeling better about our season due to the MSU and Iowa bowl results?Didn't think so...... unless they are simply deluding themselves and desperately trying to put a positive spin on things. See RADAR. I haven't. Has he been banned? He's done. One too many times calling our players stupid.RADAR!!!!For me, I felt better and here is why...I think MSU takes a step back and I think Iowa takes 2-3 steps back, even though Wisconsin won, they lost their DC and I think they take a step back, I think PSU continues to flounder and in the end I think the top 3 teams are OSU, Michigan and NU... So, even though JJ felt I was trolling, I was not. NU is top 3 in the Big Ten and in my book, odds on favorite to win the west next year. So that is why I asked it JJ, you asked how anyone could feel better? That's how. Well that seems to be an honest answer. I had not considered feeling better about Nebraska because of others doing worse. I think it is huge for NU...I don't see the Illini or Purdue getting better...I think NW and Iowa take steps back next year...Like I said with Wisky I think they will really miss their DC. I guess the thing I struggle with is that I really don't understand how we are not already competing for the B1G west division and conference championships. The west division is absolutely as weak as possible now, I do not want to see Nebraska's chance improve due it getting even worse. I just want us to stand up and claim what is already hanging low, waiting to be taken. The last way I want that to happen would be because Iowa (or insert any B1G west team) got even worse. We could've easily done it this year with just a bit of offensive play calling, a shred of pass defense, and qb play that just took care of the ball. 3 simple things that should be expected "givens" at doNU. I think being older and having lived through the glory years makes it impossible for me to look at some of these things the way a younger person, who has only known the mediocrity of Nebraska football may look at them. I guess for that I am sorry for not being able to consider some of these angles that you may take for granted. I want to be good because we're good, not because others are unbelievably bad. Iowa was ranked #5, NW was #13, Wisconsin was unranked, but should have been ranked in the #20s and will end the season ranked. It's worth noting Wisconsin had a coaching change, as did preseason West favorite Minnesota (and of course NU did too). Your perception that the Big Ten West is "as weak as possible" is wrong. But two things: 1) I would never root for our competition to be weaker so that we would have a better chance of winning. That kind of thinking is for losers, imo; and 2) NU should be more competitive than we were this year. I think the transition was more difficult than most of us outsiders thought it would be, but I have faith we'll show good improvement next season.

Zac Taylor didn't really make dumb decisions when he played...the past two Martinez and Armstrong both suffer from poor mechanics and dumb decision making. If you look at the schools that are in the big bowls the quarterbacks playing can manage the game and make smart decisions. Coker, Watson, Cook, Hogan and Barrett all can take over the game and very rarely make bonehead plays. Armstrong the past two seasons under two different staffs tries to be the hero to often which leads to his mechanics issues which leads to turnovers. If we can get a quarterback that can manage the game on offense I think you would see smarter play from the entire offense I don't think it's fair to say it's simply Tommy trying to be the hero and if he didn't everything would be better. I view it more as that is the role he had been asked/taught to perform under the last staff. Look at the chronology: 2009: We have an atrocious offense that spoils what could have been a great season. Everyone thinks more dynamic and better QB play will save us. 2010: Martinez to the rescue! He's the QB we needed in 2009 to win it all. Save us, Taylor! 2011-2013: Uugh, why aren't you saving us, Taylor? 2013-2014: Tommy Armstrong, you're our next savior. Now save us! 2015: Tommy, what the hell are you doing... just play within the system!!! I think Tommy was doing what he'd been taught to do, and I don't put all that blame on him. I think it's what was previously expected of the QB- to make up for other deficiencies on the offense. In some ways I think this all came about because of Martinez's immense talent. But we can't just say take out the turnovers without also saying take away the comeback against Miami, and probably the comeback vs. Michigan State. Those are just two different results of the same process: great success and great failure. Everybody needs to buy into a new way of doing things, one where people just do what is asked of them and trust that their teammates will do the same.

My issue with throwing the football is never the act of throwing itself, but when and how the team chooses to the throw the ball at times. I think there were crucial moments and sequences this year where they elected to throw the ball in a situation where running would've been more advantageous. I do realize, however, the Huskers sometimes lacked the push and consistency along the offensive line they needed. In regards to Stanford specifically, however, I do believe it is important to point out that Kevin Hogan is a 65.9 percent career passer. Throwing the football is significantly more lucrative with an arm like that. Agree!!! Also important to point out that Stanford is utterly loaded with monstrous offensive linemen, which has been a priority there for years. Alabama came out with the best running back in the nation, and MSU came out determined to stop him. So Alabama went pass happy, pulled away, then rushed at their leisure. A great O-line lets you do whatever you like. A defense that pitches a shutout is a nice thing, too. Well said. This goes without saying, but a great offensive line probably would've meant the world to Nebraska this season. The ability to overpower defensive front sevens would've meant more success in the run game, which likely would've led to less reliance on Armstrong's arm and more overall offensive success. This program should strive to ensure the offensive and defensive lines are the single greatest position group. And while I believe that's the goal every season, it feels more like a cursory attempt than a devotion, in my opinion. I do feel like Pelini had figured this out and was doing pretty well getting both O- and D-linemen recruited his last couple years. Overall, we have pretty good players on the lines and some promising guys redshirting on the O-line especially. We're thin at D-end, and could use a couple O-tackles in this class. However, our lines seemed to underperform the last several years. Whether this was due to lack of development, or changing scheme, or mis-evaluation in recruiting, or something else I don't know. It was nice to see our D-line stop the run this year, and it was nice to see our O-line show improvement in pass-blocking and rushing vs. UCLA.

Correct. Callahan's 2005 recruiting class (5th ranked nationally) that included Ndamukong Suh, proved that once and for all. Location means nothing. We hashed this out a couple of weeks ago so this is my last comment on this. A distribution analysis from 2008-2013 shows which states, out of 42, have the highest percentage of division one football recruits. The top six, in order, were Texas, Florida, California, Georgia, Ohio and Alabama. Nebraska came in the bottom four at #38. I don't think it is in any way factual to state location has absolutely nothing to do with recruiting. It's just simply not true. Now, you could argue that there has been a lack of effort, if you want. But, I think location has more of an impact than you give it credit for. For example, I've heard several local recruiting analysts go on record talking about how difficult it can sometimes be to get recruits on Nebraska's campus during the fall for official visits. If they live really far way, it can be very challenging for them to play a game Friday night, travel to Nebraska on Saturday and get back home in time to do everything else before they have to be back in class Monday. Is this a rampant issue? Perhaps not. But, it's certainly one of concern. ---------- One more note: of the current 2016 class rankings, 19 of the top 25 schools are located in the Top 10 most fertile recruiting states in the country. I don't know how that can be equated to those schools simply trying harder than the rest. It shouldn't be some big mystery to people. Just consider our own selves: are we more likely to go to somewhere nearby we're familiar with, or somewhere far away? Kids are more familiar with their local-ish schools than some school half-way across the country. Being positively mentioned on ESPN and national media surely helps enhance familiarity, and NU hasn't benefited much from that the past few years. It takes a certain type of kid/player who will give equal consideration to a school so unfamiliar.

I don't think it matters to the Huskers, and those two losses don't re-write the season. All games are different and exist in their own set of circumstances. I got the impression during the Iowa game that Iowa players spent too much mental energy being satisfied and celebrating the fact that they made it to the Rose Bowl, and not enough on preparing to execute, and then executing, against a decent team. I got a similar impression from Michigan State It reminded me a little of the 2012 season where NU's mantra became "Make it to the Big Ten Championship." Well, if making it to the game is the goal then what happens after you arrive (and met your goal)? The goal should be to win the Big Ten Championship, to win the Rose Bowl, to win the Playoff Game. Maybe I'm full of crap, but that's the impression I got. Both MSU and Iowa played uncharacteristically and lost badly. Stanford isn't that good, and neither is Alabama. But those two teams also benefited from having "been there done that." They weren't celebrating just being allowed to play in those games. If there's a lesson here for Nebraska, it's that the goal should be to win them all and team retrospectives should be saved for after the last game is finished. If you shoot for 9-wins, you'll probably get no more than 9-wins. If you're happy making it to the CCG, you might get blown out after you do. This is an interesting way to look at it and it kind of falls in line with how I think the last staff did things with the team and with recruiting...kind of like "Well, let's not waste a lot of time on this high ranked kids cause we probably won't get them" That is why I like how this current staff recruits...they go after some big timers I'm convinced that the psychology and mental preparation of a team is probably the most important aspect. Especially in today's hyper-connected social media atmosphere. It's easy to lose perspective, which inevitably leads to changes in behavior. Iowa is a great example: they made a living this year simply out-executing their opponents. To me, you can only do that by out-focusing your opponent. But that's something that isn't dependent on players' star-rankings, or anything like that. It's half of why, in my opinion, the Huskers were so dominant in the early and mid-90s. Something happened to those teams ability to focus, and they out-executed everyone as a result. And since the late 90s, we've seen the inverse. Nebraska football has been so full of distractions, not the least of which is the constant, enormous media presence and intense fan focus and discussion. We see this too, imo, when a team like Houston suddenly goes on a decent run, or a team like Michigan turns it around in one year. Harbaugh and Herman brought something to those programs that engaged the players such that they focused in a way they hadn't been previously. I mean, they didn't get all new players this year. And if anything, new schemes should be less effective due to them being "new."