84HuskerLaw

This comports with my general understanding of the 3-4 as well. I've read some comments suggesting that the NT in the 3-4 is often quicker and more agile and smaller than typical DTs in the 4-3 I think you always benefit with a Suh type out there. Two would be better! Give me three and we'll kick every team's butt. Three bigger DTs as opposed to two with slightly undersized DEs of the typical 4-3. The challenge, which Bama has been apparently able to meet, is the ability to recruit DTs better as you need MORE in the 3-4 than the 4-3 . Not so sure Huskers have been all that successful in recruiting DTs lately or even not so lately really. The old 5-2 we ran back in the by gone eras is much like the 3-4 except you push your rush ends forward from a LB positioning into a line of scrimmage (stop the outside runs and get after the QB spot). With the 5-2 and 3-4, you still must rely on your secondary to be great cover and open field tacklers. You need outside LBs who can run extremely fast for pass rushing and to attack the line of scrimmage to stop the runs (inside and out) and interior LBs that are a little bigger and run stoppers as well. In the end, I am not sure it really makes a whole lot of difference to Nebraska's prospects. There is no scheme, alignment or method of playing, strategy or formation wise, that will make a team more talented, physicaly. Football always, in the big picture, comes down to basics of blocking and tackling, running and throwing, kicking and catching, in a well organized 'team' fashion, playing with as much guts, heart and determination and focus as humanly possible. Above all else is the "will" and the 'want to' of each and every member of the team. Even one or two slackers will prevent the outcome the rest desire.

I am not really sure we should nor need to know all the gory details of the Banker dismissal. I am confident that Riley did what he feels is best for the staff, players and program generally. He sure does not come off as someone who would terminate one of his long-time assistants without sufficient cause or justification. He felt change was warranted. There are many aspects to consider from personal relationships and working relationships to job performance and etc. Banker has always seemed dedicated and engaged in his job but the team certainly had to disappoint Riley the way it finished out the year. Giving up a couple hundred points down the stretch after starting out 7-0 had to be a gut buster for Riley. I am confident Riley came to Nebraska for one last big chance to win a championship that mattered in football. It wasn't possible at Oregon State realistically but in Nebraska, anything is possible. He only has so many years to get it done. He has to have all the best ideas, people and efforts from everyone to make it happen. Why wait. You have the right person who might 'fit' with what you need in the near term and could be great for Nebraska's future HC requirements 'post Riley'. When the right guy appeared Riley had to move forward quickly. He still wants to get the best recruiting class he's ever had in here THIS year. No more 'next year'

If we had another vote between Trump and Billary or any other Dem, Trump would win BIGGER yet! The latest economic confidence measures jumped since the election the highest in almost forever! The country is eager and excited. You folks need to quit listening the liberal media propaganda. Trump has a powerful message and it is resonating all over and popularity is growing. He intends to lead and Americans will be happy for it. Fake news didn't sell for the past several years and it sure isn't now! Every time they put out another BS story, the noses grow longer.

This topic is nothing but nonsense. What are liberals injecting or snorting? My goodness - you are friggning insane! Did any of you watch him destroy the media today ? The media can't destroy him as he is so much tougher and stronger and he won't back down from anyone. Liberals may have to listen to this game from the lawn chairs outside the stadium because they are about to get booted out. No more press priveleges to knuckle heads. This is so much fun to watch I must say!

There is no reason to take anyone else's 'co-anything' at the college level anyway. We are not looking to replace mediocre - we are looking to hire the new splash big time Def coordinator who will succeed Riley when he retires in three or four years after consecutive national titles, etc. So we have to be forward thinking here. We don't hire some up and coming assistant out there who is building a resume' to go somewhere else. We are hiring our future HC now on a temp basis in the Def coordinator or whatever other 'title' we give him. SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! The best coach we can possibly hire and that list would include all but two or three in the world really. We have the money! Time to spend! Let's Make Nebraska Great AGain!

Just a thought but after the bowl game results, wouldn't it be possible that N Saban and U Meyer would be possibly available. They both blew national titles but surely we can straighten them out on those few miscues and give them a chance to redeem themselves. That would be quite the 'sunami' splash hire. Bring em both in and then we can have three Co Head Coaches and they can all divide up the team and recruit and 'out coach' the entire football world. Hell, we could consider scheduling some NFL 'preseason' tune up matchups too! We get those big Big Ten future bucks and of course the 'go fund me' revenues and the new Nebraska Football Channel would sell like hot cakes. There is just no limits!

Actually I think we could techinically get Bo with a pay cut and find a million plus in payroll savings if we hired him for about say $600,000 a year plus Bo's continued Youngstown State salary assuming he goes off verbally in Bo fashion vs. YSU administration and fans on tape! Quite a coup with this one! This one takes some real CIA kind of plot scheming to pull off but it just might work! Then EVERYBODY IS HAPPY AGAIN! I can never tell if you're out of your mind or being sarcastic. I am being seriously sarcastic. But is quite possible. Helluvah good idea. We are already paying Bo and could get some of our money back from Youngstown while appeasing the Bolievers and frankly Bo was our best D coordinator since McBride. Is Charley still available? As a consultant anyway.

Actually I think we could techinically get Bo with a pay cut and find a million plus in payroll savings if we hired him for about say $600,000 a year plus Bo's continued Youngstown State salary assuming he goes off verbally in Bo fashion vs. YSU administration and fans on tape! Quite a coup with this one! This one takes some real CIA kind of plot scheming to pull off but it just might work! Then EVERYBODY IS HAPPY AGAIN! Just kidding in case all you 84Husker haters don't get the joke.

Is this their status on fall '17 roster or current one? I really like the fact that we have NO next year if so as that should really help us if we can get busy and bring in some decent guys this year and next and maybe find a couple walk ons that turn out in couple years. Still would like to see another 6 guys on this list so we're 3 deep atleast. I know there may be some not mentioned but still.

Couple points: Disappointing as far as Iowa and Ohio State in '16 is an understatement - they were awful bad losses injuries notwithstanding. I am not sure I would agree that in '17 Riley will be playing a 'majority' of their recruits as it will be a team presumbaly composed of mostly redshirt sophs, juniors and seniors (Pelini guys). No doubt some Riley guys will be clearly there but I would hope we have some experienced returning guys who are not redshirt frosh. However, these guys will have played in the Riley system for two full seasons mostly so they will have had plenty of time, in my opinion, to learn and adapt and overcome and be 'developed' reasonably well. Maybe a more interesting question in comparing the first two Riley coached teams is which one would win in a bowl game (with all healthy starters available) as between '15 and '16 ? I would have predicted the '16 team would win by couple TDs before season started and at this point, I might favor the '15s. That is not a good sign. I do know the bowl result might have been different had we not been missing several key players but who knows? This begets the final question: are we better now as a team/program that we were a year ago? I am not so sure.

Remember that some local kids may well deliberately choose Wyoming or N.Dakota or even Iowa State or Northern Iowa as they feel they have a better shot to play more. Some may actually prefer the town or school or other aspects of the decision. Some may want to get away from the area as well. They may have friends, relatives or other reasons too. It is not always about which program is judged to be the better on some arbitrary 'national' or other comparison basis. I can see reasons why Wyoming might be a good choose for a student athlete. Much less peer pressure as well as fan pressure. Others will go just the opposite. Nebraska needs to recruit a lot of possible guys to fill the several positions of need because there are some who will not choose Nebraska, no matter who our H.C. may be.

Nebraska has disadvantages in recruiting as compared to many top twenty level programs. They have been discussed repeatedly for decades. One of the more important factors that doesn't seem to get discussed is underlying economic changes. The cost of schooling includes more than just tuition and books and fees of course. While student athletes are now receiving some kind of stipends and other forms of aid to help with the personal and indirect costs, I believe there are still basic prohibitions on student athletes holding down jobs while going to school (for obvious reasons having to do with 'extra benefits' and financial cheating'. In addition to the costs for the student for personal and travel and other related things that nearly all people want/need, there are the costs involved in travel to and from Lincoln for the families and friends. Many parents and siblings, etc would like to attend some of the athlete's games, and visit as often as they can. Distance travel is more difficult, financially and sometimes logistically, for those folks too. Staying close to home or attending in locations where travel by car instead of planes, trains and buses, etc are more affordable and workable. This is a great challenge for many today. More games are on TV which may help in many instances but they are typically regional and not national. A player from California is not likely to have his Big Ten games on west coast stations while Pac 12 may be. Recruiting nationally is without a doubt the most difficult, costly and burdensome for the schools, the athletes and certainly the coaches and staffs. Social media may neutralize some of the 'connectivity' but the physical distance remains a tremendous hurdle. Having every possible advantage and going the extra 1000 miles is absolutely a MUST in Lincoln. It is not for Cal, Tex, most SECs, and some in the Big Ten and many on the east coast. This in turn, in my view, argues that Nebraska has to distinguish itself from all the rest (there is no place like Nebraska) in every way possible. For example, perhaps our unique offense (the Osbone) helped open up a few doors to get us over the top with some of the nation's elite athletes across the country because we were their best option - as distinct from switching positions for example to play locally.

You Trump haters have convinced yourselves of so many fictions you can't fathom the possibility that your world views are just that wrong. The easiest lies to tell are those that the audience they are intended for want to believe are true. So when someone says something you don't want to hear or believe is a lie, you are happy to find a way to rationalize it and accept it as the truth.

Players need to choose their colleges wisely. I would be hard pressed to recommend the 'academic' ones like Standord, Michigan, etc. unless the athlete was a very exceptional high school student because the rigors of college at these schools may take the student away from the direction he or she wanted to go after sports. There are only so many hours in a day to devote your full time efforts to both sports and studies. Your college experience could be hellish if you end up in a situation where you are never sleeping because you find yourself studying 40 hours a week and attending class 16 hours and participating in sports activities another 40 plus. You won't find time to just have friends and relax and round out the college experience. Eventually the sports aspects of being a student athlete will end and you will be just your everyday adult working and being a parent, spouse, etc. You better be a successful student and enjoy your time at school. That means you are choosing more than just a position coach, team colors and the head coach when deciding where to attend school. I believe Nebraska offers student athletes the best of everything in many ways in that you can certainly get a very good education at UNL and will get the chance to become the best athlete you can be in a fun, friendly, relatively safe, college town environment. Nothing is given to you without the effort but the 'student' side of the equation is unquestionably focused on in Lincoln as well as anywhere. Osborne built up Nebrasaka's academic reputation as a place where the athlete could achieve all that he or she wanted and the help, encouragement and support would be readily available and forthcoming every step of the way. Being an athlete at Nebraska is probably the best way to be a student at Nebraska - you will get the best of both from UNL. IMO. They really do care and have for 40 years.

Not suprising to me we 'missed' as I have felt for quite some time that we lost our recruiting 'mojo' sometime back - Octoboer or something maybe - as the commitments stopped coming long before that. I know they get busy in the season, the kids are in school, etc etc. They need to push harder to get commits during the summer before school and then focus on hanging on to the ones they have. Now, we are back to scrambled eggs again although admittedly we don't really know the inside scoop on many or really any of these guys I suppose. The coaches probably have a much better feel for how things are really going or not going with each young man all along. Hopefully, they have been building good connections with many more that will fill their needs as well. As the saying goes, "there is more than one fish in the sea." It's just that the fishing contest is over in a few weeks so better bait that hook and get to reelin'. Most important measurement about each and every recruit we do bring to Lincoln is that they want to be Huskers and not just to become a pro! They need to want to be great student athletes in that order and then we can build a winning team from there. The need the grades, speed, size and strength and most critically the 'heart' to be a Husker. If not, they wouldn't fit the way we all want them to. Go Huskers!

Clock stoppages are the obvious 'cause' and there are many reasons for the clock to stop besides 'first downs' and the most obvious difference between NFL and college game is the scoring. College football has a bunch more scoring and therefore a bunch more time outs for extra points, kickoffs, change of possessions rigamarole etc. No doubt there are a load of commercials and the 'in stadium' ones are some of the most aggravating. I can barely tolerate to watch a game on TV. Hell, TV in general sucks due to the excessive load of crappy commercials. Not necessarily on the football broadcasts but in some cases, you can find TV commercial breaks that are 10 minutes long! If the networks are trying to squeeze in another 7 commercial breaks in a typical 4 hour time slot for a three hour football game or maybe find a way to televise another 20 games or more per season, it is because they lack for decent programming. More TV games when the market for football is already over saturated to the point viewership and attendance is on the decline nationally, despite a growing population is NOT good. The economy needs to improve considerably and likely will to make this all more affordable as well.

Arguable Tommy Armstrong did improve his quarterbacking under Riley/Langs as he did cut substantially his interceptions and in that way his decision making (the area most needing improvement in my view). Many 'experts' tried mightily to get him to improve his footwork and other basic QB physical skills and to improve his reading of defenses, finding open receivers, etc. One could also make a case that Tommy may well have improved his footwork techniques except for the fact that he rarely had sufficient time to really properly set his feet and throw the ball in the ideal form as he was usually running for his life and could not count on the O line giving him sufficient time to carry out his responsibilities timely.

Back in the 1970s (and prior thereto I would guess) any Nebraska H.S. graduate was automatically eligible to attend the University of Nebraska and you did not need to have any particular score for admission to Univ of Neb system. As a taxpaying resident of the State of Nebraska, you should in fact be eligible to attend the state chartered, funded land grant university without having to take some ACT or SAT or other entrance examination BEYOND receiving a GED or diploma from an accredited state run public high school in Nebraska. This is just common sense. DONU is a publicly funded tax payer supported institution to and for the benefit of the people of Nebraska. I understand there are grand notions within the current University Administration of doubling the enrollment yet they are screening out via test scores and grade minimums etc local student applicants. This is just not right in my view. Every Nebraska high school grad ought to have the chance to attend the state's only public college system and given the chane to 'make it'. No matter what the standard for student athletes who might have to make higher grades/scores, etc, in order to participate in intercollegiate sports / ala Big Ten, etc., all Nebraska kids who want to go should be able to give it a try.

Having read all the not so friendly comments about the kid through November bashing him because his grades were no good and defending his elementary teachers, it is amazing to see the dramatic turnaround in opinions the minute he seems to have qualified and is apparently offered a scholarship. Just amazing. I am wondering if most of those defending the unknown teachers and public education system as if no child left behind somehow suggested that the child refused to get on the bus of his own free will. LOL Public education, particularly the k-12 variety, is just not very good in America. When large percentages of kids drop out (somewhere around a third of all the students I would guess) and another third of those who do graduate and are awarded diplomas can't do 10th grade level basics, there are major issues that need to be addressed. While students fail to achieve and 'thrive' as some educators may like to say for many reasons, to say that teachers have no fault is nonsense. 'Social promotion' happens all the time and it has for many many years and maybe as long as there have been schools I suspect. Instead of 'No child left behind' (a very laudable objective of saying we insist that each and every student is important enough to be sure they get all the attention and focus necessary to help them keep up and 'make the grade' and learn successfully) should really have been "Every child passes" really. Very few are not promoted. While there may be a majority of parents who would be unhappy that there son or daughter is being 'held back' by the teacher because they are not doing grade level work, most of the upset would likely be because the parents are unhappy with the teacher's work product and or the school in general. The parents have a very important role to play in raising their children and being good role models and encouraging their kids to go to school, listen and learn etc is critical. Certainly parents ought not to disrespect the teachers and school nor ever discourage the kids from doing his or her best. But parents are NOT supposed to be teachers and certainly are not to be doing the child's homework nor should they be 'tutoring' and or offering evening classes in 'homework' assistance. Most schoolwork should be done in school on school time. Tutoring and assistance of the kids should be done by the teachers, not the parents. I have seen and heard numerous teachers state "it is not the teacher's job to teach but rather to enhance what the child has learned at home"! This is just NONSENSE. I suspect if this young man has managed to get his academic house in sufficient order as to achieve the required grade averages in required courses and acceptable ACT test scores, then he can thank a couple of very dedicated high school teachers or other people who took the time and effort to get involved and steer and push and encourage and guide him in the right direction. Maybe his parent(s) (it's always hard to predict if there are none, one or two in today's dysfucntional society) did their part as well. It's good to see someone did but let's not let the teachers and schools off the hook - there are far too many failing students to blame the kids and presume the teachers are innocent. The burden of proof rests on the school and teachers involved NOT on the child.

Just curious to know if there are any actual serious discussions or comments by somebody with reasonably reliable football judgement that has taken the time to watch some Husker practices and therefore has actually watched Lee in action recently? I would think he has been there long enough that someone knows something to hang our hats on about him. POB as well. Gee whiz - both have been practicing for a year or so now ? That should be a bunch of passing and snaps. We should now know 1. if they know the offense and 2. if they can execute it and 3. if they can throw good balls to receivers who can catch them fairly frequently? At this point it seems a big mystery as to which, if any, of our future QBs have the ability to lead our team to about 9 wins. While I am hopeful they complete about 80% of all their throws and never throw an interception throughout their Husker careers, I am frankly more interested in the most important QB statistic of all - won/loss record as a starter.

Spiehlman?

While I think the 'star rankings' as issued and averaged, for example, by the several 'pros' in the college football recruiting realm are about as good a general way of comparing classes as any out there, I can find fault with them on several levels. For example, rating players from 1 star (I assume they do assign one star to the lowest 'rated' players but I don't recall seeing one rated a 1 star) upto 5 stars is simply far too few strata or levels to be reasonably meaningful. I would suggest they should rate players on a 1 to 20 scale or something so that there is more indicated difference amongst players. I believe many also assign a numerical rating as for example, player x is the #21 rated DT. Perhaps the better way to grade an entire class would be to take the numerical rating of each player and add them up and divide by the number of recruits to yield an average player rating such as 21.5? Even doubling the number of stars from 5 to 10 would help. Secondly, this has been mentioned already by me and others just a few posts up that the value of a class to the program depends on the degree to which the recruits 'fill the areas/positions of need'. Signing the top 15 WRs in the country might be fabulous in creating a 4.5 average star rating but will not produce a good football team, presumably. It depends on the depth and positions where a talent upgrade is most critical to making the future teams better and more competitive. I feel this is the most important concern for Nebraska. We badly need linemen and LBs and RB and QBs. Are we getting great QBs with POB, Gebbia and Lee? I don't know. Maybe all three are very fine 4.5 star type players. If so, we are suddenly well stocked at QB after having been devoid of quality depth this fall. We lack quality and depth all over the field by some measures, with exception perhaps of WR and QB if they guys we have are as good as advertised. We need two quality RBs and one or more FBs. We need 7 offensive linement and 3 DTs and 3 DEs and 3 LBs and couple top notch corners and a safety. It does not appear we are going to fill those needs with lots of stars this next month. So, probably not going to get the kind of super class we need no matter what the final 'rating' or ranking maybe.

Our bowl win / loss record needs a GIANT asterisk beside it because Nebraska has been very unfairly disadvantaged in bowls as compared to most top twenty programs. Yes, Osborne had a tough losing streak a couple times in the bowl games during his 25 years but that was due in large part to the fact that we were a top TV and paying fan draw and we played in one of the top 4 bowls year in and year out, the lion's share of which were the 'home' field for our opponents, typically the Florida big three (Miami, FSU and UF) or we played a California school in a Cal bowl or a TEX or AZ school in Texas or Arizona. There is a tremendous 'home field' edge to local teams getting to play a far away school in the bowl setting. First, during the 70s, our bowl prep was very hampered by not having any indoor facilities to practice in so Nebraska was either forced to delay most bowl prep until we arrived 'on bowl site' (usually some high school field somewhere where the team had to live out of a motel room, ride long bus rides, etc etc. All the while, the opponent was sleeping at their own homes/apartments, practicing in the normal facilities, etc. Not have regular practices meant the team's timing, 'execution' level, etc was severely hampered. Osborne and even Devaney (before the NCAA adopted ethics, rules and such that would have limited who you recruited, grades, etc etc) had moral standards and followed them. We certainly need high standards and we should NEVER bend or lower our standards in order to try to win more games. It is truly more than just winning and while winning is important, you must win the right way. Never cheat. It alwasy backfires anyway.

Assuming there are about 120 FBS schools and each has 3 QBs on scholarship and one walk on that means there are around 480 players that individual FBS coaches have determined are worthy of recruitment (presumably becasue the believe that have the talent to be a good college QB - otherwise they wouldn't waste the time and money to pursue them at all). There are more colleges out there than 120 though - maybe even that many more. Presumably a small % of those have potential 'elite' level QBs on their rosters as well. Let's add another 20 or so from there. So, a total of 500 (divided by 4.5 years as not all guys redshirt of course) = 111 on average per year coming out of high schools. From that, perhaps a total of 10 per year get a serious shot at the NFL - suggesting they have 'elite' QB skills after they finish college. Of that number, probably more than half don't make it. Leaving roughly 5 prove to be NFL caliber after college. The odds therefore of landing an eventual NFL caliber QB for most FBS school is less than 1% as the top 20 perennial power 5 schools are going to have the inside track to nearly all of them IF they are identified and recruiting successfuly and they continue playing football and want to play pro ball after all this time. Assuming that POB and Gebbia are 'elite' potential recruits - I don't know if that can be said at this point - then we are recruiting at a very HIGH level in that position currently. That is a BIG IF though. I think one could argue that those two players are two of the top 5 QB recruits to Nebraska in the past 40 years and maybe ever - on paper! Time will tell. Vince Feragamo was a pretty highly sought after JUCO QB and Turner Gill also. Not sure how many other Nebraska QBs were all that highly regarded as recruits - unless you are going to include the so-called dual threat QBs as equivalent to the traditional QB recruits. I don't think most would do that at this point although the dual threat is no longer the negative rap it once was by many raters.

The only one that really matters: We have lost too many games and not won enough games each year since 1998 leading to much disappointment for Husker Nation.