84HuskerLaw

He reminds of the Ruud boys. Tackling machine. Keep him. Give him a truckload of Runzas and hot dogs. GBR!

I think he looks promising. Get he in the new S&C program. He has frame to add 25-30 lbs and be solid DL. Love his powerful tackling - he bear hugs and body slams. He can learn some of the techniques and so on with coaching. GBR.

This would be a darn good addition. Im hoping. Great size / speed with vision.

I believe Rhule gave all the players the option to stay or go. Some are leaving but doubt many are being pushed out. Some well know they are backups at any rate so maybe they find a place with less competition (likely a lower level program or maybe a team with a critical need). This is the right way to do things. Ethically imo. Rhule, as with most good coaches, is an honorable person, and Neb ought to honor their commitments. And players reciprocate. Lack of effort and or failure to be a good teammate, is the player’s’ responsibility. Change is always unsettling but that’s life. Cope or fail and let yourself and your team down. Best to go elsewhere if your heart and mind are not in it.

Our offense didn’t improve much but it didn’t regress as you suggest. The O line was THE issue. Skill players were better. Imo. Play calling was better but not much more could be done without a run game to use to help the passing overcome the O line. It’s been said by many but it may bear repeating, the team wasn’t great certainly but better line of scrimmage play and this team goes bowling. It might have anyway, if the coaching changes happened Aug 1 (assuming the players stuck around and played hard). Who knows but this team got better - effort wise and game management did improve. Even penalties and basic mistakes were reduced. I understand there are a few that wanted Frost retained but it’s hard to argue the team got worse. Imo.

They’re doing well - it’s been a couple weeks. Lots to do. They’re tRgeting what look like the best of very slim pickings. There aren’t many line recruits - period and most are already spoken for by competitors. If he finds 3 decent O line and a couple DL and DEs, that will be light years better than prior coaches. All things considered, Rhule is exceeding the most optimistic expectations imo. There’s time. Some guys only been in the portal a few days.

And those that don’t?

We’ve had too many players who can’t or don’t play on Saturdays. I don’t care who plays on Sundays bc they aren’t playing for Nebraska. Im curious - what % of high school fb players are actually graded / evaluated by the ratings outfits? Perhaps 10 or 20%. ?

Rhule fired Peetz ? Man, this guy doesn’t waste any time wasting time! Lol.

Imo, the team that finished 2022 was somewhat better than any team Frost ever fielded. Probably as good as any Riley had as well. Still not a real good team but 2022 team steadily played better fundamentals football. The team that beat Iowa would have been bowling IF it was healthy and played to the level of the Iowa game all season. Of course, most teams typically get better during the course of a typical season. Injuries and attitude and desire often hurt progress as the motivation (goals etc) change and effort or lack thereof factors in too. Mickey & Busch did well to keep the team playing hard despite the losses etc. imo, Busch simplified maybe but also anticipated well and took smart gambles in timely situations (I.e ‘coached’ smarter), game planned better, etc. I had given Chin more credit, perhaps, than he may have deserved at times. I don’t think Chin was bad but Busch was better in the time and circumstances he had. Hindsight is 20-20 perhaps but looking back now, Frost just seems to have been a passing game coordinator in the HC position. He had his mind narrowly focused on the passing offense (play design, recruiting, practices, play calling, etc). Thus, major areas of the team were disregarded ((ST, recruiting across the team, etc). It’s hard to understand how - over time at least - he didn’t come to see the need / urgency for building better position groups outside of the offensive ‘skill’ groups (WRs RBs, TEs). You would have thought QB would have been the ultimate focal point for Frost in this tunnel vision to passing approach. But, my guess is Frost actually believed Adrian was THE answer, period. He thot that from day one I believe and never could even consider alternatives. His transfer must have been very hard to reconcile and the realization of Frost’s colossal fail as HEAD coach may still not be fully accepted in his mind. If he returns to coaching, I hope he goes back to doing what he does well - passing game coordinator. HC at a small college perhaps but frankly he’s better off being his best. Imo. Hopefully, Rhule is good at putting the right people in their natural ‘right’ positions and builds a complete team. That’s a great place to start to Make Nebraska Great Again.

So much of this thread is focused on Raiola coaching as it should be but feels too much like saying: Yes, we know the O line has no talent but assuming it does, Raiola did a poor job coaching this talented line. I don’t think ANY line coach could teach this year’s line to run block any better than it did nor to pass block much better. This year’s O line was a lost cause. Period. Without additional new talented players (3-5 or more ideally), the only real prospects for a better O line performance in 2023, is purely based on alternative offensive schemes which probably won’t help much. Of course opponents could get worse but ??? Not seeing a big ten drop off. I see Rhule finding a couple difference makers in the portal maybe. Maybe returns by injured guys helps another spot. Say three out five spots get more coachable. That could in the best case scenario put DONU line in the low-mid Big Ten pack (10th of 14 perhaps). That’s not good but above terrible. By year 2, Rhule can find three more to replace grads, and depth is developing via S&C and recruiting generally. Still not championship caliber. Maybe up two spots to 8 of 14. That’ll mean Raiola / Rhule ARE good coaches. It’s all guesstimating

No. The run game is still the key. Without running and stopping the run, you don’t get there. GA, Bama, MI, etc etc. All fine to throw the ball well BUT run game is determinative. Neb is the perfect example. Look at the past 20 years. The further we’ve gone away from the run game, the worse we get. Even the pass heavy offenses lose UNLESS the have a reliable, strong run complement.

It depends on the type of bear front you use. There’s the Grizzly and Kodiak. Those come with big claws and teeth. Mean attacking. Then you’ve got your Koala and Teddy fronts. Those are your bend and break style. CFB has tended to favor the latter in the new millennium while back before the ‘dawn of modern history’, Nebraska fans loved them a lotta that Grizzly and Kodiak. Now and then threw in a big Polar just for giggles. For some reason, I’m thinking old Rhule maybe looking to bring some of that mean and nasty back.

As for retaining players, I would guess Rhule and his new crew will look at film and meet with players, scholarships mainly, to the extent each player wants to meet. Rhule already said basically - he wants football player-students on his team who really WANT to be on the team, committed to the team goals and becoming the best teammates possible by working hard and doing 100% to get there the right way. Most HCs say these things and most believe them. Rhule seems ultra serious in this way - it’s not just lip service, imo. Rhule wants Husker hearts and souls. He will train and teach and educate them but the ‘want to’ is up to each individual. Take it or leave. No coddling. No special treatment. No exceptions. Just be all N or out. Rhule will try to practice what he preaches and will be a true grinder. He wants players of the same ‘stuff’ - tough grinders. His staff will be driven hard and have to earn their pay I’m sure.

Just a guess but Rhule may be giving Mickey a few days to decide on possible HC jobs elsewhere. If not, may keep MJ in some role. I am hopeful Busch gets a job in the AD somewhere. May need another interim coach somewhere. He can coach anyone anywhere. Probably be a good HC too. He has said he wants to stay around Nebraska - if not as a coach or analyst. Maybe a Chef or Uber? He loves Nebraska.

I think if he coaches as well as gives an introductory presser he may be the GOAT ! Lol. Time will tell but he is certainly a smart man! I am wondering about these first few staff hires (??), but I am trying to remind myself that he is a smart guy with a well thought out plan. And this is his fourth go around in coming to rebuild and make anew a football program. He has a modus operandi. It has worked before. He said he wants young energetic coaches to plug into his system. He seems to be following that. Less experience but ‘hungry’ maybe? He is not old either. They can relate to the new generation but still must be amenable to old school things like HARD WORK and DEVELOPMENT. 4-5 star guys dont want to take the time / effort for all that stuff these days. So bring on the players that want to work and learn and become better. That’s why you don’t just portal your way to championships. Like most things in life worth having, you’ve got to earn them .

Two months. Plenty of time to survey the field. Plenty of time for candidates to submit their resumes and express interest. I bet more called Trev / search agency than the other way around. 13 is a good number. I’d guess about 5 made the short list cutoff. I bet Urban was one of them but declined. Haven’t heard him mentioned for s as ny other jobs either. His opinion is useful too. Trev was at ESPN so probably knows a hundred football minds to consult and get suggestions. I think he paid plenty but it’s backloaded and I like the 8 year deal. We can fire him sooner but at least his buyout will be steep if predators come sniffing around in three or four years. This is a reclamation project but finding 4-5 linemen and. Handful of other spots can get us winning 6-8 s year and bowling again. I’m pretty bullish after hearing him talk. He knows cfb and has a big picture mind. Get a staff and the construction gets started. I hope MJ stays in some capacity but I suspect he’s got some offers to consider. Busch will hang around some way I am sure.

Semi load of ‘roids’ and GBR!!!

Broccoli!!

Players and staff can stay or leave as they choose. Transfer portal opens in a week or so. They’ve had months to think about it.

Bill Busch is very valuable as a coach or in the back rooms/offices/analyst role. He is a great football mind and excellent motivator and schemer.

Rhule has a good coaching philosophy. His winning formulas and ‘Rhules of thumb’ are good sound football 101 stuff. But, as with all things worth having in life, it takes lots of hard work, patience, focus and the right people employed the right ways. It wont change until everybody works as one. Year one is more than a few little easy fixes. We will need a dozen (maybe two) good players in a number of critical positions, even if most of our better players return. Transfers, portals, jucos, high schools, early enrollments, and more are tough to do after a year or more of recruiting time and courtship to a winning program. Year 6 of a 8-9 LOSS seasons and third HC / staff in said 6 years doubles the degree of difficulty. A matter a week or two to save and defend your best and attract the best from the competition! Staff won’t be hired or here before then in all likelihood, much less schooled and up to speed in Husker facts, figures, needs and wants, etc. Trev and whichever staff retained will have to be the recruiting eyes / minds until the new crew is settled in.

Some of that is aging. Men add lbs so vertical and speed and quickness decline a bit. Height doesn’t dip until middle aged +.

I’d say trend lines on defense were very good.

They said we had no chance vs Iowa. Never say never. Many didn’t think we could get a good HC as nobody whose somebody would take the job. Looks like that will happen too. If Frost had put a serious plan and effort into the team, he could have won twice as many games. Who knows where the next few years take us but at least DONU is gonna keep trying. The current staff (perhaps even some of the prior assistants?), showed that serious attitude and effort and a few brains make a difference. Team didn’t win many but the trend was up. The schedule got tougher and so did the team as the season progressed. One win doesn’t mean much in the big picture but it was a solid effort. There’s still a major MENTAL and physical deficiency to rebuild and the new regime has a helluva daunting hill to climb. But we saw what a change in attitude can do. Give MJ Busch and Whipple, ETAL credit where it’s due. The team was short of talent / depth but not short in effort. The Big Ten West is a balanced bunch of solid (not great but above average, tough, scrappy, determined physical teams. They are all WELL coached. Big Ten is big boy football. DONU started at the bottom losing to NW (the weakest team apparently) but got up by 3 TDs and held half a dozen league foes scoreless for big chunks of games. Busch and MJ found ways to get stops and give the team a chance. Busch did one helluva job ‘fixing’ STs and then the defense in just one year - just better schemes as it was very little talent (kickers excepted) upgrade - mostly coaching.