Caliborn72

Honestly, I would have put Bootle or Lee on the list if Blades had been fully qualified. Probably pretty harsh on Bootle since he's still a freshman and couldn't make their list, but we are going to have an incredible camp battle next season at this position, especially if Jones is here. Time for Lee and Bootle to break out and I think they will.

Now leaning Cal. I don't know much about Granite Bay but his film is dominant.

TAMU just offered and he's apparently a legacy, so they've quickly become his favorite.

Maybe I'm not remembering correctly, but I feel like I was frustrated with some of our WR blocking last year, Morgan in particular. WR blocking needs to be really good if the screens and draws will work. Should be fun watching Tyjon Lindsey getting the ball in space and going to work though. Thanks for sharing Mav even if it hurts to read "the Huskers do seem to have an offensive line problem in 2017."

I don't have any problem with it and certaintly don't blame him for hearing out other schools. I completely trust the fact that he's built strong relationships with Riley and Williams, our current and previous commits, and members of the team. But I also don't think he's "trolling" other fans like some of our fans are saying on twitter. Seems to be real interest in Florida and I won't be comfortable until he's signed, sealed, and delivered.

I think it could be a strength but it's strange how many times Riley has singled that unit out. I don't know, maybe it's just his way of keeping them focused and reminding them how important they are. The article also makes me nervous reading that the offense still has to find some identity and work out some issues. I probably shouldn't expect unstoppable execution through spring practices but I would think that side of the ball would be more of a well-oiled machine by now even with a new QB.

https://mobile.twitter.com/SBNRecruiting/status/890240865733660673 There does appear to be some smoke that he's listening to Florida but I'm not worried yet.

I am not a Riley fanboy by any means. I'd like him to be the right hire because he says and does a lot of the right things. I also want to believe that we hired a bit of a hidden gem when the rest of the country is preoccupied with splash hires only. That said, I've really only been impressed by his recent hires and the 2018 recruiting class. The on-field play hasn't moved the needle much for me, but I have no problem accepting that it was going to take time for that. The system and pieces are now falling into place and I have relunctantly moved the goalposts for my expectations. My issue with a 6 win season, besides the obvious disappointment, is that I'm not sure the 2018 recruiting class stays anywhere near as strong with that kind of year. Even an 8 win season would give counter-recruiting a lot of ammo. I would "accept" 8 wins if the staff kept the recruiting class together but if not, then it would mean Riley hasn't really done much of anything to impress me in 3 years and I would have no issue cutting him loose. Just to reiterate though, I fully believe we can surprise a lot of people and rattle off 9 or more wins.

Those Oregon writers are so cringe inducing. Combined with how annoying some of their fans are on twitter, I'm desperate for another win over them.

I guess I truly don't know what to expect, which has me a little pessimistic. I'd like to think our OLine could actually be a strength, but then the reports haven't been as stellar as I'd like. Not knowing what to expect from them has me uneasy about everything else on offense. I'm willing to be patient with the defense, I don't expect it to be elite but I don't think they will ever quit under Diaco. And I have high hopes for the possibilities with him, even in year one. I am no longer laughing at the idea of a 6 win season, so I think I'm a little pessimistic. But I also still believe a 9 or more win season is very attainable.

Losing Jones hurts everywhere. It thins out the team in the secondary and on special teams. Lee should be ready to step up though. He's inexperienced as a starting CB but he's not young. I fully expect a 4*, 3rd year player to be able to start if need be and I think it definitely raises some questions about his development if he's not ready. Especially with how Jackson needs to work on his consistency. My biggest concern with the injury is if this calls for a more vanilla defense than I was expecting. Year 2 I think will be a ton of fun to watch as Diaco trusts more of his guys and can be more aggressive. But year one, losing a potential Thorpe award winning CB for most, if not all, of the year hurts mightily. Especially when dependability and consistency are the two major concerns with the other two starting corners going forward. I'm just ready for the season to get here without any other losses.

I may be wrong, but I believe they usually take credits at a community college to help get them started - there's a maximum amount of credits they can take without starting their clock. Also let's them utilize the gym if the community college has one. It's a really good option for kids who are late bloomers, especially linemen or linebackers, who don't have the offers. A kid who might have unreal instincts and athleticism but grew from 5'10" to 6'4" over his senior year and is now 40+lbs underweight for his position. Or a kid who was a 17 year old HS graduate and still hasn't put on the grown man maturity. The months from HS graduation until spring semester starts are big for development and it helps not starting their clock until then. Then, they come in basically as an early enrollee, with a redshirt still intact, for the next class which has huge advantages as well. Alabama greyshirting 4* guys is just unfair and totally breaks the system haha.

Ah that definitely makes sense, thank you! I didn't think anything about it until Callahan's tweet and now I'm wondering too. As far as I knew, you could help set up a recruit at a juco that you trust and know well, especially one that an assistant would be able to travel to often, but nothing would be binding. But maybe there is something to the NLI.

I'd feel more comfortable if there was another proven position group or two ahead of QBs at this point but I'm not sure I can put one over them unfortunately. Not to say QB isn't our second best position group, or maybe even the best one, but man. There's a lot of unproven hype there currently.

But I still don't believe there's anything binding about "placing" a recruit at juco. To my knowledge, you are bound once you sign the financial paperwork to the school, which you wouldn't be doing if you take the juco route. That's why graduate transfers have a lot of poaching going on. They may "sign" with a team on signing day, but it doesn't mean anything until they finish the semester at their current school and can officially sign to another school after May.

I've honestly never heard of that. There's greyshirting, which could have been a possible idea for Blades. The staff "places" him in a junior college they feel comfortable with, where they know he can work out, get grades on track, and they'll get a chance to visit him often. Then he would join in the spring, delaying his clock and giving the staff the ability to count him towards the next year's class. But to my knowledge, nothing is binding from a greyshirt. Nebraska wouldn't have to accept his commitment in the spring and anyone would be allowed to poach him. I could be wrong on that though.

Double post

I'm scared to open any thread with just a player's name in the title haha. NFL teams have been placing more and more value on this stat when scouting college WRs.

Makes me wonder if the staff really does make NCAA football video game recruiting guarantees to recruits haha. With speculation that we told a '19 QB we wouldn't recruit an '18 QB for him, I just cant help but wonder if the staff thinks that's some of the only ways to win recruiting battles for big time players. The reality is that that's beyond silly. You hold a spot for a BPA, and supplement the class where you need. If a recruit really doesn't like the idea of competing against a lower rated recruit at his position then who cares? They'll face that anywhere if they pay attention. I'd rather have two 3* DBs than promise Blades he would be the only one and then miss out on him anyway for example. Not that that's what happened but I just don't understand why we didn't take a second DB anyway, let alone if the staff knew he might have academic issues.

Yeah, still a good class to me. Lindsey is an iconic recruiting win and Avery Roberts will contribute immediately and develop into a star. Gebbia is the real deal, McQuitty will be really good, and I think Hampton is the hidden gem of the class. But I keep wondering what the f is going on. The one positive I think everyone would agree on is that Riley seems like a meticulous planner. That's what his experience and NFL acumen does for him, and that's the kind of thing we heard about when we hired him. So a situation that's been brewing for a while now - where we lose both Watts and Blades - feels like it still blindsided our staff. Being well under the 85 limit while refusing to go after jucos for roster balance seems like really poor planning and something that could hurt us in a couple years.

I agree with that for the most part^ But now Oregon is back to scaring me. Need to be able to trust our corners on islands in a matchup like that, even without Carrington. Herbert/Freeman could have a lot of free space now that Jones won't be locking down 1/3 of the field in that game. Most importantly though, I am hoping for a full recovery for Jones.

I know it's mostly unrelated, but the news today is why I'm still so damn confused about no QB/no RB for '18. This class has been so much fun to follow, and it can still get even better, but I will still always have doubts no matter how strong the class finishes. I don't know anything resembling close to what the coaches know, but this seems pretty silly and myopic.

Apparently he's committing tomorrow. I figure to Colorado since he's a legacy and I haven't heard anything about who he favors. I really like his film but I'm not sure we'd have ever had room for him on either side of the ball.

That's a big loss for them.