Emora

Short answer is no for top 5. Top 25 isn't good enough. Need to break the top 20 on a regular basis and pushing for top 15. This is how you build Nebraska back and Frost is already implenting it. 1) Dominate in-state recruiting for scholarship level players. 2) Make the walkon program mean something again. These guys get recruited just as scholarship players do. The fewer D1 level players that leave the state for any level of play the better for the program. Also include walkons from outside the region. Quality walkon classes of 20 to 30 yearly is needed. why is the above important? These kids bleed red. They want to play for Nebraska. We know there was a lost generation from bad coaching hires, but Frost is already turning that around. Kids growing up today will be growing up under the Frost era and will dream of playing for him. This brings a lot of Nebraska pride to the lockerroom, meeting rooms, practice fields, nutrition rooms, and weight room. Far too many scholarship level players have left the state the last many years that have gone on to NFL careers. Reverse that and Frost already is. We went 5 for 5 in this class and that was the first time we slept in-state recruiting in many years. 3) Dominate the 500 mile radius. Some may say it is overrated, but I would argue it is undervalued in its importance. It is easier to land elite talent that is local. If they are a fit, they are must gets. The more elite talent we get from Colorado, Oklahoma, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, South Dakota, and others like Wisconsin, the better it is for the football program. We lost our brand in this area over the last 17ish years and we are in the process of rebuilding that back. In a couple of more years we should be back into St. Louis landing elite talent, getting elite talent regularly from Colorado, making OU stress over elite talent from their own state, etc. 4) Go out on a national scale and get the best talent possible that is a fit. Chase, Ty Robinson, Wandale Robinson and Hannah are perfect examples of this. A couple more gets in the upper tier of classes with the great national talent and you got top 15 class. Then it all comes down to player development and schemes. It sounds easier than done, but Frost is doing exactly what I wrote above and I am a strong believer it is exactly the recipe to bring us back to competing for national titles. We should not stress over getting a certain number of recruits from Florida, Texas and California. Go national for the elite recruits and get whoever from wherever. There is NFL talent to be recruited in all states for the most part. Go and get them. Lastly, if we were running a pro style or other complex systems that require precise style of play, then you would need elite classes to have any chance. Under the Frost system you can get to the national title level by getting classes in the 15 to 20 range. It's been proven at Oregon.