Wistrom Disciple

Safe move for him for now. Commit to the local school, stay in favor with the community. Who knows what college football looks like two years from now or whether his perspective will change.

1 hour ago, Red Five said:

Cal and Stanford make zero sense if the goal is to maximize TV revenue.  I guess the academic benefits of having them along outweighs that?

The academic benefits cannot be understated. Given how important the university presidents (aka the league shotcallers) view research dollars and sharing academic resources, this would be a significant benefit to all the schools involved. Crazy to think within 12-15 years Nebraska would go from our league partners being Texas Tech, K-State, & Oklahoma State to Stanford, Cal, & Michigan. Massive academic upgrades. 

That said, the schools offer nothing of significance in the core sports that attract eyeballs and advertising dollars. However, they are fairly dominant in many of the Olympic sports (rowing, diving, water polo, etc.) which add more TV content for the Big Ten Network. I can't imagine there is much more juice left to squeeze on the athletics front with TV, so wrapping in the research dollars and prestige would be the most obvious next step towards maximizing league value. After all, as 2020 taught us, most of the Big Ten university presidents don't care for national championships or athletics as much anyway. 

3 hours ago, Mavric said:

I mean ... did you just cherry-pick the ones you wanted?

 

Air Force led the nation in Time of Possession last year and was 10-3, as you said.

Navy was second in Time of Possession.  They were 4-8.

UTEP was fifth.  They were 5-7.

Buffalo was 9th.  They were 7-6.

Rice was 13th.  They were 5-8.

 

On the other hand, Tennessee was #130 in the country in TOP.  They were 11-2.

Ole Miss was #125.  They were 8-5.

UCLA was #119.  They were 9-4.

 

There really isn't any correlation.  Or, as @brophog said, it's more going the other way - winning allows you to bleed the clock and try to play keep-away.

I pulled the top (Air Force), the bottom (Oklahoma), the National Champ (Georgia), the Big Ten champ (Michigan) and two peers from our division (Iowa & Minnesota).

I don't believe that it is a coincidence that the top teams in the league were considered among the best in the country in TOP despite relatively limited offenses (Minnesota, Illinois, etc.). I understand the keep away argument and it's fair, however even when losing, many of these teams sit on the ball regardless as it frustrates opposing offenses to have limited possessions and kills any sort of momentum as the game wears on. The fact of the matter is that unless your offense is exceptional, controlling the TOP more often than not leads to success.

9 hours ago, brophog said:

First, Time of Possession (usually) does not lead to winning, winning leads to being in a position to lead in time of possession. Time in which you have the ball is time in which you are not scoring. Sometimes possession is more important and sometimes scoring is more important, but it's an alternate possession game and you can't do both at the same time.

 

If you have a big time of possession advantage and are successful in the game, then you more than likely have at least a pretty good defense that day. If you have a big time of possession advantage and your defense is doing poorly, then that likely means they're scoring very fast and (if) you're scoring it is very slow. That's usually not a relationship conducive to winning because long drives are harder to sustain obviously than quick ones. Teams that want to play a clock control game have to play decent defense because with the number of drives being low the clock quickly becomes their enemy if they get too far behind.

 

Second, I don't think I agree that there even is a relationship in terms of Nebraska's defense and time of possession. The three lowest scoring opponents after the coaching changes were Rutgers, Wisconsin, and Iowa.

 

Against Rutgers, Nebraska did have a TOP advantage but the number of plays were nearly identical (66 vs 68) and Nebraska only gained 4 first downs rushing. 29 rushes for 72 yards.

 

Wisconsin dominated both TOP and the stats. Nebraska only gained 171 total yards that day.

 

Iowa makes everyone's defense looked good. Note, though, this also wasn't a game in which Nebraska controlled the clock. Yes, they led in TOP, but only 3 rushing first downs and only 51 yards on 35 carries. Iowa ran more plays (65 vs 72) but Nebraska had the bigger plays.

 

Indiana is the closest I would say to this relationship holding true, but under closer examination it falls flat, too. The defense held a shutout the second half, but what did the offense do? First 4 possessions of the second half:

 

6 plays, 19 yards, 2:33 PUNT

1 play INT

5 plays, -2 yards, 2:29 PUNT

3 plays, -5 yards, 1:46 PUNT

 

Nebraska does break the 21 all tie with a 71 yard bomb to Palmer, and eventually has a 12 play TD drive, but that's the only drive of the half that is in any way a ball control drive. Meanwhile, Indiana went 3 and out on nearly every drive in the second half.

I disagree with you. Minnesota is prime example of how time of possession (TOP) leads to winning more often than not. They are not exceptionally skilled offensively, nor splashy with big scoring plays. Instead they routinely sit on the ball for 60-70% of games and gives their defense a limited amount of plays to face. This limitation reduces the opportunities for your defense to get beat and shortens the game dramatically. It is not a coincidence that many of the top teams in the country also lead in TOP and I argue that TOP can be an indicator of success, not success being an indicator of TOP. Below are a couple peers and how the numbers break out from last season.

Despite playing three less games than National Champ Georgia, our defense faced only five less plays than them or country leading Air Force playing an extra game, but facing 250 plays less than our defense last season. The additional plays faced exposed our defenders more often as they had significantly more opportunities to be exposed compared to peers. Back to the point... Farmer is not a bad player and we are a better team with him than without him.

7 hours ago, Decked said:

Farmer was just flat out not very good. I really don’t think this is much of a loss. In a spot where team depth is greatest this is the best case scenario. 

I will have to disagree, Farmer saved to us in a few instances over the past couple of years. Sure he got burned a couple times, but he is a decent player for us. I think we are a better team with him than we are without him. 
 

It really didn’t help that the defense was regularly facing 80+ plays a game because of the offensive play callers addiction to quick possessions. Not a coincidence that some of our best games defensively were ones where the offense controlled time of possession. 

9 hours ago, BigRedBuster said:

Yeah....Not a huge loss because we need immediate talent.  But, I don't see it as a waste of time.  He's obviously an amazing talent.  So, go after it and see what happens.

 

Heck, so many 2024 recruits will have transferred before he ever steps foot on campus, keep in touch with him.  Who knows what the various programs are going to be like in 2 years.  Maybe Rhule has established himself as a success here and where ever he is committed to is looking for a new coach.

In addition, with our track program quickly improving under St. Clair and his older brother being quite a track athlete, who knows if the brother starts looking for a place closer to home than Starkville. Establishing the roots now is well worth the potential and you're spot on that the landscape of college football could look much different in a year or two.

1 hour ago, HS_Coach_C said:

I was mostly joking with my post. The fact that he MIGHT schedule a visit is hardly news. If he actually sets a date, then we're at least still in the conversation and it's more than just NIL and attention. 

He mentioned the home opener (9/16 - Northern Illinois) as they have a Bye week in their season. 

15 minutes ago, Husker816 said:

Is Iowa full at the position or what? Kind of surpsing they never had a chance with this kid.

They have a few prospects, but more likely know that they aren't seriously in the race. Saying they're full saves face and avoids the embarrassment that Proctor pulled with them last year when he flipped to Bama very late. If they thought they had a shot, there would clearly be an offer.

Just now, Pedro G said:

But if Brix and the kid from Hawaii both commit, would he still be on N’s list?

Yes. It is hard to find big bodies that can move well. Would also be good to tap into Mater Dei as well. 

The Iowa line coach has a pretty strong resume for recruiting and development so I can't blame the kid for looking there. It's unfortunate that it is our rival, but I think Iowa is due to regress to their mean (7-5) more than they are likely to match their success over the past decade where they were gifted some very, very favorable schedules. 

Would be a very nice get. The Hawaii connection only makes it better for future classes. 

15 hours ago, CyHawk said:

It should actually sting a bit more that he chose "has won something never U" over  Nebraska

I understand that your roll is to troll... but the last Omaha tight end that went to Iowa left on bad terms due in part to some of the racial issues caused by Iowa's coaching staff. Kind of sad because those same issues played a part in Proctor out of Des Moines bailing to Alabama last year.

Any truth to the rumor that Ferentz wanted the throwback all-white uniforms? 

2 hours ago, Mavric said:

According to HOL, Bellevue West has put 13 RBs, WRs or TEs in Division 1 (including FCS) since 2015.  8 of them are WRs.

 

That's pretty impressive.

Safe to say if they aren't in the state title game this year, it's a failure? 

21 minutes ago, Dr. Strangelove said:

Bo Pelini gave up on recruiting and offered 3 kids from Edna Karr high school back in the day.

I'm not so sure Bo gave up versus the staff couldn't guarantee that the administration would allow them to stay more than on a year to year basis. If you recall around that time, Bo and his staff had actually put together a solid couple of classes in 2012-2014 with the likes of Randy Gregory, Maliek, Westy, Armstrong, DPE, VV, Davis twins, Stanley Morgan, etc. Unfortunately, the AD and Chancellor wanted him out badly and made recruiting rather difficult. 

9 minutes ago, TonyStalloni said:

Yes I check recruiting several times a day and yes as you say there are already a number of Texas kids. I like the thought of making Texas a base for recruiting. I am going to have to hope these coaches can develop the recruits they get and that the coaches are as good at identifying talent as we were sold on. For the last 20 years that has been our hope and we are batting about .150.

Since Pelini, the coaches chased highly offered recruits only to either strike out and settle for last minute replacements or sign the widely offered kids and fail to coach them up. While I think some of these players could have waited for full ride offers, I can't help but wonder if getting some of these guys on board now will help put some pressure on others to make decisions. Additionally, Cooper handles this position group so he must see the clay enough to develop. 

As for Texas, almost half the class is out of Texas right now where our current plans include exactly zero games in the state. I'm not sure how much of the class you're expecting to come from the state, but should we come out strong this season, we'll see improved interest from Texas along with many other regions of the country. The unfortunate fact of the matter is that until the program can get back to winning enough to make bowl games, we're going to struggle to attract too many of the highly sought after recruits. 

13 minutes ago, Dr. Strangelove said:

His 10.15 100m speed literally would've qualified him in the semi-finals of the Olympics, where runners from the Ivory Coast (10.15) and Brazil (10.17) qualified with similar times.

 

His size and speed are simply not really matched. Even if he just a track guy, running Go routes with his ability is enough to make defenses adjust.

Agreed that it is near Olympic level speed, but it should be noted that the 10.15 was wind aided so the "official" time was slightly higher. However the sentiment is correct, he makes fast people look not so fast. 

On 6/12/2023 at 11:13 AM, Husker in WI said:

He just wouldn't be the first track guy to not have the football skills/instincts to make it happen. I wouldn't go so far as to not recruit him, but regardless of where he ends up I'd be more surprised if he does turn into a really good player than if he doesn't. Just so many questions with the mission as well - he is not going to come out of it more polished as a player, and developing a raw 20-year old is more difficult than a raw 18-year old.

Maybe not as polished as a player, but you can't easily teach that level of speed and his family's athleticism is rare*. The development of athletes at Rhule's previous stops makes me believe that their emphasis on loading up with athletic kids, despite however polished they are as football players, is the right move and makes the team more dangerous. 

*His older brother just finished 11th at the NCAA championships in the decathlon, highest scoring freshman in the event this year.

1 hour ago, SW MO Huskerfan said:

On today’s Benning Bites Damon talked about how NE recruits need to be careful going out of state as it may not be automatic that Rhule would take them, depending on how recruiting well. It felt like he was referring to Hall, but maybe was inferring Caleb as well? I hope both sides feel it’s a fit and we get Benning. From previous Damon comments it feels like Wisconsin impressed Caleb a lot. 

Could also be referring to past recruits who left already for that matter. Woods & Dickerson still haven't found landing spots yet. 

14 hours ago, BigRedBuster said:

Could also be referenced with the tweets from Omar Hales & Mike Wallace with the "2FiveCrew"... would be an awesome splash. Would love to see Rhule allow him to wrestle if he wants to as well. I'm sure Mark Manning would've appreciated having a few of the guys wrestle over the past few years, namely the Polar Bear.

44 minutes ago, Decked said:

Let’s see if he actually visits first. No chance without. We are down. 

The fact that he's wearing the Husker gear out and around other recruits indicates that we're at least in the mix.  It's also a nice PR opportunity for us if nothing else. I've heard he's looking at a visit for the Michigan game when his team has a BYE week. Either way, nice to see we've made a good impression on him so far.

Nice to see the emphasis on New Jersey remaining. Paramus has a history of putting out quality college football players. Good to see us get in first on him too as Michigan has a pipeline to the program with their Linebacker coach (Partridge) being an alumnus. 

24 minutes ago, Red Five said:

The biggest issue from the article is giving NBC a B1G title game and costing the conference $40M in having to pay back Fox.  Not trying to defend Warren at all, but that couldn't have been just a unilateral decision by him, there had to be other people from the B1G/BTN that were privy to that deal being cut.

 

The November night game issue is asinine as I have stated earlier.  I am not going to blame him at all for B1G schools still being stuck in the 1960s.  (Fun fact: B1G schedules used to end the weekend before Thanksgiving because they felt the players needed to spend the holiday at home with their families.  The schools didn't start playing games on Thanksgiving weekend until 2010!)

 

I think we all know he didn't handle the 2020 season the best.

I agree with you that the schools need to join this century regarding night games. The $40 million for the title game and the extra payments for cutting short the 2020 season are minor in the grand scheme. However, the commissioner's office is supposed to understand the expectations of those he represents and more importantly, communicate with the schools and administrators. Based on the article, Warren wasn't communicating or transparent and made deals he didn't have the authority to make.

You're right though, there had to have been some others from the conference in the discussions making some of these agreements.

11 minutes ago, PasstheDamnBallGuy said:

Oh yeah I wasn't trying to overall defend Warren I know he not great. Just wondering if we still came out overwhelming positive on this deal plus get to watch on NBC which has really been the best in terms of broadcast fidelity although the others have caught up somewhat. 

In short, yes the conference came out ahead. I think the schools are more pissed that they have to make these concessions after the announcement. The former commissioner pumping his resume and ego prematurely put them in a difficult spot of working out the details and finishing the deal. It is not the way Delaney handled the conference and presumably how the schools preferred to work.

22 minutes ago, PasstheDamnBallGuy said:

@Mavric I'm not really sure how all that works and if we know for sure the total but a lot of people are saying we still netted billions on that deal. Why would be care about having to pay 40 mil back? 

Beyond giving up ~$5 million per school (when factoring in the other repayments), it is the fact that the commissioner of the league couldn't perform the basics of due diligence. This TV contract deal is arguably the core piece of the commissioner's job and he couldn't even take that across the finish line. The move also soured the Fox/Big Ten relationship which is being mended, but could take some time. Combined with his other poor performances (ie - handling Covid & 2020 season), there are plenty of examples of poor leadership. 

2 minutes ago, Savage Husker said:

The only pushback I can see is how the schools were left in the dark and not informed of impending schedule changes until after the negotiations were agreed to. Fans were pretty ticked with Eichorst who got canned days after he agreed to moving off Black Friday. Otherwise, the teams should play when decision makers want them to play, especially now that everyone is getting paid.

 

Curious whether the Chicago Bears end up becoming this dysfunctional during his leadership.

One could argue that franchise has been dysfunctional for years 

3 hours ago, Scofrosghost said:

I only saw his hudl highlights but more often than not he was making passes in very tight windows and taking some shots as he threw. From what I saw he can take the heat, and yeah his receivers were making great catches but he also made great throws so the catch could happen. Maybe he looks different live in game but the tape looks pretty encouraging

I hope so. I must mention that highlight tapes are supposed to show the good plays and generally leave out the bad stuff. I was simply not impressed enough to think he was worthy of a scholarship at this stage. The fact that he also split time at QB as a Junior, as @sho mentioned, isn’t encouraging after they went 7-4 despite having some very talented players. 

Obviously the coaches thought differently so hopefully they can coach him up.