Wistrom Disciple

Will require the offense to churn out first downs and manage the game a little better throughout the season. We can't expect the defense to face 70+ plays a game and keep opponents under 10-20 points.

I agree, small sample size and yes he did miss at least one assignment that cost us. That said, Farmer had the two turnovers in the one half he played. Dismuke has played for four years and has zero interceptions or notable plays. If the defense is designed around being aggressive and causing turnovers, we need the playmakers on the field. Rotating is fine but Fisher has to commit to that or else we're not actually developing the younger guys as practice experience and game experience are two different deals.

Agreed that he improved last year. Though I believe he is at or near his ceiling as a player already and I would prefer he moves on and Farmer, Clark or NPG get the time in back there. Farmer alone had two more interceptions in one half last season than Dismuke has had in his career. Really going to be interesting to see how the squeeze goes in the secondary.

Can we take Honas & Stille and let Dismuke go? Pretty please? Surprised Williams is coming back when he'll be 25 in October but pleased about his return.

After they made the snapping adjustment, he played and snapped relatively well the rest of the season. Not sure you can keep harping about it if they've corrected it already.

I’ll summarize the past two years’ philosophy for you: 1. Bubble screen 2. Wandale designated touch 3. QB scramble for first down *4. Bad snap and/or penalty 5. RB run into defender for three yards 6. Another Wandale touch 7. Throw out of bounds on third and long 8. Punt *#4 was always a wildcard and could appear at any point in the order. Quite the suspense!

You make a good point with WR and JD being natural slot receivers. There is something to wanting those big 6'2"+ receivers though as those big body receivers help us in many ways. First, blocking -- their body size alone gives them an advantage against the smaller receivers we've had on the edges lately. (Yes, effort and willingness to block are more important but the sheer size helps). Next, they are bigger targets for a QB to look for downfield. Lastly, the bigger size naturally draws more attention and should give more space for the smaller slot receiver types to thrive with open spacing. If every receiver is under 6'0 and running routes under 10 yards, they all are effectively slot receivers. So adding receivers of size like we have lately, we should be in better shape as a total offense come fall. If any of the new guys (including Manning in this) prove to be good blockers, we could be very interesting to watch.

Yes, I would like to believe Frost is evolving his philosophy and focusing more on being the bigger, tougher team rather than simply being the quicker team. Quickness is great when found in abundance. That Florida speed element has been transferring away so hopefully we'll get more balance in the offense. More clock and tempo control, less trying to be faster than everyone else all the time. I think this coming year could be a big step forward for the program despite WR transferring. Putting 3-4 receivers/tight ends taller than 6'2 on the field every play can open up the offense much better during the course of the season. Pulls the secondary back in dealing with tall receivers and opens up the running game. It also gives Adrian a wider target to throw with the bigger receivers. We just need to get some of these guys healthy enough to stay on the field.

Makes sense, hopefully the current transfers end up happy and get their degrees. Unfortunately, I get a feeling most will wash out and end up not graduating if they cannot commit to finishing their academics along with the football aspect.

Thanks, sorry I didn't know where it was posted. Definitely an odd move unless you're looking at other options. Hope he stays but also hoping he looks at a receiver/Taysom Hill role for us instead of solely QB.

@Mavric, do you see the transfer portal rules tightening at any point? Makes me wonder if coaches will only sign ~20 kids per class in the future and just bank on filling roster spots with transfers every year if the rules remain as they are right now.

Previous poster mentioned his latest follows on twitter were Head Coaches or QB coaches at different schools including Iowa State, Purdue, Notre Dame, NDSU, etc.

In part, yes. Also, an inflated sense of self with regards to Robinson's influencers (Dad & trainer). If you're that small, you must be quick enough to outrun most (or all) of a defense when in space or you must be powerful/tough enough to overpower edge tacklers. When you're neither, you're a slot receiver that has to be an incredibly good route runner with a QB who can find you in space.

I think we can no longer suggest Riley's fingerprints on the program. Yes he left the cupboard bare for Frost and staff. Since then, Frost has overturned the roster and now this is fully his team. Player development is a legitimate gripe. Situationally, the staff has not done a very good job of working new players in at the skill positions and, when they have, it's been inconsistent. Too much pressure to feed WR his touches and it took away from the offense. It's why Fleming left after a solid game for us against Northwestern. Betts with a nice run against Penn State largely went silent after. Limited use of Scott, Johnson & Thompkins when Mills was injured. Sucks to lose a good player like Robinson but may end up being a blessing for the program's development of other players and give us a more well-rounded offense. Defensively, this is a non-issue as they have done a good job with development and Greg Austin has been trying to do so with the offensive line with mixed results so far. Skill positions are the ones the staff must develop this spring.

The problem, as @BIG ERN pointed out, is that he's an undersized player without the breakaway speed. I agree that the quote doesn't make sense as he was the one player with touch quotas on offense. I am inclined to believe that it was a handicap for the team as coaches had to press to find ways to get him the ball XX times per game. Instead of rolling with Mills or hitting a pass to a tight end, they forced passes and runs to WR. Hopefully his departure will be mutually beneficial in the long run but obviously stings right now.

Where does Ezra Miller (Iowa transfer) factor in? Thought he had some promise based on reporter’s views of situation last fall. Also might be a spot for a Luto to come in and make a splash if he’s as good as advertised

Also had a mismatch in sheer player size. Cameron Meredith (maybe 280 soaking wet) was forced into a DT spot in that championship game due to some injuries as I recall. I remember watching that game thinking the Wisconsin O-line had dudes that were just simply more wide and bulky than anyone on our defensive line. It was then that I realized that we needed to get some guys that were bigger if we were to hold our own in the league. Thankfully, Bo and his staff had figured that out as well. As he adjusted to the Big Ten, they started recruiting bigger guys who more closely matched what the conference demanded. Vincent Valentine & Maliek Collins redshirted that year and there was debate of whether to burn the redshirt or not that late in the year. Thankfully for those players’ careers, they kept the shirts on but those two could have definitely helped take up some space in that title game. Would have been nice to have the new redshirt rule (up to four games) back then and it would not have been as embarrassing I think.

True, though beyond a 4th year Ozigbo, there was not much left when Frost got here. Bell was highly touted but as far as I know, wanted to play closer to home. Mills has been decent when fully utilized. I placed that utilization problem on the staff though he has had injury issues. I also believe we have a decent young group but with little experience. That should be placed on the coaches. A lot of this should be more fully developed with a spring camp and “normal” year ahead.

Not great but obviously they're examining this every year... hence the 15 signed WRs in three years. Riley was absolutely at fault for what Frost inherited but that set of players has now expired and the recruitment/development of the current group is on Frost and his staff. Can't plan for two idiots sexually assaulting someone (one was to be the starter and his backup). Unfortunately, the first class they swung and missed on getting any noticeable talent for the program. Obviously you hope to strike gold on at least a couple but more often than not, you get a lot of reaching. Bo did this with his first class in 2008 but thankfully was able to work with remaining Callahan talent to bide time for his recruits to get settled in the program. Latest classes give hope that the talent is growing at the position. This spring will be very important.

Sorry to hear about your personal experience in dealing with MS-stricken family members. At this point, we can only go off the actual words written/spoken by WR. He says the decision is due to family health issues, we have to take it at face value. Ultimately, maybe there is more to it but for now, we have to take him at his word and hope for the best for both him and the program.

Good for both players, seem to be better fits anyway. Pledger in the Pac-12 always made more sense and Anderson playing at a Group of Five school close to home makes the most sense.

Butler admits to just wanting to troll. Is proud to be one of the "Riley Boyz"... hey more power to him if he feels like this is helping him heal... just not a good look from him as Riley did less with more than any Husker coach in 40+ years.

I wish the latter too. Rumors will swirl for awhile as his Dad is the Head Coach at Northern Colorado. I'd expect his older brother to transfer there before Luke but maybe they both want to reunite at some point?

I think the ESPN reporter is click baiting with the tag there. Considering WR was the one player on offense with a touch quota, I'm not sure how much more he could have been featured. Although I would like to have had him stay, this might end up being the best for both the player and the program. Frost and Co. will need to develop hard this spring but I would like to believe that we end up being more well rounded after this with more focus on using the runningbacks as intended to control the clock and tempo.

I think it’s important to remember that Moos has been pretty transparent that this is a multi-year rebuilding. Do we need to see offensive and special teams progress this coming year? Yes. However, we can at least be proud of the defensive improvement year over year. Unlike the Riley era where we had no phase that was close to good, our defense was pretty impressive considering the circumstances this year. Should Wandale transfer, maybe it forces the offense to change in philosophy and function? Maybe we take on more of Iowa State look with lots of tall receivers, tight ends and a heavy workload for running backs? I hope we keep him here as he is a good team member but let’s take a step back from the ledge if he decides to transfer.