Wistrom Disciple

15 minutes ago, HANC said:

If he wants to play for national championships and go to the NFL, he will not be coming to Iowa. If his only goal is to become a great NFL player, then expect him to come home. Iowa has one of the strongest traditions of putting lineman into the league

Had? The way they booted Brian Ferentz and the way their program seems to be in some sort of  limbo might shake up their tradition there (I hope)

14 minutes ago, ChubbaWubba said:

 

Who has the bag? Dylan needs a protector

At one time, he was an Iowa commit. Would be a great addition if we could add him and let him face them for a couple of years. 

Best part about this team so far this season is the way they seem to be staying steady despite whatever runs they give up or go on. Just chopping away. Huge difference from a couple years ago. 

Heck of a half, we sustained Purdue's shooting streak and had a pretty nice one of our own. Need to continue trying to work inside out as their collapsing defense is giving shooter more clear shots. Purdue is too good to expect a long cold streak.

3 minutes ago, Savage Husker said:

Rebounds, turnovers, and fg’s/% pretty much indicate the better team won by the right margin. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it doesn’t look like a terrible stat line. Appears Wisconsin is just better offensively and NU needs to play a helluva lot better defensively if they going to beat ranked teams.

Numbers weren't bad for us offensively. Defensively, Wisconsin got hot early to which we couldn't overcome the deficit. Our turnovers definitely hurt us, as did some head scratching whistles. Hope we can shake it off and come back better next week.

5 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

Down 38-51 at half. 
 

38 points on offense isn’t bad. 
 

Giving up 51 on defense is what’s horrible. 

Wisconsin was shooting pretty well. Rebounding could use some work. Need to find a way to cut down on turnovers again, ugh.

57 minutes ago, chamrocck said:

I think a good chunk of why our QBs and RBs have struggled is due to OL.  This has to improve. Some say it improved but not at the level a ranked team needs. To me this is the most critical unit next season like yet again. I don’t want Raiola to be under constant duress like a Shadeur Sanders, talented QB but no protection. Donny gots to protect his nephew! 

Eh, I think the OLine was a surprising bright spot given all our other offensive issues this year. They performed well enough to be top 3 in rushing in the conference and our QBs had plenty of time in most passing situations. Were they perfect? No, but I believe they performed well enough for us to win every game but Michigan. 

On 12/30/2023 at 10:22 AM, LP1 said:

The ship has sailed on Fleming. As for Banks, the big issue obviously is that he goes to Michigan after us so they'll have the opportunity to exceed whatever we offer. Rhule has stated in the past that he's not interested in getting into bidding wars so if Michigan's offer is better he's likely theirs.

Will have to be more than NIL to the decision. Here he comes in as the presumed #1 receiving option with the most experience and a highly regarded incoming QB. That alone is a big factor in the consideration. There are obviously benefits to going to Michigan as well, but I doubt money is the deciding factor. 

10 hours ago, Huskerfollower4life said:

Is Dylan Raiola playing in any high school All American games bc I see that Carter Nelson and Grant Brix are playing but can't find any information on if he even got invited to play in one?

Polynesian Bowl (source) - January 19th

1 hour ago, Mavric said:

Getting good players involved PR but is far from "winning the PR battle."

Agreed, simply getting highly ranked recruits on campus or ideally signing with us does not translate to a successful program. Does it improve our odds? Absolutely, however until we win on the field, everything else is just hype and patting ourselves on the back.

1 hour ago, NsideScoop said:

Making Recruiting Noise => Getting PR => High-Level Recruit Interest => Getting Guys on Campus => Connect Commits with Recruits => Commitments => Young Depth => Experience => Developing into High-Level Starters => Wins

 

We have had most of these steps during the last few years, but the Raiola noise is the loudest in recent years.

 

However, we have lacked the bolded step, which is definitely the most important. I trust that Rhule is building this program and emphasizing development.

 

Not to mention we have really struggled with the last step, which is a result of the lack of development.

I agree. Thank you for solidifying the point I was making. 

36 minutes ago, Mavric said:

And yet we have the #2 player in this class visiting as we type....

Yes, and that's a great sign that Rhule has the program heading in the right direction. As you know however, winning games is far more important than winning the PR battle. 

1 hour ago, HS_Coach_C said:

Or Kaelin realizes that there's a good chance Raiola is only a 3 year guy and Kaelin is willing to sit and develop. Plus, as of right now Kaelin could easily be #2 going into next year. 

Or simply looked at our recent QB injury history. Each year for at least the past 5-6 has had a backup QB start at least one game a season, and often required a third string QB to play meaningful minutes. 

15 hours ago, Cornfed said:

Thank you for reiterating, I guess. Point being, you can’t say we’re in the same class as BYU/TCU/Iowa st because of our recent record. There’s a lot more to the college football machine than just your record. 

You're welcome.

We have not been in the same class as any of those three at this time. Off the field we're competitive with most Top 10-15 teams of the college football world, but on the field (where it counts) we have been more on par with Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, and UConn. You are correct that programs are often perceived as successful by more than just their win-loss record (ie- NFL draft picks, rankings, etc.). However, the one metric that will always be most important in the perception of a successful program is whether Team A is consistently winning on the field. 

2 hours ago, Cornfed said:

Every blue blood has down years. Granted Nebraska’s has felt like forever. We still have the pedigree. The same can’t be said about the aforementioned.

We have the pedigree to our own fan base and college football fans older than 25-30 years old. Yes, we have the facilities, investment, and the history to match up with almost anyone in the country. However, we haven't been to a bowl game since the current recruits were entering middle school and haven't been a true Top 10-20 program since they were in first or second grade at best. 

Therefore, @Huskerfollower4life makes a valid point that in the eyes of recruits, our program's current standing is no better than the likes of Iowa State, Arkansas, etc. Only when you factor in the off-the-field stuff (facilities, NIL, etc.) do we have more appeal than those programs. 

9 minutes ago, Huskerfollower4life said:

I woke up this morning and started to think that bc of what transpired this year with the qb's play on the field this is exactly what needed to happen bc if Jeff Sims did come here and succeed I don't think that Nebraska would have been in the position they are in to gain his commitment.  Raiola has a clear path to play early and my belief is that he feels he is ready to start bc of his ability and bc he was able to pick up 4 different offenses in high school.  Yes their will be a learning curve once he hits college but other then Tommie Frazier and Suh coming here this is the biggest recruiting win we have had for a decade.  Can't wait to see him play bc he is being compared to Patrick Mahomes and that's says a lot.

To be contrarian... Sims has a breakout year, declares for the NFL Draft and Nebraska is again looking for QBs. I get the sentiment though, hopefully Dylan does see the potential and wants to be a part of it. 

30 minutes ago, Huskerfollower4life said:

When I say got screwed over Im meaning bringing another power 5 former starter to compete for your spot.  It wasn't exactly Casey's fault that he got hurt the o-line didn't do him any favors much of that season.  Yes I understand the coaches concerns with him coming off a injury but if CT is their so called guy then you don't bring another guy in with experience you let him make the mistakes on the field and pull him just like what happened to Sims.  I don't really see the fit with him coming back and probably wanting a starting spot and him potentially having to compete with Riaola who is the number one qb in the nation.

I gotcha. I can’t fault the coaches for bringing in Sims. The fan base would’ve been complaining had we not brought in a transfer QB last year and Casey got hurt (again). I thought both sides handled the entire situation rather amicably all things considered. Much easier to bring in a talent, matured one-year QB with an extensive injury history and sell the Raiola family on easing into a role. Ideally get a redshirt year while the staff builds an offensive identity and talent around him. Gotta love/hate speculation season 

9 minutes ago, brophog said:

Silly season. I think.

 

Who would have guessed with this morning's fireworks that we'd lose two QBs but get a very talented offensive lineman to walk on.

 

I guess it makes as much sense as that for a former QB in his 217th year of eligibility to come back simply because he was seen playing some ball on campus.

Could be silly, but very oddly timed visit to Lincoln in the middle of the key transfer window when the school is looking for a short-term QB. 
 

12 minutes ago, Huskerfollower4life said:

I don't believe Casey Thompson is in the mix to come back here.  He left bc he got screwed over by the coaches on not being the guaranteed starter for this year when the coaches brought Jeff Sims in to be their guy.

I’m not sure I would agree that he got screwed over exactly. He was coming off another surgery for a team that was 4-8. He stuck it out through the winter and spring practices before deciding to go elsewhere when Sims looked like the clear #1 post-spring. Neither side publicly had anything but positive comments on the other so it’s not too much of a stretch to see mutual interest again. After all, Casey wasn’t raking in $1 million and seemed genuinely enjoy his experience and teammates while here. Seems like a good fit if he’s Interested. 

So is Casey Thompson in the mix or is that wishful thinking? Very odd to see him come back to visit friends in the middle of December of all the possible times to swing through. 

1 hour ago, MacReady said:

Anyone else perplexed by DR’s official visit? The whole thing seems odd to me. I mean, what else does he need to see?
 

The only explanation I can come up with (complete speculation on my part) is that he has verbally committed to us and is working with the coaches to peer-recruit this week. Get some Dudes on campus this weekend and be here in person to assist the coaches in pitching Nebraska. 
 

I don’t know. Just a thought.

To make a commitment video via Husker equipment truck of course.

It would be a pretty neat deal to have Casey back for his final year and hand off the reigns to Dylan should he decide to sign on. 

1 hour ago, brophog said:

 

If we look at top rated QBs over the past few years, then there's a better than average chance Raiola eventually transfers.

 

I feel very argumentative in this thread and I don't want to be but I feel I'm fighting against a wave of very short term thinking that is in no way indicative of how college football actually is functioning right now.

 

This article on QB transfers has some insane stats on how ridiculously prolific QB transfers have become.

I can understand that but not many of the QBs transferring have an uncle on staff or have the family connections to the university quite like his. A transfer is certainly possible, especially given the HS track record in that regard. But I just don't envision that being a serious consideration for at least a year or two, if not longer as a worst case scenario.

3 hours ago, floridacorn said:

There would be a lot of factors into Kaelin potentially sticking with Nebraska, first would be how hard the staff pushes to keep him in, and probably the most overlooked one would be how he gets along with Raiola.  They have been around each other in a few settings.  

If his goal is to be a starter though, it's a much easier road to go elsewhere than trying to beat out a 5-star legacy QB who is regarded as a Top 3 HS QB this year. Sucks for DK, but probably best for all parties if he looks elsewhere.

2 hours ago, Dr. Strangelove said:

I don't think that's the case here.

 

At Georgia, the expectation would be to compete for playoff spots and getting to the National Championship. With the way they recruit, anything that isn't at least qualifying for a 12 team playoff is a massive failure. I think Georgia fans would expect to win at least 1 playoff game each year.

 

At Nebraska, the expectations aren't even in the same stratosphere. The expectations here would be getting to bowl games early in his career, with the hope that Nebraska qualifies for a big time bowl game (NY6 or equivalent) once in his career. Even if Nebraska doesn't do that, which I don't think they currently can, guiding the program to a few 8-4 or 9-3 records would be a huge.

I don't want to make too many assumptions, but I doubt Raiola would leave Georgia because of their expectations. My impression is that the Nebraska program is as heavily scrutinized, watched, and media-covered as any program in the country. I'd be surprised if too many other programs continuously have 20+ media members at every press conference, practice, interview session, etc. Given the size of the school and our state, if escaping expectations were the goal, he could go to any number of other programs.

1 hour ago, Undone said:

Yep. That's why I thought back in the spring that we had a legitimate chance of landing him, given Rhule's college coaching track record.

 

Different train of thought: from the NIL angle, I think the amount of money any college team is offering factors into the equation less for high profile players like Dylan (who have a good chance of going to the NFL someday) over the low to mid tier players. Because if you make it to the NFL that money is going to be way more, most likely.

 

Dylan is one of those players. So I'd think the main criteria is who he & his family thinks can develop & showcase his abilities the best for the NFL.

I have to wonder if Dylan wanted to see how Rhule and the staff coached this year and whether Rhule was truly giving Donnie a shot or simply keeping him on in hopes of signing his nephews. Maybe Georgia screwed something up in their handling of QBs/roster, but I'd like to believe it was simply Dylan seeing an opportunity here that would check more of his personal goals. The "hero" factor also probably has it's own draw as I fully agree with you that most of these highly rated, Top 10-20 recruits likely have the confidence that they will be in the NFL regardless of where they go.

The smoke around Etienne largely is tied to following Raiola (and vice versa) on social media I imagine. Going to be a lot of rumors being added to this board if we do lock in McCord & Raiola though so buckle up.