All Hail Herbie

The true measure of Wandale's ability in FBS football will take place when he begins playing for UK. Our poor use of his abilities, poor blocking and lack of a deep receiving threat hampered his development and productivity. Of those three, my real frustration was with our staff using him for inside zone runs. Subjecting a speedy, 170 lb receiver to repeated tackles by 300+ lb. defensive lineman lacks wisdom. For comparison, how often do the Kansas City Chiefs and Andy Reid subject Tyreek Hill to inside zone rushes? All of his rushing attempts are on the perimeter (end arounds / pop passes, etc.). It is not a question of toughness, it is a question of basic physics. When a bicycle confronts a car, I presume we know which will win. Tough to be speedy when your frame is repeatedly hammered by mack trucks on the interior line.

Without question, this coaching staff will get 5 years to demonstrate whether their vision works. Coach Frost gets this latitude because of his ties to the state and program, his coaching success as an assistant and head coach elsewhere, and the lack of true alternative head coaching options at this point. There is no need to pare off his first year or explain away prior missteps. When you accept the job for $5 million annually, you own the product / result. For those of us who are skeptical, it is because the trend line right now is not positive. Based on 3 poor seasons, and many missed opportunities, that is an objective evaluation. He has 24 months to turn this around or the program will simply move on and wish him luck elsewhere.

In the context of 4 years of night, of course the sun does not rise. At this point, the multitude of problems are too vast and deep to even call out. The program is stuck in neutral, and it is clear that a fix is not on the horizon (and the horizon is not visible).

"Post your linebackers, safeties and corners on the perimeter during the first possession of every game and wait for that swing pass to be delivered." Per our "24/7" cub reporter, this is a confidential quote from a Big Ten Defensive Coordinator...

You are correct that he qualified the "adjust to us" line with the word hope. Bottom line, when you are coming off an undefeated season and National Coach of the Year accolades, your comments are near bulletproof (and rightfully so). It just seems entertaining now to look back at this given the clear shift in tone and attitude following 3 successive losing seasons. Pronouncements of confidence seem in short supply now. They may disappear entirely after Year 4.

Completely agree. While I like confidence in a coach, it was his hubris that struck me from the outset. "The Big Ten will need to adjust to us" when discussing offense or overtly expressing complete disinterest in special teams during one of his early Q&A sessions. I believe the line was that he "didn't even know what those guys did" when talking about his kickers and preparation. His offense was going to carry the program to new heights while defense and special teams were merely support mechanisms. The reality is that some coaches are just better suited to non-power 5 schools. I think Scott will find success again, just not with Nebraska. In 2 years time, I think this will become clear.

Make no mistake, we are not in a position to make any decisions on a transition right now. However, the trend line needs to be watched. Great to hear that we have continuity of staff this offseason, but lack of personnel continuity can also be very disruptive. To those that argue that these transfers do not matter, perhaps not when you are only winning 4 games a year. On a separate topic, does anyone else feel that Husker Football has an overabundance of paid press / analysts given its' current state? When a program is on top it might make sense to have all of these full time reporters covering a program, but at 4 wins do we really need "24/7" coverage? I would imagine too that it must be difficult for these reporters to get motivated every day, especially in the offseason. Reporting on transfers, winter conditioning, etc. that support a 4 win mantle. Perhaps these outlets should have them also cover 4-H or the crime beat to get better value for their investment.

I believe I conceded that attrition is a national phenomenon and not limited to this team. The transfer portal has given us this reality. My sense is that we have reached a point where the results are just not matching the vision sold. Obviously, we as fans have a much higher level of impatience than those on the inside doing the block and tackle work. That said, 3 years is a reasonable time to take stock of progress, and when progress is lacking, it becomes just another factor in a player's decision to move on.

Attrition such as this is expected to a degree now with the transfer portal (of which I am not a fan). Turning college athletes into free agents is not good for their longer term prospects as students, and hopefully professionals in something other than sports. In terms of the team, while many argue that these "name" departures are the result of individual decisions (and isolated), it just does not support the impression of a program on the rise. Very difficult to build a foundation when the turnstyle of student athletes (to and from) is revolving so quickly.

Please enjoy your weekend and all the best to you and your family.

I was not commenting on the OL in particular, just musing on the state of program. With regards to the OL, i genuinely hope that our holding penalties, false starts and rushing statistics improve next year. Moreover, I presume 2 years of coaching and focus will also resolve "jump snaps". Just ready to see a quality product again.

Unfortunate that our fan base has become a circular firing squad in light of current circumstances. We should be on the same team. Confronting the state of our program is not meant to be a lecture. The last 4 seasons are more powerful proof of our situation than anything I can say. If we have to squint to find success or progress, than we need to ask ourselves whether this is moving in the right direction. Message boards are poor venues for showing sincerity. i genuinely hope this works out, not because it proves someone right and someone wrong, but because we will be a happier fan base for it.

Idealism and realism routinely come into conflict and I typically call things as I see them. Perhaps I missed the 7 year plan for success that Coach Frost presented 3 years ago and am thus premature in my program assessment. Having watched this program for 35 years, I wish I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Believe me, I want this to work more than anything. Scott Frost is a terrific ambassador for our program and a great competitor. Sometimes though, circumstances dictate another direction. I just feel that momentum in a variety of areas is heading towards another change (as painful as that may be for some). Despite our disagreement here, we all want the same thing, a program we can be proud of on and off the field.

Your point is a fair one, albeit a micro one. My point was aimed at a macro level. There is now a reliable level of attrition that will occur regardless of an individual program or student athlete. The transfer portal has created the false promise of greener pastures elsewhere and young student athletes not accustomed to life away from home, or fierce competition for a starting position will be motivated to make a change. My point was aimed largely at the attrition rate within NU the past few seasons. Initially, high attrition was attributed to a change in staff / philosophy (Riley to Frost). However, attrition has remained high despite Coach Frost bringing in his recruits. This points to a larger structural issue, which is indeed a losing culture.

Losing culture begets a dispassionate / apathetic team environment, which eventually leads to departures. If this regime is ultimately able to turn the ship around, they will need to rely completely on lesser talent and fewer playmakers from this point forward. Elite athletes will not consider us until we demonstrate success on the field again. Playing time alone will not be enough of a carrot to attract top talent again. This window is now closed.

No matter who returns next season, the results will be dictated by whether or not turnovers and penalties also return. I would be completely happy if turnovers and penalties could transfer out for the upcoming season.

With the false promises of the transfer portal, and the impatience of players to both develop and compete, attrition of 5 scholarship players or so annually will be the norm. What needs to alarm us is not whether or not this annual churn takes place, but ultimately who is involved. If prominent starters are departing, this is not due to lack of playing time or inability to develop, but rather a vote of "no confidence" in the current regime and plan. Consistent poor record / results will drive many prominent players out as they fail to see that a turnaround is truly underway. After 3 seasons, we have reached the point where this staff can no longer sell the theory of "re-build" or "turnaround". Playing time is great, but being a starter on a perennial underperformer is not a legacy many successful players want to be a part of. Year 4 must produce a solid bowl and / or division crown! Otherwise, we are simply waiting for a coaching change in 2 years or so.

Talent remains a reliable argument for those who believe we are coaching well and executing well, albeit with lesser athletes. There are two problems with this line of argument; 1.) we are not competing against OSU or Alabama on a weekly basis and 2.) number of penalties / turnovers. If talent was the primary reason for our deficiencies, then one would assume our rushing totals against the Purdue's, Minnesota's, and Illinois's of the world would improve drastically. Conversely, we would see a dramatic drop in penalties / turnovers. Our blocking technique and schemes are not effective at the point of attack, thus resulting in negative plays. Add in consistent "jump" snaps that disrupt timing, and it is very easy to see why we consistently fail to produce 3 - 5 yards on inside run plays. Play selection is also a major issue that has nothing to do with talent. Refresh my recollection, but our decision to limit rushing attempts against Minnesota was due to their ferocious defensive front, correct? Their defense was bottom of the barrel against the run. Again, nothing to do with talent.

I agree. OSU punishes defenses at the point of attack with a north / south running game using both Sermon and Fields. Our approach is a perimeter one with run / pass. The plays take too long to develop and consequently, result in too many negative plays or turnovers.

Without question. AM should be the starter in 2021. Luke is a similar mold to Wandale (and brother Christian) in terms of athleticism. He is being done a great disservice when he is asked to throw the ball. Both athletes should be on the field with AM at all times next year. He is completely wasted by being a backup QB. With that resolved, can we now get the snaps, missed blocks, and OL holds fixed so AM can confidently make decisions?

To Bo's credit, I do think he had a good eye for talent evaluation (and you make a fair point). Perhaps this is a quality derived from his NFL experience. Given his tough stretch in coaching (end of NU Tenure and after), perhaps he should consider transitioning to scouting. It would be a good career move, and might be better suited for his temperament.

This is a good summary of where things stand. These issues cannot be fixed through recruiting, transfers, better scheduling, play selection or even selective staff changes. These are cultural and technique issues that are top down (HC to Assistants). I only see 3 players that seem to know how to perform and win consistently (Martinez, Robinson, and Taylor-Britt). Difficult to beat the other team's 85 with only 3.

Understood. I was conflating two topics purposefully. Overall, my point was that excitement over transfers, whether they be Juco or FBS, is unwarranted. Rarely, do the results match the expectations. For every Lavonte David, there are 20 Sam Kellers. Whereas Juco players simply desire a roster spot at the FBS level, and rarely become All-Conference type performers, FBS transfers should try and persevere with the school they originally selected. Focus on your education.

The attention given to "advanced" stats astounds me given the persistent problems within the program right now. We had 4 turnovers, 9 penalties, and permitted Rutgers to convert a fake punt and kick return for a touchdown courtesy of our special teams. This game should have been a rout as it was a complete mismatch. Yet, our ineptitude made us sweat the result late in the game. Both the Purdue and Rutgers games best illustrated why we are a bottom tier team right now. We won both (against lesser competition), but in neither instance was the game in hand due to our failures. The "problem" stats are the only ones that count right now so let's focus on fixing these.

Omar Manning just illustrates the irrational exuberance of a fan base during an offseason. Exceptional contributions from transfers rarely happen and I agree with Ed Reed, stay in school and compete for your position rather than transfer. Now getting Ed Reed to "transfer" in as a new assistant coach this offseason might create some positive momentum for this program.