Waylon Van Smack

I agreed with the firing of FS. I do not agree with how it was handled, I dont like the face NU has in its AD. Be it FS firing or the Doak O firing, or just the way NU goes about its business these days it has changed. There is less of a connection with the fan base. NU athletics is now a business, its time had to come can be argued but IMO it has strained if not split the fan base as many of the threads here are example of.

It really does not matter what side of the fence you fall on with your opinion of SP. what makes an AD successful? I pose these questions to all of you; A) Are donations up? B) Are new coaching hires good ones? C) Is the fan base more or less unified? D) Is the overall direction of the Ath Dept going in the right direction? E) Are ticket sales up? F) Are the sports that actually contribute to the bottom line going the right direction? G) How is your program viewed by the rest of the world? (a case could be made that this does not matter) There are several questions that are no brainers in both directions and some that are yet to be answered IMO. I do not like the way NU handles their business, the face that has been given to NU is less favorable today than it was before SP. Donations are struggling at best. The fan base IMO is far less unified. Overall direction has not fallen and a case could be made it is better. ticket sales are stronger in several sports and faltering in a few more. FB is the driver of this state, and it is staggering at times but I still hold out hope things will work out but I give it less of a chance than at this time last year. In the end SP is accountable for the way this institution is viewed athletically and FB will make or break his ride as its CEO IMO. When Cally does a "f in hillbilles" rant that should be nipped in the bud, it should not be followed by a throatslash gesture. This is not the fault of BC if he is not being corrected. There IS more of a fortress being built and NU does not look the same to its fans than it did before SP.

all the above are fine and a valid opinion..... but will differant/better talent fix the lack of adjustments at halftime? will it keep BC from going xbox with trick plays at improper times (deep in your own end, with a lead in the first quarter.)? will it make NU Dback turn and face the ball not the reciever? there are several issues that IMO have little to do with the talent on the field but the talent coaching the players. we are in to this staff long enough as fans now that we see several trends both good and bad; they recruit like mothers, the players show improvement throughout the season.... but they also consistantly get beat at half, make questionable play calls on both sides of the ball, lose current players for the "next big thing"... IMO those trends are not going to change until change is forced upon the staff, I am not avocating change but some small amount of turnover will not hurt..... maybe a OC that can take the roll of "devil's advocate" or a voice of reason in Cally's ear, DB coach that instructs differantly (in fairness, the talent is not there yet).... it will be interesting as time goes by if Cally will have the courage to mix things up, make some bold choices before his contract is up or will he sink or swim with his staff as it is.

spoke to the group for about 20 minutes before turning over to our regular GA. very inspiring guy, he picked an empty seat next to me before the films to eat a Stoyich sausage samich, a burger, bowl of chili and a coke. I got there early to hold the good seats.... very good fortune move on my part! Offered his hand and introduced himself. got some one-on-one chat in. very nice guy. TONS of energy and good vibes given off by him. my brother and nephew walk in to see me and Blake laughing and cutting up. they sit, he offers his hand and intros again..... dont worry about this years recruit class.... "I got some guys tucked away, I dont go public with, once I go public everybody wants them!" "going after about 6-7 DL I keep calling them telling them "who wants to be part of the fab 5", they know there are more than 5 of them we are looking at.... now they are all calling me." asked him about Norvel, he said he was aware of the ISU thing but does not know where it stands.... I then point blank asked him "Do you want to be a HC again?"... "Yes, absolutly, I will be a HC again.... but I got work left to do before that happens. I like it here, my wife loves it here, my kids are treated great and we aint that far away" it was asked by someone if it was true that Miami was after him last year, it was true, he is not interested in Miami. He spoke freely of God, prayer, and relationships with these kids being more important than talking football. most of the time football is one of the last things he talks about. He also spoke of the fans, it is the #1 selling point of the recruiting process, NU fans are like no other in terms of passion. the love shown to these kids, most of whom are from single parent homes hit these kids the hardest when they come to NU for a visit. hearing their names chanted by fans, getting asked for autographs by little kids, all the well wishes, kindness, slaps on the back make a visit to NU much different. the most important thing you can do for NU in his opinion is to include the kids and staff in your prayers just once in a while. offered his hand again on his way to the door, with a big smile and a "pleasure to meet you"... my reply,.... "I will pray for you coach" I am proud as a fan of NU to have him as a NU coach.

Being part of this crowd was awesome..... what a game. I have no voice, my temples feel like they are going to pop. a real heart breaker. the corner is in sight.... NU is about to turn it. the recruiting class of 07 could put NU over the hump. FWIW - EVERY encounter I had with Texas fans before and after the game was nothing but class. refreshing!

recieved a PM that I will address here so all can see..... Hello there. I'd like to get some more info about the film sessions on Thursday nights in Omaha, such things as an address, time things begin, any etiquette that I should abide by, things of that nature. Any other advice you find prudent would be welcomed. Thanks! Cdog923here we go..... Place: Holy Ghost Church (Basement of the church, enter from east doors) Address: 52nd & Q South Omaha, Nebraska, USA Time: 7:30 pm start door open at 6:30 Cost: $5 at the door (goes to the church) various food items, beer beverages (non-adult) Raffles: all kinds of husker stuff 2 raffles per night (goes to the GA doing the films, your donations go straight to the staff!) Etiquette: be polite to the staff, dont talk while they talk, dont get out of line with the average monday moring, joe six pack, why we didnt do this or we should have done that stuff.... you will get booed down. what to bring?: your passion for Husker FB, well thought out questions, $$ for the raffles, your ears.... listen to what they have to say... they will answer any question (except recruiting) you have about the last game or the next game, players status, injuries, what ever..... do not go to the internet to post all you just heard, you will be excited, you will think you know something your husker brethren dont.... dont do it.... dont ruin it for others by making these coaches concerned that what they say gets back to the other team before the game... these GA's love the crowd, love the passion of South O, they will get you fired up, you WILL learn a lot, there may even be a test on what you should have learned....

just GA Osterholt. He is angling for Coz or Blake to make the drive one of these thursdays.... we will see, would be cool if it happens.

the films of K state looked pretty good, all harsh feelings aside, Freeman is a good QB, KSU has a very young team on both sides of the ball but has some skill. A very agressive D that wants to create chaos (kind of McBride esque). Special teams that really put their best on the field like NU. KSU lacks one key aspect..... SIZE, size on both sides of the ball and for a second aspect...DEPTH. without giving away what the coach said about the game plan specifically, I expect this to be a tough game could go well into the second half and dont expect KSU to quit, IMO it could be a better game than ISU. lots of great insight given, good football type stories, expect some former players to show up next week for the UT preperations. "we have a little something planned for Mr. freeman"

Omaha. 52nd & Q. 7:30pm, Basement of the church, $5 at the door. Beer and Food avail. Game film with GA. Rumors are there will be a very special guest in the house, bring your autographable stuff!!

Purify is the weapon NU has needed so badly. really opens things up. was also nice to see the Nickle D.... lots and lots of young talent that will be getting used more each week! ZT just continues to play within his ability. Mizzu and UT are looming large.

these kids were coached to say this IMO. If I have one concern about this staff is its inability to say we were out coached, there is no disgrace in it. I really like Bc and his staff but sooner or later you got to stand up and be accountable. one thing I always loved about TO was how he took pride in having his kids prepaired and how he usually absorbed that type of critisism onto the staff, even if it were true the players screwed up he took the hit as not having them prepaired. KU found mismatches against our LB's, NU blitz pkg was pretty much neutralized by KU's line and I think the crowd had little to do with that IMHO.

Sweet. Great to have you. Thanks DaveH!! thanks to HonoluluHusker as well. having fun getting this stuff set up. liked the intro thread also.

1) How long have you been a member of Husker Nation? 40 years 2) What/who led you to The Nation? Birth 3) Where are you from originally? South Omaha, Nebraska USA 4) Where do you live now? Bellevue/South O, NE 5) Favorite Husker memory? A)"Don't worry about where I've been fatboy, Worry about where I am goin!" B) getting tuned with Charlie McBride at Holy Ghost films. C) lifting weights with Dave Remmington, I was in HS, right before he was drafted. 6) Worst Husker memory? 62-36 sitting in the CU student section.... it was so bad. marked the end of a awesome awesome run. 7) Number of home games attended? 2 this year. average of 3 a year since 18 years old or so. 8) Number of away games attended? 6 or so? 9) Favorite Husker memorabilia/apparel? Autographed lid with Turner Gill's sig. 10) Favorite place to watch a Husker game? (section in Memorial, bar, friends house etc.) Hunting cabin in Iowa with dad and brithers. 11) Favorite all time player? Scott Frost 12) WCO or Option? Option but willing to accept WCO. thankful to have Cally, it could have been Houston Nutt. 13) Stevie Pederson or Billy Byrne? not so simple..... Peterson has foot-to-mouth at times (the list that ran dry) and can be.... not likeable, but he is doing what needs to be done, just could have been done a little better. $Bill should have swung the ax after the 7-7 season and NOBODY would have blamed him..... not all FS fault either, his hands were tied with dead weight he could not get "retired" fast enough but made bad choices at DC and Recruiting Co when he had the chance, his last staff was very good but too late. $Bill should have stood up to TO a little more upon his exit, NU kept to much dead weight on staff per TO's wishes. 14) Lil Red or Herbie Husker? Herbie 15) Favorite Husker play? Rogers punt return against Iowa St (not OU). Frost to Matt via foot against Mizzu. Rozier TD against UCLA. Crouch run against Mizzu. The Hit by Tom Rudd against OU. Watching Sapp suck wind in the Orange Bowl. Watching Peyton Manning scrape himself up time after time. Watching Spurier's face contort in the Fiesta. Watching Kordell look like he was stuck in the headlights so mant times againt NU. many more...... 16) Favorite game-day beverage? Elkcreeks at Sandy's 17) How did you find HuskerBoard? (referral source) by chance looking for wallpapers... like the graphics we will see about the rest. 18) Advise you could give fellow husker bleeders? Game films at Holy Ghost any Thursday night after a game at 7:30 pm. 52nd and Q Street, Basement of the church, South Omaha, NE. $5 at the door will be the best you spent all week. Films presented by a Grad Assit. from the staff. Food Beer Raffles of husker stuff. get it straight from the staff ask any question you like (be respectful). Been going on for 30+ years is the best gig in town.

Per the weekly films at Holy Ghost last week before the KU game..... Look for Purify to become a larger part of the NU O the rest of the way out. pre KU he was getting in on 15 or so snaps a game. look for that to double the rest of the way out, he is ready, he is a weapon that many B12 teams will struggle with. There are several plays designed to feature him and he will be getting more looks the rest of the way out. BTW - my first post here. Look forward to talking all topics NU with all of you.