bethelbacker

I'm hoping we see him on defense, but don't forget that we thought we had great depth last year at RB and then guys started dropping like flies. That said, with Helu/Castille/Mendoza having a year of seasoning, I think we'll be fine there this year, and the coaches will probly put him at LB (Pelini likes the shorter, faster backers who work with his blitz packages).

I'm torn on this one. On one hand, I remember trying to pick a school and having different groups of people wanting you to go different places. It was the toughest decision I had ever made, and I didn't have all the extra crap like the media attention and the hopes and dreams of 3 or 4 different fan bases dissecting my every move. So part of me sympathizes with the kid. On the other hand, if every other kid in the country can make a choice, what's taking Pryor so long? So it's a tough call. I do think to a certain extent that he wants to drag this process out, but I have read that basketball has gotten in the way of him visiting every school he wants to see, so you can't blame him for wanting to make sure he's been thorough. And no, Mark May shouldn't be criticizing him, because things are a lot different than when he was playing for mighty Pitt back in the day. That said, as much as May irritates me sometimes (ok, most of the time), I can't rip on him like I used to because he was right about our team last year when he ripped on us before we fell apart against USC.

Can't say I don't agree with ya......Callahan seemed to out-think himself in 2nd/3rd and short situations, even though those are supposedly the best scenarios for his offense.

Despite all the debating going on here, here's what my thought process is on the situation: I am genuinely excited that we have three guys who are all in real competition for the top spot. Ganz, Lee, and Witt all have a great amount of talent, and just like USC, having to face each other and push each other every day in practice is only going to be better for the program. That being said, I still really like Witt. I think Lee's scrambling ability is being overblown, and watching Witt in the spring game last year, he's got a great arm and was already pretty adept at working through his progressions (when he actually had time behind the #3 O-line). Either way, should give us something fun to talk about during spring ball. Like Watson said, Joe is #1 right now and there is no denying him that. But we have some talented guys behind him too.

I still think the '06 tunnel walk vids with the contender theme were the best thing about the Callahan era. Every time I hear that song and imagine someone saying "I play for Nebraska", I get goosebumps. I wish we could just bring that back in some form, just make some minor adjustments so it doesn't get stale. The downside is that if they did that, we'd always be reminded in the back of our heads that it started during a period we'd like to forget.

Brilliant! That's a smart kid right there, I never thought of that.

Which one of these is not like the other? Yea when I first read that quote, I was like "Oh damn, he's talking like Callahan already, including Davis in there." No offense to Beau, I appreciate his contributions, but I think it's safe to say that we won't be seeing him on the field in any competitive situations, barring a catastrophe happening to all the guys in front of him.

What does ISU have that's entertaining?? Other than that one strip club downtown Ames that I went to when my job sent me to Ames for a few days. I gotta tell you. That strip club was......let's just say......quite the experience . Wait, Ames has a strip club?? Why wasn't I informed when I was stuck there my freshmen year??

great post!

I too hate people that abandon their team or jump to a new one whenever it wins a championship, but at the same time, when a team with great expectations turns into a whipping boy (like last year), there's nothing wrong with making light of the situation. I'm as hard-core as they come with the Huskers, I'd never "jump off the bandwagon." But at the same time, I was joking about them last year, mainly because when your defense is getting their ass handed to them that bad, you can either get pissed and bitch and moan, or just deal with it. Initially I was irate, but as it turned into a weekly occurrence, the only way for me to keep my sanity with everyone making fun of me was to laugh it off and make jokes about it. Hell, I even did it AT the A&M game when we were getting our ass handed to us in the 4th quarter. Seems like everyone within six rows laughed with me because it was the only thing we could do to keep from binge drinking to drown our sorrows. Sometimes, laughing it off is the way to go. It doesn't mean I'm any less of a fan. I love NU, I love the teams that play for them, and I'll support them till my heart stops. Actually, if God is down with it, hopefully he'll let me come down to Memorial on Saturdays just to check in.

I like your call, but I could see a few games marked as losses going our way.....I know I'm probly guilty of drinking the Bo Kool-Aid here, but I could see us beating Va Tech (I know, I know, I need to temper my expectations). But the thing is, linebackers Xavier Adibi and Vince Hall are both gone, along with end Chris Ellis and cornerback Brandon Flowers. And this is a team that was completely shut down by Bo's LSU defense last year, 48-7. Now, I understand that LSU won a national title and we set records for defensive futility, so I'm not expecting us to magically be a fantastic defense this year. But I do think that their personnel losses coupled with an improved Husker defense can make this a close game, a game that will get Lincoln going and maybe pull off an upset. (I also think that that we'll lose to Kansas but beat CU). So my prediction is 8-4 with a bid to the Alamo bowl. A bit optimistic maybe, but hey, hope springs eternal.

I think that the reason for the amount of love Pelini is getting during his honeymoon period is the result of a divergence of several factors: a fan base fed up with monotone coach-speak and terrible defenses is being given a passionate straight-talker who has a love for hard-hitting, aggressive/attacking defenses. This is the perfect storm. It'd be one thing if all Callahan did was lose those ballgames, but the manner in which he did it and statements like "I know in my heart of hearts I'm doing an excellent job" didn't fly with a fan base that values honesty and straight-forwardness. If Cally had come out and said "Yea, we struggled on defense, we didn't play well at all, and a lot of that comes back to us coaches", I think that you wouldn't have seen near the backlash we did. With Bo, you get the sense there is going to be the accountability that Husker fans demand, and I think that's a big part of the reason there is all the Bogasms going on, because we have a coach who understands our culture a bit better. That and the fact that he hasn't lost any games here yet. This could all change next fall. But that's what's great about the honeymoon period: everything is all gravy right now.

When we talk about guys we think are good players not playing, I think some of it comes from the perception that during Callahan's tenure he played favorites and at times didn't play guys who offered the best chance to win. When guys like Thenarse come out and say "I just hope that the best guys play" during the coaching search, you have to wonder if the previous staff was actually doing that. I'm not saying I'm an expert, and I'm not saying that I think the fans should determine the depth chart, but I just think that the past couple of years that fans are curious why certain guys weren't on the field. And it's not like Callahan did anything to answer those questions, he'd usually just deflect them and talk about "Oh, well, you know, Joey Ganz is up there competing with Sam, and Beau Davis is in there too, working hard, and it's a good competition." Crap like that got real old (everybody knows Beau Davis isn't gonna start!), and fans want to know why certain guys aren't playing, particularly when in their limited time they play well (Ricky on special teams for one example).

Look for them to come back for OU in '09, that is unless they are in Blacksburg earlier that year for our showdown with VT.

First off, on Vanden Bosch, that guy has a motor like I've never seen. I was watching one segment on NFL Live or one of those shows (there are roughly 79 NFL shows now), and they had him miked up. That guy NEVER stops flying to the ball, he is relentless to the whistle. High school kids should have to watch film of him to see what hard work really looks like. Second, having lived in Minnesota the past 8 years, I have grown to completely hate the Vikings. It's hard to hate a team who continuously fails to do anything significant, but between the purple unis and having to hear about a perennial loser year-round, I can't stand these guys. It's fun watching a team with a group of seemingly D-II receivers and a mediocre quarterback try to help out a once-in-a-generation tailback like AP, I can't wait till he is traded for 50 cents on the dollar.

From what I heard, TO wasn't too keen on the idea of a night game because of the halftime ceremony where kids pledge to abstain from booze and drugs. If you gave fans four or five more hours to get hammered, it might send a mixed message. Bo will go 1's vs. 1's, but he won't put our QBs at risk.

I'm really hoping the new staff makes an impact with Brooks, he's too athletically gifted to be making absolutely no impact. I don't know, maybe it's a practice thing, but seriously, you never hear ANYTHING about him. I had high hopes for him. Swift will rebound after a somewhat down year last year, and I think Holt will be #2, with Paul emerging as a under-the-radar stud at #3.

Man I wish I was going to be there, it's looking less likely by the day. Thinking i'm gonna save the travel expenses for a real game (and WeFest).

Congrats kid, go live the dream for all of us!

The link was already posted, but here it is again, from Wald's hometown paper: http://blog.al.com/segrest/2008/02/mason_w...tavia_team.html

YESSSS! I think it's kind of funny how a kid who seemed to be headed to I-AA now has a mini-legend growing at NU before even stepping on campus. Can't wait to see this kid throwin' the bones.

I doubt this kid will walk on for us. He had a chance to come here but sat on the offer too long, and now it seems to be gone. But the difference between this kid and our walk-ons is that those kids are the Nebraska-bred types, whereas Wald doesn't have that commitment to the program. If he has to walk on and pay money somewhere, he might decide to just stick around home and go to 'Bama. I hate to say it, but we may have lost Wald for good.

Never underestimate the power of self-belief and confidence. Do I think we are going to be the best in the country next year? No. But I do think we will be top 20, bank on it. This staff have these kids ready to decapitate people, and I'm excited to see what develops.

I hope they never get his film......if someone close to home offers him, he ain't comin to Lincoln.....he wants to stay close to home if possible....

When you see that we offer a 5'11", 195 kid who has no other offers, you wonder what the hell we are thinking. Then you watch the film. I just watched his tape on Rivals, and this kid is a BAMF, a Bad Ass Mother F*cker. He absolutely lights people up, man I hope we get this kid, he's a player, size be damned.