RedDenver

Well, we'll just have to disagree then. I tend to side with the individual over institutional bureaucracy - so I disagree with your basic premise that some rule is more important than a kid. But that wasn't my point since the NLI commitment is not the point here. The point is that a player should be allowed to transfer schools, but a coach - who's supposedly helping young men learn and grow - just wants to stick it to him on the way out the door. Why does it matter if he transfers in July or in January? He loses a semester at the school he wants to attend, but the school he's leaving doesn't lose much because he's going to leave anyway. Yes, I think the rule should be different, but that's not my justification. As I explained, there are already checks and balances for players transferring, so why does the coach/school get to restrict a player arbitrarily? It's ridiculous. And yes, the process does need to be changed.

Since this is the last year of the BCS and formulas, it doesn't really matter. Next year we get a committee deciding these things.

THIS MAN GETS IT First, Vanderdoes isn't even going to a school very close to his grandma, for a local perspective it's about like saying you are moving to Lincoln to be near your family when they live in Scotts Bluff. Second, as you said, what about this situation calls for him to play this year? If anything wouldn't the situation call for him to not play rather than be wrapped-up in the responsibilities of football? He should be shirting, like much of his class will be doing anyway. This was a stupid call by the NCAA and it will create more work for them down the road with others that see this and figure they can state as good a case. You guys a re missing the main point: Vanderdoes had to appeal not to play this season but to avoid losing a year of eligibility AND having to sit out a year. ND's HC Brian Kelly wouldn't release EV from his scholarship so he could transfer normally. That's a d-bag move by a d-bag coach. The kid hasn't even set foot on your campus yet, but he should have to sit out a year and lose a year because some coach is unhappy the kid wants to transfer? NCAA got it right here. I think the rule that allows schools and coaches to allow or not allow a scholarship release needs to remove removed. Why should they get to screw around with the kid's future? (Note that there are still rules requiring a kid to sit a year after transferring, and I'm not suggesting lifting those. Also most conferences have stricter rules for transferring within the conference.)

Yep. Or a Millenium Falcon.

Seems reasonable for a preseason poll.

This. Or, of course, Brook Berringer. One of the all-time greatest backups in CFB history IMO.

You know his appeal was based on an illness in the family and him wanting to be closer to home? I doubt the NCAA will have too many kids with that situation. Besides, as others have said, EV starting for UCLA probably means their DL depth is in bad shape. Our running game is very good and should be able to maul an inexperienced DL. The lineup Brule posted above has upperclassmen as all the starters, which certainly makes more sense than EV starting. UCLA is the barometer game for us, and I feel confident with the game in Lincoln.

Watch it, that's my wife you're talking about. And I don't want her around for the game!

You are missing the point. This is a comparison between NU in 2012 and Auburn in 2009 (the year BEFORE they won it all). Here's Fairley's stats from 2009: 6'5" 293 lbs 28 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks Not impressive. We've got guys like that on our team.

Our defense actually trended up slightly this past season.

That's certainly been the mantra from the message boards over the last few years. Barney still works with the OL, so it's hard to say who's doing what. The OL is getting better and that's all I really care about from the OL coaches. Yes, but Barney is likely our weakest recruiter. I'd assume the person that takes over his role (or whatever role is created at the time of the hire) will be a major improvement over Barney in that area...and that's enough for me. Is there anything to back up Barney being a weak recruiter? I'm not saying you're wrong, but I've seen quite a few quotes from recruits saying they liked Barney.

That's certainly been the mantra from the message boards over the last few years. Barney still works with the OL, so it's hard to say who's doing what. The OL is getting better and that's all I really care about from the OL coaches.

I still think the coach is putting his players at a disadvantage without a good reason. I'm not at all convinced by your argument as you are apparently unconvinced by mine. I'll leave it at that.

Thanks for the laugh.

set the date schools can offer after they begin their senior year. that was easy. but that truly doesn't begin to solve anything. You're right, that solves nothing. NCAA can only set what the date is for "official" offers - which is currently the beginning of the player's junior year. Coaches can extended "unofficial" offers at any time. There's no way to regulate that. So your argument against my saying the HS coach is overly restrictive to his players is to give that coach even more power? And what about players who want to go to schools that their coach doesn't have a relationship with? And you expect schools to hold offers for guys just because? What if Stoltenberg's coach wouldn't let him visit NU until after the season? Could NU really hold a spot for him until Dec or Jan? That's a case where a player could miss out on a dream school because of that situation. It isn't all about the NFL or the education. It's about limiting a kid's opportunities. Would you be okay with my example of the math teacher that wouldn't let students take college visits?

Maybe Pelini should ask Callahan for some advice on how to get rid of dead weight! Firing your friends is tough. Not firing them can cost you your job! Just who would you say the "dead weight" on the staff is? Papuchis and Cotton! Next question? Why would you fire Cotton? Just because that fits the easy fan narrative over the last 5 years? The OL has gotten better every year under Cotton. And, as far as I can remember, most of the OL recruits mention Barney as a good guy and one of the reasons they came to NU. Papuchis is certainly up there as somebody who could get the ax based on the D's performance. But according to many on this message board, Pelini is the real DC of this team. Why then would you fire Pap?

if (1) is true then for the benefit of the student athlete shouldn't the process be slowed down so they can make well informed judgements? (2) pretty sure the vast majority of college coaches hold spots back for circumstances like this and for the can't miss prospects. still dont see how it is bad for the student. given the number of scholarships available at every level of competition, they are still receiving the opportunity to play football and have their education paid for. How do you propose doing (1)? The NCAA has no control over when players "commit" since it's an unofficial designation. (2) only applies to the best of the best players. Coaches don't hold spots for the rest. Not letting a player take visits could be the difference between a 1A offer and a 1AA offer. Not letting players take visits is ridiculous since the high school coach is dictating what the players can do on their own time. Imagine the outcry if a math teacher declared his students couldn't go on college visits during the semester.

I would be, I love how everyone pumps up the true freshmen I doubt any true frosh starts. I'm pretty high on Gerry, but he'll most likely only get a little playing time.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me a dozen times, shame on me. I'm fooling myself.

Message boards will blow up after every loss and most of the wins (since the schedule is supposed to be easy) Martinez makes a big mistake but overcomes it to win, but the message boards will blow up about <insert another QB name> would be better Huskers win the conference

That gif is perfect!! It looks like he's reading the previous post.

I wouldn't even go that far. It was solid in the 2nd half of the UCLA game, and held up well through 3 quarters of the Georgia game. There were a total of about 6-8 quarters of probably the worst rush defense I've seen in years. Unfortunately that was enough. We talk about the talent level, but w/ the exception of the UCLA game...the defense could never get mentally back into a game after it got out of control. Didn't the defense "get mentally back into a game" in the comebacks against Wisky, NW, MSU, and PSU? We fell behind by double digits in all those games and the defense must have gotten some late stops for us to win.

I agree completely. Plus our team played some tight games since then and battled back to win several. I think NU puts it away in the 4th quarter.

Very close to mine: 1. Cethan Carter 2. Nate Gerry 3. Maliek Collins 4. Adam Taylor 5. Courtney Love 6. AJ Natter 7. Josh Banderas 8. Terrell Newby But I think only 3-5 of them end up playing.

For all the crap fans gave Cassidy and O'Hanlon before him, either of those guys would have made the defense much better.