AR Husker Fan

Well, the kicking game needs work, and Dailey - after coming out on fire - cooled off, but overall, it was everything we could hope for. The Blackshirts were - well, the Blackshirts. A minus 3 rushing yards for WIU. Thirty pass attempts for 218 yards by Dailey. Most points scored since the 2000 Kansas game. And the offensive line played far, far better than I could have hoped. Yep, not bad. Preliminary Final Stats

What I really like in reading this is that it seems this is a kid that is really making an effort to discover what each school has to offer. He sounds as if he's not going to be dazzled by flash - he wants substance. That has to help NU...

Well, if this was going to happen, best that it happens now, and not in the middle of the season. This way Dailey doesn't have to get used to a new snap "feel". Love this guy's talent, but he's become more liability then he is help.

There are 90 rows - why? Just joking! Sorry, couldn't help myself. Don't know how many rows, either. Image of AR Husker Fan turning, ducking, and running like hell...

Not to hijack the thread, but I really think Solich's demise was based on recruiting. I don't think Pederson thought that Solich couldn't coach or that a particular type of offense was needed (although I'm probably wrong on this) - I always got the impression that he thought that the quality of athlete was going down or was less than what other schools were getting. One of the reasons I've thought this is the fact that he went after Nutt. Nutt is supposed to be one of those high-energy recruiters, and as a coach always puts recruiting at the forefront. Anyhoo, just my impression of the situation...

I admit to having a special place in my heart for the option, but I also think that it will return. Offenses tend to run in cycles. As defenses adjust and catch up, coaches begin to experiment - and one thing they like to do is to pull out offenses that are unique, as it makes it difficult for a team to change defensive philosophies in a week. While there is some truth to the idea that players are getting bigger and faster, it's also true that most defenses are, in reality, going small. They want fast athletes who can swarm the ball. It ranges from tough to impossible to find defensive lineman that are huge - there aren't enough to go around. We see safeties becoming linebackers, linebackers becoming ends, and ends becoming tackles. But I think this plays into the hands of a team committed to the option. The key is to recruit the correct kind of lineman. Rather than going for the 330 pounders, an option team should go slightly smaller - more agility and quickness. Option plays typically are either "quick-hitters" up the middle, or rely on getting to the outside and away from the interior defense. That means that linemen need to engage qickly and to get that first, initial "pop". They don't have to maintain blocks for a long time, and in most cases don't need to open gaping holes. Couple that with a true option quarterback, and there's no reason the option can't be just as effective today. Yes, the option has its drawbacks - it isn't an offense that permits a team to come back from deficiets as easily as a passing offense. For an option team, the key is to always have a stud defense that can keep the score close. But all offenses have some drawbacks - passing offenses tend to be unable to get "hard yardage" when needed, or to hold a lead late in a game. And finding a passing quarterback is just as difficult, if not more so, than finding an option quarterback. There are hundreds of kids that can run and have adequate passing skills - there are far less that are true passing quarterbacks. Eventually we'll see a resurgance of the option. As the trend continues toward "athletes" on defense, coaches will start to look at it. "Athletes" tends to mean players who perhaps lack fundementals or the discipline to play their gap or man. That plays right into the hands of an option offense. Just give it some time...

According to an interview given by Nutt some time back, one of the considerations given was a meeting with the AD, Broyles, in which Nutt detailed his returning players, the schedule, and his (then probable) recruiting class. Nutt wanted assurances that everyone understood that this year and next would be difficult, and that his job wouldn't hang in the balance - that he's recruiting well and that this was just a "blip". Arkansas' senior class this year is quite small - only 9 or 10. Arkansas "over-projected" on a lot of recruits - both in terms of ability and academices - in 2000. It's going to be brutal in Arkansas this year...

Love the Lord of the Rings trilogy, along with Braveheart for drama, but my favorite is "Inherit the Wind" with Spencer Tracy. For humor, it's a toss up between "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" and "Mouse Hunt". Great physical comedy in both.

Part of the problem is that too many recruits really don't have an idea what they want or what system best fits their abilities. They get to a campus, are dazzled by the facilities and such, and have a hard time saying, "No". Then they go to the next campus, and it repeats.

A new offense, predicated on the pass. A new quarterback, who needs protection up the middle to give him time to make his reads. Incognito moved to center and he and the quarterback needing all the reps on the center-quarterback exchange they can get. This could be a disaster...

If the Presidents deny this, then how the heck are athletes expected to actually accumulate hours? Given the amount of time spent in meetings, practice and film review, and the inability to schedule classes to fit around those athletic requirements, it is nearly impossible to maintain progress toward graduation without them. And what the heck is so different about these hours and, say, a phys ed course???

During pre-season? Like what? During the season we'll discuss what's happening from game-to-game. During recruiting season(s) we'll discuss who's being recruited and who has committed. Quite simply, the team is discussed - what's happening and what may happen. Practice is what's happening. As for every coach doing the same, perhaps - and perhaps not. The point, though, is that this information gives us insight to the coaches - are they going to put up with players trying to slack off? Are they going to cut them too much slack? Are they doing the "little things" that need to be reinforced each day? Presumably, each coach teaches fundamentals, also. But the reality is some focus on them more than others. Some are more detailed. Some teach fundamentals during the pre-season, but then don't keep focusing on them during the season.

How is the selection made? By the team? Or by the coaches? I'm wondering if this wasn't done to help Daily on the field - to give him more of a "command" presence. On the other hand, if your quarterback isn't looked to as a leader - regardless whether he's nameda as a captain - you've got some problems....

I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who posts this kind of information. For us Husker fanatics that don't live in-state, this is like uncovering gold. Thanks, guys!

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5751776/ While I love the option, and bemoan the fact that Nebraska won't be running it, I have to admit - that's pretty funny!

I really hope he can stay at defensive end. While he's strong and gets a push up the middle at tackle, over the length of an entire game he's bound to get worn down going up against players that are usually a minimum of 30 pounds heavier. And since he does get a push, he's going to get double-teamed. Unlike at end, that double-team would mean two 300+ pounders. I have no doubt that he'd give it his all on each play at tackle - I'm just afraid that "his all" would just have to decrease in those circumstances. At end, he has a chance to really display all his talents and best help the team.

Man, oh, man, does this guy worry me. All the talent in the world. But if ever there was a season for him to be above reproach on the field, this is it. We have a new offense being implemented that absoluely requires the center of the line to deny a "push" by the defense. We have a new quarterback - no matter who it is - who will have either little collegiate experience, little West Coast offense experience, of both. We have a realtively inexperienced line that is having to switch their thinking 180 degrees. In other words, we need Richie on the field, and we need him desperately. I truly hope he realizes that, and he really can tame his temper. It can be done - look at Wallace with the Detroit Pistons. Compared to his behavior while in Portland, Wallace was a practically a gentleman on the court this year.

Are the injuries significant, or are they mostly strains and such? If the latter, I wouldn't worry - no matter how well a person trains in the off-season, getting into pads (adding an additional 30 or 40 pounds to your weight) will be a shock to the body. In addition, off-season training - except for a few special type players - will never be as intense or rigoruous as actual practice, when you're not only having to push yourself but to also push around someone else. If this kind of thing happened at the start of fall practice each year, then I would think the off-season programs would have to be examined. Are players following it? Should the types of training be "tweaked". Also, players have to learn to play through some degree of hurt. It could be that the coaching staff, with all the learning that has to take place, isn't asking players to "suck it up" as much because the coaches are more concerned with having the players learn and having them available for the games.

Normally, my attitude would be, "So long as everyone has to follow the same rules..." The trouble is, I think this hurts Nebraska more than just about any other power school. Unlike other schools, Nebraska lacks, er, natural attractions that other schools have - beaches, warm weather, large urban areas, nightlife. That means Nebraska has to find other things to offer the "normal" recruit. I like the idea of no longer treating a bunch of kids as if they were rock stars or movie stars - I think that will help everyone in the long term, as kids may be weaned a little bit from their feeling of entitlement; the "I deserve the best treatment" attitude. But it cuts down severely on ways for Nebraska to differentiate itself from its rivials. For that reason, I dislike the changes.

I imagine the attitude was, "We want players whose first love and interest was Nebraska". In a way, it makes sense. Less chance that the player will transfer if everything doesn't go his way; less chance of "outside influences" on the recruit; no waste of resources on kids that have to be persuaded - does a school want a kid that has to be persuaded? Also, some kids who grow disatisfied with the school to which they commit might look kindly on a school that didn't pressure them or "blow smoke up their ass". Unfortuantely, I think those kinds of recruits are now few and far between. The simple truth of the matter is that most kids expect to be courted and wooed. So this is probably a good thing - but I can't fault prior "administrations" for what they did.

Beautifully done, by the way - and extremely handy. Thanks!

Hmmmm...I may be way off base here (what, me? nah...) but I think Dailey might be the best choice at the moment. What little he played, he impressed me. Seemed to me that his arm was more than adequate to make the necessary throws (especially since I suspect that, given weather conditions this version of the West Coast offense will be more short-yardage passes than others). Given spring ball and fall camp, I think he'll adjust as well as the new ones just hitting the college scene - despite not having the background. But here's what I think will make Dailey the best choice, at least for this year and perhaps next - escapability. I fear the O-line - despite its talents or athleticism - is goine to be less than stellar. This stems from having to learn to pass block to an extent never seen in Nebraska before. Learning this - and unlearning the run-first attitude - will take time, and a QB like Joe can turn some potential sacks to gains. Now, there are two situations in which I think Dailey may not win the job. First, if one of the "new guys" is a whiz at reading defenses, and can get the ball out of the pocket damn quickly. If that happens, then "escapability" looses some of its appeal. Second is if the coaching staff is willing to sacrifice this year to prepare for the years to come. In that case, it makes sense to put in the guy that has the most potential to run the offense as the coaches hope it can be run in a couple of years. But given that a nine-win season isn't a guarantee of retaining a job, I don't see the coaches having anything but the attitude of doing what they can to win now.

And with good reason. Alabama is to the SEC what Nebraska is to the Big Twelve, Duke (in basketball) is to the ACC, and so on - the preiminent program. Living in an SEC state, and especially on that is a relatively recent member of the SEC, I can tell you that so far as football goes, Alabama is the measuring stick for the rest of the league. My hat is definitely off to them - game in and game out, Alabama is almost always THE game for the opponent. In the SEC, defeating Alabama is akin to a Big 12 team defeating Nebraska - it can save a season, the fans, and the coache's job. And the one thing everyone in the SEC knows - NEVER count Alabama out of the standings. Personally, I think this is one of the reasons for the recent problems in the SEC. That is, everyone is trying to reach the level of Alabama. Given that the recruiting is mostly SEC-centered, and that so many of the coaches are life-long SEC coaches and former players, there is a level of familiarity that may not exist in other regions. Things can become personal far too often and far too easily. So, alleged "violations" that might go unnoticed or unreported in other conferences are jumped on in the SEC. Another factor that was once nearly unique to the south was the use of football dorms. That led to a kind of "arms race" among schools - a kind of bribery that didn't exist at many other conferences. I sometimes think that this led to a mind-set that forced coaches and administrators to think that they had to "one up" everyone else in the conference.

Excellent point. That's the kind of head-to-head recruiting win that influences others. Recruits keep up with who's at or neat the top of the list by position. And when they see someone shun a Florida State for a Nebraska, it immediately gives then cause to wonder why, and to investigate - which gives NU an opening it may not have had otherwise.

Let's hope this is one committment that sticks. This kid sounds like the real deal, and the kind that can take to the West Coast offense almost as second nature. Still pinning for the option attack, but if we're going to run a passing offense, this is the kind of recruit we need.