Red November

Ten for Tuesday: For these guys it's win, or else... Jan. 3, 2006 By Gregg Doyel CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer Tell Gregg your opinion! Only a jackal would relish in another man's struggles. We're not relishing. But in the interest of truth, justice and Bob Huggins' next job, Ten for Tuesday submits the following list of coaches who (surely) enter the conference schedule with their jobs on the line. Alphabetical order, please. Barry Collier, Nebraska: The Cornhuskers are 9-3, but their strength of schedule is ranked No. 269 nationally. Kind of puts that 9-3 mark in perspective, doesn't it? So should this: In its only four games of note, Nebraska is 1-3 -- having beaten Marquette, but lost to Creighton, UAB and Florida State. And Nebraska lost by 26 to Creighton. Collier is 79-80 in 5 1/2 seasons at Nebraska, where the recruiting has improved but the results have not. His Big 12 record: 29-51.

With Iowa losing it helps. WHo else lost that was between that 18 -25 range in the rankings.

Think about it, if they don't get that, UM kicks the FG near the end and takes the lead.

Anything is possible, but I feel Nebraska has grown on him

Good news about the visit, but is this kid really going to qualify???? Could be a priject in the works? Send him to an academy or JUCO for a year and then to NU

North star Paul chooses Huskers Niles Paul, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound wide receiver and cornerback on Monday said he will sign with the Huskers in 13 months, unofficially becoming the first member of NU's 2007 recruiting class.

Sweet

WHat the hell... "Like your Dad's going to stop banging the babysitter like a screen door in a hurricane." There a couple great one liners here.

It simply makes me sick to see him make an amazing grab than drop one right in his chest.

Goodluck to Nebraska, they have no chance whatsoever. Did someone actually bring up the score of a WOMEN'S BASKETBALL GAME? Oh yeah.. I think it's awesome that Washington swept the Husker volleyball team. Seriously though, who gets excited about that junk? Real fans do. That's what makes Nebraska special, we care about all sports and athletes. MU fans are just your average run of the mill fans, only care about football and basketball. MU fans are a dime a dozen.

Oklahoma

I'm gonna be interested to see if Souder can break the lineup. The defensive doesn';t have a lot of hitteres. I really believe Brandenburgh will be fine. Michigan will be gunning for him though

Same thing happened with the baseball team. Gordan decided to play his worst ball in his last game, as did the v-ball team. Oh well, we have a core number of returning players and we get to play in the Qwest next season.

Steven M. Sipple: Freeman case portrays dysfunctional world of recruiting In a perfect world, people honor their word. If they say they’re going to do something, they do it. Because I’ve failed on that count innumerable times, I say with certainty that it’s an imperfect world. Bill Callahan received a jarring reminder Monday night that people — particularly teenage people — don’t always follow through on commitments. Gifted prep quarterback Josh Freeman, widely regarded as the jewel of Nebraska’s 2006 recruiting class, reneged on a verbal commitment given last June to accept Nebraska’s scholarship offer, choosing instead to play next season for new Kansas State coach Ron Prince. The 6-foot-6, 230-pound Freeman’s father informed Nebraska coaches of his son’s de-commitment via text message. Nice touch. Callahan’s reply probably wasn’t, “Happy Holidays to you and your family. Enjoy Manhattan.” The reply might have been more along the lines of, “See you next Oct. 14. Adam Carriker and Corey McKeon look forward to meeting you.” In the odd, wicked and sordid world of college football recruiting, de-commitments are common. Yet Freeman’s sudden change of heart seemingly caught many fans off-guard. In a perfect world, after a high school player verbally committed to a school, other schools would back off or significantly curtail recruitment of the kid. Of course, the opposite holds true. If a player commits to a school, other schools often come after him harder. Prince earlier this year tried to lure Freeman to Virginia when Prince was an assistant there. After landing the K-State job, Prince zapped Freeman with a full-court press. Too often these days, verbal commitments mean virtually nothing. That’s life. That’s recruiting. Nothing’s final until the kid signs on the dotted line. Freeman is only the latest example. During last year’s recruiting wars, Texas fell victim to touted quarterback Ryan Perriloux’s nationally chronicled ego fest. Perriloux strung along the Longhorns for nearly seven months before signing with Louisiana State. “All of us are looking at who will be the best team player, but in recruiting it’s becoming more and more about the individual,” Texas coach Mack Brown told SI.com. “We’re going to have to do a better job of watching how certain kids respond to the Internet and publicity that’s become such a big part of the process.” Freeman seems to like attention from recruiting Web sites. Although he verbally committed to Nebraska last summer, he accepted visits in recent weeks from coaches from Missouri and K-State. He had planned an official visit to Oklahoma before canceling the trip after media had gotten wind of it. When word leaks of such dalliances by high-profile players, recruiting-based Web sites go berserk. It’s instant attention for the player (and his family). Considering Freeman’s recent maneuvers, perhaps we should’ve seen this de-commitment coming after all. Even so, the news seemed to hit Big Red fans hard. Yes, it’s a blow to Nebraska’s 2006 recruiting class (assuming Freeman turns out to be as good as advertised). But with junior starter Zac Taylor and true freshman backup Harrison Beck, the Huskers have stability at the position for next season, assuming Beck makes needed improvement. It’s possible Nebraska coaches now will roll up their sleeves, jump into the recruiting muck and try to lure away a quarterback who has verbally committed to a school. The good news is, NU has all of January to try to replace Freeman, who was the only quarterback in the Huskers’ 2006 class. Early speculation pointed to several possibilities, including Greg McElroy, a 6-2, 212-pound player from Southlake, Texas, who has committed to Texas Tech. Freeman, rated as the nation’s No. 4 pro-style quarterback by Rivals.com, had planned to attend Nebraska starting in January and compete in spring drills. He likely wasn’t going to overtake Taylor, and perhaps not Beck. A redshirt season for Freeman clearly was a possibility — one he didn’t like. “I would hate to go to Nebraska and get redshirted,” Freeman told Rivals.com. “That was the vibe I was getting from the coaches.” Prince apparently sold Freeman on the notion that he could become a four-year starter at K-State. You have to wonder about that. By most accounts, Freeman is physically gifted, but raw in terms of quarterback skills. He apparently needs seasoning. And remember, K-State returns three experienced quarterbacks in seniors-to-be Allen Webb and Dylan Meier and sophomore-to-be Allan Evridge. Evridge started six games this past season and set K-State freshman records for passing yards (1,365) and touchdowns (six). Whatever. In a couple of years, we might look back and wonder what all of the fuss over Freeman was about. In the dysfunctional world of recruiting, every player is a potential star, with emphasis on “potential.” It’s mostly a fantasy world. This much is certain: In a perfect world, a teenager’s whims wouldn’t cause such a stir. Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.

TE's suck , but punter and kckers were great.

Downing a finalist for N. Colorado's head coaching job BY STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 - 02:03:16 am CST Nebraska assistant football coach Scott Downing is among five finalists for the head coaching vacancy at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. (William Lauer, file photo) Nebraska assistant football coach Scott Downing is among five finalists for the head coaching vacancy at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. The 49-year-old Downing, in his third season as Husker recruiting coordinator, interviewed for the Northern Colorado position late last week. He has had two previous stints as a head coach during his 26-year coaching career — at Sterling (Kan.) College in 1982-83 and as NU’s freshman coach in 1986. “I think everybody somewhere along the line likes to be considered for a head coaching job,” Downing told the Greeley (Colo.) Tribune on Wednesday. “Certainly, my background lends itself to that.” Other finalists for the Northern Colorado position are Colorado Mines head coach Bob Stitt, Iowa State assistant Tony Alford, Kansas assistant Earnest Collins, and Mike Sewak, recently fired as head coach at NCAA Division I-AA Georgia Southern following an 8-4 season. All of the finalists are believed to have interviewed at least once. Stitt is a Nebraska native and former offensive coordinator at Doane. Northern Colorado’s final decision could be made as early as today, with an announcement occurring possibly on Friday, according to the Greeley newspaper. Kay Dalton was fired Dec. 2 following his sixth season as Northern Colorado’s head coach. The Bears, in their third season as a Division I-AA program, finished 4-7 this year. They’re set to begin their first season in the Big Sky Conference in 2006. Dalton, 73, was making an annual salary of $76,500. However, Ken McConnellogue, UNC vice president for university advancement, has stated that the salary of a new head coach could rise, saying “the price of doing business is going up.” Downing is Nebraska’s lowest-paid football assistant with an annual salary of $124,228. A native of Kansas City, Mo., Downing also helps coach Husker tight ends and special teams, working directly with punters and kickers. This season, NU senior Sam Koch averaged a school-record 45.87 yards per punt and was a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award. In addition, freshman place-kicker Jordan Congdon made 18 of 22 field-goal attempts, including all three from 40 yards or longer. Downing arrived at Nebraska in 2003 after six seasons at Purdue as assistant head coach on Joe Tiller’s staff. Before his stint with the Boilermakers, Downing spent 10 seasons as an assistant at Wyoming, including the final six under Tiller. Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.

Taylor's evolution has impressed Callahan LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Zac Taylor's evolution has been so rapid that coach Bill Callahan says the junior quarterback barely resembles the player he saw early in the season, let alone in the spring. "The way that he talks the game and sees the game is much different from what we saw when he first came here in the spring," Callahan said. "When he first got here last spring to where he is at now is night and day, in my opinion." Nebraska quarerback Zac Taylor is seen Dec. 16 in Lincoln, Neb. during a news conference held to discuss the Cornuskers' Alamo Bowl game against Michigan Dec. 28. Taylor, who hails from Norman, completed 59 percent of his passes during Big 12 Conference play after hitting just 42 percent of his non-conference attemps. As Taylor has gone, so have the Huskers (7-4) in their bounce-back from last year's 5-6 campaign. "I think that I have come a long way personally, just in how I approach football and view football," Taylor said. "Being around this coaching staff, I have learned more in the past 12 months than I have pretty much my entire life playing football." Taylor, who transferred from Butler County (Kan.) Community College, beat out incumbent Joe Dailey in the spring and held off heralded freshman Harrison Beck through the fall. After completing 42 percent of his passes in nonconference play, Taylor hit at a 59-percent clip in the Big 12. He threw for an average of 261 yards against conference opponents, second only to Texas Tech's Cody Hodges. Taylor had a school-record 431 yards passing against Iowa State, then completed 63 percent for 392 yards in the 30-3 rout at Colorado on Nov. 25. The Colorado performance lifted spirits around a Nebraska program that had been down in the dumps after three straight losses and a closer-than-expected win over struggling Kansas State. "I think that people are very happy not only that we beat (Colorado), but that we beat them the way that we did," Taylor said. "I think people around here like seeing Colorado not have a whole lot of success, so when we contribute to that, people are happy. So I have seen the mood change a little over the past couple of weeks. People are a lot more upbeat." Taylor finished the regular season with four touchdowns and no interceptions in the last two games. He has a streak of 76 pass attempts without an interception. Taylor said he and his teammates are playing their best heading into the Michigan game. "I think that we have a lot of momentum," he said. "We have won the last two games and we feel really confident right now. We know that we are about to face a very tough team, and we will need to do everything that we can to win that game." The Huskers will get a different look going against a Michigan front seven that features players who stand 6 feet 8, 6-6, 6-5, 6-4 and 6-4. Callahan joked that he was going to have Taylor practice against linemen holding up rakes. "It makes you get the ball up quicker," Taylor said. "As soon as they see you pop that ball up and get ready to go, they get their hands up and make it tough for you. We have been working in practice on getting rid of the ball faster so that they have less time to react." Callahan said he has gotten more than he bargained for out of Taylor. In particular, Callahan has been impressed with Taylor's ability to operate inside or outside of the pocket. Taylor, not known for his foot speed, has shown a knack for scrambling effectively when protection breaks down. "I knew he had some mobility, but not to the extent to where I see him run with the ball and make the decisions that he makes in the pocket," Callahan said. "You couldn't have a better guy than that at the helm."

Davis reneges on commitment to NU BY STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star Scratch another football player from Nebraska’s list of 2006 verbal commitments. One day after Nebraska lost quarterback Josh Freeman to Kansas State, junior college defensive end Rulon Davis on Wednesday officially reneged on his verbal commitment to NU and decided to attend California. The 6-foot-6, 275-pound Davis, rated as a four-star player (out of five possible) by Rivals.com, made an official recruiting visit to Cal last weekend and signed a national letter of intent Wednesday. He attends Mount San Antonio (Calif.) Junior College but sat out this season with an injury. The junior college signing period began Wednesday, and Nebraska reportedly received signatures from offensive tackle Victory Haines of Snow (Utah) Junior College and safety Ashlee Palmer of Compton (Calif.) Community College. Both players plan to attend second-semester classes at NU starting in January and participate in spring drills. The 6-foot-7, 285-pound Haines, a three-star player by Rivals.com, has two years to play two at Nebraska. Nebraska loses to graduation its starting safeties, Blake Tiedtke and Daniel Bullocks, leaving Palmer with an opportunity for immediate playing time. Palmer, a three-star player, has three seasons of playing eligibility remaining. The Huskers’ other six junior-college recruits are expected to join the team when preseason camp begins in August. Meanwhile, wideout Tyrell Spain — who was expected to be part of Nebraska’s class of 2005 but ran into academic problems — has been cleared to join the squad in the spring. Spain will be counted as part of Nebraska’s current recruiting class, which now stands at 19.

Interview with Josh Freemans Dad. He in fact admits to the text message!!!

He may end up a 3rd string defensive end. He may end up a Heisman Trophy winning QB. Reality says he will probably end up somewhere in the middle. Other than one day a year for the next four years, I don't care what happens to him. Let's move on to the next "savior"

Since we already recruited him I figured this should go in this forum. Spain has, according to a LJS report, has been cleared and will join the team in January.

Yeah this articles about 5 years too old!!!

I don't like it. I would have waited to the bitter end and picked up a high school kid. Even if he was way down on the list. These guys have to come in a produce right away. I don't see him doing this. How in the world is Haines going to ever get ahead of Murtha. Murtha's been here for over two years studying the playbook. Even if Haines knows the plays, he's not strong enough. Is he ready to play this January or does he report in May??

Dan Steiner, an offensive lineman in the 1970s who played with former Husker assistant coach Barney Cotton, said he’s “kind of wavered” but has slowly gotten behind Bill Callahan and his staff. That quote right there explains a lot of us and the former players.

Just read the Huskers played 27 freshamn and sophmores last Friday against the Fluffs. Watchout world