Spartness

Come fall when these freshmen arrive for their conditioning tests, the 40-yard dash times won't measure up to what was reported by the media. You will find they are generally slower. It always seems like that. It will take plenty of conditioning in the weight room to improve their speed, quickness, strength, etc.

Boateng is a great prospect, and I think it was wrong for Mitch Sherman, of the OWH, to judge him so harshly on his performance in the U.S. Army All-American game when the prospect had been limping all week and was still probably not in top shape. Sounded to me like sour grapes. With that said, with the recruitment of Brooks, Franz, etc., I think we did fine at WR. We will just have to wait and see on who in this bunch will pan out. You just never know. As for Smith, he's a terrific prospect, and he seems to be a great kid. But if Leon Jackson can academically qualify and would agree to try a safety position, that possibly would help make up for the loss of Smith -- we have enough Rbs. Anyway, you are going to lose a few when you go after highly sought-after players. Tennessee did extremely well but we took one away from them as did USC. We took Lucky away from USC. They didn't get Stewart. I know OU wanted Dillard no matter what the spin was on the OU boards. But it will be three or four years before we can really rate any of these classes. Go Big Red!

This game is a waste of my ticket money. I hate it when they play teams like this. Can't they at least play a D1 team? This money would be better spent on the spring game.

After seeing this young man on video, I was impressed with his athletic ability. He's more than just a bruiser. Perhaps this so-called two star is indeed the best player in the state, and that's nothing against Potter. I hope all three of our instate recruits can contribute to the team. What does our junior talent look like? Do you think we will get more instate recruits in the 2006 class?

Thanks Formerfan. I have no problem with your opinions on NU. I'm taking the middle of the road on this whole thing, realizing this new system that Callahan put into place may or may not work. All I can say is I hope it does, but it wouldn't surprise me if it doesn't. I'm going to sit back and wait and see. P.S.: I wish Frank all the best at Ohio.

Mom and Dad have done their job. What a great kid!

One position that needs to be filled is fullback. Who in this class would play that position? Cody Glenn wants to be a featured back. I don't see current players such as Brandon Jackson wanting to play that position. The only possibility I see is Jeff Souder. I wonder if NU had that in mind when they offered him.

Reggie Smith simply appears like a quality human being who will be very loyal to the school he chooses. I see a team player at its best. Even if he doesn't choose NU, we can feel pretty good that he made the right decision. He's earn my respect no matter where he goes.

Formerfan, I was just expressing my opinion just like you. You don't have to be rude!!! You expect others to respect your opinions, and I think they should. But I expect the same from you! As far as Wilson, those recruiting services don't seem to be as updated on jucos. Once they see recent film on him, they may change his rating, whether it's higher or lower, but who really cares? He is the same player regardless on how they rate him, and no I don't get hung up on the star system even though you want to believe I do. Personally I don't care if Rivals rates our class 2 or 15. Yes I think we got a lot of talent in this class, but for whatever reasons, half of them do to injuries, personal problems, academic issues, disciplinary problems, etc., will never play a down of football. As Steve Taylor just recently said, you need three to four strong classes to make a difference. And of course it depends on how these guys can coach -- the word is still out on that. But I am willing to wait and see. Are you capable of agreeing to disagree? Can you respecfully disagree with someone? I will never be disrespecful and rude to you. Show me the same respect. Ok.

What that tells you with the 1985 class is NU will need to recruit well every year. Of course there won't be nearly as many recruits next year, but it appears this staff is up to the task of bringing in more strong classes. One will help some -- three or four in a row would be huge! That's how you help offset the players that don't pan out. Of course it also comes down to coaching. We will find out if these coaches are up to that task.

I read those articles about Wilson. He sounds like a great prospect. I'm encouraged he hasn't had any knee injuries and hasn't lost any of his speed. This could be our biggest steal of this class. Like I said, Rivals.com may change their star rating on him, but it really doesn't matter. He' still the same player.

Isn't he a potential Juco? I think his last SAT score was 760 or something?

I wouldn't get too hung up that Rivals.com rated him a two star. They probably don't have any recent film on him. Once they see it, it's possible they may rate him higher. But who cares? He has been recruited by John Blake, thus he must be a great prospect regardless. As far as his speed, who knows if he is slower or faster than Mickens. Those times are inflated sometimes to build up a kid. He is possibly just as good if not better than Mickens.

The question was ask: Was Irving Fryer heavily recruited. Hi, I'm a first time poster, but have read this board many times. The following information is from Tom Osborne's old book, "More Than Winning." Irving Fryer was recruited by Frank Solich in New Jersey, and he was not heavily recruited. In fact he played TE and didn't catch many passes. Also, Mike Rozier, from New Jersey, was recruited by Solich that same year. Rozier was a wishbone fullback, didn't carry the ball that much, and was not heavily recruited. It wasn't until Rozier didn't qualify academically at NU and went to junior college that he was heavily recruited. But at the point, Rozier appreciated the early attention by NU and remained committed to NU throughout his junior college playing days. Some fans argue that Solich was a great recruiter because of Rozier, Fryer and even Crouch. I will say he was a better recruiter as an assistant coach. He did have a talent for finding hidden talent, but not one to recruit high profile players, competing against a Blake or a Bush type. As for Crouch, it would have taken a lot to get him out of Nebraska -- a local kid, probably grew up with Husker football and ran an option offense. I believe Solich was a good but not a great recruiter as an assistant coach, but I think he had problems trying to do both as the head guy. He is a great man, and I wish him the best at Ohio.