AndyDufresne

I call BS on this one. All other injuries have had multiple insiders across more than one board confirm. With Rex, there is one poster with 6 posts and that is it for who is talking about it. No allusions from any of the insiders on twitter or anything else.

Andrew Green and Eric Martin were both fairly highly regarded with several solid offers each. Eric would have had more offers if not for qualification concerns and Andrew had a last minute offer from Oklahoma (although there was plenty of speculation that this was more about Aaron than Andrew). Gomes was really the only overlooked player of the bunch, holding only one other BCS offer from recruiting powerhouse Kansas State It is interesting that you group Martin, Green, and Gomes together. Martin is a special teams demon but hasn't proven that he can grasp the mental side of things from the LB position. While Green appears to be the peso back of the future, he hasn't even seen the field yet. Meanwhile, Gomes had 4 int's and was a runner up for the Big XII defensive newcomer of the year last year. It is my opinion that any team with good coaching and player development can have success as long as they are bringing in players with a certain level of talent. It is also my opinion that most players of a 3-star level are at or above this level. I think it is too hard to separate the cream from the rest of the crop when it comes to 2-stars, as the pool is huge and contains a wider variety of players than any other star grouping. To consistently be in the conference title hunt (and therefore at least be mentioned in national title discussions), we will need to recruit difference makers on both sides of the ball. Whether these difference makers are highly sought after top rated recruits or under-the-radar guys matters not to me. We barely have an inkling of how good Bo and staff have done at identifying talent at this point in time. Besides Henry, Burkhead, Gomes, and Dennard; all of our impact players have been from Callahan's classes. We will have a better idea after this year, and the picture will become much clearer after our inaugural Big 10 season when all but a handful of starters will be Pelini guys.

How much better does our offense really need to be? Last year, 3 points against Iowa State and 2 more against both Texas and Virginia Tech would have gotten us to 11-1, a Big XII championship, and a BCS bowl. If our defense is close to being as good as last year, I would prefer a healthy Zac Lee as the starter with some T-magic packages thrown in.

About what I expected: Team rankings

I will go if I can manage to go to the game. I've loved the Mariners since 1989 when my favorite team was based more on my most valuable baseball card then anything else (1989 Griffey Upper Deck). I've followed them since though and have been to a couple of games at the Kingdome, though I haven't been to the Northwest in a few years. I've had great experiences everytime I've gone, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is heading out for the Husker game.

Have you seen fall camp pictures of Kinnie and Paul? They may be heavier, but they are not fat. They are ripped. Niles was a beast in the spring game, so I will take this with a grain of salt.

Sipple referenced the injury on 1620, but speculated that Williams could possibly play through it. I've only heard positive things about Qvale, but I don't know who will be the backups for the guards. D.J. Jones could fill that role, as he seems like he would be a more natural guard than tackle anyway. There are plenty of other bodies, but I haven't heard much about any of them. I wouldn't be surprised to see A-rod's redshirt burned. He is the one guy not in the original two deep that I've heard positive news about.

Busted. Cody Green was in my 10:30 class this morning. Excellent news. Thanks for the update!

I'm highly skeptical of this rumor. It's from a source that has been fairly reliable in the past. It was up in the air as of last night, according to him. I hope you're right.

Rumors that Green may not attend the first day of class today to think about his status with the team.

Williams isn't our most important piece on offense, not by a long shot. He simply doesn't put forth maximum effort on every play. He has the tools to be dominant, he just hasn't shown the drive. That being said, if this is true (and after doing some digging, word is that there will be a new injury reported tomorrow) our offensive line depth is depleting quickly. Any more injuries and we will be 2009 Oklahoma.

Don't you mean Dreu Young?

I agree... i mean since there's like 8 rated kickers, how hard would it be to go watch some kid kick 20 field goals from different points and then launch one kickoff? That would take what, 20 minutes? I've never understood that. Kicker commitments don't sell subscriptions, and therefore neither Rivals nor Scout care much about them. I don't think it's an issue of being able to accurately rank them, it's an issue of not caring to.

Didn't we make a serious Big 12 title run last year with below average QB play? There is no doubt that the strength of this team is the defense. IMO, the most valuable player on defense is a dominant defensive tackle, so I will have to go with Crick. I like EZ's pick of Hagg as well, mainly because his versatility has a lot to do with the scheme run by Bo and Carl.

The last 5-8 years there have been around 5-15 3* kickers. I don't think I've seen one ranked higher than 3* though. At this point I'm sure they just picked the best bunch of kickers (based entirely on offers) and gave them an initial ranking. Every kicker 2* or above is already committed to a school. (Florida, Duke, A&M, Syracuse, Nebraska, ND,...). The kickers without stars are either committed to places like Louisianna-Monroe or hold no offers. The LSU committ is JUCO. Look for the kickers to be evaluated throughout the season (once again probably 90% based on their offers/commitment) I would assume Sade will get the 3rd star. Rivals won't bring down our team rankings just because we offered a scholarship to one of the best kickers in the nation. Here are the last five years and the number of 3 star kickers according to Rivals: 2011 - 0 2010 - 11 2009 - 6 2008 - 10 2007 - 13 Either this is a really weak year for kickers, Rivals has changed the way that they rate kickers, or we will see many of the 2011 guys bumped up to 3 stars prior to signing day.

That isn't exactly true. We did beat one of the two big teams from the south, something Missouri hasn't done since 1998.

I guarantee that Shatel, Sherman, Sipple, Christopherson, or Barfnecht did not call Fisher's family. These guys feed their own families by putting Husker football content in their papers. They certainly aren't selling papers or attracting on-line advertisers with Blue Jay basketball or Lincoln Stars coverage. They report news quickly and accurately, but know what lines not to cross. It was probably some small media outlet (or Dirk)that called the Fisher's, and it was Ekeler's friends who leaked practice information. Pelini was justified doing what he did, but probably would have been better served had he just punished the wrongdoers and not everyone in the media and all former players and boosters. I don't have a big problem with this, but I'm not firmly on Pelini's side like many others here are.

I'm not sure that most players have regrets. They make their choices and then make the best of them. Perhaps after their careers are over and they have time to reflect, they might think about it then. We as fans like to think that players like Josh Freeman regret their decisions, but the truth is he is a 1st round draft pick, a starting NFL QB, and makes more money than most of us. Trevor Robinson is starting for one of the most storied programs in college football history and earning a degree from a fine academic institution. I applaud those that sign with the Huskers, but try not to think too much or have any ill will toward the "fish that got away".

Don't worry too much fellas. Once the smoke settles it will all be okay. You seem awfully confident that Green is going to be 'N'. Is this inside info or a gut feeling? We absolutely need at least one RB in this class, preferably 2 as Heard isn't a for-sure qualifier for next season. I'm not sure the coaches should be putting all of their RB eggs in the Aaron Green basket.

I hope we don't need him and I'm not sure how he's been practicing, but Pensick surprised me in the spring game with his solid play.

I agree. Jason Peter says he has a motor that reminds him of Wistrom's. That's not to say that Cameron will be nearly as good as Grant, but I think he has a chance to wreak havoc if given the opportunity.

Mitch Sherman said on Schick & Nick that some of Ekeler's friends were at practice yesterday and went straight to the media afterwards. I am under the impression that at least one former player has been posting practice impressions on Red Sea Scrolls. There are two big no-no's when you go to practice: 1. Don't report any injury news before the coaches have had a chance to address the media. 2. Don't go posting information on practice on message boards or social network sites.

The last thing we want to do is create a soft team by having less contact or strenuous workouts. A couple of freak accidents shouldn't change anything.

Out for the year is all I've heard. Remember that in 2008 our linebacking corps included walk-ons such as Tyler Wortman and Matt Holt so that our true freshmen's redshirts could be preserved. I am confident that Pelini will adjust personnel or scheme to make sure that we field an effective defense. To me, Whaley looked really good in spring. David has been called an athletic freak. We still have Compton and Martin and there are walk-ons that should provide depth such as Matt May. It sucks that we lost Fisher. I feel for the young man and wish him a speedy recovery. We are definitely better with him than without him. That being said, injuries are a part of the game and good coaches will overcome such set backs. We have good defensive coaches, and I am confident that while we may be slightly worse for the Fisher injury, the blackshirts will still be an imposing and effective unit.