huskerstag

The DN is a joke. My wife was a journalism major at UNL and she quit the DN because of their 'journalistic itegrity'. They're a bunch of sanctimonius pricks. While I'm sure there are different writers there now, the culture appears to remain the same. The DN's motives are very transparent in this case. This has been a pretty quiet offseason for discipline. Of the three examples in their previous editorial, only one involved both a current player and Pelini. And in that case, the player was dismissed from the team. So WTF does anyone have to complain about? And yet the DN finds it necessary to expose the 'discipline problem' in the athletic department? I say good for Pelini. He maybe shouldn't have yelled into the phone (Although i doubt he did. Honestly, how effective is it to yell into a phone? Can anyone really envision him doing that?), but I agree with banning the reporters from practice. If nothing else, it lets the players know he'll support them when its warranted.

Why are so many people getting all worked up over this? Just because Pelini hasn't said anything publicly doesn't mean something hasn't been or won't be done. The DN is always looking for a reason to complain. In this case they're manufacturing one. You'll notice they're not upset with Pelini about a decision he's made regarding Williams. They're upset because he hasn't publicly thrown the kid under the bus. For all we know Bo might have quietly pulled Williams's scholarship already. And by the way... I think its a low blow for the article to reference Major Culbert. Why should we be upset that he's in Lincoln? I think he makes a good example of a kid who has made the most of a second chance. As far as I know he's been a model citizen and a great teammate since he arrived on campus.

The Big XII has a deal with FSN to pick up a certain number of games that aren't shown by ESPN for each team. Plus, with the tradition of Nebraska and its rivals its pretty much guaranteed that you'll see the Virginia Tech game, the Oklahoma game, the Colorado game and probably the Missouri or Kansas game, maybe both. Apparently the Iowa State game will also be televised, so that's almost half the season right there.

From what i've heard - take it for what its worth - a lot of the players will be more trim this year. Callahan instructed the trainers to get all the players to a "prototype NFL body", which meant a certain weight for each position. It didn't matter if the an o-lineman was at his most athletic and explosive at 290, Callahan wanted them all to play at 300+. Hopefully that philosophy has been discontinued.

I heard his uncle Kevin plays in a band up there...

What a bunch of nancies. They're obviously trying to duck a game they think they'll lose. How does any self-respecting atheletic program do that? What kind of a message does that send to your players?

I understand that it sucks to get old. I also understand that people who pay for tickets should get to see the game. But my complaint, and the complaint of most others on here, is that the student section - which many feel is the heart of the Memorial Stadium crowd - is being further marginalized. And this ins't because they're rude, breaking out into fights or throwing things on the turf. It's because they stand up too much!!1! Unfortunately the University, and apparently many posters to Huskerboard, feel the student section is nothing more than a nuisance that needs to be moved out of everyone else's way. I respectfully disagree. I don't think anyone will argue that the student section is the loudest part of the stadium. I also don't think anyone would disagree that the rest of the stadium takes its cue from the student section. Having sat all over the stadium in my lifetime, I just haven't seen too many 30+ fans trying to get the crowd excited. Traveling to places like Notre Dame, The Swamp, College Station, we've seen other major universities with just as many major donors and 'older' fans embrace their students and make them the focal point of their home-field advantage. So why not at NU? Why not give the students a section of the west stadium so no one is behind them and they can yell in the opposing team's ears the whole game? But no, instead the university will just stick the students in a corner and hope they don't bother anybody.

This is unbelievable...Students are being moved farther from the field because they stand up too much???? Really???? This always peeved me when I was in school (2000-2004). The students would be trying to fire up the crowd and the nancies behind them would be whining that they couldn't see. To channel Dan Hawkins..."ITS DIVISION 1 FOOTBALL...ITS THE BIG TWELVE!!!" Here's an idea, instead of treating the students like a nuisance and pushing them farther into the corner, why not put the entire student section on one of the sidelines so the only people sitting behind them are up on the second level. Or TO could just tell the complainers that they're at a football game and offer them a nice glass of STFU.

I imagine Dillard is just glad to see Cosgrove gone. Everything I've heard (all unsubstantiated rumors) said Cosgrove and Dillard didn't see eye to eye. That, plus a Chicago born coaching staff and a Chicago born McKeon led to a lot more playing time for McKeon than he otherwise would have gotten. I don't know how any defensive player could not be excited to play for Pelini.

I imagine the offense will be pretty similar to OU's style of offense. It'll still fall under the umbrella of a WCO, but the primary focus will be a power running game. If my memory is accurate, that's pretty much how Watson ran things over at Colorado. I don't think the option will be a primary part of the attack, and I'd be surprised if NU ever goes to a spread option attack while Watson is still here. I think our personnel and the Nebraska mentality of hard nosed power football would mesh well with that style of offense.

I wouldn't be surprised if NU's defense jumped into the top 40 next year. I really think the athletes are here. I expected a lot more from Turner and Potter this year. With the kind of coaching and motivation that Pelini can provide, those two should be vastly improved. I'm also a big Philip Dillard fan. I don't know why McKeon played so much last year, but having Dillard in there full time will finally give the defense a physical presence in the most important spot. No offense to Tierre Green, but he was never really suited to play defense and he never really learned a position. I hope Pelini and Sanders open up the two safety spots to anyone who's willing to lay the wood on every play. None of those things has anything to do with schemes, coverages or game planning. But if those three things happen (better d-line play, more physical linebackers, more aggressive safeties) then it becomes a whole lot easier play pass defense on the edges. I honestly think NU could be a top 40 defense next year, and one of top 2 or 3 defenses in the Big XII.

I was just wondering... Is NU breaking any rules by allowing Pelini to coach LSU in the BCS title game? I assume not since I haven't heard anything about it. But if Pelini is already under contract when the game is played, wouldn't LSU, in effect, be using another program's employee and resources to help them win the BCS title? If there's no rule against this, then couldn't Texas bring back Gene Chizik to help coach their defense (if he would agree to it)? Could some team have Charlie Wies help coach their offense? It seems like there's got to be some rule against this, but I don't hear anything about it. As anal as the NCAA can be, it seems like they'd be all over this.

Don't worry Huskerbatt - that stuff's teh hotness!!1!1! I might get one for my brother for Christmas.

I'm pretty sure Cotton will coach the OL. I imagine they'll make Shawn Watson the OC, which isn't a bad decision.

Osborne's job is to find the best coach and staff for Nebraska. I don't think there's any question that he, and most of the fanbase, wanted a link to the 90's on this staff. I really doubt Osborne said he'd require certain people to be named as assistants. However, saying he wants some former Huskers on the staff doesn't bother me at all. IMO, requiring a former husker or two to be on staff isn't any different than requiring an emphasis on the walk-on program. And to me, that's entirely different than dictating what kind of offense to run, what kind of players to recruit, and/or how to run a practice. As the AD, it's Osborne's job to ensure the entire program is set up to succeed. If TO thinks some former Huskers and walk-ons are required to do that - then he should be making sure that it happens.

OK, just to speed things up a little bit, I've created a "form post" for everyone to use when they tell us who the new coach and staff will be... According to my source, _____________ (name/nickname), who is a very close ____________ (relationship status) to _____________'s (prominent booster / member of Athletic Dept.) - _________ (acquaintance of said booster or member of Athletic Dept.) the new coach is going to be ______________ (name of coach). While personally I'm hoping this isn't true because I want __________ (name of a different coach), it all makes sense when you consider ________________ (tale of said coach's accomplishments, TO's recent travels and some odd connection to Nebraska). My source tells me that the OC will be ________________ (name of assistant coach) and that the Nebraska tradition will be upheld by bringing in _____________ (name of former NU player/coach). Please use this form post from now on, as it will help me process all of this information while I track flights out of Lincoln, Omaha, Crete, Scottsbluff and Thedford. Thanks,

Is ESPN just making stuff up now? WTF?

Was he wide-stancin'?

Frankly, I don't understand why everyone gets so worked up over 'experience' as an HC. It seems everyone has their own opinion of what actually counts as 'enough experience', and apparently no one has it. Apparently 2 years at Buffalo isn't enough. Apparently a decade in Div. II doesn't count. Apparently DC at three different top 25 programs isn't enough. I can't imagine a few years at a service academy would count for much more than any of those. Apparently the only guys that are really qualified are Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden. Bottom line - with 25+ years of coaching experience and a PhD in psychology - TO knows what good coaching looks like and he knows what motivation looks like. I'm betting he doesn't need to give any of the candidates a few more years to fully evaluate them.

The sooner the better as far as I'm concerned. If TO finds the man that he wants there's no point in waiting around on it.

I love conference title games. I think every conference should have one. This season, KU didn't play OU, UT, or TT. If they had beaten Missouri they would've been given the conference title without playing any of the top teams in the south. Without a CCG Missouri would have been given the conference title even though OU beat them. When every team in a conference doesn't play every other team, a CCG is a must. Plus, it's more football, and it's usually pretty good football. Who wouldn't want that? And I have to say - I'll be cheering my rear off for OU. Living in KC, there's no way I could handle Missouri in the BCS title game. The d******d factor is already off the charts around here. Suddenly everyone's been a lifelong MU fan, even though they don't know who their coach was before Pinkel, and they don't know who their qb was before Brad Smith.

The fact that no one's given him an HC job offer doesn't really bother me. There are a lot of good assistant coaches who haven't gotten offers. Pellini, Bud Foster at VT, Norm Chow when he was at USC, etc.

Personally, I've really been hoping Bud Foster gets a long look. He's been a DC at a major program for several years, which to me is just as good 1-2 years as an HC at a mid-major. His defense is the backbone of a program that's always in the top 15, even when their offense hasn't been anything special. I wouldn't have any problem if he were hired.

Could it be the resignation of Jim Rose? I'm not really sure that qualifies as big news. I'm not really expecting anything before the end of the season. But who knows, maybe someone will resign...

I'm not saying Pelini has to be the next HC, but I really don't see why some people are so opposed to the idea. The only negative things I've heard from the anti-Pelini crowd have been purely speculative. "He's not HC material", "he can't run an entire program", "he's nothing but a 'fiery guy', and he can't lead a whole team". No one knows if any of these things are true or not. However, there are some very real and measureable reasons to consider him for the position. If I remember correctly, he re-established Nebraska's recruiting presence in Florida. Players want to play for a successful coach. In fact, most of the players he recruited appreciated that he was a straight shooter and wasn't going to blow sunshine up their a**. The defenses that he's coached have consistently been among the best in the country and he's on most people's short list of coordinators soon to be HCs. He hasn't been run off from any school but Nebraska and there's never been any indication of misconduct. So honestly, why not consider Pelini with everyone else?