kchusker_chris

I don't really want to make this into and discussion regarding offer counts because we all know NU offers more than about 90% of teams out there...fyi below is 2010's. But the fact that we have a lot of offers out is exactly my point. We don't need to stretch to find a DT. With the reputation our line has earned, that is the last position we should be looking for a diamond in the rough at. Sure, there are cases where they have worked out (so please don't respond with a huge list people ) but there are a lot more where they haven't. We shouldn't have any problem getting a verbal from at least 1 of Gabriel Wright, Todd Peat, Mickey Johnson, Isiah Norton or Heyward, Johnson, etc. Before the year is over we'll probably add another Rivals250 DT recruit or two to that list as well. Crick will have nearly as much visibility as Suh by the time the season gets going - look to see some pretty impressive DT recruits knocking at our door. Why potentially stretch now when you don't have to? 2010 offers Nebraska - 193 Kansas - 181 Colorado - 178 K-State - 148 Iowa St - 145 Texas Tech - 133 Oklahoma St - 132 Baylor - 131 Oklahoma - 119 Missouri - 116 Texas A&M - 96 Texas - 33

I have grown a little tired of the "trust the coaches" argument. It's like when the little boy calls the little girl ugly and she goes: "i know you are but what am i" - It's not really a valid argument one way or the other. This is a good discussion, but I haven't really heard anything valid supporting his offer. Vince certainly questions the level of competition. He's got good measurables, and I guess he beat 6 out of 7 guys in one on one at a camp. Not really that convincing one way or the other. My main issue with this one is it's another DT recruit. That makes 11 DT offers now? We'll probably take 2-3. Kevin Williams has already committed, I'm assuming Kenny Mack will take another one of those spots. That leaves us with MAYBE 1-2 spots open, probably just the 1 since some of our DE players will be moving inside. Is there not a more "sure" bet among the list of Suh lovers? It just seems like the risk/reward is high/low. If he was a 6'7" 345lb offensive linemen that runs a 4.9 40 but plays football on a dirt field in the prairie then I could see the reward being a little higher for the risk associated. But this is just another DL recruit with some good stats garnered amongst low competition. I'd rather stretch for something with a little more upside. This just seems like an Al Davis pick. All numbers, no production.

UCLA is not Worthy of his services. (sorry, someone had to) Between this and Admire we'll have Sipple, Shatel & McKewon working overtime to find ways to fit em in.

Well, I thought I'd look up Pelini's wife and based on the hottness factor of each WAG determine where this one might end up. A Mary vs. Layla showdown. The first pic that came up in google was the one below. (not Pelini's wife) I didn't get much farther. Based solely on that...it's still a toss up (maybe slightly in NU's favor) so I'm going to have to agree with you -> this one isn't over.

yeah - should have dropped the in there on the visits while bowling. I was just pointing out that he'll get to CA, FL and other places plenty of times...and if he's N he'll leave feeling much better than the team he just visited

Which is why they might be able to handle a taller than average OL. Their QB doesn't have to throw over this guy, or see down the lanes as often. In addition, he will only have to pass block 30-40% of the time, which is where the real issue with his height comes in due to the fact that the DL can get leaverage and collapse the pocket. I think he'd be awesome in a power running game, which is probably why this board is so split on him. Actually, if I am remembering correctly shorter (6'1"-6'4") OL are more suited to run blocking and taller OL are more suited to pass blocking. The taller guys tend to have longer arms and are better at dropping back and pass blocking while the shorter guys are better at pulling and laying blocks on the perimeter because they can get better leverage. that sounds correct. i retract my earlier statement

relationships - as in our coaches relationship with him and/or his brother playing for NU? (or the coeds we surrounded him with while he visited for the spring game) If the kid plans on waiting until signing day I think you are OVERestimating the value of those relationships. (in green's case) Our coaches have been recruiting green for 2 years now, his brother has been here for 2 years, and in those same 2 years our offense has been anemic. Nothing is going to change over the next 9 months in regards to our relationships. They are about as strongly in our favor as it gets. But, he's planning on waiting so he is looking for something else, something beyond the relationships. The only thing that can change over the next 9 months making his decision clearer is with other schools, or our offense. Other schools that haven't had the time to build a relationship with him will be moving in. 9 months is more than enough time. Our offense will either be pathetic or anemic. That could work in our favor both ways, you just don't know how he's going to look at it. If Rex dominates (in addition to Helu), and Heard gets in there for 50 carries for 350 yards...Aaron might see the cupboard as stocked, or he might see the BCS win and know that NU is back. If our offense is a variation of 2009 he might see himself as the missing link, rise to the challenge, competition, all that crap. Either way none of us really know, but personally after 2 years I'd think he'd know enough about NU to commit if there wasn't something else he's looking for...or at least wanting to confirm that the offensive identity he's been sold thus far is actually in the cards for 2010 and beyond. At this point it's not about relationships - we've played that hand perfectly...it's about the offense, one way or the other. ...or maybe he just enjoys the recruiting process. maybe he wants to take his official visits for kicks (i know i would). maybe he wants to have a high ranking and knows committing late is the way to get it. i have no idea whether we'll get this kid, i just thought it was silly to assume that what happens on the field this fall will be the biggest factor in his decision making. as i said above though, it will obviously help our cause to continue winning and running. Maybe, but that goes into the section of "other schools building a relationship". Nothing good can come from him visiting another school. He isn't going to go visit Florida and walk away saying Nebraska is so much better. He won't walk USC's campus for a weekend and come back home thinking how great Nebraska is in comparison. We have strong facilities, but where we once stool head and shoulders over the competition we are mearly even today. The campus, well that's not even really arguable. The longer this drags on, the less of a chance we have to get that verbal. What more can we do to recruit him? He's probably been on campus 5-10 times. We've set the bar for every other school, but we've also set the bar for ourselves as well. We have nothing more to offer him. It is what it is, if you aren't 100% sure, don't committ. Well, if he's not 100% sure today, there is little more we can do to make him 100% sure tomorrow. (outside of our offense going out and dominating the way he's been sold to think it should) I personally don't think it's "silly" to assume that what happens on the field has a major affect on a recruit's decision making. That, right now, is the SINGLE biggest factor in our defensive recruiting. VERY FEW recruits consider NU without mentioning Suh and Bo's dominant defense. They want to play for a dominant defensive team, where they can showcase their skills and win games. An offensive recruit is no different - in fact it's probably even more important to them. Not saying he won't commit. I hope to hell he does. Maybe he want's that 5th star, maybe he wants to take his 5 visits. But remember...that is the same thing that we bash on other recruits for doing - so don't annoint Green the almighty and make him the exception. That 5th star means nothing on the field, that's for his ego. Those 5 visits are going to be a lot less fun than New Orleans in 2012, or Miami in 2013. He wants to see LSU, Florida, USC, etc? I'm sure Bo can take him for a visit to the Florida schools when we have some extra time around our Orange Bowl appearance, or to see LSU before the Sugar Bowl or BCS Championship game. By 2013 he might be playing in the Big10 and then he can see the CA schools right before we beat down on the Pac10 in the Rose Bowl. Those "official visits" are fun for a few days, the steak tastes good - but commit to NU and he'll be seeing plenty of cool campuses...and going away with a big win is a lot more enjoyable than going away with bag full of promises and another offer letter in hand.

Which is why they might be able to handle a taller than average OL. Their QB doesn't have to throw over this guy, or see down the lanes as often. In addition, he will only have to pass block 30-40% of the time, which is where the real issue with his height comes in due to the fact that the DL can get leaverage and collapse the pocket. I think he'd be awesome in a power running game, which is probably why this board is so split on him.

Yeah I wasn't calling you out on it, I've heard that a lot too - but just really never seen a link or concrete anything that said he is still growing. It seems like it might be one of those things that was mentioned in RSS and ends up making it's way through the forums long enough that it becomes fact. at least if he's still growing - maybe Lampkin is too...

It's not too complicated: Lampkin is tiny . . . and although he ran a 4.38 hand timed 40 without pads on he lacks elite football speed. Sterup (as discussed in detail in this thread) is already borderline too tall and is still growing. Evans, Cotton and Marsh were offered later. August, November, January. Sterup could (and should) still get his. Also, why do we assume that he's still growing? I haven't seen many individuals reach 6'9" and then after they are 18 hit a "growth spurt". Considering he's already 3-4 inchces taller than his brother's rivals 2008 height, I'd say he should be about done. His brother didn't grow at all after HS - his Northwest Missouri State bio still has him at 6'6" here. Also, as I've said before - everything basketball has him at 6'10" like this piece. Basketball rosters tend to stretch the height - so he's probably 6'8 or 6'9.

That's unfortunate. I really thought they'd be out first week of May again this year. http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=943827

I think a strapless or orange bra would be appropriate in the second photo. Kind of weird she would attend a game like that. I don't know, my wife says I have to wait until after our first kid to have her breasts done. When I drop $5k on those puppies - I fully expect them to attend Husker games without much of anything seperating them from the action.

relationships - as in our coaches relationship with him and/or his brother playing for NU? (or the coeds we surrounded him with while he visited for the spring game) If the kid plans on waiting until signing day I think you are OVERestimating the value of those relationships. (in green's case) Our coaches have been recruiting green for 2 years now, his brother has been here for 2 years, and in those same 2 years our offense has been anemic. Nothing is going to change over the next 9 months in regards to our relationships. They are about as strongly in our favor as it gets. But, he's planning on waiting so he is looking for something else, something beyond the relationships. The only thing that can change over the next 9 months making his decision clearer is with other schools, or our offense. Other schools that haven't had the time to build a relationship with him will be moving in. 9 months is more than enough time. Our offense will either be pathetic or anemic. That could work in our favor both ways, you just don't know how he's going to look at it. If Rex dominates (in addition to Helu), and Heard gets in there for 50 carries for 350 yards...Aaron might see the cupboard as stocked, or he might see the BCS win and know that NU is back. If our offense is a variation of 2009 he might see himself as the missing link, rise to the challenge, competition, all that crap. Either way none of us really know, but personally after 2 years I'd think he'd know enough about NU to commit if there wasn't something else he's looking for...or at least wanting to confirm that the offensive identity he's been sold thus far is actually in the cards for 2010 and beyond. At this point it's not about relationships - we've played that hand perfectly...it's about the offense, one way or the other.

I'd rather not see another Nebraska OL recruit head north to Notre Dame. There has to be something these colleges see in this kid. My guess is the main thing holding Bo back is the fact we have 4 commits already. Either that, or the fact that Bo evaluates OL recruits slightly different - from more of a defensive perspective and maybe he sees something other colleges don't.

Looks to me as though it has gotten Kiffin pretty dang far so far. Not evening mentioning he sold himself to that HOT wife of his (pics below for confirmation - it was cold outside in the 2nd)...he landed the Raider job in his mid-30's. Rode in on a magic red carpet to TN and put together arguably the best staff in the county. Then proceded to land a recruiting class that any of us would love to have - regardless of whether or not those kids were tight with their families. Last I checked mommy and daddy don't get to take the field with their kids on gameday. And please don't go off on me about character and all that BS - look at our teams from the 90's that won championships. Look at Miami's teams, even most recently Florida/Alabama. Sadly, there is almost a direct correlation between the number of felons on your team and the percentage chance you have a winning a championship these days. Then, as if he hadn't sold himself enough - he managed to convince USC, arguably one of the best jobs in the country to hire him when his record suggests that he shouldn't be able to land the North Texas job. However (to steal a quote from Tommy Boy) - Kiffin "could sell a ketchup popsicle to a lady in white gloves." - Don't underestimate Kiffin.

In reality yes - but Kiffin is one hell of a salesman. I'm not sure you can dog on him about the "family" issue considering half of Kiffin's family coaches the team. It's like a multi-generational reunion every day, complete with rock/movie stars and some potato salad on the side. The question will be whether or not the Grimbles can see through all the smoke he blows up their A$$ - and if in reality it is just a bunch of smoke...I'd think his cousin would have already told him about it. We talk on here about how it takes years to build up relationships with HS coaches, and develop a territory, earn a reputation. Look at what Kiffin did in a single year in TN. He didn't have any relationships there. He had a salesman personality and some hot coeds. The result was one of the best classes in the nation without a single thing we think is required to recruit well. He took half of Georgia and he'd probably never even visited the state. Florida, Illinois, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee - he raided them all. Regardless what you may think of Kiffin (and most of what everyone has formed their opinion of him off of is based on his departure from TN for his dream job - can't blame him there) he and his staff are spectacular recruiters. Assuming we actually did set the bar, if there is a staff in the country that can raise it - it's Kiffin's.

whoa.... that wasnt a very rosey picture you just painted..... i dont think that USC is this mythical beast that once you enter through the door you are theirs..... they have a lot of flaws and if family is soo important to the grimbles maybe they will be able to see the flakes of gold making all the rusty shiet being thrown at them....... still feel positive though I'm hoping for it!! I hope i'm wrong... fortunately for us and NU football - you usually are.

The 4 team division sounds interesting. You could have 7 regular season conference games. (the 3 in your division and then a rotation of 1 from each of the other divisions plus a possible 'rivalry tie-in') The 8th conference game would be a semi-final of the division champions - seated by AP/BCS ranking or other formula. That would lead into the conference championship game. The other teams would play their 8th game based on the rankings, though outside of bowl implications they wouldn't have that great of importance as far as the conference goes. Sounds like one hell of a way to end the season. If the Big10 is worried about the fact they are currently irrelevant post-thanksgiving...this would certainly put them on top. A mini playoff with the semi finals t-giving weekend, and the championship the first week of December. 2 automatic bids would allow both teams in the championship game a spot in the BCS post-season.

Agree, very good topic for discussion. Might become VERY interesting over the next 6-12 months as conferences look to re-align. One thing to consider though, is that Texas is important to us because our coaching staff has made it important. That's where we've chosen to recruit. If they decided to recruit Ohio/Michigan/Illini more heavily and place less emphasis on Texas then the "importance" of Texas to NU football would be drastically reduced. If Beck leaves and ends up replaced by someone with excellent connections in Florida, I could see us being less active in Texas. No one here would complain about getting a few more FL recruits each year. Which means Texas might be important today, but only because we've made it that way. It's recruiting grounds can be replaced. So "Texas recruits" from NU's perspective today are important - but in broad, general terms and looking at it from ALL D1 schools, it's not that important. Good post and I've also had fun with this topic. I want to clarify my position that I think that we should focus our limited resources on the best players that we have the best chance to sign. Whether they are from Texas or Rhode Island doesn't matter to me. My posts have merely been the facts, and the facts support the TC's original post up to this point in time. As many have pointed out, we won't be able to evaluate our current staff's Texas recruiting (or recruiting in general) for a couple of years. KC, you contradicted your entire stance with this comment. A few posts ago you said 145 kids signed from Texas in the Big12 just in the 2010 class. The total number to sign out of Texas is over 300. That number alone, says in broad general terms it is VERY important to recruit Texas. Andy, the facts that you posted only say that over the last few years the correlation of Texas recruits at Nebraska to all conference honors is low.....that is TRUE. But if you look at all schools and the correlation of Texas recruits to all conference honors, you get an entirely different scenario. I still say it falls with the kids Bill Callahan brought from Texas to Nebraska as the reason for our low all conference correlation. NONE of these kids were very highly rated....only 1 4 star. We disagree on the quality of that four star but I say he was well worth the four stars. Castille only had 800 or so yards in 2 years b/c we had 900 RBs. If Castille would have been around last year, he would have helped us greatly. I bet we wouldn't have lost to Iowa State and possibly Va Tech. I'm not sure if I contradicted myself or not. I didn't meant it that way if I did. 145 to the Big 12 yes. But, 73 of those went to Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech. Texas recruits are VERY important to Texas schools. No one can debate that. 17 to OK (very important to them as well) But only 35 went to schools in the North, and 17 of those were to Kansas/MU. In the 3 other big conferences only 34 total - out of 33 schools. It's not that important to the general D1 school unless they make it important. Could those Pac10, Big10, and SEC schools have found someone to fill that 1 scholarship? Absolutely. We've chosen to make it more important than most schools. It's not that we are forced into it because there isn't talent elsewhere, it's a choice we've made. 291, 3 star and above recruits signed from Texas. at least 109 of those stayed in Texas. Thats out of a total pool of thousands around the nation. I just don't see Texas and the abosolute vital lifeline for recruiting that you see it. Pull the plug and NU football would be fine. We aren't surviving on Texas talent. Not yet anyway - we'll see where Pelini takes us. I agree w/ Castille. Definately would have won the Iowa St. game - Texas game might have been a different story as well. He gav

Agree, very good topic for discussion. Might become VERY interesting over the next 6-12 months as conferences look to re-align. One thing to consider though, is that Texas is important to us because our coaching staff has made it important. That's where we've chosen to recruit. If they decided to recruit Ohio/Michigan/Illini more heavily and place less emphasis on Texas then the "importance" of Texas to NU football would be drastically reduced. If Beck leaves and ends up replaced by someone with excellent connections in Florida, I could see us being less active in Texas. No one here would complain about getting a few more FL recruits each year. Which means Texas might be important today, but only because we've made it that way. It's recruiting grounds can be replaced. So "Texas recruits" from NU's perspective today are important - but in broad, general terms and looking at it from ALL D1 schools, it's not that important.

NO ONE is saying that we should draw a line around Texas and avoid it all together. As for spreading ourselves out...have you seen Nexus's map? There's balloons all over the thing. If your talking concentation then w/ the big 3 it's probably Florida at 1 4* or above recruit per 1289 square miles. California (1 in 2557). Texas (1 in 4974) I don't feel like going through all the states, but I would say Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana probably also top Texas as far as concentration of talent goes.

I agree with you Sker in that there is no way our coaches are leaving Texas when it comes to recruiting. Pieces of our staff were built around that specific plan (Beck's ties to Texas). And I do not have any problem with our coaches being in Texas. I trust em like you. I just think they could abandon Texas (hypothetically) and still pull in 25 players from other states that would make up a top 10 team. Not JUCOs and scraps. Here are some numbers that do worry me a little bit assuming our coaches put all their eggs in the Texas basket and we end up Big 10. I didn't realize it was this skewed. 10 - The number of 2010 Texas recruits that signed with Big 10 schools. 4 of the 10 were only 2 stars, 6 - 3 stars. 145 - The number that signed with Big 12 schools. 1 - 5 star and a boatload of 4 star players. 15 - The number that signed with an SEC schools. 1 - 5 star and 5 - 4 stars. 14 - The number that signed with Pac 10 schools. 1 - 5 star and 2 - 4 stars. (at least there's some relief in knowing that more than half the teams in D1 have been able to field teams without Texas recruits though) I think our history in the region, and location in relation to the Big 12 and Texas would help us. But, if we end up Big 10 and still think we can grab 5 guys a year from Texas it will be tough. However, I do think that a few of those 5 guys whom are generally speaking 2nd tier tallent as far as Texas goes - could be replaced with 1st tier Big 10 recruits we don't have a chance at today. It would be interesting to say the least - I think we could grab a few highly regarded Texas recruits with aspirations to be a part of Big 10 accademics and Nebraska football, without "technically" leaving Big 12 teritory.

I will say you NEED to recruit there. You could also choose not to and only recruit Cali, Florida, Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska.....but that makes about as much sense as combining your bed and toilet. Why does that not make sense? Cali doesn't have recruits? Florida none? Missouri no quality tallent? We don't have starters from Kansas/Nebraska? Going out of your way to avoid Texas doesn't make sense I agree (that's not what anyone is saying) - but if the staff decided to concentrate recruiting on Cali, Florida, and the Big 10 states and not 'actively' recruit kids from Texas - we'd have a forum full of "i trust the coaches" statements (EZ-E would be the first) and I'm sure we'd still have top 25 classes, stellar defenses and good enough offenses to find a way to win. I don't see it happening...but if it did I think NU football would come out just fine.

I've gotta go w/ the OP as well. We should be a top 10 team this year - without Texas tallent. That is the OP. We don't NEED Texas kids. Is it nice to be able to travel to Dallas and see 15 highly regarded recruits within a 20 mile radius? Sure. Should we continue to recruit there? Absolutely. But the point is we don't NEED to recruit there. No one is disputing the fact that tallent doesn't exist there. I am sure some of our recent recruits will develop into quality players. No one once said they wouldn't. But the point is we can walk away from Texas and still field a top 10 team - we are this year...so it's IMPOSSIBLE to argue that it can't be done. To say that we'd be looking to the JUCO ranks and scrounging for scraps is ignorant - considering there are about 4,000 3* and above recruits that live outside of Texas. I think that's a big enough pool to grab 25 from. (Frankly I'd welcome it because we wouldn't be losing a recruit because he forgot his jacket) Also, just because we move into the Big 10 doesn't mean we can't continue to recruit Texas. Does every Texas kid want to play in the Big12? I doubt it. If anything I think we would bring something to the table that no other school in the area could. We aren't that far from Texas. The weather isn't drastically different (not like Michigan to Texas anyway). In fact, if you are a Michigan kid, playing in Nebraska is probably like playing in the tropics. We could finally convince a recruit that the weather is better in Nebraska than anywhere else in the conference. No to mention, plenty of Texas/Oklahoma kids would love the change to play against Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Iowa & Purdue year in and year out. Frankly it sounds more appealing than Baylor, Colorado, Kansas, K-State, Iowa St, Missouri, A&M, Tech, Oklahoma St, etc, etc. I think we'd have a pretty solid package to sell to both Texas recruits and Ohio/Michigan/Illini recruits.

Or maybe he just has a desire to play at one of those schools - but doesn't want to waste his time/money traveling to either if he doesn't have an offer especially considering the fact he has a number of great offers. I am guessing Sterup is waiting on a Nebraska offer - doesn't mean he's trying to fluff his ego or that Iowa/Wisconsin aren't quality institutions he'd be happy to play at. Don't jump to conclusions and put the kid down. Give him the benefit of the doubt.