ColoradoHusk

Cue all the comparisons to small, white slot receivers in the NFL.Yeah, you're probably right -- I still think he'll get a shot to make a roster, though.With guys like Welker, Amendola, and Edelman making a name for themselves (less Amendola), if they can get in the right system, he'll have a shot. No mention of Wayne Chrebet, Steve Largent, or Brandon Stokley?

If Kenny Bell and Enunwa cant get on a NFL roster so can Westerkemp I assume you mean that Bell & Enunwa CAN get on a NFL roster.

Cue all the comparisons to small, white slot receivers in the NFL.

I think Banderas could end up playing in the NFL for a few years. Anybody with that type of speed could find himself on an NFL roster.

...or...are they in the NFL because they went to programs that had the best coaching, best conditioning and the most exposure to NFL scouts, which elevated them from high school to professional level? I will always believe that good coaching and conditioning trumps all. Joe Paterno negated Miami's five star and NFL first round speed and talent in Vinnie Testaverde, Michael Irvin, and Alonzo Highsmith for the 1987 National Championship with a philosophy of being the more physical team and making Miami "hear footsteps". I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this. Yeah, that Penn State team had no talent at all. They only had 13 players from that team drafted in the NFL, and 2 of them first rounders. http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/psu/2011/10/06/Penn-State-s-1986-championship-team-to-hold-reunion-at-halftime-of-Iowa-game/stories/201110060357

So if Pelini would have recruited someone with LESS talent than Randy Gregory, we would be in a better spot now?... This recruiting is some tricky stuff! So, that's what you get out my post?

The final paragraph: I would say that's a reasonable number, anything more than that would give me concern about the recruiting and development efforts.

How? They're nothing alike. In style of play, they are nothing alike. But KU took advantage of a weak crossover schedule in '07 (no Texas or Oklahoma) and down "former powers" (NU and CU) to finish 7-1 in the Big 12 North.

I don't think having walk-ons starting at the O-line or Fullback position is a big deal because those positions are a lot about strength, power, and effort, which sometimes produce a late-bloomer/hard-worker at those spots. But, Sam points out that having multiple walk-ons at "skill positions" like DE and WR are a concern and shows how the previous staff completely whiffed at those recruiting those positions. Gangwish is a great story about working hard and being a strong leader, but he is only starting because Moss pulled out his crank and Gregory left for the NFL. Dzuris in only getting meaningful snaps because guys like Natter and Keels haven't blossomed as everyone expected, so he has to play after Freedom got hurt. At WR, Brandon Reilly is super fast, but he is not a complete receiver. He drops a number of passes and can be taken out by effective bump and run CB's (see Wisconsin). If NU wants to be a championship team, it needs better talent at certain positions, and can't be dependent on walk-ons at those positions.

BUMP this discussion as Sam has an OWH write-up today. He has some good points on misses at WR and DE in recruiting are causing a number of walk-ons playing significant snaps. http://www.omaha.com/huskers/another-examination-of-the-walk-on-talent-debate/article_7b58efdc-7670-11e5-b264-53999a89d960.html

Or cut off Armstrong's right arm so he can't throw the ball on 3rd and 7. Oh who am I fooling, he would still try to throw it as a lefty.

http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-footbl/archive/081011aaa.html There is the tiebreaker. NU is in trouble with the division record, since it already has 2 losses in the West division.

I was listening to the start of the game on the radio feed. Davison is not a fan of the all-whites. Then Sharp said NU had white jerseys and pants with CRIMSON trim. Hey Gary, it's SCARLET!!!

It's happening! Bring 'em in, Jamie. : Not sure if you understood the blog post, Jamie Williams is no longer with the Athletic Department. This job posting is basically hiring his replacement.

Wisconsin tried to get out of their Adidas deal a year early, but the buyout was too hefty. They will be with Adidas thru this academic year. Sounds like they have been looking to go elsewhere for a while. Nu has their deal thru 2017, I wonder if NU is working on a potential buyout with Adidas.

Tommy is a good 20 pounds heavier than Martinez was. Tommy is thick. He can absorb hits better than Martinez could. Weight has something to do with it, but Martinez also always slowed up to brace for impact. This usually resulted in him getting clobbered. Edit: I want to make it clear that I'm not criticizing Martinez; I'm just pointing out the differences in their running styles. Why do you hate the Martinez family? Just joking. I understood what you were saying. Martinez was the track star, home run threat when he ran the ball. He had pure, straight ahead speed. Armstrong is bigger, and has a little more moves, but doesn't have the speed that Martinez did.

The main cause of Tommy's poor mechanics is poor footwork. Poor footwork will cause inconsistent throws.

Tommy is a good 20 pounds heavier than Martinez was. Tommy is thick. He can absorb hits better than Martinez could.

Langsdorf just called another pass play.

Let me explain since it was my post that caused confusion. And, I admit my attitude towards this is confusing. (even in my own mind) When I say it's "weird". I'm saying that I find it weird that he doesn't want to be in Iowa instead hanging out with his future friends, teammates, coaches...etc and experiencing their fan base in a season that is starting off better than any of theirs have started off in a very very very long time. I would think that atmosphere would awesome for a HS player that....well....ultimately wants to play there. On the flip side, if the coaching staff still wants him, I don't blame them for allowing him to come visit and enjoy the magnificent, sites, sounds and excitement around Husker football. You never know when maybe that might put some doubt into his head on his decision. Just playing devil's advocate, but Iowa played an 11:00 AM game on Saturday, while NU played at 2:30. Fant had a game on Friday night and probably didn't want to wake up early and make a 3 hour drive to Iowa to go to their game at 11 AM. So, he went to film study at South, then he (and probably family or friends) drove down to Lincoln to make it for the Wisconsin game. To me, it's not really a big deal either way. The problem is that even an unofficial visit isn't that unofficial. He would still have to call Nebraska and set up the visit at least a few days in advance in order to get tickets and other things taken care of. They actually only have so much room for guys on unofficial visits for kids. I know because I went on one last year with a friend of mine and his son. You can't just show up Saturday morning and have every thing be OK. I am sure the NU coaches knew he was coming well in advance. The NU coaches probably went to him and said "Hey, we have a 2:30 game against Wisconsin, do you want to come up from Omaha that Saturday morning?" I just don't get all the hand-ringing or people think that a commit at one school will still go on a visit (official or unofficial) elsewhere.

I give the guy credit. He is taking these visits to go see some good football matchups. NU vs. Wisky last week. USC vs. Notre Dame this week.

So I listened to this last night on the elliptical. What saunders says an understatement. Sam seemed to rail for 5-10 minutes about how horrible our defensive scheme is. And he basically called Wisconsin's WR/TE crew the worst in the Power 5 conferences. And yet we continued to allow them to beat us and for Stave to put up 300+. NU has big, physical CB's that should be good enough at bump and run. NU has the athletes to throw off opponents passing game at the LOS. But, Banker/Stewart puts those guys 10 yards deep, the WR's get a free release to go anywhere they want to. The short passes are open all day long and the DB's get in trail position on every deep ball. The scheme in the secondary is baffling.

The head coach needs to understand all the traditions at the school, including team uniforms. For Riley to not understand that the traditional road pants are red is very disappointing. I understand the kids want to wear white pants because they look cool, but the coaches need to say "enough of this crap, we are wearing red pants". Jim Harbaugh went to Michigan and he was heavily involved in the uniforms to be worn at Michigan. I understand Harbaugh has a total boner for all-things UM, but he cares about all aspects of the team, including uniforms and helmets.

I don't think anyone is saying that walk-ons don't deserve to be any part of the Nebraska program. In a day of 85-scholarship limits, walk-ons can provide needed depth, and there are instances of late bloomers who can become great football players. NU would be hurting even more than it already is this year if it weren't for guys like Janovich, Gangwich, and Weber. What I don't like is they myopic attitude of SOME fans who act like the walk-on program is the sole reason why NU was successful in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Those teams, especially the 90s teams, were successful because of the amazing talent that was brought in by Osborne and his staff. Turner Gill and Tommie Frazier were dual-threat QB's were huge recruiting gets in their classes. Osborne himself said he had to go to "speed states" to bring in more speed on defense. Damon Benning always talks about the amount of speed that TO recruited. Riley Washington was the Big 8 60-meter dash champion. Jamel Williams was a track-star in Indiana, and he played LB at NU. I will always argue that the key to Nebraska's success in the 90's was a peak amount of in-state talent that was around in that time. If you look at those classes in the early 90s, those in-state guys were highly recruited and could have gone to any school in the country. NU also lost some of those in-state recruits to Notre Dame and others. Osborne was able to mix in walk-ons at fullback, wingback, o-line, and other positions because of the unique offense he ran. Osborne didn't need the 6'4" WR who ran a 4.5 40, because he knew his WR was going to be blocking 90% of the time. He knew he could add 20-30 lbs to a small-town RB and make him a fullback in his system. But, Osborne knew he needed elite recruits at QB, RB, o-line and everywhere on the defense. The walk-on situation isn't an "either-or" idea. NU needs great recruiting classes each year, and it needs to supplement the recruiting classes with strong walk-ons. I don't agree with Callahan's/Bo's view on in-state talent. I think they slow-played most of the top guys each year and tried to get them to walk-on. It will be interesting to see how Riley handles in-state talent going forward.

The run defense is improved. I think it's too early to say it's completely fixed. Teams are choosing to attack our defense through the air. Minnesota, Northwestern, and Iowa will tell us if NU has truly fixed the run defense.