AFhusker

You do realize that they only played three games outside the state of Michigan and went 1-2. Talk about an easy schedule.

Got this from a friend and thought it tied into the point that you were trying to bring up. I realize it's easy to blame the jerk now that he's gone, but what I'm about to share is stunning evidence of the damage he did. Please bear with me ... I'll get to the meat and potatoes soon. Before I do, I will say that yesterday, for the first time, my confidence in Riley and staff was shaken. Iowa's defense is so piss poor, it's incomprehensible that we allowed those big plays. The offense, I'm not nearly worried about. But defense wins championships, and I thought we were turning the corner under Banker this year - until yesterday's debacle. But as I thought about this more, and wondered (again) why teams like Wisconsin and Iowa, who ALWAYS recruit worse than we do on paper, are beating us on the field. We SHOULD have better players then them, right? But what I discovered was that the players you sign on the first Wednesday in February are not necessarily the players who ever suit up for you, and therein lies our problem. Retention, retention, retention. Bo apparently recruited with little regard to a player's personality, character, academic ability or cultural fit to Lincoln. Or, he was such a prick, he chased away guys who, with a little love and support and communication, might have stayed. Some basic research showed me that at least 20 players from the three pivotal classes of 2012, 13 and 14 are no longer with the team. That's a lot. I started with the 2012 class, a class that, in general, should have finished up its eligibility this year. From that class, five players never contributed significantly or at all while at Nebraska. Worse, those five appear to be good players: * Thomas Brown, kicked off, Riverside CC * Avery Moss, kicked off for public indecency, 10 sacks at Youngstown State * Jared Afalava, left, now at Weber State * LeRoy Alexander, left, starting DB at Youngstown State * Aaron Curry, left, starting DT for TCU, 9 sacks But it gets worse. The 2013 class is what's absolutely KILLING us right now: *Courtney Love, LB, Kentucky, had key fumble recovery today in win over Louisville * Greg Hart, TE, Kentucky, second string and plays * Kevin Gladney, WR, kicked off and now at Akron * Johnny Stanton, QB, was starting at UNLV but hurt * Ernest Suttles, DE, kicked off, three sacks and in DL rotation for Memphis * Drake Martinez, DB, left, playing for Michigan State (special teams) * Dimarya Mixon, DE, left, playing in DL rotation for Tennessee * Tre'Vell Dixon, athlete, no idea where he ended up The 2014 class was another disaster: * Monte Harrison, WR, playing baseball * Lorenzo Stewart, RB, playing JUCO somewhere * Javaen Walton, ath, fought with Neb. veterans and now at JUCO in Louisiana * Jariah Tolbert, WR, Arizona Western CC * Glenn Irons, WR, Northwestern State CC * Deandre Willis, DE, left team; whereabouts unknown * AJ Bush, QB playing for the Rievers The good news is, Mike Riley and his staff seem to be MUCH, MUCH better at retention, which will help build the roster up in terms of depth and allow more players to develop over time. From the 2015 class, which was only partially his (he was hired in December, 2014), the only two defections so far are Jordan Stevenson (head case who we took a late shot on) and Adrienn Talan (Navarro CC). And from what looks like a very solid 2016 class, only Derrion Grimm (starring as a WR at Delta CC) has left, and his case seems more flaky than a symptom of deeper problems. Looking at this made me feel much, much better about Riley's first two years, and makes me feel like we MUST give him at least five total years, even if we take a couple of steps back next year or the year after. It's truly a rebuild. Recruiting is very important. But retaining is just as, or more, important. You can't just have a revolving door of players every year, hoping a few stick. It's about class balance and player development over four- and five-year cycles. So let's all rally behind this staff for the next two, three years, keep an eye on the roster and see if they aren't building/developing from the inside out. I think they are.

I agree with the bold with one exception, that is we are now with the talent level it is going to take longer than a few years to get us to be a legit top 10 team. That is the point, they don't want to come here just to be unjustly fired because they didn't win a conference or MNC in their first two years. Now if the cupboard was stacked or at least close to it, then I can see a top HC coming in to take us over the top. But that is the point, we will never become a top 10 team if we keep on firing HC's, it will hurt recruiting and we will have all of the tools except the most important part, the talent level of the team. That is why I am hoping that as a WORST case scenario that Riley gets fired or retires after his fair amount of time with a higher talent level than with what he was left. Then you throw in all of the "tools" that NU has and we will be able to get a HC to takes back to where we were used to being at.

Who said that he got too much time? IMO a coach should have a minimum of six years to recruit and make it his program. (Of course that is without any ethical violations) IMO people need to calm down and realize that fixing a program isn't something that can be fixed overnight. I can understand that but let me ask...after six years how do you judge if the person is doing a good job or not? Like, for instance, if this had been the end of year 6...what would your thoughts be? It would all depend on what happened in the six years. It is a balance of records, recruiting, any off the field problems. You have to look at the entire picture and see if there is a clear vision/plan and how close are we to achieving our goals? To me this season is a carbon copy of 2003, now we just need to get to a mediocre bowl and win it just like we did the Alamo Bowl that year to have pretty much the same year in Franks 6th season. It would be hard for me to defend a year like this in year 6 without some hardware in the first 5 seasons. IMO when we find the coach that will end the string of mediocrity since 2001 we won't lose games like we did to Ohio State and Iowa in his 6th year. You know, I think that is fair and level headed. I don't totally agree because Riley has a huge body of work that we can look at but I see your point. One thing that is interesting. Oregon State is looking to land its highest ranked recruiting class (currently 6th in the Pac 12, where Riley was usually around 9 or 10)...makes me wonder a bit. That is interesting about the recruiting rankings, but the point about any coach not just Riley is that we can't keep on firing guys after 2 or 3 years because then we will be the Oakland Raiders of CFB and nobody will want to come here. That is why Tom was the one who had to come back to fire BC before he got his full allotment of time. The CFB world is going to give Tom the benefit of the doubt when it comes to anything related to CFB and especially what is good for UNL.

You are right about that. The ball movement at times was horrendous and that is because we really don't have any legit scorers. It seems like we are a better team than last year with very good defense, but we are going to have to find a way to score points if we are going to make any noise in Conference play.

Ritchie Ingcognito says hello! I guarantee those guys especially in the 1990's were talking all kinds of sh!t.. So I wouldn't classify it as "not Husker football." Like it or not, this kind of talk is very common for every team, especially the ones that know they are better than everyone else.

Yea, there is that factor too.

Who said that he got too much time? IMO a coach should have a minimum of six years to recruit and make it his program. (Of course that is without any ethical violations) IMO people need to calm down and realize that fixing a program isn't something that can be fixed overnight. I can understand that but let me ask...after six years how do you judge if the person is doing a good job or not? Like, for instance, if this had been the end of year 6...what would your thoughts be? It would all depend on what happened in the six years. It is a balance of records, recruiting, any off the field problems. You have to look at the entire picture and see if there is a clear vision/plan and how close are we to achieving our goals? To me this season is a carbon copy of 2003, now we just need to get to a mediocre bowl and win it just like we did the Alamo Bowl that year to have pretty much the same year in Franks 6th season. It would be hard for me to defend a year like this in year 6 without some hardware in the first 5 seasons. IMO when we find the coach that will end the string of mediocrity since 2001 we won't lose games like we did to Ohio State and Iowa in his 6th year.

Who said that he got too much time? IMO a coach should have a minimum of six years to recruit and make it his program. (Of course that is without any ethical violations) IMO people need to calm down and realize that fixing a program isn't something that can be fixed overnight.There's been plenty on here. The grumbling started in 2010, and took off in 2011. It doesn't take six years to build a program. Hail varsity did a piece over the summer in their magazine on top coaches. Over the past decade or so, and every one of them had their program in the mix for at least a league title in year 2, and by year 3, they had their program rolling. To have a fast start like that you have to inherit great talent from the previous staff, unfortunately this isn't the case in our situation. We may not have anyone drafted and if we do it won't be before the 3rd for 4th round at the highest. And that IMO would be Westy as a slot receiver. That is why it will take longer with our situation, we need to get the depth and talent here first before we can realistically judge them. Also people have to consider that if they really want us to be a playoff team, we will have to play the recruiting game by the Ohio State/Alabama and the rest of the SEC/USC/Oregon rules. IDK if people want to go down that road. As for Bo, I wasn't one of them until we got demolished by Wisky in the CCG. Bo's tenure to me was hard to describe. I didn't think he was qualified for the job in the first place, but he took the NFL talent on defense that Callahan left him and turned them into a great defense. One that almost (should have) carried us to the 2009 Big 12 Championship and I thought I was wrong about him. But once those guys were gone, his poor recruiting became obvious. Then you throw in the public embarrassments it was time to part ways.

Who said that he got too much time? IMO a coach should have a minimum of six years to recruit and make it his program. (Of course that is without any ethical violations) IMO people need to calm down and realize that fixing a program isn't something that can be fixed overnight. The "getting blown out" problem has been here since 2002 in Frank's 5th year as HC. Riley isn't going to be able to fix that issue with one recruiting class. It takes time people.

To many yolo bombs from Tommy today. Even the announcers commented on it several times. Once, Westercatch was standing there wide open and Tommy went for the home run.i mean at some point it is on the coaching staff Not really if TA isn't listening to what he is being told. I guarantee you that they are not telling him to throw it deep every time he does. He's coached just like every other QB, take what is open/what the defense is giving you. That doesn't mean throw it deep every chance you get when you have wide open guys on the short routes. If that is what they were teaching him, they wouldn't have made it this far in their coaching career as that is a quick way to the unemployment line.

Ok here's my issue with this statement: it's not the record it's the getting blown out by teams with similar talent. We have the money and facilities to compete with anyone in the country yet we're not. We as fans (you) are getting complacent. First step to becoming an iowa type program. You should be ashamed of yourself as a Nebraska football fan honestly. Why should he be "ashamed of himself?" Nobody is going to fix what was/is ailing this program in two years as it isn't like he walked into a team that was loaded with depth and talent. Like Landlord said, Riley deserves the same amount of time that Bo was given to prove his worth.

Well said. +1

I've heard for the last two seasons, it's not the number of losses it's how you lose. Blowouts to OSU, Iowa, and f'ing Purdue (last year before the garbage time TDs) are just as bad as any Wiscy loss during Bo's tenure. If 9 wins weren't good two years ago, why is it plenty to be happy about today? Ummm....maybe because this is still Bo's team that he recruited and we haven't yet seen this staff with their players? Just a thought.

I am sure the staff will find out through more private channels and will handle it appropriately. IMO he did the right thing by not naming who said what he is talking about. There is a point to where there are things that the public doesn't need to know that has been lost in this day and age of social media.

And that my friend is the culture that Bo left us that needs to be changed which some feel is an excuse when it is far from it. Your "culture" boogeyman is as much to blame as walking under a ladder or crossing paths with a black cat. It's made up. You have obviously never played any sport or been part of a team locker room and you are showing your ignorance on the subject. Lmao... I've played plenty, and I coach. Back off the personal stuff. To the first part.... LMAO, you stalk me and then threaten to ban me. Whatever continue with your agenda. Mods on here are too funny.

Once again, the part that I bolded is the undisciplined culture that Bo left us with. If those same issues are still happening once all of Bo's players are gone in a few years then Riley has the same issue, but I highly doubt that will be one of Riley's issues.

And that my friend is the culture that Bo left us that needs to be changed which some feel is an excuse when it is far from it. Your "culture" boogeyman is as much to blame as walking under a ladder or crossing paths with a black cat. It's made up. You have obviously never played any sport or been part of a team locker room and you are showing your ignorance on the subject.

You forgot to mention a lack of depth especially on the lines. The OL needs a huge talent upgrade as you see what walk on talent get you. The DL needs some depth with some guys who can put pressure on the QB without blitzing. That will make the rest of the defense look a lot better. Pure bullsh#t unfounded in reality. If people want to argue that Riley is updating the talent because of what the recruitniks say, then you can't argue that NU doesn't have enough talent when all of the recruitniks say NU was the most talented team in the West. #quittheplayerblaming #.500isstill.500 LMAO....to believe that players never make mistakes, miss assignments or don't follow the play that is called is beyond asinine. That's not what he said. But nice strawman deflection. Apparently you didn't read the "quit player blaming" and that is his constant argument that it is NEVER the players fault for anything. A very good example is blaming Langs for TA's poor decisions on where to throw the ball. It isn't Langs fault that TA is too stubborn to throw it to a short route that is open and only wants to throw the ball 20-40 yards downfield.

You forgot to mention a lack of depth especially on the lines. The OL needs a huge talent upgrade as you see what walk on talent get you. The DL needs some depth with some guys who can put pressure on the QB without blitzing. That will make the rest of the defense look a lot better. Pure bullsh#t unfounded in reality. If people want to argue that Riley is updating the talent because of what the recruitniks say, then you can't argue that NU doesn't have enough talent when all of the recruitniks say NU was the most talented team in the West. #quittheplayerblaming #.500isstill.500 LMAO....to believe that players never make mistakes, miss assignments or don't follow the play that is called is beyond asinine.

And that my friend is the culture that Bo left us that needs to be changed which some feel is an excuse when it is far from it.

You forgot to mention a lack of depth especially on the lines. The OL needs a huge talent upgrade as you see what walk on talent get you. The DL needs some depth with some guys who can put pressure on the QB without blitzing. That will make the rest of the defense look a lot better. I agree with this.. But not sure about talent - maybe more coaching. Just like on the offense it isn't fair to judge these guys yet until they have the guys that they recruited playing for them. The problem for a lot of people is that they want instant gratification on top of they are venting all of their frustration for the continued failure of being relevant since Tom retired on whoever is coaching the program now. It isn't this staffs fault for what happened before last year. I get it, it sucks being irrelevant like we have been since 2001. I don't like it any more than anyone else does on here. But you have to be realistic with the plan and progress. What happened today was mind boggling and inexcusable and it sucks losing to a team like Iowa who is the equivalent of KSU in the Big 12. But it isn't time to overreact although that seems to be what the internet is for and try ignorantly start calling for a new coaching staff after two years when they don't even have their own players yet. Hopefully we win our bowl game, break the 4 loss streak and finish off the recruiting class on a high note.

link? If you need a link to know that no team is signing 2 four star QBs a year, I suggest you do your own research. There may be an odd off year that a team does it, but for the most part, teams are taking 1 highly touted QB a year and maybe 1 other QB a year, at most. You are right on this one. If a kid is a 4* he wants to play. If a school was taking two of those a year, then they would just be having a lot of guys transfer. What Ohio State had a few years ago was an anomaly, not the norm even for guys who recruit like Myer to have. Which I believe that is based on. Teams may have three 4 stars on a team, but they will be separated by a year or two in eligibility because that leaves a window for each to start.

This is pretty much what should happen.

You forgot to mention a lack of depth especially on the lines. The OL needs a huge talent upgrade as you see what walk on talent get you. The DL needs some depth with some guys who can put pressure on the QB without blitzing. That will make the rest of the defense look a lot better.