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I'm assuming I'm going to take a lot of heat, especially from the traditionalists, for this opinion and that is fine. I love the walk-on program as much as the next Husker fan. It's got a rich tradition and it really made Nebraska football what it is. Tom relied heavily on it and it worked out very well for him. However, times have changed in CFB resulting in increased parity and we have got to make the adjustment. I hate to single guys out but players like Thorell and Blatchford have no business starting for a division 1 defense. They are physically and athletically outmatched. When they lineup against another team's scholarship wide receiver (arguably some of the most athletic players on their team), I cringe and I'm sure the opposing team is just salivating at the sight of the matchup. Now, I'm sure people are going to respond with, "well so-and-so was a walk-on and he had an amazing career." That's great. There's always an exception (and in Tom's case many) to the rule. The fact of the matter is, the walk-ons that are starting for our current defense wouldn't sniff the scout team at Alabama or LSU. Take a look at those top defenses and let me know how many small-town Nebraska guys are starting in their secondary. Heck, forget being from Nebraska, how many walk-ons are starting period? We have to adjust to the new landscape of college football. In order to take this team to the next level, we have to have the upper-hand in every matchup on the field. A walk-on is a constant mismatch that the opponent will exploit. The athletic disparity is too great. I don't care how well you know Bo's system. It seems as though if you're 5 steps behind the receiver, but hey you're in the coverage we called, that's all we can ask. I've noticed that Bo likes to throw some of the walk-ons on special teams just to get them playing time. Big mistake in my opinion. You wonder why our special teams coverage units have issues? Guess who's returning the punt/kick for the other team? The fastest freaking player on their team. Bo's calling card is defense. So there is no reason why he shouldn't be able to get top-notch defensive talent every year. It's time to stop relying on walk-ons as stopgaps and start getting real talent on the defense. There's a reason these guys have to walk-on.