Callahan's recruiting focus is fuzzy logic

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DIRK CHATELAIN: Callahan's recruiting focus is fuzzy logic

 

Dirk Chatelain / Senior news-editorial major

December 02, 2004

 

Did you see that new 230-pound running back from Texas who bench presses GMCs and averages 9 yards a carry?

 

Did you hear about the receiver who covers 40 yards in 4.2385 seconds?

 

The new buzzword in the wake of Nebraska’s 5-6 disaster: recruiting.

 

Forget the West Coast offense. Forget the Ruf/Neks and booing Steve Pederson. The focus from now ‘til February centers on 17-year-olds whose mothers still wash their Hanes. You’re not cool if you don’t know recruiting.

 

“We're building for a championship season and I don’t want to get away from that. It’s going to take time,” Cornhusker Coach Bill Callahan said at the post-Colorado press conference. “It’s all going to depend on how many high-caliber recruits you can get who are going to make an immediate impact or improve your depth.”

 

The Huskers currently rank No. 1 in the nation for the class of 2005, according to Rivals.com. Take that, Iowa State. Does it mean anything? Maybe. Callahan has stressed the need for more talent, but recruiting remains a small piece of the national title puzzle.

 

A look at national recruiting classes from a few years back:

 

The top five programs in most 2000 rankings – that class would be redshirt seniors in 2004 – were Florida, Tennessee, Florida State, Penn State and Alabama. You will find none of those schools in this week’s BCS top 14. Penn State and Alabama don’t even have winning records.

 

In 2001, Florida State topped most experts’ polls, followed by Michigan, Louisiana State, Texas and Tennessee. Only Texas cracked this week’s BCS top 10.

 

Nebraska fans, desperate to make it through a gloomy, cold winter, are clinging to any hope for the future, studying Harrison Beck’s touchdown passes and Marlon Lucky’s 40-yard dash time instead of BCS polls. Understandable.

 

But the notion that recruiting alone will vault Nebraska back to the promised land presents problems.

 

I’m not saying blue-chippers won’t help; I’m certain they will. The Huskers desperately need aid. But to rest the future on a few recruiting classes simplifies things. It ignores other ills. Ask Frank Solich, who might still be wearing that Alltel headset on the sideline if he would’ve had some luck in recruiting.

 

Here’s a list of offensive line recruits, 1999-2003:

 

Tim Green, Chris Loos, M.J. Flaum, Richie Incognito, Jermaine Leslie, Jemayel Phillips, Ryan Schuler.

 

All were supposed to be the next Zach Wiegert when they signed. Not one played an important role after his sophomore year and most never cracked the starting lineup.

 

Here’s a few more high school studs from the Solich era that never blossomed:

 

Randy Stella, Manaia Brown, Ira Cooper, Lannie Hopkins, Chris Septak, Jason Richenberger, Danieal Manning, Curt Dukes, David Horne.

 

History tells us that about half of every recruiting class never makes a significant impact in a program. What’s unusual about Nebraska’s recent bad fortune is that the players who tended not to “make it” were in many cases the crème de la crème of those classes, according to recruiting gurus.

 

Does a dynamite recruiting class increase your margin of error? Yes. Does it assure success? No way.

 

What’s most concerning about Callahan’s eagerness to fast-forward to 2007 is that with high school phenom Beck watching in the stands, the coach put the ball in the air 55 times against Colorado. This, just two weeks after the Huskers pounded Oklahoma on the ground because, as Offensive Coordinator Jay Norvell said, rushing was Nebraska’s strength.

 

In the long run, the recruiting emphasis might work out. Callahan might convince the next Dan Marino one can throw for 10,000 yards in the brisk Nebraska breeze. He’ll slip that Colorado tape into the VCR and say, “See? Look how many throws we missed that you could’ve made.”

 

But, at some point, a coach must maximize the potential of his current players, something Callahan didn’t appear interested in doing this season. Installing the future offense to lure recruits trumped all else.

 

It was more important than qualifying for a bowl game, more important than beating Iowa State and Colorado, more important than pounding Cory Ross and Brandon Jackson and keeping Joe Dailey and a suspect defense out of the action as much as possible.

 

I remember not long ago when Nebraskans mocked Texas. How could the Longhorns pile up enough five-star recruits to fill Bevo’s stomach and not win national championships? I fear the Huskers have acquired the Horns’ philosophy to winning: it’s all about the high school kids.

 

Texas Coach Mack Brown hasn’t beaten Oklahoma in five years. He’s never made a BCS bowl game. I’m quite sure his top-ranked recruiting classes aren’t to blame.

 

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