Was this the worst edition

[Spiderman]

McKeon was much more of a disappointment to me than Ruud.

Plus he whined.

 

 

I'll go with that. McKeon was a 3rd year starter. I expected big things of him. Maybe it was just his big mouth that gave us hope.

[robsker]

Just curious if you all think it's HIM or the SYSTEM?

 

I think Bo Ruud should be viewed as an excellent Husker. He played with heart. He was a great role model. As far as I can tell, he was a good student and a model citizen. He took undue crap from cowards on the internet constantly and yet he played and played hard w/o complaint. He should be commended.

 

As for results? Well there too. Kudos. He had some big plays for us this year and in previous years. He had a great nose for the football. He was, physically speaking, not very quick or fast --- but he played hard and played smart. He is one of the few Huskers who played up to what seems to be their potential. An ideal OLB playing at the WILL position should be a 4.5 guy (or quicker in the 40) and run a short shuttle in the 4.25 second range. Bo had nowhere near that athleticism to work with. Yet he played with all he had and did fairly OK. If he had a better scheme to play within he would have been that much more effective.

 

In conclusion --- thank you Bo Ruud for all that you gave. You had to suffer through the worst of Husker times (both on the field and in terms of fan abuse of players and staff) in history. Yet your wore the red with both honor and distinction. Good job, well done. Thank you for your efforts.

[Hunter94]

McKeon was much more of a disappointment to me than Ruud.

Plus he whined.

 

 

yeah, he was so busy whining he didn't have time to play very well either.

[robsker]

McKeon was much more of a disappointment to me than Ruud.

Plus he whined.

 

 

yeah, he was so busy whining he didn't have time to play very well either.

 

As for McKeon --- here too we need to cut this kid some slack. If you have children in the age bracket of 18-22 you likely will agree that this is the period of life where one transitions from a kid to an adult. Most who make that transition do so in relative anonymity --- all the quirks, the mistakes, the embarrassing nuance in this awkward transition are largely seen by but a few people. Now, in McKeon's case, this transition was very visible to many as it was publicized a great deal. Plus, unlike the generations of Husker players of the past, McKeon had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time --- he was on the worst Husker teams in decades during the internet age where everyone with a computer and a few spare moments can give their opinions. So, he and his teammates have received 10X the criticism, as a group, as players, as coaches, and as individuals than has any Husker crew before them. And it wore on him. It took away the passion. It made it difficult. This is very understandable. The overwhelming majority of us, at that age, if placed in the same position would have reacted similarly. And he was simply honest about what he felt and stated it.

 

At the same time he toughed it out, made many tackles and never quit. He is guilty only of doing his best with what he had (and, like Ruud, was not overly athletic, relative to other starting MLB on major programs so could accomplish only so much) and for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

I thank Cory McKeon for his toughing it out, for being honest, for being a Husker and for having done his best. I am glad Cory that you chose NU and appreciate all your effort.

[BlackShirt D]

i dont see a good future in the NFL with any of our LB's

[Husker Deb]

As for McKeon --- here too we need to cut this kid some slack. If you have children in the age bracket of 18-22 you likely will agree that this is the period of life where one transitions from a kid to an adult. Most who make that transition do so in relative anonymity --- all the quirks, the mistakes, the embarrassing nuance in this awkward transition are largely seen by but a few people. Now, in McKeon's case, this transition was very visible to many as it was publicized a great deal. Plus, unlike the generations of Husker players of the past, McKeon had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time --- he was on the worst Husker teams in decades during the internet age where everyone with a computer and a few spare moments can give their opinions. So, he and his teammates have received 10X the criticism, as a group, as players, as coaches, and as individuals than has any Husker crew before them. And it wore on him. It took away the passion. It made it difficult. This is very understandable. The overwhelming majority of us, at that age, if placed in the same position would have reacted similarly. And he was simply honest about what he felt and stated it.

 

At the same time he toughed it out, made many tackles and never quit. He is guilty only of doing his best with what he had (and, like Ruud, was not overly athletic, relative to other starting MLB on major programs so could accomplish only so much) and for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

I thank Cory McKeon for his toughing it out, for being honest, for being a Husker and for having done his best. I am glad Cory that you chose NU and appreciate all your effort.

 

Sorry, I don't think most people would have said what he did. In fact, the rest of the team didn't. If anything he was probably angry at himself because he knew he wasn't playing well. He missed more tackles than he made and didn't look too motivated doing it. I wish him good luck.

[Husker Deb]

Sorry, I'm not having much luck doing the quote thing.

[robsker]

"As for McKeon --- here too we need to cut this kid some slack. If you have children in the age bracket of 18-22 you likely will agree that this is the period of life where one transitions from a kid to an adult. Most who make that transition do so in relative anonymity --- all the quirks, the mistakes, the embarrassing nuance in this awkward transition are largely seen by but a few people. Now, in McKeon's case, this transition was very visible to many as it was publicized a great deal. Plus, unlike the generations of Husker players of the past, McKeon had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time --- he was on the worst Husker teams in decades during the internet age where everyone with a computer and a few spare moments can give their opinions. So, he and his teammates have received 10X the criticism, as a group, as players, as coaches, and as individuals than has any Husker crew before them. And it wore on him. It took away the passion. It made it difficult. This is very understandable. The overwhelming majority of us, at that age, if placed in the same position would have reacted similarly. And he was simply honest about what he felt and stated it.

 

At the same time he toughed it out, made many tackles and never quit. He is guilty only of doing his best with what he had (and, like Ruud, was not overly athletic, relative to other starting MLB on major programs so could accomplish only so much) and for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

I thank Cory McKeon for his toughing it out, for being honest, for being a Husker and for having done his best. I am glad Cory that you chose NU and appreciate all your effort.

 

Sorry, I don't think most people would have said what he did. In fact, the rest of the team didn't. If anything he was probably angry at himself because he knew he wasn't playing well. He missed more tackles than he made and didn't look too motivated doing it. I wish him good luck.

 

Agreed that most would not say what he did --- but I rather think that they (his teammates) felt as he did but were not as bold or as open to admit it --- or, in Cory having had said it, it was not necessary for others to say it as well. Still, most of us would have reacted similarly in feeling beaten down by fans who deride you, feeling defeated in view of the lopsided losses, disappointed in terms of outcome, etc. That is, like McKeon, we would be bummed and lacking in energy or drive (unless coaches and/or other leaders internally could have turned adversity into motivation --- something that our coaches clearly could not do --- or at least did not do).

 

Sure McKeon missed many tackles --- he was not overly talented and, coupled to that, his head was not always there (both of which were true of most of his teammates as well). He made many tackles too --- more than all his teammates save for but two or three. So, overall, we need to thank the kid --- he was here, he served, he did his best during a trying time where the results were lacking and he was honest. What more can we ask of a kid transitioning into a young man during adverse times where everyone is watching?

 

He had a rough go of it. I thank him for his efforts.

[Husker Deb]

You know Rob, I don't want to bad mouth the kid but I'm not going to rave or thank him either.

He got a freakin free education!

[robsker]

You know Rob, I don't want to bad mouth the kid but I'm not going to rave or thank him either.

He got a freakin free education!

 

You have a good point --- an NU education is a great thing. And a free one is really nice. I understand your points and perspectives and respect them. If I err, it is often on the side of being too nice.

 

The hope is that the new coaching staff, whoever it is that they might be, are capable of taking adversity and turning it into a focused opportunity to improve. That clearly was not the case before. McKeon and company would certainly have benefited (as would the on-field performance of the entire team) were there wise coaches who could teach kids how to deal with adversity. On this, I would imagine, we can entirely agree.

[HuskerHank]

Both interception returns for touchdown happened because he was pathetically out of position, and chasing the play!

[BIGREDFAN_in_OMAHA]

While the rest of the team seemed to be getting bigger Ruud looked like he rarely hit the weight room. In his favor that did help him maintain his speed which most of the defense seemed to lack.

[jb61264]

Both Bo Ruud and Cory McKeon are the worst tandem of linebackers ever at Nebraska...what a joke that these two were the best that a major college football program could put in at linebacker. The only reason Bo Ruud was in there is because of nepotism...Cory McKeon "looked" good last year because he was surrounded by talent that is now in the NFL...when he had to bring it on his own...well, he just flat out sucks.

[junior4949]

I've said it before and I'm gonna say it again: I think everyone will be surprised come draft day at how many of these players get drafted. Talent was never the issue this year. Don't be surprised if we have 2 LB's get drafted.

[kjstrouble]

I've said it before and I'm gonna say it again: I think everyone will be surprised come draft day at how many of these players get drafted. Talent was never the issue this year. Don't be surprised if we have 2 LB's get drafted.

 

 

I agree, it was not an issue of no talent, it was an issue of poor coaching. And poor strength/speed conditioning. Can't wait for that problem to be addressed by the new coaching staff.