NU Recruiting: Huskers striving to right the ship

[Husker_Power]

BY MITCH SHERMAN

WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

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LINCOLN — Stacks of unopened mail sat last week on the reception desks outside the Nebraska coaching offices in the Osborne Athletic Complex.

 

A package atop one pile was addressed to this man: Bob Pelini, head football coach.

 

NU fans, apparently, are still getting to know their new coach. Imagine what it must feel like for recruits.

 

While Nebraskans celebrated the December return of Bo Pelini, recruits wavered. And then many jumped ship. Nine once-committed prospects reneged on their pledges to Nebraska after Pelini was hired Dec. 2.

 

As the calendar year closed and Nebraskans gathered for the holidays, many conversations included this question: What's wrong with NU recruiting?

 

Nothing, for now. Check back in a few weeks.

 

As frantic as it was in December around Memorial Stadium — with the hiring of a coach and his staff, followed by their mad rush to see recruits before the Dec. 17 dead period — January promises even more excitement.

 

The challenge for the Huskers this month? Move forward and establish relationships, because nothing carries more importance in recruiting.

 

"Relationships mean everything," Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said. "Recruiting today is driven by relationships. Kids are making decisions that are people driven. The primary figure in any recruit's (decision) today is the position coach."

 

Pelini retained Watson and Ted Gilmore, the Huskers' receivers coach and recruiting coordinator, from the staff of former coach Bill Callahan.

 

Other than the two holdovers, recruits knew almost nobody in Lincoln.

 

"We knew there were going to be decommits," Gilmore said. "I know people want to say those kids committed to Nebraska, but you're discounting the relationship part of it."

 

Colorado, which snagged four players from the Huskers' list of pledges, Missouri and Iowa took advantage of Nebraska in a vulnerable time.

 

Decommitments are a reality when a school fires its coach. It's part of the reason more programs don't look for a quick fix every time a rough season arrives. One poor recruiting class in a five-year span will damage a team's depth. Two over that same period can be devastating.

 

In all, 13 players who once appeared on Nebraska's commitment chart are gone. They're not all forgotten, though. Gilmore said the Huskers continue to pursue some of the departed.

 

Again, he said, it's about developing a relationship. In a normal cycle, a coach gets 12 months — longer in many instances — to build that trust. Here, they've had one month, with exactly a month left until the signing date.

 

Officially, the Huskers are left with 16 commitments.

 

It's a manageable position, to be sure, if all 16 remain solid.

 

Commitment is defined as the state of being obligated. Nebraska's list, based upon that standard, is smaller still. Several recruits, including Omaha Westside running back Collins Okafor, who has been taking visits but hasn't been doing interviews with the news media, appears short of obligated.

 

"We'll continue to try to hold on to everyone," Gilmore said, "as well as identify new players."

 

Quarterback Kody Spano of Stephenville, Texas, is visiting Lincoln this weekend.

 

Spano, a former Oklahoma State pledge, plans to pick a college soon and enroll for the spring semester, which starts Jan. 14 at NU. That he's in Lincoln now appears to bode well for the Huskers, who want just one quarterback in this class, according to Watson.

 

The real fun starts in a few days after Pelini returns from Louisiana. Nebraska expects to host sizeable groups of recruits — likely eight to 12 — for official visits each of the next three weekends.

 

Next Saturday's NU-Kansas basketball game at the Devaney Center, in addition to the return of students to campus, adds an element of excitement to that first weekend.

 

Coaches head back on the road Jan 13.

 

Watson said he's fought a perception over the past month that the NU offense is about to undergo changes that return it to an archaic state.

 

"For whatever reason, that's been out there," Watson said. "No. We're an elite offense, and we're not changing like that. But there are large boundaries here that you can play football within. It's got flexibility. You play to your talent."

 

Defensively, it shouldn't be a hard sell.

 

"The thing that you offer there is the scheme," Gilmore said. "If you're a recruit and you're a defensive kid, I don't know how you can't be excited about Bo."

 

So just what does the future hold for NU recruiting?

 

To begin, recruiting is going to sound and look different than it did during the past four years. From what we know about Pelini, it's unlikely he'll be referencing — as Callahan did — Nebraska's national ranking in the recruiting polls midway through a difficult season, or any season, for that matter.

 

Also, expect little of the program-driven Internet hype to which Husker fans grew accustomed to under the previous regime. Pelini has already displayed a dislike for it. That shouldn't be confused with a dislike for recruiting, mind you. His staff recognizes the significance of recruiting but figures to find a healthier balance between recruiting and player development.

 

Most notably, recruits will hear a different pitch. The message will be more about what Pelini thinks the prospects need to hear, rather than what the prospects want to hear. Pelini takes pride in not sugarcoating anything. Such an approach should lead to the signing of players who come to the program with their eyes wide open.

 

A flurry of new pledges likely will follow the December decommitments. On Feb. 6, recruitniks will sing the praises of Pelini's first NU recruiting haul — same as every other year.

 

What will the coach say?

 

For sure, he'll praise the effort of his staff on short notice and little rest. But Pelini might also say he's not sure about the future impact of this class — that we'll all just have to wait a couple years to see the level of their talent.

 

Makes sense. And by then, maybe NU fans and recruits alike will never again call him Bob.

[Hunter94]

well, i would guess his bluntness with the recruits probably was a bit of a shock to them, but his message is one of reality, too many kids never hear. i guess i would rather have kids come in prepared to work hard and not be candy asses and expect practices not to be just walk-thrus during the season, based on their arriving with "stars".

 

this guy is an old school coach and once he starts to enjoy some success he will attract the recruits that understand that hard work and the development of playing skills will take them to the next level.