Husker staff's first class patchwork or a plus?

[Husker_Power]

BY MITCH SHERMAN

WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

link

 

LINCOLN - They came together from diverse backgrounds with varying levels of experience, some with direct ties to Nebraska and others with no connection.

 

A football coaching staff gets one chance to make a recruiting class work. When the window of time shrinks from an entire year to two months, mistakes are magnified. Chemistry is crucial. Organization is imperative.

 

Leadership? You get the picture.

 

December didn't go well for NU football on the recruiting trail. A January rebound was essential.

 

What happened on the road and inside the coaching offices at Memorial Stadium during the past month appears ready to leave coach Bo Pelini genuinely satisfied Wednesday as he announces the results of his first recruiting class.

 

Members of the new Nebraska staff, eight months before they get to coach a game in Lincoln, say they have bonded behind their first order of business.

 

"If you're not impressed with what Nebraska's done in this past month, your head must be buried in the sand," said Jeremy Crabtree, national recruiting editor for rivals.com. "The coaches seem to complement each other real well. These guys definitely have the passion, and it seems like they've really done their homework."

 

Pelini and his staff have secured 12 commitments after his Dec. 2 hiring.

 

Nine pledged to Nebraska and several others resolved issues after Jan. 1 to bring the Huskers' total for this class to 23. That's back to near the number secured by former coach Bill Callahan before he was fired in November and 10 recruits left with him.

 

The Huskers may add two or three more names to their list before its official unveiling in three days as prospects nationally sign binding letters of intent.

 

Nebraska has endured perhaps its most tumultuous year of recruiting. Sixteen players have decommitted, including star quarterback Blaine Gabbert to rival Missouri and prep All-America lineman Trevor Robinson - from Elkhorn High, no less - to Notre Dame.

 

But when it all comes out in the wash, the 2008 recruiting season at Nebraska may be defined for how it ended.

 

"I think we'll look back on this class in three years and go, 'Holy cow, where did these guys come from?'" linebackers coach Mike Ekeler said. "I think there are so many quality players in this class. Some of them are not five-star guys, but like Bo says, we put the stars on them."

 

Tight ends coach Ron Brown brings a different perspective.

 

He's got 22 years in the business. Ekeler, an energetic 36-year-old, is two months into his first full-time coaching gig.

 

Brown urges caution over forecasting future success for these recruits. We'll see in two or three years, he said.

 

But Brown shares Ekeler's enthusiasm for the work accomplished, under difficult circumstances, by the new band of coaches.

 

"Going through a coaching transition can be a tough deal," Brown said. "One day you're at 24 commitments and then a couple weeks later, it's 15. But we kept the order. We knew what was happening all the time. We knew where we needed to go and how to get there."

 

Defensive coordinator Carl Pelini described this recruiting period as a "mad scramble."

 

After Dec. 2, Nebraska coaches had 34 days - Saturday was the end - to visit recruits at home and seven weekends to meet them on campus. Last week alone, Carl Pelini said, he visited six cities in four days.

 

"The other weeks were much like that," he said. "Everything was accelerated. It was crazy. But I am so impressed with this coaching staff and the work ethic. If that wasn't there, we wouldn't have been able to put this class together.

 

"All staffs have their good recruiters, but what's impressed me about this group is that everybody has thrown their full attention into it. It's been an amazing thing."

 

As it stands today, the class includes 11 players projected to play offense and 12 for defense.

 

Nebraska, in January alone, filled needs in getting quarterback Kody Spano, who is already enrolled and participating in winter conditioning, receivers Steven Osborne and Antonio Bell and several defenders who appear to fit Pelini's scheme.

 

"We never panicked and just took a guy to take a guy," Ekeler said.

 

In addition, they solidified a solid recruiting base in Texas, which has produced nine members of this class. Seven of them committed to Bo Pelini's staff.

 

"It's a great formula that has always worked in the Big 12," Crabtree said. "I think that shows the kind of feelings and respect high school coaches in Texas have for the Nebraska program and for Bo Pelini."

 

Brown marvels, in particular, at the organization.

 

He said it began with Athletic Director Tom Osborne, who took an active role in recruiting while Nebraska was without a head coach in late November. Osborne continued to recruit until Pelini finalized his staff and remains a factor in helping with on-campus activity.

 

Recruiting coordinator Ted Gilmore and administrative assistant Vince Guinta also deserve praise, Brown said. They coordinated the identification of prospects and an often-overlooked aspect of recruiting - the travel.

 

Several times recently, Brown said, he's been part of a four-coach caravan to visit a recruit's home. It's a technique that requires coordination in travel but illustrates an important message to the recruit.

 

"I've been in a couple homes where the pastor has been there, the mom and dad, guardians, grandparents, friends, mentors and coaches," Brown said. "You always find a person you can connect with. When you're recruiting a kid, you're not just recruiting the kid. You're recruiting his community.

 

"And what I've found with this staff is that you do not have to send out a written invitation to any other coach. They'll be there. That's a given."