Roster Problem soon to Hit

[huKSer]

 

Callahan had precisely one 5-star recruit --- Marlon Lucky, thats it. Many of the high 4 stars never panned out. The notion that Callahan had excellent recruiting classes is a myth. he courted many 5 star athletes but they all (except Lucky) went elsewhere in the end. Following Callahan on the recruiting path was fun and exciting. What was actually produced was no so much so.

Plus Jeremy Crabtree was a good friend of the-coach-who-shall-not-be-mentioned helped his recruiting aura

[zoogs]

Callahan had precisely one 5-star recruit --- Marlon Lucky, thats it. Many of the high 4 stars never panned out. The notion that Callahan had excellent recruiting classes is a myth. he courted many 5 star athletes but they all (except Lucky) went elsewhere in the end. Following Callahan on the recruiting path was fun and exciting. What was actually produced was no so much so.

 

Zack Bowman. Andre Jones. Heck, Baker Steinkuhler. And if he had stayed? Blaine Gabbert, Simi Kuli. Callahan had *excellent* recruiting classes, but they haven't panned out.

[DJR313]

Callahan = all bad

Pelini = all good

 

I disagree. Calllllllahan got Pederson fired, that was good. Are you somehow related to Calllllllahan, or are you Sean Callahan undercover?

 

No, that is what we like to call "sarcasm".

[BIGREDIOWAN]

I think the players that have been there with Callahan have gone through the "Pelini Purification Process", and all thoughts, memories and instructions given to them by Callahan will be wiped out.

Callahan was supposed to have had all these 5 star recruits, but he didn't know how to bring out the best in them or push the desire to win or make them understand what Nebraska Football is about.

From what I've read, Pelini has put that fire back into the TEAM. The key is TEAM. Callahan had individuals, Pelini has a TEAM.

From the Big 12 media days:

Josh Freeman blamed the K-Satan 4 game losing streak on "Snyder's players" on purpose undermining the Purple Prince's efforts. I hope the "Pelini Purification Process" works better than the "Patented Purple Prince Purification Process"

He also claims he is the best QB in the Big XII. Give me a damn break! The only thing he's the best at is sucking and getting sacked 47 times a game.

[robsker]

Callahan had precisely one 5-star recruit --- Marlon Lucky, thats it. Many of the high 4 stars never panned out. The notion that Callahan had excellent recruiting classes is a myth. he courted many 5 star athletes but they all (except Lucky) went elsewhere in the end. Following Callahan on the recruiting path was fun and exciting. What was actually produced was no so much so.

 

Zack Bowman. Andre Jones. Heck, Baker Steinkuhler. And if he had stayed? Blaine Gabbert, Simi Kuli. Callahan had *excellent* recruiting classes, but they haven't panned out.

 

Andre Jones was a 4 star by most recruiting accounts. I had forgotten about Bowman --- he was a five star recruit. My bad. So Callahan had two 5 star players. Baker Steinkuler was as well not a consensus 5 star player either. Granted, he was a big recruit (as was Jones) --- but in four classes to have these few 4+ near 5 and 5 star recruits still places NU behind at least 15 other programs. I still contend that Callahan was not nearly the recruiter that he is made out to be. He was heading to a big class when he was fired --- but really, how many of those recruits would have bailed in view of the season's results? No one knows, but I'd think that an array of them might have bolted even if Cally had stayed.

[zoogs]

It's true, there were still plenty of programs ahead of us (bar 2005's class). On balance, we were about top 20 (or so) in recruiting, at least if we throw out his first year.

 

But I still think Callahan recruited way beyond reasonable expectations for Nebraska. If you're a Notre Dame, a Florida, a Texas, a Southern Cal, you get to have the pick of the litter, and the litter's not far from home. But Callahan went out and put Nebraska very prominently on the national recruiting map. He went and nabbed the best QB out of Florida away from the Big 3 - granted, Beck didn't work out, but that's a damn good accomplishment in recruiting. Same thing for Marlon Lucky out of California.

 

To be fair, I'm not saying I wish he were back and still recruiting. One of the few stories I've heard about his recruiting that struck me was him walking into an O-lineman's home (I think it's Mike Huff, not sure) for an in-home visit and saying, "You're a big boy, just like they're looking for in the pro's." I really much prefer Bo & co's approach to recruiting, but I think it's undeniable that Callahan pushed a declining program in the middle of nowhere to the center of national recruiting attention.

 

As for whether they would have stayed - it's true, they might have bolted, but I don't think that's a valid assumption to make - look at Notre Dame. I think really, it was a product of the uncertainty surrounding the coaches. Notre Dame stunk it up much worse than Nebraska, but they had continuity. With us last season, the entire state turned on the staff, people within the program turned on each other, our AD was fired midseason, etc, etc.

[AR Husker Fan]

It's true, there were still plenty of programs ahead of us (bar 2005's class). On balance, we were about top 20 (or so) in recruiting, at least if we throw out his first year.

 

But I still think Callahan recruited way beyond reasonable expectations for Nebraska. If you're a Notre Dame, a Florida, a Texas, a Southern Cal, you get to have the pick of the litter, and the litter's not far from home. But Callahan went out and put Nebraska very prominently on the national recruiting map. He went and nabbed the best QB out of Florida away from the Big 3 - granted, Beck didn't work out, but that's a damn good accomplishment in recruiting. Same thing for Marlon Lucky out of California.

 

***SNIP***

Agreed. Especially when you add in the fact that the offense was being changed to one that put us in direct competition with the top-tier schools in terms of the kind of players we had to recruit for that offense.

 

When you think about it, the change to a different offense was going to be tough no matter what. It could have been much worse in terms of recruiting. And for the most part, it seems that Callahan got "good character" players who performed well academically. And he apparently did all of this without any hint or wiff of recruiting violations.

 

Callahan was not a good fit - he probably wouldn't be for any college as he seems more pro oriented - but he did some good things that should be acknowledged. The change to the offense actually went off better than we could expect, he recruited reasonably well when you consider the barriers he faced, he kept Nebraska clean, his players performed well academically, he instituted some out-reach things such as the Fun Run, etc.

 

It would be interesting to see what he would have done without Pederson as the AD. Were some of Callahan's problems due to Callahan, or due to the way Pederson wanted the program run (such as not embracing the tradition, former players, etc.)? We'll never know, I suppose...

[junior4949]

It's true, there were still plenty of programs ahead of us (bar 2005's class). On balance, we were about top 20 (or so) in recruiting, at least if we throw out his first year.

 

But I still think Callahan recruited way beyond reasonable expectations for Nebraska. If you're a Notre Dame, a Florida, a Texas, a Southern Cal, you get to have the pick of the litter, and the litter's not far from home. But Callahan went out and put Nebraska very prominently on the national recruiting map. He went and nabbed the best QB out of Florida away from the Big 3 - granted, Beck didn't work out, but that's a damn good accomplishment in recruiting. Same thing for Marlon Lucky out of California.

 

***SNIP***

Agreed. Especially when you add in the fact that the offense was being changed to one that put us in direct competition with the top-tier schools in terms of the kind of players we had to recruit for that offense.

 

When you think about it, the change to a different offense was going to be tough no matter what. It could have been much worse in terms of recruiting. And for the most part, it seems that Callahan got "good character" players who performed well academically. And he apparently did all of this without any hint or wiff of recruiting violations.

 

Callahan was not a good fit - he probably wouldn't be for any college as he seems more pro oriented - but he did some good things that should be acknowledged. The change to the offense actually went off better than we could expect, he recruited reasonably well when you consider the barriers he faced, he kept Nebraska clean, his players performed well academically, he instituted some out-reach things such as the Fun Run, etc.

 

It would be interesting to see what he would have done without Pederson as the AD. Were some of Callahan's problems due to Callahan, or due to the way Pederson wanted the program run (such as not embracing the tradition, former players, etc.)? We'll never know, I suppose...

 

 

I'm still not convinced we are for the better though by changing the offense. Let's face it, the spread is really no different than TO's triple option with another wrinkle (the passing game) mixed in. The triple option was used to spread the defense. Once the D was looking for the option pitch to the outside, we ran fullback traps and dives up the middle for huge chunks of yardage. Solich was actually gravitating this way before being fired.

 

At the college level, I'm still convinced the spread and or the option is the better route to go especially for midwestern teams that face huge weather challenges as the season drags on. Keller and Taylor were not very mobile. It looks to me like in order to compete in the Big 12 we need the mobile QB like those that run the spread. The year Texas finally climbs over the hump against OU they had Vince Young who was tremendously mobile. The QB's that gave McBride's D the most trouble were always the mobile QB's.

[AR Husker Fan]

It's true, there were still plenty of programs ahead of us (bar 2005's class). On balance, we were about top 20 (or so) in recruiting, at least if we throw out his first year.

 

But I still think Callahan recruited way beyond reasonable expectations for Nebraska. If you're a Notre Dame, a Florida, a Texas, a Southern Cal, you get to have the pick of the litter, and the litter's not far from home. But Callahan went out and put Nebraska very prominently on the national recruiting map. He went and nabbed the best QB out of Florida away from the Big 3 - granted, Beck didn't work out, but that's a damn good accomplishment in recruiting. Same thing for Marlon Lucky out of California.

 

***SNIP***

Agreed. Especially when you add in the fact that the offense was being changed to one that put us in direct competition with the top-tier schools in terms of the kind of players we had to recruit for that offense.

 

When you think about it, the change to a different offense was going to be tough no matter what. It could have been much worse in terms of recruiting. And for the most part, it seems that Callahan got "good character" players who performed well academically. And he apparently did all of this without any hint or wiff of recruiting violations.

 

Callahan was not a good fit - he probably wouldn't be for any college as he seems more pro oriented - but he did some good things that should be acknowledged. The change to the offense actually went off better than we could expect, he recruited reasonably well when you consider the barriers he faced, he kept Nebraska clean, his players performed well academically, he instituted some out-reach things such as the Fun Run, etc.

 

It would be interesting to see what he would have done without Pederson as the AD. Were some of Callahan's problems due to Callahan, or due to the way Pederson wanted the program run (such as not embracing the tradition, former players, etc.)? We'll never know, I suppose...

I'm still not convinced we are for the better though by changing the offense. Let's face it, the spread is really no different than TO's triple option with another wrinkle (the passing game) mixed in. The triple option was used to spread the defense. Once the D was looking for the option pitch to the outside, we ran fullback traps and dives up the middle for huge chunks of yardage. Solich was actually gravitating this way before being fired.

 

At the college level, I'm still convinced the spread and or the option is the better route to go especially for midwestern teams that face huge weather challenges as the season drags on. Keller and Taylor were not very mobile. It looks to me like in order to compete in the Big 12 we need the mobile QB like those that run the spread. The year Texas finally climbs over the hump against OU they had Vince Young who was tremendously mobile. The QB's that gave McBride's D the most trouble were always the mobile QB's.

Can't say I necessarily disagree, but I think the point I was trying to make is that it seemed inevitable that the offense was going to change. Solich simply didn't run the Power I/Option with the kind of imagination as did Dr. Tom, and folks were really beginning to call for some change. So, given that it was going to happen, you have to say that Callahan did a pretty decent job making the change - it could have been far worse, particularly given how diametrically opposed the WCO is to the Power I/Option attack. That's all I'm trying to get at.

[sarge87]

I think the players that have been there with Callahan have gone through the "Pelini Purification Process", and all thoughts, memories and instructions given to them by Callahan will be wiped out.

Callahan was supposed to have had all these 5 star recruits, but he didn't know how to bring out the best in them or push the desire to win or make them understand what Nebraska Football is about.

From what I've read, Pelini has put that fire back into the TEAM. The key is TEAM. Callahan had individuals, Pelini has a TEAM.

From the Big 12 media days:

Josh Freeman blamed the K-Satan 4 game losing streak on "Snyder's players" on purpose undermining the Purple Prince's efforts. I hope the "Pelini Purification Process" works better than the "Patented Purple Prince Purification Process"

He also claims he is the best QB in the Big XII. Give me a damn break! The only thing he's the best at is sucking and getting sacked 47 times a game.

I'd take a Snyder player any day before taking a whole team of Prince players. Snyder had a good run during the 90's.

[junior4949]

He also had a pretty good run after the 90's. In 03' he dismantled what was thought to be one of the greatest college football teams ever. That's what happens when the teacher takes the student to school. In 03' I'm still convinced they play for if not win the NC if their QB didn't get hurt and was out a few games. His assistants didn't care for him because he pushed for 15+ hour days and expected it of his assistants. He took big gambles on JuCo players because let's face it Manhattan, Kansas is pretty hard to recruit into. He took a doormat and made them a contender. Unfortunately, now they are just a pretender.

[huskersurfer]

I think Callahan left us in good standing. I agree he was a bad coach, but he left nebraska with a lot of talent. The offensive and defensive lines are going to be very good this year. Ganz looked great the games he started last year and I believe Lucky is going to have his best year with his talent and the line. And I may be optimistic but I don't think our defensive backfield is hurting that bad either. Sure we do lack depth, but with the D-Line and experienced players like Dillard, Asante, and Murillo, without injuries, the D will be good. Plus, Pellini is one of the best defensive coaches in the country. A good gameplan can make average players look great.

[Ohio Pete]

The Eligibility Chart on Scout does a nice job of breaking this down by position. (Edit) Or would if it had been updated with the latest roster.