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LB Josh Shirley


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I don't want to tear down walk ons or anything but considering 8 of the 13 LB's that are freshmen are walk ons. I didnt count May in there bc he will be schollie before the end of the year. Not saying walk ons are automatically worse than schollie players just that it would ease my mind to know that I had more schollie LB's than the ones we will have after this year.

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I don't want to tear down walk ons or anything but considering 8 of the 13 LB's that are freshmen are walk ons. I didnt count May in there bc he will be schollie before the end of the year. Not saying walk ons are automatically worse than schollie players just that it would ease my mind to know that I had more schollie LB's than the ones we will have after this year.

Well 6 of the Fr./RFr. are scholarship players.

 

42 Fisher, Sean LB 6-06 230 RFr. Omaha, Neb. (Millard North)

44 Kreikemeier, Micah LB 6-03 220 RFr. West Point, Neb. (Central Catholic)

45 Whaley, Alonzo LB 6-01 225 RFr. Madisonville, Texas (Madisonville)

46 Martin, Eric LB 6-02 215 Fr. Moreno Valley, Calif. (Rancho Verde)

48 Williams, Chris LB 6-00 220 Fr. Abilene, Texas (Abilene)

51 Compton, Will LB 6-02 225 RFr. Bonne Terre, Mo. (North County)

 

There are also 2 pretty decent So. Walk Ons, ok 1 really good and one solid, in May and Holt. Holt will be just a RSo. next season due to his injury. Assuming May earns a scholarship starting next season that makes 7 scholarship players that will be around through 2011 at least. 8 will be around through 2010 if you count Blake Lawrence. That all being said, I still think we should take at least 1-2 LB's.

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Not any new news, but rivals came out and posted his top eight which obviously we didn't make. Just another LB that is off our list. It almost looks like Favors (who looks like he is headed to OU) or Burnett are our only two legit prospects at LB.

LB is not a position of need IMO. Would it be nice to take one or two for depth? Yes. Do we need to take one or two this year? No.

took the words right outta my mouth

I don't know about this. Given there are three LB positions on defense, I would think taking at least one LB in each class would be ideal. Of course life doesn't always work out the way, but I would be pretty shocked if at least one LB doesn't sign on to this class.

 

As a matter of fact, after a little research, the last time NU took only one LB was 1986. And I can't find a class without at least one LB recruit in the last 40 years. Seems unlikely to me that not one LB in the country (not to mention Nebraska) would want to come play for Bo & Co.

When was the last time we redshirted all of our incoming LB's? I think that kind of skews this a bit.

Well not all of them redshirted, May and Holt played. I hear what your saying, and I agree when you have 13 Frosh LBs, whether RS or not, you aren't going to be in desperate need at the position. Still, it doesn't hurt to stock up on bodies because you never know who will get injured, who might transfer, or who plain won't live up to their potential.

I never said we shouldn't take a LB or two in this class, just figured it wouldn't be the end of the world if we didn't. Apparently I was wrong.

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Hmm damn I must have counted wrong. Ya I def think that we have a very good young LB stable but my angle is more from the "what if" angle. Kreikemeier is unproven at best, Williams and Holt (whos not too proven but has got a little pt) are both coming off injuries. Lawrence has had head injury issues which is obviously nothing to fool around with so what if he gets another concussion this year or even next? Whaley has had a hard time learning the system to this point from what I've heard so that leaves four schollie players if you're including May. I think time has proven that you can never be content with the number of players you have at a certain position bc you never know what could happen.

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Not any new news, but rivals came out and posted his top eight which obviously we didn't make. Just another LB that is off our list. It almost looks like Favors (who looks like he is headed to OU) or Burnett are our only two legit prospects at LB.

LB is not a position of need IMO. Would it be nice to take one or two for depth? Yes. Do we need to take one or two this year? No.

took the words right outta my mouth

I don't know about this. Given there are three LB positions on defense, I would think taking at least one LB in each class would be ideal. Of course life doesn't always work out the way, but I would be pretty shocked if at least one LB doesn't sign on to this class.

 

As a matter of fact, after a little research, the last time NU took only one LB was 1986. And I can't find a class without at least one LB recruit in the last 40 years. Seems unlikely to me that not one LB in the country (not to mention Nebraska) would want to come play for Bo & Co.

When was the last time we redshirted all of our incoming LB's? I think that kind of skews this a bit.

Well not all of them redshirted, May and Holt played. I hear what your saying, and I agree when you have 13 Frosh LBs, whether RS or not, you aren't going to be in desperate need at the position. Still, it doesn't hurt to stock up on bodies because you never know who will get injured, who might transfer, or who plain won't live up to their potential.

I never said we shouldn't take a LB or two in this class, just figured it wouldn't be the end of the world if we didn't. Apparently I was wrong.

 

I'm not saying your wrong, I actually agree with you. I'm only saying that even with the large number of Freshmen, you might as well go after the good players that are available. If for no other reason than to fill out the class.

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I'm not saying your wrong, I actually agree with you. I'm only saying that even with the large number of Freshmen, you might as well go after the good players that are available. If for no other reason than to fill out the class.

And I agree. LB's one spot where we can afford not to get a commit. I'd like to get one or two every class, but sometimes it just doesn't work out.

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Hmm damn I must have counted wrong. Ya I def think that we have a very good young LB stable but my angle is more from the "what if" angle. Kreikemeier is unproven at best, Williams and Holt (whos not too proven but has got a little pt) are both coming off injuries. Lawrence has had head injury issues which is obviously nothing to fool around with so what if he gets another concussion this year or even next? Whaley has had a hard time learning the system to this point from what I've heard so that leaves four schollie players if you're including May. I think time has proven that you can never be content with the number of players you have at a certain position bc you never know what could happen.

I am with you, you can never tell what may happen and Bo is trying to build a strong deep program.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Athlete Josh Shirley (Fontana, Calif./Kaiser) took an official visit to Washington last weekend and was one of the many who rushed the field after the Huskies' big upset win over USC.

 

"It was a pretty incredible atmosphere," Shirley said. "By the end of the game when they were driving, things were just getting crazier and crazier and then all of a sudden, we were all on the field. I was surprised by the outcome to be honest. I knew coach [steve Sakesian] and that staff would be able to turn things around but I didn't think they would be able to do it this quickly.

 

"As for the rest of the trip, I had a real good time. I got along great with the players and everyone is really buying in to what the coaches are saying. They have a nice campus and the city of Seattle is pretty nice as well. I was comfortable with everyone and the coaches make you feel like part of the team already. I would say Washington is definitely high on my list and will be in it until the very end."

 

Heading into the trip, Shirley had the two local schools, UCLA and USC, as his co-leaders and that still appears to be the case.

 

"Yeah, that hasn't changed," Shirley said. "Washington was real cool, but I still like those two the most. It's close to home and I know the coaches so well. I'm going to take my other visits though although I don't have any set up at the moment.

 

"I still have Arizona, Tennessee, Miami and Notre Dame as the others I want to visit and then unofficial visits to Cal, USC and UCLA. I'm going to try and do a couple more during the season if I can and the rest will be after the season is over."

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I happen to think that we do have to take at least one or two LB's every year. Koehler and Dillard will be gone after this year, what happens if Lawrence gets hurt again this year and is done for good? Maybe Holt or Williams don't come back to form after their rehab. Maybe Whaley doesn't get a firm grasp of the playbook. That leaves us with May, Compton, Martin, Fisher and Kreikemeier to man all of the positions. I realize that we could go more nickel if necessary but it would be nice to have at least two frosh to come in every year, learn the system and compete for playing time much like Martin is doing this year.

Nice post - I agree 100% Its ridiculous to suggest that we're currently so stacked at LB that we don't need any for this class. Really, the only position we're so stacked at right now that we dont need to recruit is TE.

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  • 4 weeks later...

“I’m just trying to focus on my season,” Josh Shirley said. “I’m not really paying attention to the colleges yet. That’s not really a concern to me yet.” Shirley continues to deny a leader but says that UCLA and USC are recruiting him the hardest. He says he won’t be scheduling any new official visits soon. “I want more time. I’m not ready to narrow it down and decide on my trips...”

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  • 2 months later...

Kaiser (Fontana, Calif.) linebacker/defensive end Josh Shirley has had a fairly quiet recruitment for being one of the state's elite players. He took a pair of official visits during the season but doesn't expect to make his college choice until close to signing day.

 

Shirley is one of the most versatile players in the region and could play outside 'backer or defensive end in college. He had played defensive end his entire high school career but moved to inside linebacker this season.

 

How much weight he puts on will likely determine his ultimate college position but every one is currently recruiting him as an outside linebacker.

 

"Right now, I'm 6-3 and weigh about 208 pounds," Shirley said. "I weighed 215 before the season so I lost some weight but I'm not really worried about it. I'm working out hard every day but working on speed and core strength rather than trying to put weight on. I know when I get to college, the staff there will be able to put weight on me so I'm just focusing on my speed and quickness."

 

Shirley took official visits to Washington and Arizona and has a couple of other trips in mind for January.

 

"I for sure want to visit Miami and that will likely be [Jan. 29]," Shirley said. "I had a great in-home visit with Miami linebacker coach Michael Barrow and really learned a lot about the program. They have incredible tradition at Miami and have put a lot of players in to the NFL. That was probably my favorite home visit just because I knew the least about Miami before the visit and now I feel like I have a good idea of what they're about.

 

"Washington and Arizona came in for home visits as well and those two schools are recruiting me the hardest. Coach [Nick] Holt came in for UW and I really like him a lot. When I think about what I like most about Washington, it always comes back to coach Holt. With Arizona, coach [Tim] Kish came in and he's a great guy as well. I really like Arizona's style of play and how fast and aggressive their defense plays."

 

Shirley said he continues to be recruited by the local schools, USC and UCLA as well.

 

"It's a dead period now but before the Holidays, I was hearing from them every week," Shirley said. "Ken Norton is the main recruiter for USC but when he calls, I basically talk to the whole staff. They have a big recruiting weekend [Jan. 15] but I haven't decided if I'll visit that weekend or not. I could but nothing is set in stone yet.

 

"For UCLA, coach [Rick] Neuheisal is the one recruiting me. I like UCLA and think I could really be a benefit to their program with my work ethic and how hard I play. I'm not sure if I'll visit UCLA or not but I've been there on unofficial visits before so it won't play a factor in what I do if I visit or not."

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  • 2 weeks later...

Josh Shirley was in San Antonio over the weekend for the Army All-American game when news broke that USC head coach Pete Carroll was possibly leaving for the NFL.

 

Shirley recently narrowed his choices to four schools and the Trojans were definitely in the mix. Miami, Washington and Arizona also made the cut with one time favorite UCLA getting cut from the list.

 

"A lot of people were getting pretty emotional when the news leaked out," Shirley said. "A lot of the players were shocked and totally taken by surprise. At first I just thought it was a rumor because he's always rumored to be looking at a pro job but it proved to be true and now he's gone.

 

"To be honest, it doesn't really affect me that much. I still like USC just the same as I did before and still have them on my list. I haven't heard from anyone yet and really have no clue what coaches will be staying behind but I'm still going to give SC a strong look before I commit anywhere."

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  • 3 weeks later...

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