Pelini and crew off to hot start

[Husker_Power]

Pelini and crew off to hot start for 2010 recruiting class

Examiner.com

 

Bo Pelini's first full season recruiting at Nebraska is one that I, and most others would consider a success. Certain experts feel like Nebraska flopped because many high schoolers seem to normally follow that new, young head coach to a program in order to be known as someone who helped turn the program around (see Lane Kiffin at Tennessee). It's pretty obvious that Pelini is polar opposite to Kiffin when it comes to recruiting so that in itself differentiates the type of class each one will have. It's clear Kiffin strictly went after talent alone as he signed a controversial pair of running backs in David Oku and Bryce Brown.

 

Pelini on the other hand is known for recruiting great player he feels best fits what being a Nebraska football player is all about. Unlike many coaches throughout division-one NCAA football, Pelini has openly admitted he doesn't talk much about the NFL to a potential recruit. The second year head coach stated that he preaches a team first attitude with nothing promised. If the players work hard to earn a spot and do their job, the whole making it to the NFL thing will take care of itself.

 

When Bo first took the reigns at Nebraska, one of the first things he noted was the importance to recruit out of the state of Texas. Pelini and staff certainly showed their abilities down south this past year by hauling in eight players from the Lone Star State. Of those eight were heralded quarterback and gem of the class Cody Green (Dayton) as well as rivals.com four-star blue chippers Chris Williams (Abilene) and Rex Burkhead (Plano). The class ended up with players from seven different states, a quality which is of the utmost importance for the Huskers due to the sparsity of in state talent.

 

The class finished 28th out of a total of 140 spots and Pelini's crew wasted little time on starting the 2010 class. The group started off strong all the way back in November when the team received a commitment from Aurora Ne. offensive lineman Andrew Rodriguez. It's not uncommon for Nebraska player or two to be rated extremely high as a high school senior. Players such as Rodriguez, Baker Steinkuhler and Niles Paul were all rivals.com top 100 players over the past few seasons. Currently Rodriguez is listed as the nations number 73 overall players and the twelfth best offensive lineman.

 

That wave of success grew even larger for the Big Red when they got a surprise commit from four-star defensive back Anterio Sloan. It's still unknown whether the Arkansas native will stick to his commitment, after all he did commit without ever visiting campus. The good news didn't stop there as the team received a commitment from Mike Moudy (Castle Rock Co.) during the weekend of the annual Spring Game.

 

Then on May 14, Husker wide receivers coach Ted Gilmore got a commitment from a recruit that was desperately needed. That day Blue Springs Mo. receiver Keeston Terry decided it was his turn to pull the trigger. The commitment was huge because not only is wide receiver a position in which the team needs young talent, but Nebraska also pulled Terry away from scholarship offers from Big 12 North foes Kansas and Missouri.

 

Lastly, and most recently, the Huskers received a huge commitment from Tyler Gabbert, also of Missouri. The in depth story of Gabbert pledging to the Huskers can be found in a previous story at, 'Breaking down Tyler Gabbert's commitment to Nebraska.' The combination of Terry and Gabbert committing is enormous because both are two of the better players in the state of Missouri. Many experts have criticized Nebraska over the past few years because they could no longer take the best players out of the states of Missouri and Kansas and that was needed to get them back into being a perennial power. Times have apparently changed which could pay huge dividends for the Huskers.

 

There is a long ways to go in the recruiting season but the Big Red are off to as good of start as anyone could of hoped. With Gabbert attempting to lure more of the top talent from Missouri to Lincoln, things could get very interesting throughout the Fall. Either way you look at it, Pelini has proven both he and his staff can recruit with some of the best as the team looks to end up with what appears will more than likely be a top 25 class.

[HuskerJen]

Pelini and crew off to hot start for 2010 recruiting class

Examiner.com

 

Pelini on the other hand is known for recruiting great player he feels best fits what being a Nebraska football player is all about. Unlike many coaches throughout division-one NCAA football, Pelini has openly admitted he doesn't talk much about the NFL to a potential recruit. The second year head coach stated that he preaches a team first attitude with nothing promised. If the players work hard to earn a spot and do their job, the whole making it to the NFL thing will take care of itself.

 

Amen!!!!

 

The NFL is a mere pipe dream for about 99% of all football players coming out of high school. A college football coach should sell the education angle and the opportunity(ies) a college education will provide. And, in my opinion, coaches who sell that NFL dream are doing these kids a grave injustice.

 

Edit: Personally, if Nebraska had excellent players in college and no players in the NFL I'd be okay with that. To me, a player from Nebraska having success in the league is merely icing on the proverbial cake.

[caveman99]

Jen, if NU didn't send any players to the NFL I don't think we would be as successful as you would like. Sure smaller players can and are successful in CFB but not the NFL, but a good number of the really good players end up in the NFL. It is an indication of how much talent a program has. Granted that not all of that talent is Star based and a lot has to do with the work ethic of the kid and the job the coaches can do, but the end result is the same, quality talent winning games and a good number of players going to the NFL.

[huzkerbob]

Jen, if NU didn't send any players to the NFL I don't think we would be as successful as you would like. Sure smaller players can and are successful in CFB but not the NFL, but a good number of the really good players end up in the NFL. It is an indication of how much talent a program has. Granted that not all of that talent is Star based and a lot has to do with the work ethic of the kid and the job the coaches can do, but the end result is the same, quality talent winning games and a good number of players going to the NFL.

 

Bob Sanders, Barry Sanders, Maurice Jones-Drew, Wes Welker, Steve Smith, the Barber Brothers. Yeah, your right small players NEVER make it in the NFL.

[caveman99]

Jen, if NU didn't send any players to the NFL I don't think we would be as successful as you would like. Sure smaller players can and are successful in CFB but not the NFL, but a good number of the really good players end up in the NFL. It is an indication of how much talent a program has. Granted that not all of that talent is Star based and a lot has to do with the work ethic of the kid and the job the coaches can do, but the end result is the same, quality talent winning games and a good number of players going to the NFL.

 

Bob Sanders, Barry Sanders, Maurice Jones-Drew, Wes Welker, Steve Smith, the Barber Brothers. Yeah, your right small players NEVER make it in the NFL.

Wow! Way to go bob! How about you continue to find the exceptions to the rule! How about this one for you, name the top 10 QB's in the league? I can think of only one that is around 6' flat, Dree Brees.

[strigori]

Jen, if NU didn't send any players to the NFL I don't think we would be as successful as you would like. Sure smaller players can and are successful in CFB but not the NFL, but a good number of the really good players end up in the NFL. It is an indication of how much talent a program has. Granted that not all of that talent is Star based and a lot has to do with the work ethic of the kid and the job the coaches can do, but the end result is the same, quality talent winning games and a good number of players going to the NFL.

 

Bob Sanders, Barry Sanders, Maurice Jones-Drew, Wes Welker, Steve Smith, the Barber Brothers. Yeah, your right small players NEVER make it in the NFL.

Wow! Way to go bob! How about you continue to find the exceptions to the rule! How about this one for you, name the top 10 QB's in the league? I can think of only one that is around 6' flat, Dree Brees.

And how many good QBs are there regardless? I doubt 10. QB is not a good example of any position. In every other position there are plenty of examples of players not being the ideal height and weight.

[zoogs]

It's pretty obvious that Pelini is polar opposite to Kiffin when it comes to recruiting so that in itself differentiates the type of class each one will have. It's clear Kiffin strictly went after talent alone as he signed a controversial pair of running backs in David Oku and Bryce Brown.

 

Because we didn't go hard after those 2 guys ourselves? And with Arthur Brown the year before? C'mon. We definitely went after Oku pretty hard.

[caveman99]

Jen, if NU didn't send any players to the NFL I don't think we would be as successful as you would like. Sure smaller players can and are successful in CFB but not the NFL, but a good number of the really good players end up in the NFL. It is an indication of how much talent a program has. Granted that not all of that talent is Star based and a lot has to do with the work ethic of the kid and the job the coaches can do, but the end result is the same, quality talent winning games and a good number of players going to the NFL.

 

Bob Sanders, Barry Sanders, Maurice Jones-Drew, Wes Welker, Steve Smith, the Barber Brothers. Yeah, your right small players NEVER make it in the NFL.

Wow! Way to go bob! How about you continue to find the exceptions to the rule! How about this one for you, name the top 10 QB's in the league? I can think of only one that is around 6' flat, Dree Brees.

And how many good QBs are there regardless? I doubt 10. QB is not a good example of any position. In every other position there are plenty of examples of players not being the ideal height and weight.

In no particular order:

 

Brady

Manning

Brees

Manning

Cutler

Rivers

Palmer

McNabb

Ryan

Roethlisberger

Warner

 

and borderline you could add:

Collins

Campbell

Bulger

Delhomme

Hasselbeck

Pennington

Romo

Schaub

Rogers

Cassel

 

but I digress...sure the NFL is littered with players who don't fit the mold, but it isn't the norm, which is why you can name them because they stand out. The Darren Sproles of the world aren't the norm in the NFL for sure. Name me a 275lb NT in a 3-4 scheme in the NFL that is successful. My point is, yes we can and will be successful with great College Football players that won't make it in the NFL (Crouch, Tommie Frasier, etc), but getting players in the NFL is definately an indicator of the level of talent a program is getting and developing. The 95, 96 and 97 teams sent a TON of players to the NFL, and those were teams with offenses that the NFL has no use for. I am sorry, but NU won't be successful without getting the next version of Suh or Mike Brown or Mike Minter or Jason Peter or Grant Wistrom or Irvin Fryar or........I guess you get the idea. All of those players had the NFL prototype measurables that get talked about, would sure hate to see what NU would have been without them.

[Spooky Tooth]

Jen, if NU didn't send any players to the NFL I don't think we would be as successful as you would like. Sure smaller players can and are successful in CFB but not the NFL, but a good number of the really good players end up in the NFL. It is an indication of how much talent a program has. Granted that not all of that talent is Star based and a lot has to do with the work ethic of the kid and the job the coaches can do, but the end result is the same, quality talent winning games and a good number of players going to the NFL.

 

Bob Sanders, Barry Sanders, Maurice Jones-Drew, Wes Welker, Steve Smith, the Barber Brothers. Yeah, your right small players NEVER make it in the NFL.

Wow! Way to go bob! How about you continue to find the exceptions to the rule! How about this one for you, name the top 10 QB's in the league? I can think of only one that is around 6' flat, Dree Brees.

 

 

NOT TRUE!!! There's Josh Freeman........

 

 

Oh wait, he's a tight end.

 

Nevermind.

[SECHusker]

Pelini and crew off to hot start for 2010 recruiting class

Examiner.com

 

Pelini on the other hand is known for recruiting great player he feels best fits what being a Nebraska football player is all about. Unlike many coaches throughout division-one NCAA football, Pelini has openly admitted he doesn't talk much about the NFL to a potential recruit. The second year head coach stated that he preaches a team first attitude with nothing promised. If the players work hard to earn a spot and do their job, the whole making it to the NFL thing will take care of itself.

 

Amen!!!!

 

The NFL is a mere pipe dream for about 99% of all football players coming out of high school. A college football coach should sell the education angle and the opportunity(ies) a college education will provide. And, in my opinion, coaches who sell that NFL dream are doing these kids a grave injustice.

 

Edit: Personally, if Nebraska had excellent players in college and no players in the NFL I'd be okay with that. To me, a player from Nebraska having success in the league is merely icing on the proverbial cake.

 

I couldn't agree with you more Jen. The fact some of these coaches don't give a d*** about these kids outside of the field is disgusting.

 

I personally really like the way the staff is recruiting. They are recruiting more athletically gifted individuals (regardless of size), than the previous staff. But more than anything they seem to be recruiting a tough no nonsense mentality, which I do not think they measure with stars. I think that in the future while other teams maybe more physically talented than us they are going to have a willingness to bring their lunch pail every play to beat us.

[HuskerJen]

Jen, if NU didn't send any players to the NFL I don't think we would be as successful as you would like. Sure smaller players can and are successful in CFB but not the NFL, but a good number of the really good players end up in the NFL. It is an indication of how much talent a program has. Granted that not all of that talent is Star based and a lot has to do with the work ethic of the kid and the job the coaches can do, but the end result is the same, quality talent winning games and a good number of players going to the NFL.

 

Actually I agree with you. If you have great players in your favorite college program, in our case Nebraska, then almost by sheer mathematical probability some of them will make it to the next level, which is, as I previously stated, icing on the cake.

[Danny Bateman]

lets not forget they are also recruiting kids from winning programs... so hopefully these incoming guys will not just accept defeat like some other teams might.

[husker rob]

Student Athletes should worry about degrees in case they dont make it to the BIG SHOW

[huzkerbob]

Sorry but the NFL evaluation process is vastly overrated, and has NO place in the college game. If that is the criteria on which you measure your teams success, then you are destined for disappointment.

 

This is college football not that bland, repetitive BS I have to sit through on Sundays! IMO all that is important is getting good athletes that will work in YOUR system. Not the guys you think some ThugFL team will want down the road. Should NU be recruiting the biggest, smartest, and fastest guys we can? Of course, that part of football will never change. But to me wins, loses, and championships is how you measure success not how many players you have drafted every year.

[sdhusker82]

Kudos to the coaching staff on this class so far, maybe i'm just getting impatient but does anyone else want to see us nab some quality defensive players soon?