Pundits like Callahan's recruiters

[RedCountry]

Some things I found interesting from this article:

 

-Wagner coached at Wayne State?! didnt know that. apparently he brought in some good talent from Cali

-with Blake Cos and Wagner, we are covering the states real well.

Blake knows the south & southeast, Cos knows Big 10 land, and Wagner is our West coast expert. I like how Cal has just about covered all ground with experts from each area.

 

full article:

 

Pundits like Callahan's recruiters

 

BY RICH KAIPUST

 

 

WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

 

 

LINCOLN - Artie Gigantino has been around both college and NFL football, so he understands what Bill Callahan might be trying to do with his Nebraska coaching staff.

 

 

NU Head Coach Bill Callahan

 

In terms of offensive and defensive coordinators, Gigantino sees Callahan going after accomplished minds he can trust. That's what most head coaches do in the National Football League.

 

In position coaches, Gigantino isn't surprised Callahan is making a run at strong recruiters. That's the lifeblood to any college program.

 

"In the NFL, so much emphasis is placed on coordinators - who's the offensive guy and who's the defensive guy," said Gigantino, who's moving into the Oakland Raiders' front office after being both a football coach and broadcaster. "I think those guys are the key and you fill in around that. The other guys take care of their position and be good recruiters."

 

Several people outside the program have given Callahan a thumbs up for hiring Kevin Cosgrove as the Huskers' defensive coordinator.

 

But Callahan has raised eyebrows by adding John Blake (defensive line) and Dennis Wagner (offensive line). Blake isn't far removed from a miserable three-year stretch as Oklahoma's head coach and Wagner is somewhat of an unknown coming from Fresno State.

 

Callahan also just missed landing Dave Roberts, who bombed as head coach at Baylor, as his running backs coach. Roberts decided Wednesday to stay at South Carolina.

 

According to national recruiting analyst Tom Lemming, Callahan's belief in Blake, Wagner and Roberts is that they're the kind of assistants who can go get players.

 

"He wants an aggressive staff that's not only good coaches but good recruiters," Lemming said. "That's what everyone should do, but some people will bring in buddies instead. Kevin is probably his only buddy out of those.

 

"He's trying to assemble a staff that's similar to what USC and Oklahoma did."

 

Just over a week since he's been hired, Callahan still needs an offensive coordinator and three other assistant coaches. Turner Gill (receivers) and Scott Downing (recruiting coordinator) remain from the old staff.

 

Lemming, a close friend to Callahan, said it will be interesting to see how quickly the new staff can get Nebraska consistently in the running for blue-chip prospects.

 

"When's the last time Nebraska got a real difference-maker?" Lemming said. "When's the last time they've won a recruiting battle over all of them?"

 

That might be where Blake comes in. He assembled the talent that eventually helped lead Oklahoma to the 2000 national championship, but his failure to organize it and effectively use it cost him his job after the 1998 season.

 

"I think Blake is a good coach, but probably even a better recruiter," said Matt Hayes of the Sporting News. "In the right situation and the right program, I think he's a guy who can do a lot of nice things."

 

As a position coach with the Dallas Cowboys, Blake was part of two Super Bowl championship teams.

 

"Some of these guys were just never meant to be head coaches," said Dennis Dodd of CBS Sportsline.com. "But he can be very valuable to get in and sell a program, which he was able to do at Oklahoma and will be able to do at Nebraska."

 

Callahan was known as a solid recruiter before leaving college football for the NFL. Cosgrove has built a similar reputation, most notably in his 14 years at Wisconsin.

 

Wagner knows the West Coast, and was able to bring several Californians to tiny Wayne State when he was head coach of the NCAA Division II school in northeast Nebraska.

 

This recruiting class probably won't give an accurate read on the ability of Callahan's new staff. Blake, Wagner and Cosgrove all got late starts hitting the road, and Nebraska was down to 10 commitments when they were hired.

 

"I think (Callahan) is definitely looking for recruiters, because that's what he needs," Hayes said. "Let's face it, they need to upgrade the talent there."

 

Lemming agreed with Gigantino when assessing the way Callahan has approached his hires. Callahan has yet to land an offensive coordinator, although people close to the situation have said his intended target is Jay Norvell, who remains under contract with the Raiders.

 

"Smart coaches make sure they get two great coordinators and a great offensive line coach," Lemming said, "and then always have three or four young guys who are in the learning process but are very aggressive recruiters.

 

"But when you're Nebraska and you're such a powerhouse, you maybe don't have to do that last part. You get a John Blake to come because you're Nebraska."

 

Hayes and the Sporting News give Nebraska an "A" for hiring Callahan, and Hayes thinks that would be an accurate grade for the addition of Cosgrove.

 

"I think Cosgrove's a fantastic hire," Hayes said. "That's a guy a lot of programs have looked at the last five or six years, but he's been very loyal to Barry Alvarez (Wisconsin's head coach). I think he's done a lot with that defense, considering the limitations he's had there."

 

An overall grade is pending for Callahan, who still needs to hire four more full-time assistant coaches and add a graduate assistant to go with Dan McLaughlin.

 

"Obviously it was a little bit painful for Nebraska people with what happened, but it looks to me like he's getting good people," Dodd said. "I think the fact that he had a plan and has executed it right away shows he's pretty decisive."