Walk-On Program

[Husker Richard]

I'm assuming I'm going to take a lot of heat, especially from the traditionalists, for this opinion and that is fine.

 

I love the walk-on program as much as the next Husker fan. It's got a rich tradition and it really made Nebraska football what it is. Tom relied heavily on it and it worked out very well for him. However, times have changed in CFB resulting in increased parity and we have got to make the adjustment.

 

I hate to single guys out but players like Thorell and Blatchford have no business starting for a division 1 defense. They are physically and athletically outmatched. When they lineup against another team's scholarship wide receiver (arguably some of the most athletic players on their team), I cringe and I'm sure the opposing team is just salivating at the sight of the matchup.

 

Now, I'm sure people are going to respond with, "well so-and-so was a walk-on and he had an amazing career." That's great. There's always an exception (and in Tom's case many) to the rule. The fact of the matter is, the walk-ons that are starting for our current defense wouldn't sniff the scout team at Alabama or LSU.

 

Take a look at those top defenses and let me know how many small-town Nebraska guys are starting in their secondary. Heck, forget being from Nebraska, how many walk-ons are starting period?

 

We have to adjust to the new landscape of college football. In order to take this team to the next level, we have to have the upper-hand in every matchup on the field. A walk-on is a constant mismatch that the opponent will exploit. The athletic disparity is too great. I don't care how well you know Bo's system. It seems as though if you're 5 steps behind the receiver, but hey you're in the coverage we called, that's all we can ask.

 

I've noticed that Bo likes to throw some of the walk-ons on special teams just to get them playing time. Big mistake in my opinion. You wonder why our special teams coverage units have issues? Guess who's returning the punt/kick for the other team? The fastest freaking player on their team.

 

Bo's calling card is defense. So there is no reason why he shouldn't be able to get top-notch defensive talent every year. It's time to stop relying on walk-ons as stopgaps and start getting real talent on the defense.

 

There's a reason these guys have to walk-on.

[SECHusker]

I agree with you, the walk-on program should be pulled back. And more emphasis should be placed on developing the recruits we have.

 

Edit: How Thorell, Blatchford, Cassidy can get on the field buy Corey Cooper, Harvey Jackson, D. Washingston, Mitchell, and others have to suffer sitting on the bench is beyond me. (They will make their share of mistakes, but have they athletic ability to recoup and become more dominant players)

[WYHusk]

Seems to me we have a lot of talented frosh warming pine, regardless of walk-ons.

[MLB 51]

Make's you wonder what this will do to the recruiting effort.

[TonyStalloni]

Probably every coaching staff has a somewhat similar set of requirements for players seeing the field. Performance in practice probably being the main reason. I don't think our coaches are playing Thorell and Blatchford because we need to have a certain number of walkons on the field at all times. If we had better 4 year scholarship players on the team I'm sure they would be in the game. I sat in the stands and had the same frustrations as you. I saw Thorell making lots of tackles but mostly because his man was receiving the ball so often. There is a reason opposing coaches pick on the weakest member of another teams secondary. They also picked on C Evans a lot. We trust the players our coaches recruit are quality and play at a high level at all times, but youth and inexperience seem to be hurting us this year.

[Husker Richard]

Seems to me we have a lot of talented frosh warming pine, regardless of walk-ons.

 

Agreed. Some of this has to do with Bo's "you don't know the D, you don't play" mentality. Which is fine, until you realize that the guys that do know the D suck and we'd be better off just putting an athlete in and letting him make a play.

 

Sometimes I wonder if Bo's scheme is so complex that it makes it almost impossible to contribute as a freshman. Heck it seems like the sophomores are still trying to grasp the system.

[Husker Richard]

Probably every coaching staff has a somewhat similar set of requirements for players seeing the field. Performance in practice probably being the main reason. I don't think our coaches are playing Thorell and Blatchford because we need to have a certain number of walkons on the field at all times. If we had better 4 year scholarship players on the team I'm sure they would be in the game. I sat in the stands and had the same frustrations as you. I saw Thorell making lots of tackles but mostly because his man was receiving the ball so often. There is a reason opposing coaches pick on the weakest member of another teams secondary. They also picked on C Evans a lot. We trust the players our coaches recruit are quality and play at a high level at all times, but youth and inexperience seem to be hurting us this year.

 

I wasn't implying that. I was just pointing out that a defense at a big-time program like ours should not have to start walk-ons because we have no talent/better option behind them.

[Peoriahusker]

We can't even change the color of our uniforms..you think this is going to happen? I as well think its time to change a few things we continue to hold on to.

[Husker Richard]

We can't even change the color of our uniforms..you think this is going to happen? I as well think its time to change a few things we continue to hold on to.

 

LOL, I knew someone would bring that up. It's time to get real people. CFB has changed. Let go of the glory years. It aint the 90's anymore. If we want to compete with the top programs, we need to start running shop like the top programs (minus the over signing of the SEC).

[gin_32]

The walk-on progam has been establised to give each side of the ball enough bodies to work with....PERIOD. I don't think that progam is causing the mediocracy we are seeing now because if I'm thinking correctly, this is Pelini's team to run as he wishes. With that said, why is Pelini starting players like Thorell or Cassidy over more athletic back-ups? I don't know the answer just know it rest on Pelini's shoulders who is on or offf the field. One thing I really don't get and someone else touched on this as well, is that how is Pelini a defensive mind that can run a defense like it's no one's business but yet we can't get players to run that type on the field??

[MLB 51]

We have have trouble getting the top talent to come here. Somebody mentioned that kids don't want to set 2-3 deep so they go to other schools to play early. But yet they line up 3-4 deep to play at LSU, ALA., FLA. , AND USC. WHY? I think alot of kids could play early here but we don't let them.

[gobiggergoredder]

I'm assuming I'm going to take a lot of heat, especially from the traditionalists, for this opinion and that is fine.

 

I hate to single guys out but players like Thorell and Blatchford have no business starting for a division 1 defense. They are physically and athletically outmatched. When they lineup against another team's scholarship wide receiver (arguably some of the most athletic players on their team), I cringe and I'm sure the opposing team is just salivating at the sight of the matchup.

 

Take a look at those top defenses and let me know how many small-town Nebraska guys are starting in their secondary. Heck, forget being from Nebraska, how many walk-ons are starting period?

 

I've noticed that Bo likes to throw some of the walk-ons on special teams just to get them playing time. Big mistake in my opinion. You wonder why our special teams coverage units have issues? Guess who's returning the punt/kick for the other team? The fastest freaking player on their team.

 

Bo's calling card is defense. So there is no reason why he shouldn't be able to get top-notch defensive talent every year. It's time to stop relying on walk-ons as stopgaps and start getting real talent on the defense.

 

There's a reason these guys have to walk-on.

 

I don't get your logic. I am assuming that Thorell is out there because he is the best we have and not because he is a walk on. I don't see how it makes any sense whatsoever to link an inability to recruit top level talent and the success of the walk on program.

 

Until the dude got hurt last week, Whaley was Oklahoma's #1 running back. He was solidly their #1. He transferred from an NAIA school and didn't even start there. He was a non scholarship walk on from a school that recently produced Demarco Murray and Adrian Peterson.

 

Your point appears to be that the team struggles because of the walk on program which I think is ludicrous.

[MLB 51]

I personally don't have any problems with the walk-on program. Right now we have several player's out with injuries and not enough schollie players to fill in, without burning more red shirt's, and putting guy's on the field that just aren't ready.

[True2tRA]

Thorell was put in many bad situation by the coaches yesterday. He was stuck on some match-ups that he had no chance of winning, yet the coaches repeatedly did it. Also, our four man rush, which we again never changed, was getting no pressure on the NW QB's. You can't expect Thorell, Cassidy, Dennard, Green, or anybody on this planet to cover WR's for 20 seconds. Their QB's had all damn day! What's sad is that our defensive line doesn't even pin their ears back and heavy rush the QB. They play contain, and as you can see, they didn't contain a damn thing. We hardly blitzed and when we did, I have to say I thought they were some very poorly designed blitzes.

[AFhusker]

I personally don't have any problems with the walk-on program. Right now we have several player's out with injuries and not enough schollie players to fill in, without burning more red shirt's, and putting guy's on the field that just aren't ready.

 

I don't think anyone has a problem with it per say, it's the fact that the coaches seem to rely on it when they should be putting scholarship players available to play instead. That was on of Frank's problems was that he relied on it way too much and handed out undeserving scholarships to players since they had extra because he didn't recruit enough players to fill out the roster. Now it seems as if Bo is making the same mistake and you are seeing the result of having to play those guys as it was stated above. There is nothing wrong with a kid working his tail off and earning a scholarship, but that should be the exception, not the norm.