The 500-mile Radius and the Current State of Nebraska Recruiting

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The article that confirms what has been said for the last half decade. The CFB talent pool is in the sunbelt, not the rust belt.

 

I'd be more interested in seeing him dig into the lack of Nebraska prospects over the last decade. Instead of just rattling off numbers, comparing NU to NU 20-30 years ago, Dirk should take a look at NU's current main competition (UM and OSU) and compare their instate talent to NE. Nebraska has a much smaller pool, which means we need to work harder and smarter to get that talent. It seems that Bo is finally starting to realize that. This last class is a step in the right direction, but we need to continue to pull in elite talent.

 

P.S. I'm finally back after a hiatus. New year, new baby, and a new team to look forward to.

Welcome back bro, and congrats on the baby.

[iowahusker09]

Husker Nation needs Dirk to keep us in check. We have a ridiculous ego as a fan base and we need one writer to keep us from going overboard.

[StPaulHusker]

I do not care where the talent comes from as long as some of it ends up in Lincoln and we win games.

[Saunders]

Husker Nation needs Dirk to keep us in check. We have a ridiculous ego as a fan base and we need one writer to keep us from going overboard.

How exactly does Dirk do this?

[NebraskaHarry]

Husker Nation needs Dirk to keep us in check. We have a ridiculous ego as a fan base and we need one writer to keep us from going overboard.

Really? I'm sure Nebraska fans would be just fine without Dirk's input.

[StPaulHusker]

Husker Nation needs Dirk to keep us in check. We have a ridiculous ego as a fan base and we need one writer to keep us from going overboard.

I take it you are new here. Just go back and read some posts from the past year and you will see we don't need Dirk to be the consumate pessimist to the program. There are several right here.

[Count 'Bility]

Husker Nation needs Dirk to keep us in check. We have a ridiculous ego as a fan base and we need one writer to keep us from going overboard.

[hskrpwr13]

Some of you read WAY more into the article than was intended.

[Saunders]

Husker Nation needs Dirk to keep us in check. We have a ridiculous ego as a fan base and we need one writer to keep us from going overboard.

I take it you are new here. Just go back and read some posts from the past year and you will see we don't need Dirk to be the consumate pessimist to the program. There are several right here.

Dirk's problem is that he just isn't very good at what he does. His article (and the turnover one) are basically "SEE, NUMBERS!!!! OMG!!!"

The problem is, without context, you're just reciting stats. Applying his logic to Taylor Martinez' stats would mean he's the greatest QB to ever play NU. Which is simply not true.

[EZ-E]

Husker Nation needs Dirk to keep us in check. We have a ridiculous ego as a fan base and we need one writer to keep us from going overboard.

I take it you are new here. Just go back and read some posts from the past year and you will see we don't need Dirk to be the consumate pessimist to the program. There are several right here.

Dirk's problem is that he just isn't very good at what he does. His article (and the turnover one) are basically "SEE, NUMBERS!!!! OMG!!!"

The problem is, without context, you're just reciting stats. Applying his logic to Taylor Martinez' stats would mean he's the greatest QB to ever play NU. Which is simply not true.

 

Making fun of Dirky will always get a plus one from me.

[NUinID]

Nebraska used to own the 500 mile radius. They used to pull all the good recruits they wanted out of Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado. With the rise of the football programs in those states. A lot of the good players in those states are staying home more than they used to.

[BigRedBuster]

I like some of what Dirk does and some he can put someplace unpleasant.

 

This one hits it right on the head. It is very important for Nebraska football to milk every ounce of talent we can out of 500 miles around while at the same time pulling the best we can from across the country.

The part in the article about how all midwestern states have dropped in Div 1 scholarships is troubling. What bothers me the most is that the genetic pool in this region hasn't changed. What has changed is how they are being developed in HS compared to other parts of the country. On top of that, you have coaches coming into programs like Nebraska who don't have those HS contacts and with the pressure for immediate results, they go where they know there is talent even though there is one heck of a lot more competition for that talent.

 

A new coach is going to immediately start working Florida, Texas and California. Now, they might at the same time start fostering relationships in the midwest. But, right from the start, they are not going to focus a large part of their recruiting on the 500 mile circle.

 

The longer a staff is here, the more I would expect them to pay attention to that area closer to home because they will know the territory more.

[tschu]

Husker Nation needs Dirk to keep us in check. We have a ridiculous ego as a fan base and we need one writer to keep us from going overboard.

I take it you are new here. Just go back and read some posts from the past year and you will see we don't need Dirk to be the consumate pessimist to the program. There are several right here.

Dirk's problem is that he just isn't very good at what he does. His article (and the turnover one) are basically "SEE, NUMBERS!!!! OMG!!!"

The problem is, without context, you're just reciting stats. Applying his logic to Taylor Martinez' stats would mean he's the greatest QB to ever play NU. Which is simply not true.

Well rather than just blindly bashing, please go ahead and state what problem you have with this article

[Saunders]

Husker Nation needs Dirk to keep us in check. We have a ridiculous ego as a fan base and we need one writer to keep us from going overboard.

I take it you are new here. Just go back and read some posts from the past year and you will see we don't need Dirk to be the consumate pessimist to the program. There are several right here.

Dirk's problem is that he just isn't very good at what he does. His article (and the turnover one) are basically "SEE, NUMBERS!!!! OMG!!!"

The problem is, without context, you're just reciting stats. Applying his logic to Taylor Martinez' stats would mean he's the greatest QB to ever play NU. Which is simply not true.

Well rather than just blindly bashing, please go ahead and state what problem you have with this article

Blindly bashing is a Dirk specialty. He didn't really say anything other than "Tom did it this way" and cites stats from 20-30 years ago. The problem is, demographics have changed during that time, and high school football in Nebraska isn't producing the guys it used to. Sure, some of the success we had with Nebraska guys back then was due to our system, but the numbers show the state isn't producing as many BCS caliber guys. I've stated what he should have done, above, but I'll spell it out.

 

If I were getting paid to write this article, I would have highlighted those changes. I also would have pointed out the shift in elite CFB talent over the past 20-30 years to the sunbelt. Those places have football year round, producing athletes that are ready to play earlier. The elite teams are getting their starts from there, and it's something we have struggled with. You have to be more selective, because we can't afford to waste schollies on guys that don't hit their stride until midway through the junior year, or as seniors. We don't have the luxury of 100 man rosters, huge coaching staffs, and huge classes of walk ons. The economy plays a role in forcing guys who would have formerly been walk ons, to take scholarships at other schools. We don't have a monopoly on TV time, and parents can watch their kids play on TV at just about any school.

 

We had more in state talent back then compared to now. That pads the "500 mile" numbers, because you have homegrown recruits that are almost guaranteed to be Huskers. We also had the novelty to bury guys on the roster, put them through 2-3 years of S&C, and have them ready to roll as Sophomores and Juniors. We don't have that luxury anymore. This emphasizes to need to recruit CA, FL, and TX, and we're more dependent on it than teams like OSU and UM who have 10x the number of BCS recruits in their states. When we were churning along, we had a core group of NE guys, and a large amount from the surrounding states, finally, we sprinkled in guys from the sunbelt. The high schools in Nebraska ran similar offenses. We had a well established system that simply needed pieces to make it go. Today, we don't have that core group of NE guys, and aren't getting the better guys from surrounding states, partially because we aren't the big dog, partially because recruiting efforts weren't there, and partially because there aren't as many elite guys in that radius.

 

What can the staff do to address the differences in recruiting between Dr Tom's days, and the current climate?

 

For starters, the percentage of recruits inside the 500 mile radius is irrelevant. What's more important, is getting the good players to come to NU. Whether that's 2 guys or 10, NU needs to get the cream of the crop inside that radius. The only other "big dog" in that circle is OU. Since NU isn't the national powerhouse we were in the 90's, the coaches need to sell themselves and our program to the highschool coaches in this radius. That will help influence the kids. Also, we need to figure out WTF is wrong with football in Nebraska, and get the AD more involved with helping our highschool kids get caught up to their counterparts who play football all year long.

 

So.... back to my statement, Dirk didn't really say much of anything other than "Tom did it this way, and we need to do it again." The problem is, things have changed, and we need to figure out what we need to do to adapt, instead of trying to re-create something from the past.

[hskrpwr13]

FWIW......

 

From Dirk himself in yesterday's Mad Chatter:

But big picture, I think the story is another illustration of how it’s increasingly more difficult for northern programs to compete. Not just Nebraska, but everybody. Population changes. Scheme changes. The specialization of high school athletes. It all points to a wider gap between warm-weather and cold-weather schools.

 

That doesn't translate into a shot at Pelini to me.