Epley's comments on Talent

[StPaulHusker]

 

I think a lot of people are reading a lot into his comments that wasn't intended.

 

He did not say we don't have talent on the team.

 

Epley said seven football players scored in the 1,700s. Twenty were at 900 or below. Epley said that 900 figure is a good benchmark for walk-ons. NU has a significant number over 1,500.

 

What he is getting at is that we need to bring in players that are already at the 1,500 mark as a true freshman so they don't have to spend 1.5 years getting them to that point. There are lots of players on the team at that level but they had to be developed to that point.

Sounds like player development is currently an issue.

 

Sounds like it has been for a while

[Ric Flair]

I'm not at all surprised by this. Recruiting hasn't been where it needs to be. Results have been mediocre overall and uneven across the roster, with a decent amount of talent at certain positions and glaring deficiencies at others. Player development has been uneven as well. The offensive line has been a problem for a decade. Fat, soft, and sloppy are the three words that come to mind when watching them on the field. When is the last time we had consistent and quality play at QB? A relative handful of players have blossomed, while far more than expected arrived heavily lauded and then disappeared into oblivion or transferred out. There is some of that anywhere, as it's just the nature of the beast. But I suspect we've had more of it than most.

 

So I think Epley is just telling us what we've already known for some time. If we're going to be competitive, we have to get better at recruiting and player development.

[BigRedBuster]

 

I think a lot of people are reading a lot into his comments that wasn't intended.

 

He did not say we don't have talent on the team.

 

Epley said seven football players scored in the 1,700s. Twenty were at 900 or below. Epley said that 900 figure is a good benchmark for walk-ons. NU has a significant number over 1,500.

 

What he is getting at is that we need to bring in players that are already at the 1,500 mark as a true freshman so they don't have to spend 1.5 years getting them to that point. There are lots of players on the team at that level but they had to be developed to that point.

Sounds like player development is currently an issue.

How in the hell do you get that from my post?

[alwayshusking]

If he really said that, I'm seriously curious how he thinks there are only 3 NFL caliber players right now. Did he mean on the roster or in the senior class? 20 "walk on caliber" athletes wouldn't be surprising on the roster, as we have a number of walkons.

 

 

But I would be shocked if there are only 3 players registering as "NFL caliber" players, because I can think of about a dozen guys off the top of my head who will likely be actually drafted and more who will get a look in free agency (let alone who demonstrate pure "NFL athleticism" based on the index). If he's talking about just the senior class, then these numbers are hardly alarming. 3 guys drafted per year isn't that far out of line with NU's historical 1-6 rounds drafts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

No, what he's saying is that there are 3 players that currently score in the 1800+ range on his performance index, which he believes is a pro-caliber score. Those are likely upperclassmen, probably Maliek + 2 more. It's harder for the younger players to score this high because they likely need more development unless they are freaks. That's part of the 1.5 years comment, which he likely believes many of the younger players can be turned into higher caliber athletes in that time frame.

 

Ideally he thinks Nebraska should be recruiting guys in the 1500 range then putting 600 points on them throughout their career with S&C development. He's saying that not enough of the current players started in the 1500 range and not enough have been developed into the higher scoring range.

[cm husker]

Tom Osborne originated this practice.

 

So I guess you could say that TO is low brow and likes to belittle his players. Right?

 

 

No, he didn't start the practice of calling his teams out publicly as lacking talent (even though he could have during the streak of bowl losses).

But, if you have a quote to the contrary, I'd love to see it.

 

Again, Epley's comments explain why NU isn't in a playoff. They don't explain why NU had its doors blown off by a purely awful Purdue team.

[cm husker]

 

 

I think a lot of people are reading a lot into his comments that wasn't intended.

 

He did not say we don't have talent on the team.

 

Epley said seven football players scored in the 1,700s. Twenty were at 900 or below. Epley said that 900 figure is a good benchmark for walk-ons. NU has a significant number over 1,500.

 

What he is getting at is that we need to bring in players that are already at the 1,500 mark as a true freshman so they don't have to spend 1.5 years getting them to that point. There are lots of players on the team at that level but they had to be developed to that point.

Sounds like player development is currently an issue.

 

Sounds like it has been for a while

 

 

 

Amazing how many games we won between '08 and '14 with such crappy players ....

[cm husker]

Question:

 

How many NFL caliber players (based on the scale) does NU require to:

 

1. Win a national championship?

 

2. Win a conference championship?

 

3. Win a division championship?

 

4. Beat Purdue?

[StPaulHusker]

Question:

 

How many NFL caliber players (based on the scale) does NU require to:

 

1. Win a national championship?

 

2. Win a conference championship?

 

3. Win a division championship?

 

4. Beat Purdue?

For the first 3, clearly more than we have.

 

For the last one, sh#t happens sometimes.

[B.B. Hemingway]

Question:

 

How many NFL caliber players (based on the scale) does NU require to:

 

1. Win a national championship?

 

2. Win a conference championship?

 

3. Win a division championship?

 

4. Beat Purdue?

 

 

1. How many does Alabama have?

 

2. How many does Michigan St. have?

 

3. How many does Iowa have?

 

4. How many does Marshall have?

[cm husker]

 

Question:

 

How many NFL caliber players (based on the scale) does NU require to:

 

1. Win a national championship?

 

2. Win a conference championship?

 

3. Win a division championship?

 

4. Beat Purdue?

For the first 3, clearly more than we have.

 

For the last one, sh#t happens sometimes.

 

 

 

I don't know that it's at all clear that MSU or Iowa have more than we have. I would bet money that more kids from NU's 2015 roster are drafted or sign FA contracts than Iowa's 2015 roster, and I'd be bet that for MSU, the numbers would be very close.

 

 

I find it interesting that you can write off a loss to a team that beat only 1 other P5 team (Illinois) and only a total of 2 FBS programs since 2013.

 

Prior to 2015, NU had won the last two games against Purdue by a combined 79-21.

 

I guess sh#t happens, but it sure happens a lot to certain coaches and not so much to others.

[Husker Psycho]

 

Question:

 

How many NFL caliber players (based on the scale) does NU require to:

 

1. Win a national championship?

 

2. Win a conference championship?

 

3. Win a division championship?

 

4. Beat Purdue?

 

 

1. How many does Alabama have?

 

2. How many does Michigan St. have?

 

3. How many does Iowa have?

 

4. How many does Marshall have?

 

 

LOL

 

Wicked good answer.

[Savage Husker]

 

 

 

 

Tom Osborne originated this practice.

 

So I guess you could say that TO is low brow and likes to belittle his players. Right?

 

No, he didn't start the practice of calling his teams out publicly as lacking talent (even though he could have during the streak of bowl losses).

But, if you have a quote to the contrary, I'd love to see it.

 

Again, Epley's comments explain why NU isn't in a playoff. They don't explain why NU had its doors blown off by a purely awful Purdue team.

 

Discussing results of testing for all sports and giving football testing top to bottom standards/expectations is not calling out the team. There is no conspiracy or hidden agenda. This is a strength coach talking about where athletes are expected to test at in order to be top caliber athletes... which should be the goal of every strength and conditioning coach on the planet.

Right? The news outlet that has been accused of tearing the program down is now the mouth piece for the university. Maybe Eichorst should get a raise for bridging that relationship.

[GBRFAN]

 

We have 3 NFL caliber athletes, 7 above average, a significant number average, and around 20 walk on caliber.

 

I cant link via mobile. I read the Journal Star article, OWH has one too.

 

Epley says Phillips is doing best he can but we need 1.5 years to get the talent we need.

 

If he really said that, I'm seriously curious how he thinks there are only 3 NFL caliber players right now. Did he mean on the roster or in the senior class? 20 "walk on caliber" athletes wouldn't be surprising on the roster, as we have a number of walkons.

 

But I would be shocked if there are only 3 players registering as "NFL caliber" players, because I can think of about a dozen guys off the top of my head who will likely be actually drafted and more who will get a look in free agency (let alone who demonstrate pure "NFL athleticism" based on the index). If he's talking about just the senior class, then these numbers are hardly alarming. 3 guys drafted per year isn't that far out of line with NU's historical 1-6 rounds drafts.

 

It is pretty low brow to put this out in public. I wonder how the players are going to react to this. Kind of reminds me of when Tenipor came out with criticisms about OL talent (which he was actually responsible for (not) recruiting). There's some serious politics going on here, as there was with Milt's comments, and it's mainly related to Boyd coming back the month before Pelini's firing and the positioning he's taking within the AD.

I do find it interesting that he (and posters here) want to compare it to the 90s talent. Well, two things: (1) compare almost any team this year to the 90s talent, and you'll see some deficiencies in this year's teams, and (2) the OL talent on those teams was largely (like 50%) homegrown. Should we blame the Nebraska moms for the inability to recruit significant numbers of elite OL talent since then?

 

Finally, this quote demonstrates why Boyd is a strength coach, and not an actual team coach, or it means that Boyd recognizes that current coaching talent isn't going to bridge the gap.

 

"we need to do a better job of bringing in talented recruits so we don’t have to do quite so much development or quite so much coaching"

 

I read this as 3 NFL Caliber - right now. If all 85 players on the team went to the upcoming draft - 3 would be picked.

[GBRFAN]

 

 

Question:

 

How many NFL caliber players (based on the scale) does NU require to:

 

1. Win a national championship?

 

2. Win a conference championship?

 

3. Win a division championship?

 

4. Beat Purdue?

For the first 3, clearly more than we have.

 

For the last one, sh#t happens sometimes.

 

 

 

I don't know that it's at all clear that MSU or Iowa have more than we have. I would bet money that more kids from NU's 2015 roster are drafted or sign FA contracts than Iowa's 2015 roster, and I'd be bet that for MSU, the numbers would be very close.

 

 

I find it interesting that you can write off a loss to a team that beat only 1 other P5 team (Illinois) and only a total of 2 FBS programs since 2013.

 

Prior to 2015, NU had won the last two games against Purdue by a combined 79-21.

 

I guess sh#t happens, but it sure happens a lot to certain coaches and not so much to others.

 

 

You can look at another example that Riley was minus 2 L 23-21 playing Wisconsin this year, however another CERTAIN coach was minus 74 L 59-24 L70-31 over last 2 games.

[Spooky Tooth]

 

 

I am not saying he is making up stats and scores. But, for him to come out with these strong opinions after such a crappy year seems like a bit of PR work by the Athletic Department.

 

 

 

This.

 

 

 

Not enough facepalms for these two comments. Just..........