This concept of "talent" of which we speak...

B

Bowfin

Banned
The word "talent" is thrown around so much in these threads as an end all, be all, cure all for everything that ails the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Yet, I am pretty certain some define it differently than others, hence some confusion and debate as to what talent is or isn't.

What is your definition of talent?

 
It would start with the measureables. Speed, strength and quickness. Add in a desire to succeed. Intelligence about the sport they play but also the ability to function in society. Granted boys especially at high school age don't always make the best decisions. Throw in the luck to have quality high school coaches or transferring to where there are good coaches that allow the athlete to practice without bad habits.

 
More talented players are above average in size, speed, strength, football iq. Work ethic, coaching, daily habits, mental state play a huge role in materialization from the raw player to a dominant and talented one like DeShaun Watson or Minka Fitzpatrick (Bama db)

We don't have any real x factor uber talented players like these guys. While that isn't always necessary to win (see Wisconsin vs LSU) teams that compete for championships regularly have these type of players on at least one side of the ball if not both in multiple positions.

In the end this boils down to recruiting. Yes you can put together a solid team if you even recruit inside of the top 50. But the teams winning playoff titles have 15-20 4 and 5 star recruits coming into their program every year. It's hard to compete with that talent.

 
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Nebraska has talent.

Nebraska is not a highly talented team.

These two comments can be exclusive of each other.

 
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The legendary Sgt. Carlos Hathcock's greatest contribution to the Marines during the Vietnam War wasn't as a sniper. It was as an instructor. He would go around to various Marine combat units and ask for the two worst shots in each platoon. He would take them aside, give them 20 minutes of instruction, and then came back to tell the rest of the platoon that his two "sharpshooters" would outshoot the rest of the platoon combined at 200 yards...and they almost always did, with his two "sharpshooters" hitting their target more than the rest of the platoon did on their respective target. THEN he would show the rest of the platoon what his phenomenally talented"Jimmie and Joe" had already learned in order to win the shooting match.

I think about this every time I hear somebody mention someone as "as being a naturally gifted good shot / mathematician / athlete / driver / whatever". Hathcock was a champion competitive shooter in the Marines who took notes on EVERY shot he made in competition, so he didn't put much stock into the notion of "natural talent" either.

 
But the teams winning playoff titles have 15-20 4 and 5 star recruits coming into their program every year. It's hard to compete with that talent.
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Like LSU's crazy advantage over Wisconsin, for example.

My brother thinks he wins his shooting competitions because he has a lot of expensive rifles, scopes, and reloading equipment.

I think he wins those matches because he practices more than everybody else, and the fact that he bought more expensive guns masks that fact. I wonder if Saban getting 4 or 5 star recruits masks other, more important keys to his success.

 
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Bowfin said:
But the teams winning playoff titles have 15-20 4 and 5 star recruits coming into their program every year. It's hard to compete with that talent.
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Like LSU's crazy advantage over Wisconsin, for example.
My brother thinks he wins his shooting competitions because he has a lot of expensive rifles, scopes, and reloading equipment.

I think he wins those matches because he practices more than everybody else, and the fact that he bought more expensive guns masks that fact. I wonder if Saban getting 4 or 5 star recruits masks other, more important keys to his success.
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I mentioned Wisconsin beating LSU earlier in my post. Superior talent isn't a sure fire way to win and I didn't say that but talent is described as in the dictionary as natural aptitude or skill. Practice doesn't become talent it becomes mastery, there is a difference. 6 of the 8 playoff teams so far have been consistently in the top 10 in recruiting I don't think that's a coincidence.
As for Saban I'm sure the talented guys he has mask some of his talents as a coach but it is a heck of alot easier to win games when your guys are the best group of athletes in the country compared to other teams. Combine that with the most well coached it's a recipe that's tough to beat

 
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Bowfin said:
But the teams winning playoff titles have 15-20 4 and 5 star recruits coming into their program every year. It's hard to compete with that talent.
Click to expand...
Like LSU's crazy advantage over Wisconsin, for example.

My brother thinks he wins his shooting competitions because he has a lot of expensive rifles, scopes, and reloading equipment.

I think he wins those matches because he practices more than everybody else, and the fact that he bought more expensive guns masks that fact. I wonder if Saban getting 4 or 5 star recruits masks other, more important keys to his success.
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It doesnt mask them. What it does is magnify them. The results of his preparation and attention to detail are multiplied 10 fold.

compare it to the shooting thing. Put a tremenous shooter behind some crummy pos rifle with bad sight, and yeah, he might get to work at an average level. But put him behind a premium, dialed in machine, and that's when you get work done.

it's like anything really. You can be the greatest around in your craft, but at the end of the day, you still need some tools to work with. you are still dependent on others and other items for your success. In some instances, these variables are under your control, like coaching (recruiting, staffing, etc) and others they arent.

 
I've mentioned the following several times on this board, but it's worth keeping in perspective - I think Nebraska will need superior coaching to win at a high level. The university will likely never be able to pull in the kind of talent places like Florida, FSU, 'Bama, LSU and Georgia can wrangle in during a given year. Top 20-25 classes are what's going to have to get it done here, with perhaps the occasional jump into Top 15 or Top 10.

Coaching has been insufficient at this program for a long time now, dating back at least through Callahan and the latter years of Solich. Some might even argue all of Solich's years.

 
teachercd said:
What Bama looks and plays like.
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I was watching the FSU and Ole Miss game last night and I was thinking how neither Nebraska or Oregon has those kind of athletes relative to the depth of Ole Miss and FSU.

FSU, Bama, OSU, Clemson.

Those are the teams that look it off the top of my head. The way they play. They look and play like a well oiled machine as a whole. I can understand why Phil Steele picked FSU to win the title this year. I don't think they will win but I think they are in the discussion, before last night, I thought Steele was nuts.

It's not that NU can't have those athletes and rewatching the game last night NU is closer than some may think. Part of it is developing the talent into those kinds of players as well. Another note. I felt NU played much faster in every area than they did in any spot last season. Hesitation is gone from what I saw. NU is on the way up.

 
Alabama and Ohio State have had excellent runs for a decade or so. They likely have the two best coaches, and that has helped fill their rosters with the best recruits, the best talents.

After that, you'll find teams with all the advantages we supposedly yearn for, who still manage to put together disappointing seasons: USC, UCLA, Tennessee, South Carolina, Florida, Michigan, Texas, etc.

Clemson might drop back off the NC map as soon as it loses its star quarterback. Oregon could easily slide, regardless of Phil Knight's money. Alabama and Ohio State will come back down to earth, because it always happens.

A program can catch fire with the right coach creating the right culture in the right program. There is enough talent out there to go around, though you gotta be more clever about it as an underdog.

The money is more overt of course in professional sports, but the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers have spent gazillions on top talent, only to get outplayed by teams with better clubhouse chemistry.

 
Coach Power'T said:
teachercd said:
What Bama looks and plays like.
Click to expand...
I was watching the FSU and Ole Miss game last night and I was thinking how neither Nebraska or Oregon has those kind of athletes relative to the depth of Ole Miss and FSU.

FSU, Bama, OSU, Clemson.

Those are the teams that look it off the top of my head. The way they play. They look and play like a well oiled machine as a whole. I can understand why Phil Steele picked FSU to win the title this year. I don't think they will win but I think they are in the discussion, before last night, I thought Steele was nuts.

It's not that NU can't have those athletes and rewatching the game last night NU is closer than some may think. Part of it is developing the talent into those kinds of players as well. Another note. I felt NU played much faster in every area than they did in any spot last season. Hesitation is gone from what I saw. NU is on the way up.
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Well Coach, I went to the Oregon/UC Davis game. What did you think. I was a bit underwelmed. I wanted to go to the game and have Oregon really wow me and just watch them destroy a bad 1AA team, and they just didn't do it.

 
Coach Power'T said:
teachercd said:
What Bama looks and plays like.
Click to expand...
I was watching the FSU and Ole Miss game last night and I was thinking how neither Nebraska or Oregon has those kind of athletes relative to the depth of Ole Miss and FSU.

FSU, Bama, OSU, Clemson.

Those are the teams that look it off the top of my head. The way they play. They look and play like a well oiled machine as a whole. I can understand why Phil Steele picked FSU to win the title this year. I don't think they will win but I think they are in the discussion, before last night, I thought Steele was nuts.

It's not that NU can't have those athletes and rewatching the game last night NU is closer than some may think. Part of it is developing the talent into those kinds of players as well. Another note. I felt NU played much faster in every area than they did in any spot last season. Hesitation is gone from what I saw. NU is on the way up.
Click to expand...
And look what Texas did with a true frosh at QB...the guy looked really good.

 
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