McKewon: The Great Nebraska Talent Debate

[Elf]

 

Another way to look at this is that Nebraska has been landing recruiting classes generally ranked #26 - #30, and finishing their seasons ranked roughly the same.

I've said that for years. Callahan could recruit, but couldn't coach guys up to their potential. Pelini, on the other hand, was just OK at recruiting. And overall, as you said, the performance of his teams matched the recruiting rankings. You wonder how Bo might have fared if he'd hired some serious recruiters, instead of filling his staff with inexperienced assistants.

 

He might still have a job at NU if he had done that.

[Saunders]

 

 

Another way to look at this is that Nebraska has been landing recruiting classes generally ranked #26 - #30, and finishing their seasons ranked roughly the same.

I've said that for years. Callahan could recruit, but couldn't coach guys up to their potential. Pelini, on the other hand, was just OK at recruiting. And overall, as you said, the performance of his teams matched the recruiting rankings. You wonder how Bo might have fared if he'd hired some serious recruiters, instead of filling his staff with inexperienced assistants.

 

He might still have a job at NU if he had done that.

 

Yup. He tied himself to some rather inexperienced guys.

[NUinID]

 

 

 

1. There are really people on here who blame Tommy for the losses?

This has been a routine scapegoat around here for years, and is popular at other universities, too. People like to ignore the less glamorous parts of the team (i.e. of the offensive line) while paying far too much attention to what the quarterback does. Part of that is the nature of the position but also the average fan's football knowledge - it's often easier to tell when a quarterback does something wrong over other positions, especially in the moment.

 

 

I wouldn't say TA was to blame for all th losses, but he wasn't the solution either. I will lay a lot of the blame for the Iowa loss in 2015 at his feet though. The big problem is that NU has not had a true difference maker at QB for a long time. I mean a QB that can will his team to victory or a QB that actually makes his teammates better.

I would say TA, and TMart, were more assets to their respective teams than they were liabilities. Unfortunately, if a team is going to get by with anything less than really good or great quarterback play, the other parts of the team have to be able to make up for it. Nebraska hasn't been in a position to do that for several years.

 

 

That is what I mean, a great QB elevates everything. Clemson doesn't win the NC last year without Watson, they weren't good enough to do it without him. Oregon is not as good without Mariotta. Nebraska was not as good without Crouch. Alabama is that good with basically any QB that doesn't make huge mistakes. Nebraska 1994-97 is pretty much that way.

[Enhance]

I disagree with that. Zac Taylor is an example of "less than really good" quarterback play yet he was clearly an asset that lifted the team up with his ability to run the offense. If the QB limits the offense and limits how much you can use your various receivers and is prone to poor decision-making, it's a fairly serious liability. You can have a QB of limited raw talent who nonetheless plays smart and is attuned to the system -- a pretty common model.

I don't think the intent of my post got across, so I'll try to respond keeping that in mind.

 

Taylor is a good example. A good quarterback, a good asset to his team. But, he didn't have enough talent around him (in my opinion) to make up for his weaknesses. So, that's kind of my point. If you don't have a really good or great quarterback, you're probably not going to hit your goals unless the rest of the team can help make up for it.

 

We've had quarterbacks here over the last 20 years who I think were good enough, in their own right, to lead the team to a conference title. A reverse example could applied to Frazier - would he have had similar success on a Pelini team or one of Riley's first few Nebraska teams? I don't like dealing in hypotheticals, but I think the unequivocal answer would be no.

[dvdcrr]

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. There are really people on here who blame Tommy for the losses?

This has been a routine scapegoat around here for years, and is popular at other universities, too. People like to ignore the less glamorous parts of the team (i.e. of the offensive line) while paying far too much attention to what the quarterback does. Part of that is the nature of the position but also the average fan's football knowledge - it's often easier to tell when a quarterback does something wrong over other positions, especially in the moment.

I wouldn't say TA was to blame for all th losses, but he wasn't the solution either. I will lay a lot of the blame for the Iowa loss in 2015 at his feet though. The big problem is that NU has not had a true difference maker at QB for a long time. I mean a QB that can will his team to victory or a QB that actually makes his teammates better.

There were definitely times that both TMart and TA did that.....just not consistently.

A failure in coaching in both cases. Martinez was forced to play with a foot injury which would ultimately prove serious enough to end his chances of playing professionally. What would he have been if given time to heal, and given a potent running attack so that he wasnt the ONLY option and wasnt constantly getting lit up. What could he have been if they had taught him how to actually get down before a hit, or started working on that armpunt before he wad a senior?

[swmohusker]

The great talent debate. Most fans think we have enough talent to win the West every year. Most fans think we are behind Mich and OSU, and close to Penn ST, MSU, and Wiscy. Our very own Talent evaluator Devaney said that we had enough talent to beat every team except for OSU and about even with Wiscy. We have the talent to be better than what we are but not to win Conference titles yet. Banker was a poor DC and that is the difference between what talent we have, and what results you see on the field. You can look at stars or the draft but most fans know what type of talent we have

[NUance]

 

 

 

Another way to look at this is that Nebraska has been landing recruiting classes generally ranked #26 - #30, and finishing their seasons ranked roughly the same.

I've said that for years. Callahan could recruit, but couldn't coach guys up to their potential. Pelini, on the other hand, was just OK at recruiting. And overall, as you said, the performance of his teams matched the recruiting rankings. You wonder how Bo might have fared if he'd hired some serious recruiters, instead of filling his staff with inexperienced assistants.

 

He might still have a job at NU if he had done that.

 

Yup. He tied himself to some rather inexperienced guys.

 

 

I suspect Bo's temper is the main culprit here. His temper may have made it harder to recruit top shelf assistants than it was for him to recruit 5* players. Bo has an incredible football brain, and was a great guy about 99% of the time. But most assistant coaches wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of one of his legendary temper tantrums. I worked for a boss like that once. But not for very long.

[Guy Chamberlin]

 

 

 

 

Another way to look at this is that Nebraska has been landing recruiting classes generally ranked #26 - #30, and finishing their seasons ranked roughly the same.

I've said that for years. Callahan could recruit, but couldn't coach guys up to their potential. Pelini, on the other hand, was just OK at recruiting. And overall, as you said, the performance of his teams matched the recruiting rankings. You wonder how Bo might have fared if he'd hired some serious recruiters, instead of filling his staff with inexperienced assistants.

 

He might still have a job at NU if he had done that.

 

Yup. He tied himself to some rather inexperienced guys.

 

 

I suspect Bo's temper is the main culprit here. His temper may have made it harder to recruit top shelf assistants than it was for him to recruit 5* players. Bo has an incredible football brain, and was a great guy about 99% of the time. But most assistant coaches wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of one of his legendary temper tantrums. I worked for a boss like that once. But not for very long.

 

 

Moreso, I think it was about loyalty. He created player loyalty by fostering an "us against the world" mentality. He created staff loyalty by hiring less coveted coaches who were unlikely to bolt - or question him. They all had each others' back. But that only worked if you treated Shawn Eichorst, Husker fans, sports reporters and referees as the enemy.

[suh_fan93]

Paging Sam McKewon...

 

 

 

12 Former Huskers Begin Pro Careers This Week

 

 

[Redux]

Good for them.

 

Bottome line, we didn't have enough talent across the board to overcome injuries and a 12 game schedule and be in a position to even compete to win our division.

 

End debate.

[Nebfanatic]

Not sure that is a great endorsement for talent anyway. A long journey ahead before week 1 for alot of those guys being undrafted. Now if we had 12 guys get drafted that would be a different story

 

Not to say that it is negative though and I do think our players have better opportunities to sign with NFL teams with our current staff (mainly Devaney) we have nice NFL connections

[Guy Chamberlin]

If you have a First Round defensive lineman, the other team can run to the other side. If you have a First Round DB, the other team can pass to the other side. If you have a First Round RB, the other team can line up against him and dare your less talented QB to beat them.

 

You really do need consistency and depth.

[Redux]

Of all those guys that got picked up, how many would start for any of the 4 playoff teams from last year?

 

Talented is one thing, elite talent and depth is another.

[ADS]

https://mobile.twitter.com/swmckewonOWH/status/860247278812110848

 

Yuck

[alwayshusking]

https://mobile.twitter.com/swmckewonOWH/status/860247278812110848

 

Yuck

 

 

A lot of busts and guys that didn't make it or left campus shortly after arriving during that time period that were rated 4 stars on 247. Mistakes were made

 

Aaron Green - Left after 1 year

Jamal Turner - Played entire career but was never a major factor

Charles Jackson - Injury plagued career, special teams contributor

Bubba Starling - Watched a few practices

Tyler Moore - Left after 1 year

Daimion Stafford - Played 2 years and was drafted in the 7th round

Todd Peat - No factor before transferring

Ryne Reeves - Had a respectable career

Ryan Klatchko - Never played transferred out

 

 

Paul Thurston - Mostly a backup, transferred out as a senior

Greg McMullen - Starter, retired from football as a senior

Imani Cross - Solid career mostly as a backup and short yardage back

Jordan Westerkamp - Really good career at NU. Would have loved to see him with a better passing QB

Michael Rose-Ivey - Up and down career at NU

Tommy Armstrong - Had his faults but was a 4 year starter

Jared Afalava - Didn't make a big impact and was kicked off the team/transferred fairly early in his career

Mohammed Seisay - Played mostly as a backup in his 2 years

 

Terrell Newby - Solid career. Stepped it up as a senior

Randy Gregory - Tremendous talent. Drafted in 2nd round. Has struggled since leaving NU

Adam Taylor - Non factor

Josh Banderas - Solid career

Johnny Stanton - Didn't play then transferred out

Marcus Newby - Solid career thus far

AJ Natter - Non factor

 

Tanner Farmer - Solid career so far. More to build on

Nick Gates - Good career. Needs to keep improving

 

A lot of other guys that washed out early or never made it to NU during that time period that were not 4 stars

 

Jaevon Walton

Jariah Tolbert

Trai Mosley

DeAndre Willis

AJ Bush

Glenn Irons

Monte Harrison

Lorenzo Stewart

Robert Lockhart

DJ Singleton

Courtney Love

Greg Hart

Kevin Gladney

Matt Finnin

Ernest Suttles

Gabe Miller

Trevell Dixon

Aaron Curry

Avery Moss

LeRoy Alexander

Chase Harper

Max Pirman