Has Riley recruited a future championship squad to Nebraska?

[Husker Psycho]

In the 3 year cycle... 2011, 2012 and 2013... the previous coaching staff signed 22 elite athletes (4 and 5 star players). In 2011 we signed 11 elite players.

Those players have made up this years (2015) and next years (2016) teams. Those players will be gone at the end of next year.

In the latest 3 year cycle... 2014, 2015 and 2016 (2015 and 2016 are Rileys classes) we have signed only 13 elite athletes (4 and 5 star players) for the combined 3 years.

That is around a 40% reduction in elite players recruited in the last 3 years.

No team can have a 40% reduction in elite players on their team and expect better results.

Sad to say... after next year (2016) we will have a distinct lowering of athletic talent on our team. Our problems are only going to intensify.

I'm not sure where you are getting your numbers from in order to further your negative agenda. A lot of people use Rivals. According to Rivals the last guy signed fifteen 4* recruits and zero 5* recruits during the 2012-14 time frame. The most "elite" rated recruits we had in one class was six in 2012, and six again in 2015. But in the 2015 class two of them committed to Riley in January 2015.

2015 six 4* recruits (including two signed by Riley)

2014 four 4* recruits

2013 five 4* recruits

2012 six 4* recruits

(2011 eleven 4* recruits) << Added

Rivals has us with 5... 4 star recruits in 2015

You seem to have missed the 2011 and 2016 classes.

I don't have a negative agenda.. I have an honest, realistic agenda. I'm one of the few who actually think we can be great again. But it's going to take a lot of work and a willingness to deal with reality.

My (4 and 5 star) comments are an explanation of what is considered to be an elite athlete. That "elite" talent term is used for all teams when talking about their elite talent.That doesn't mean that we actually signed any 5 star players... and as you pointed out we didn't.

I missed the 2011 year, which as it turns out, may have been Pelini's best recruiting class with eleven 4* recruits. I thought your post was referring to the last three recruiting cycles. And I couldn't figure out where you came up with twenty-two 4* recruits. Frankly, I hadn't remembered that the 2011 class had that many highly rated recruits. Now that I look back at it, it was a pretty impressive class.

What part of my comment above do you disagree with ?

I think this year's class is pretty decent considering the rocky season we just went through. It's comparable to Pelini's last three classes, which is what I thought you were referring to in your post above. But now I see Pelini had two real good classes in 2011 (eleven 4* recruits) and 2010 (eight 4* recruits). After that his haul of elite athletes seemed to drop to 4-6 per year.

NUance, thanks for your reply.

I know this stuff gets us all going emotionally. We are Nebraska fans and we are passionate about our team... as we should be. Good for us.

This board has the very best mods of any Nebraska chat board... by far. You guys are passionate, informed, real and smart.

I appreciate the opportunity to comment here and discuss all things about Nebraska football.

Much respect.

And yes, the drop off in recruiting elite athletes has me concerned... because I'm a Nebraska fan.

 

[BRV920]

A lot of this star gazing is pointless. Marlon lucky was a 5* and Ameer was a 3*. I know who I would take. Don't assume because a guy isn't a 4 or 5 star he isn't a elite athlete. DPE is a freak and he was a 3*.

 

[BigRedBuster]

A lot of this star gazing is pointless. Marlon lucky was a 5* and Ameer was a 3*. I know who I would take. Don't assume because a guy isn't a 4 or 5 star he isn't a elite athlete. DPE is a freak and he was a 3*.

And both were very good RBs for us.

 

[BRV920]

Lucky was soft. Pretty good receiver out of the backfield. You can have him. I'll pass.

 

[HuskerPowerVA]

I keep on seeing posts like "the recruiting class is good, especially considering the 6-7 season", which really don't make sense to me. The coaches' game mismanagement were a big reason why the season was so poor, so they don't deserve "extra credit" for recruiting during/after that type of season.

The good recruiters get the kids to come to the school regardless of what is going on with the current season. Also, most of the contact and recruiting happens before the season even starts, and I don't think the kids are questioning "Coach, why is the team so crappy?" If anything, a bad season makes it easier to sell recruits with the chance of playing right away.

Now, a consistent winning program should yield better recruiting classes, as the better seasons continue. This has happened at Baylor, TCU, and Michigan State. But, one bad season or one great season isn't going to make a huge difference in a recruiting class either way.

Some good points. I do think the record each year has some factor as kids decide in early Feb. Does Simmons go to Clemson if they aren't a play or two from National Champions? Who knows? As far as the very elite prospects, I think a coach with recent NFL ties and a program that consistently feeds the Sunday league goes a very long way. Was it Harbaugh's better record this year the reason M had such recruiting success or the fact that the HC is telling every kid he knows exactly what it takes to prepare for the NFL? I do like what MR did this off season and I am enthused about the season and beyond.

 

[Mavric]

Still using the same bad numbers that you were using earlier for 2011.

 

[BigRedBuster]

https://twitter.com/JohnBishop71/status/695703714602971136

Still using the same bad numbers that you were using earlier for 2011.

It's not my tweet.

 

[alwayshusking]

Yeah those are bad numbers. Don't know why 247 includes walk ons in some of the classes which brings the avg recruit number down. Strange because other team websites don't use it so it makes it non-uniform

 

[Hayseed]

This is a misleading thread. You ask a question about the direction of the team and then link an article that I assume is supposed to be the argument for one side.

​Forget the linked article.

We have good players and needs are being addressed. If the team has a good showing then it will be much easier to recruit quality depth and attract top players next season. That's how it works....that's how it's always worked.​

​There is no definitive answer to this question.....success is and always will be a verb.

 

[Canesfan01]

Mark Richt will get the Canes back on the map

 

[cornographic]

A lot of this star gazing is pointless. Marlon lucky was a 5* and Ameer was a 3*. I know who I would take. Don't assume because a guy isn't a 4 or 5 star he isn't a elite athlete. DPE is a freak and he was a 3*.

I wouldn't say DPE is a freak. Fournette is a freak, Henry is a freak, Clowney freak, Cam freak,Winston freak, LaQuon Treadwell, etc. DPE is very good, high 3*, low 4* rating is about right. Stars matter, most of the time.

Did DPE get a med rs this year?

 

[Elf]

In the 3 year cycle... 2011, 2012 and 2013... the previous coaching staff signed 22 elite athletes (4 and 5 star players). In 2011 we signed 11 elite players.

Those players have made up this years (2015) and next years (2016) teams. Those players will be gone at the end of next year.

In the latest 3 year cycle... 2014, 2015 and 2016 (2015 and 2016 are Rileys classes) we have signed only 13 elite athletes (4 and 5 star players) for the combined 3 years.

That is around a 40% reduction in elite players recruited in the last 3 years.

No team can have a 40% reduction in elite players on their team and expect better results.

Sad to say... after next year (2016) we will have a distinct lowering of athletic talent on our team. Our problems are only going to intensify.

I'm not sure where you are getting your numbers from in order to further your negative agenda. A lot of people use Rivals. According to Rivals the last guy signed fifteen 4* recruits and zero 5* recruits during the 2012-14 time frame. The most "elite" rated recruits we had in one class was six in 2012, and six again in 2015. But in the 2015 class two of them committed to Riley in January 2015.

2015 six 4* recruits (including two signed by Riley)

2014 four 4* recruits

2013 five 4* recruits

2012 six 4* recruits

(2011 eleven 4* recruits) << Added

Rivals has us with 5... 4 star recruits in 2015

You seem to have missed the 2011 and 2016 classes.

I don't have a negative agenda.. I have an honest, realistic agenda. I'm one of the few who actually think we can be great again. But it's going to take a lot of work and a willingness to deal with reality.

My (4 and 5 star) comments are an explanation of what is considered to be an elite athlete. That "elite" talent term is used for all teams when talking about their elite talent.That doesn't mean that we actually signed any 5 star players... and as you pointed out we didn't.

I missed the 2011 year, which as it turns out, may have been Pelini's best recruiting class with eleven 4* recruits. I thought your post was referring to the last three recruiting cycles. And I couldn't figure out where you came up with twenty-two 4* recruits. Frankly, I hadn't remembered that the 2011 class had that many highly rated recruits. Now that I look back at it, it was a pretty impressive class.

What part of my comment above do you disagree with ?

I think this year's class is pretty decent considering the rocky season we just went through. It's comparable to Pelini's last three classes, which is what I thought you were referring to in your post above. But now I see Pelini had two real good classes in 2011 (eleven 4* recruits) and 2010 (eight 4* recruits). After that his haul of elite athletes seemed to drop to 4-6 per year.

I think if Pelini would have consistently recruited 8-10 elite athletes every year, and retained a good majority of them, say...70-80%, he would likely still be here. The athletic department would have put up with his antics for far longer if his product on the field had been better.

 

[ColoradoHusk]

A lot of this star gazing is pointless. Marlon lucky was a 5* and Ameer was a 3*. I know who I would take. Don't assume because a guy isn't a 4 or 5 star he isn't a elite athlete. DPE is a freak and he was a 3*.

I wouldn't say DPE is a freak. Fournette is a freak, Henry is a freak, Clowney freak, Cam freak,Winston freak, LaQuon Treadwell, etc. DPE is very good, high 3*, low 4* rating is about right. Stars matter, most of the time.
Did DPE get a med rs this year?

DPE didn't get a medical redshirt this year. He'll be a junior in 2016.

 

[Elf]

A lot of this star gazing is pointless. Marlon lucky was a 5* and Ameer was a 3*. I know who I would take. Don't assume because a guy isn't a 4 or 5 star he isn't a elite athlete. DPE is a freak and he was a 3*.

Stars are not the end all be all of a players talent, or even if he/she will pan out. However, they are a very good indicator of a teams future success. Look at the numbers of stars each player at Alabama got and compare that to say...Iowa St. Then compare the two records. There is a correlation.

There are always exceptions to the rule, but the exceptions don't change the rules.

 

[Saunders]

Don't bother reading the article. Step 1 includes the following misinformation: "This has always been an important part of Nebraska's path to building great football teams as the Osborne-era teams regularly benefitted from county walk-on scholarships that allowed them to add solid players from their home state who grew up learning Osborne's offensive schemes at their high schools." Anyone who thinks that county scholarships were real does not need to be taken seriously.

I kindly pointed that out to him, and he edited that.