In-State Talent - or Lack Thereof

[strigori]

I also pointed out though, and I think it's an interesting aspect that I can't explain, but the number of prospects in the state (according to Scout.com) seemed to just cut in half this past year. It looked like it averaged around 30 or so for a long time, then just dropped to 15. They only have 5 listed for 2016?

Perhaps the explaination is there just isn't as much talent in the state. The scouting services are seeing it. Coaches at other programs are seeing it. Basically the only reason not to recognize it is if you don't want it to be true (no pun intended).

There is another angle to it though. Pelini's staff wanted to avoid in state talent, and given equal evaluations would still take an out of state kid. Clester Johnson's interview reaffirmed this. Now, given this is not exactly a high population hotbed for talent, the recruiting services do not necessarily put the same effort into evaluating every single high school player, the simple numbers are unrealistic. And there has been a stated focus on kids that attend the camps. So if Nebraska, who forever, scooped up all good instate talent, was showing no interest in a kid 50 miles away, it can sour both the recruiting services, and other schools. Even if its simply assuming the quality of play in state is so poor that the tape means nothing.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

Now look at those older lists - where there were obviously more offers, and see if that was legit or there were too many.

I saw the older lists but the further back you go it began to not support my theory very well so I only went back 3-4 years where they only offered 1 in state player in back to back seasons.
There's no true science to it. There's hit and misses all over the place. We've definitely hit and missed on some in state guys, no doubt about it. I just like seeing the in state kids get a shot. I guess it's mostly just a personal feeling of mine.

I may have overstated the lack of in state recruiting for some of those seasons under Bo. They did an alright job in some of the prior years you mentioned.

I also pointed out though, and I think it's an interesting aspect that I can't explain, but the number of prospects in the state (according to Scout.com) seemed to just cut in half this past year. It looked like it averaged around 30 or so for a long time, then just dropped to 15. They only have 5 listed for 2016?

Maybe the sting of losing guys like Phillips, Emanuel, Urzendowski, Johnson, or Ott kind of add a bit of sting to my position on the poor in state recruiting as well. Those guys should be Huskers.

As good as those players are, I don't think they elevate the team to the level necessary to win a conference championship.

The reality is Nebraska just doesn't have much high school talent. The state will produce 2-3 power 5 level players per year, with 2-3 more MAC level players per year.

 

[Hedley Lamarr]

Now look at those older lists - where there were obviously more offers, and see if that was legit or there were too many.

I saw the older lists but the further back you go it began to not support my theory very well so I only went back 3-4 years where they only offered 1 in state player in back to back seasons.
There's no true science to it. There's hit and misses all over the place. We've definitely hit and missed on some in state guys, no doubt about it. I just like seeing the in state kids get a shot. I guess it's mostly just a personal feeling of mine.

I may have overstated the lack of in state recruiting for some of those seasons under Bo. They did an alright job in some of the prior years you mentioned.

I also pointed out though, and I think it's an interesting aspect that I can't explain, but the number of prospects in the state (according to Scout.com) seemed to just cut in half this past year. It looked like it averaged around 30 or so for a long time, then just dropped to 15. They only have 5 listed for 2016?

Maybe the sting of losing guys like Phillips, Emanuel, Urzendowski, Johnson, or Ott kind of add a bit of sting to my position on the poor in state recruiting as well. Those guys should be Huskers.

As good as those players are, I don't think they elevate the team to the level necessary to win a conference championship.
The reality is Nebraska just doesn't have much high school talent. The state will produce 2-3 power 5 level players per year, with 2-3 more MAC level players per year.

I think you are even being generous with those numbers

 

[Bowfin]

Part of the issue is the spring sports coaches have blocked football from running a spring practice session like so many other states do. Benning has talked about this more than once on his show, where there are so many coaching politics that has thus far prevented it. The University needs to lean on the NSAA to get the ball rolling. Do spring football, help the Huskers.

First off, Nebraska kids go to high school to get a high school diploma, not to attend a recruit mill for NU.

Secondly, a lot of coaches for track, baseball, golf, and soccer aren't going to go for losing kids to football practice. Kearney's track coach would never let the school have a baseball team for the longest time because he didn't want to have to compete with another sport for the best athletes...which is cool if you are a track & field kid, but would suck if you liked to play football.

Also, I don't think a lot of the kids who play spring sports would want to have to choose whether to go to spring practice or go play a round of golf at a new course.

Too much football also tends to be counterproductive. Columbus High School insists (or used to) on three a day practices, and most of the guys who should have been on the offensive line ended up in choir...seriously...

Let's not lose perspective here.

 

[girlknowsfootball]

I think with the state of Nebraska... when Osborne was coaching, he made it a point to coach the coaches on what he did. He taught them how to run similar systems at the middle school and high school levels. Kids were brought up from peewee learning Osborne's system. I do not think Bo did this when he came in. So all these Nebraska high schools were running a miss mash of different things. The kids were not being prepared as well for the Nebraska system. I think Mike will bring this back... he has already talked about satellite camps and coaching clinics and all these things that would help in this area.

 

[strigori]

Part of the issue is the spring sports coaches have blocked football from running a spring practice session like so many other states do. Benning has talked about this more than once on his show, where there are so many coaching politics that has thus far prevented it. The University needs to lean on the NSAA to get the ball rolling. Do spring football, help the Huskers.

First off, Nebraska kids go to high school to get a high school diploma, not to attend a recruit mill for NU.

Secondly, a lot of coaches for track, baseball, golf, and soccer aren't going to go for losing kids to football practice. Kearney's track coach would never let the school have a baseball team for the longest time because he didn't want to have to compete with another sport for the best athletes...which is cool if you are a track & field kid, but would suck if you liked to play football.

Also, I don't think a lot of the kids who play spring sports would want to have to choose whether to go to spring practice or go play a round of golf at a new course.

Too much football also tends to be counterproductive. Columbus High School insists (or used to) on three a day practices, and most of the guys who should have been on the offensive line ended up in choir...seriously...

Let's not lose perspective here.

You are clearly on one side of the politics issue. And the "get their diploma" line is a total BS, as the NSAA just made it eligibility to play sports more strict. Spring football happens in the states we then have to go recruit from. So somehow the coaches and kids there are different that the ones here? Now the kids don't miss a whole sport, they miss a couple of weeks. The other coaches are primarily concerned with their own win loss records, not necessarily what is good for kids themselves. Kids who are angling for a college football scholarship would be all over a couple of weeks of spring ball, just like the do down south. And all parts of the high school athletics should be focused on what is good for them, not on padding the records and resumes of the coaches. Baseball and track are sports even less likely to yield scholarships (particularly full rides) than football as well from this state.

 

[Mavric]

I think with the state of Nebraska... when Osborne was coaching, he made it a point to coach the coaches on what he did. He taught them how to run similar systems at the middle school and high school levels. Kids were brought up from peewee learning Osborne's system. I do not think Bo did this when he came in. So all these Nebraska high schools were running a miss mash of different things. The kids were not being prepared as well for the Nebraska system. I think Mike will bring this back... he has already talked about satellite camps and coaching clinics and all these things that would help in this area.

That definitely made a difference but there was also just a lot more talent then as well. For whatever reason, it's a lot more spread out now. Not sure if it's other sports or just not as interested or what but there aren't many (any?) Scott Frosts or Ahman Greens showing up recently let alone any Terry Conneallys or Adam Trues.

 

[Bowfin]

Kids who are angling for a college football scholarship would be all over a couple of weeks of spring ball, just like the do down south.

That very small percentage of kids can do all the practice and training they want on their own, in a camp, or hire a trainer, or make their own spring league or a club team, same as wrestlers do. They can even drop out of school and their parents could home school them to tailor their lives around their potential football careers.

Here in Columbus, some of the football coaches were also track coaches...how would that work?

 

[SouthLincoln Husker]

I think with the state of Nebraska... when Osborne was coaching, he made it a point to coach the coaches on what he did. He taught them how to run similar systems at the middle school and high school levels. Kids were brought up from peewee learning Osborne's system. I do not think Bo did this when he came in. So all these Nebraska high schools were running a miss mash of different things. The kids were not being prepared as well for the Nebraska system. I think Mike will bring this back... he has already talked about satellite camps and coaching clinics and all these things that would help in this area.

That definitely made a difference but there was also just a lot more talent then as well. For whatever reason, it's a lot more spread out now. Not sure if it's other sports or just not as interested or what but there aren't many (any?) Scott Frosts or Ahman Greens showing up recently let alone any Terry Conneallys or Adam Trues.

The big difference is schollies. Osborn had more schollies and he could afford to take more local kids and teach. Current, we are losing kids to Kansas St., Iowa St & South Dakota, Wyoming, ect. There is some talent here, but since we do not play football year round it does not get defined. Practice makes perfect. We need a coach that can evaluate talent and now whether they can be formed to play competitive D1 ball. Only time will tell!

 

[Mavric]

I think with the state of Nebraska... when Osborne was coaching, he made it a point to coach the coaches on what he did. He taught them how to run similar systems at the middle school and high school levels. Kids were brought up from peewee learning Osborne's system. I do not think Bo did this when he came in. So all these Nebraska high schools were running a miss mash of different things. The kids were not being prepared as well for the Nebraska system. I think Mike will bring this back... he has already talked about satellite camps and coaching clinics and all these things that would help in this area.

That definitely made a difference but there was also just a lot more talent then as well. For whatever reason, it's a lot more spread out now. Not sure if it's other sports or just not as interested or what but there aren't many (any?) Scott Frosts or Ahman Greens showing up recently let alone any Terry Conneallys or Adam Trues.

The big difference is schollies. Osborn had more schollies and he could afford to take more local kids and teach. Current, we are losing kids to Kansas St., Iowa St & South Dakota, Wyoming, ect. There is some talent here, but since we do not play football year round it does not get defined. Practice makes perfect. We need a coach that can evaluate talent and now whether they can be formed to play competitive D1 ball. Only time will tell!

All of that contributes to not as many Husker offers but has nothing to do with how much talent is in the state. There was not spring football 20 years ago but there was still a lot of legitimate D-1 talent in the state.

 

[strigori]

Kids who are angling for a college football scholarship would be all over a couple of weeks of spring ball, just like the do down south.

That very small percentage of kids can do all the practice and training they want on their own, in a camp, or hire a trainer, or make their own spring league or a club team, same as wrestlers do. They can even drop out of school and their parents could home school them to tailor their lives around their potential football careers.

Here in Columbus, some of the football coaches were also track coaches...how would that work?

Club teams? Really? Want to take a swing on the price tag on that idea? The kids who can afford that, are not the ones desperate for a scholarship. Drop out of school in order to get a scholarship? This makes no sense. We are not talking pro-prepping kids, only college prepping them. As to the coaches in Columbus, I'm sure they can figure something out with scheduling. And none of these seem to be issues in other states. So why would it be an issue here? It is all politics with these Olympic Sport coaches.

 

[Stumpy1]

Kids who are angling for a college football scholarship would be all over a couple of weeks of spring ball, just like the do down south.

That very small percentage of kids can do all the practice and training they want on their own, in a camp, or hire a trainer, or make their own spring league or a club team, same as wrestlers do. They can even drop out of school and their parents could home school them to tailor their lives around their potential football careers.

Here in Columbus, some of the football coaches were also track coaches...how would that work?

Club teams? Really? Want to take a swing on the price tag on that idea? The kids who can afford that, are not the ones desperate for a scholarship. Drop out of school in order to get a scholarship? This makes no sense. We are not talking pro-prepping kids, only college prepping them. As to the coaches in Columbus, I'm sure they can figure something out with scheduling. And none of these seem to be issues in other states. So why would it be an issue here? It is all politics with these Olympic Sport coaches.

Club teams are usually sponsored so it doesn't really cost the kids anything. As far as kids leaving school and going the home school route to work on athletics, it is pretty common, especially when it comes to wrestling and baseball.

With Nebraska, we just do not have the talent in state like many other states do.

 

[BigRedBuster]

I think with the state of Nebraska... when Osborne was coaching, he made it a point to coach the coaches on what he did. He taught them how to run similar systems at the middle school and high school levels. Kids were brought up from peewee learning Osborne's system. I do not think Bo did this when he came in. So all these Nebraska high schools were running a miss mash of different things. The kids were not being prepared as well for the Nebraska system. I think Mike will bring this back... he has already talked about satellite camps and coaching clinics and all these things that would help in this area.

That definitely made a difference but there was also just a lot more talent then as well. For whatever reason, it's a lot more spread out now. Not sure if it's other sports or just not as interested or what but there aren't many (any?) Scott Frosts or Ahman Greens showing up recently let alone any Terry Conneallys or Adam Trues.

And, that is what makes now sense. The population of Nebraska hasn't changed drastically in the last 20-30 years. Other than some Mexicans moving into some areas, the demographics of the genetics hasn't changed much.

There are still extremely athletic kids growing up in Nebraska.

 

[Hedley Lamarr]

I think Nebraska still produces plenty of interior linemen at the very least.

 

[strigori]

Kids who are angling for a college football scholarship would be all over a couple of weeks of spring ball, just like the do down south.

That very small percentage of kids can do all the practice and training they want on their own, in a camp, or hire a trainer, or make their own spring league or a club team, same as wrestlers do. They can even drop out of school and their parents could home school them to tailor their lives around their potential football careers.

Here in Columbus, some of the football coaches were also track coaches...how would that work?

Club teams? Really? Want to take a swing on the price tag on that idea? The kids who can afford that, are not the ones desperate for a scholarship. Drop out of school in order to get a scholarship? This makes no sense. We are not talking pro-prepping kids, only college prepping them. As to the coaches in Columbus, I'm sure they can figure something out with scheduling. And none of these seem to be issues in other states. So why would it be an issue here? It is all politics with these Olympic Sport coaches.

Club teams are usually sponsored so it doesn't really cost the kids anything. As far as kids leaving school and going the home school route to work on athletics, it is pretty common, especially when it comes to wrestling and baseball.

With Nebraska, we just do not have the talent in state like many other states do.

What has changed from the 90's is the rise of off season football in other states, is they do have spring football, we don't. We had a hell of a lot more in state kids when the playing field was even. We still have athletes, they just don't have the same quantity of coaching, making them bigger projects, and the compounded problem of there being 'lesser level football' being played in state, making people even disregard the film they see. No one is making a case for having a full roster of Nebraska kids, but the idea that there were only 3 D-1 level male athletes in the state is beyond idiotic.