Keep the improved defensive recruiting in mind

[HuskerNationNick]

Callahan was a great recruiter and got some great recruits, but didn't develop them at all! Bo had some of those recruits when he came here and developed them into what you seen from our 2009 defense. Good coaches develop talent and get more out of players than what's expected from them. Bo has shown he can do this at times, but for whatever reason we've leveled off now. I'd much rather have a team of 3 and 4 star recruits with a few 5's sprinkled in and run a clean program than a bunch of 4 and 5 star whiners that are out of control because of who they "think" they are. We may not win as many championships that way, but if we can win a few, remain competitive, and have double digit wins in the win column then I don't think we've got much to complain about.

Perfectly said. I have said this many many many times, that it comes down to coaching, more than a rating. Sure ratings help, but it also makes a kid feel like he should get the start because of how high he was recruited. Rome, Moore and Green are perfect examples. I don't blame Green for leaving, as he will have a good year next year at TCU, but don't expect to get a start. Earn your position. Rome had to learn that the hard way, and I think it will make him a much better player next year. I hope he works hard this spring/summer/fall and comes out swinging. He has the fundamentals to make it to the next level, he just needs to get himself over that hump.

 

[Undone]

Agree with this. Like we have said, LB and DT recruiting has picked up since 2011. But didn't really bring in any horses before that.

EZ, just playing devil's advocate here...

We have a large contingency of posters saying that star ratings don't matter. Then we have quotes like these saying that 'LB and DT recruiting has picked up since 2011."

Question: What is your evidence that this is the case, if these players haven't taken the field yet? Their star ratings? I'm asking seriously.

It's like the same derp about Tommy Armstrong being better than Taylor, when he hasn't even played a down of football. I mean, I agree that Anderson and Santos appear to be better than Whaley and Fisher...but they're not really proven yet. Zaire played a game and a half, and Santos has played a lot, but it's still hard to tell with him. So what's the proof about the 2011 on out classes?

 

[Hercules]

It's not recruiting that is the problem... It's that Bo Pelini doesn't know how to face a multiple offense. Ucla, Ohio State, Wisconsin 2.0. Period. He can't even defend an obvious jet sweep. Granted against Ucla and Wisconsin hardly showed their gameplan on film coming into the game but there was absolutely no in game adjustments until he put in Courtney Osborne in the game down 70 with 2:00 left in the game.

Wisconsin is not a multiple offense. They didn't throw a pass in the second half and still scored 28 points.

 

[Saint Boseph]

It's not recruiting that is the problem... It's that Bo Pelini doesn't know how to face a multiple offense. Ucla, Ohio State, Wisconsin 2.0. Period. He can't even defend an obvious jet sweep. Granted against Ucla and Wisconsin hardly showed their gameplan on film coming into the game but there was absolutely no in game adjustments until he put in Courtney Osborne in the game down 70 with 2:00 left in the game.

Did you just start watching Nebraska football this year? I would like to remind you that multiple is a very broad category and can be applied to a good number of teams. Bo shut down multiple offenses in Texas and Oklahoma in 09 (that OU offense was as multiple as it gets, they had future NFL passing running and receiving threats and that season they popularized the diamond formation that we all know and love). Bo can shut down any offense if he has the pieces. If he was still LSU's DC I would bet the farm that he would dismantle Oregon's offense with those guys.

Like I said, this year is the most extensive PT that the recruiting class of 2008 has seen their whole career and we're seeing Bo's haste in putting it together bite us in the butt. He had a decimated class after Callahan got fired and had to offer kids that had less prestigious offers to get them to commit because he needed kids period, he couldn't afford to be picky. The last three years Nebraska has stabilized and you're seeing that with each progressive recruiting class. Are you suddenly discounting Bo's wealth of defensive experience? His experience as the DB's coach of the super bowl winning 49ers? D-coordinator of NC winning LSU? What about when he shut down Urban Meyer when Urban was at UF? Think before you say such outlandish statements

 

[Undone]

Bo can shut down any offense if he has the pieces.

And you accuse him of speaking broadly.

 

[beanman]

It's not recruiting that is the problem... It's that Bo Pelini doesn't know how to face a multiple offense. Ucla, Ohio State, Wisconsin 2.0. Period. He can't even defend an obvious jet sweep. Granted against Ucla and Wisconsin hardly showed their gameplan on film coming into the game but there was absolutely no in game adjustments until he put in Courtney Osborne in the game down 70 with 2:00 left in the game.

Did you just start watching Nebraska football this year? I would like to remind you that multiple is a very broad category and can be applied to a good number of teams. Bo shut down multiple offenses in Texas and Oklahoma in 09 (that OU offense was as multiple as it gets, they had future NFL passing running and receiving threats and that season they popularized the diamond formation that we all know and love). Bo can shut down any offense if he has the pieces. If he was still LSU's DC I would bet the farm that he would dismantle Oregon's offense with those guys.

Like I said, this year is the most extensive PT that the recruiting class of 2008 has seen their whole career and we're seeing Bo's haste in putting it together bite us in the butt. He had a decimated class after Callahan got fired and had to offer kids that had less prestigious offers to get them to commit because he needed kids period, he couldn't afford to be picky. The last three years Nebraska has stabilized and you're seeing that with each progressive recruiting class. Are you suddenly discounting Bo's wealth of defensive experience? His experience as the DB's coach of the super bowl winning 49ers? D-coordinator of NC winning LSU? What about when he shut down Urban Meyer when Urban was at UF? Think before you say such outlandish statements

You can't pin the recruiting failure on one class in 2008. If that were the problem, then we wouldn't have had to put Meredith in at DT against Wisky. He hasn't developed players well at all or has failed in recruiting at certain positions for multiple years. And that LSU defense gave up 19.92 points per game even though they had much better talent than we have had in any year here excluding 2009.

 

[Blackshirt96]

Odd how teams with top 10 classes almost always directly correlate to top 10 finishes....but yeah stars etc don't matter.

The stars etc can be off here and there but more often than not they are very accurate. Also note that these "offers" our players had were reported by them. I know for a fact some are not offers that they can commit too.

Look I understand we want to polish the overall effort of Pelini and his staff on the recruiting front. Unfortunately he loves to lay a turd during the season while others are finishing up their classes. We usually get these recruits after the big boys filled there's up and got the top guys on their boards.

Ask the Florida St Seminoles about top 10 finishes. They are in the top 10 in recruiting every year.....hmmm....geeee.....Are you so sure it's "almost always?"

Texas and USC as well.

Add Notre Dame less this years success, which could easliy have been a average year without some luck. ie Purdue, Stanford, Michigan, BYU & Pitt could have all been losses.

 

[Count 'Bility]

So Bo failed at recruiting for 3 years? He didn't know recruiting high level athletes was the key to his NFL schemes?

Well you cant do everything perfect all at once at the start. Would you have rather he focused on recruiting (which probably wouldnt've been much better anyway as a first time HC) and completely tanked the first few seasons. Hell, he woulda been fired after 2 bad years anyway with our outlandish expectations. Just a thought.

 

[Saint Boseph]

Our O-line is very good for what we have, and they have been coached hard to be where they are at. We are top 10 in rushing.

I know this is an exhausted subject but I have to disagree. Barney Cotton is not very good at what he does, very mediocre. I thought he was a subpar coach in 2003 and he's done nothing to change my opinion. Sure you'll see some great performances here and there but far too inconsistent. my only real qualm with Saint Boseph is his insistence on keeping Cotton around and the nepotism exhibited towards his relatively untalented sons.

This is Nebraska. I would've always thought We would have among the best line play consistently in the nation. Yes the best skill players are mostly to be found in the south and the 90s will never be replicated again, but I like to think that our lines should always be elite on the 90s status. Despite the dearth of population in our great state, we churn out steak n' tater eatin', corn-fed beef boys who got country-strong stacking bales of hay on their family farm. We still have those kids. And offensive line play will always require physical overpowering of the other team's d-line. We should have this market corned along with Wisconsin's cheese fed dairy farm boys. So it seems like the only explanation for the subpar play is coaching. Someone correct me if I'm offbase

 

[Saint Boseph]

Bo can shut down any offense if he has the pieces.

And you accuse him of speaking broadly.

I firmly believe that. with a reasonable amount Of time to prepare, and with sufficient talent, he could shut down any offense currently in existence or extinction(wishbone, option, spread, west coast, pro style, pistol, fun n gun, air raid, your dog's offense, whatever it is) because his calling card is innovation. He throws in wrinkles (at least in 2009 he did) for each team he plays that they have never seen before. Ample talent allows him to be creative on D and mess with the opposing offense's head.

 

[HuskerNationNick]

Our O-line is very good for what we have, and they have been coached hard to be where they are at. We are top 10 in rushing.

I know this is an exhausted subject but I have to disagree. Barney Cotton is not very good at what he does, very mediocre. I thought he was a subpar coach in 2003 and he's done nothing to change my opinion. Sure you'll see some great performances here and there but far too inconsistent. my only real qualm with Saint Boseph is his insistence on keeping Cotton around and the nepotism exhibited towards his relatively untalented sons.

This is Nebraska. I would've always thought We would have among the best line play consistently in the nation. Yes the best skill players are mostly to be found in the south and the 90s will never be replicated again, but I like to think that our lines should always be elite on the 90s status. Despite the dearth of population in our great state, we churn out steak n' tater eatin', corn-fed beef boys who got country-strong stacking bales of hay on their family farm. We still have those kids. And offensive line play will always require physical overpowering of the other team's d-line. We should have this market corned along with Wisconsin's cheese fed dairy farm boys. So it seems like the only explanation for the subpar play is coaching. Someone correct me if I'm offbase

I apologize, I was not aware that Cotton was our only O-line coach. Actually, Cotton's name never came out of my mouth, so how could you make the assumption I was referring to just him? I firmly believe Garrison has done his fair share of coaching these kids and molded them into what they do well. Reed wasn't a very good blocker, and he blocks 1000x's better than he use to. Visa-versa with Cotton. Cotton wasn't much of a receiver, and a stellar blocker, and he does both quite well now.

 

[Blackshirt96]

It's not recruiting that is the problem... It's that Bo Pelini doesn't know how to face a multiple offense. Ucla, Ohio State, Wisconsin 2.0. Period. He can't even defend an obvious jet sweep. Granted against Ucla and Wisconsin hardly showed their gameplan on film coming into the game but there was absolutely no in game adjustments until he put in Courtney Osborne in the game down 70 with 2:00 left in the game.

Did you just start watching Nebraska football this year? I would like to remind you that multiple is a very broad category and can be applied to a good number of teams. Bo shut down multiple offenses in Texas and Oklahoma in 09 (that OU offense was as multiple as it gets, they had future NFL passing running and receiving threats and that season they popularized the diamond formation that we all know and love). Bo can shut down any offense if he has the pieces. If he was still LSU's DC I would bet the farm that he would dismantle Oregon's offense with those guys.

Like I said, this year is the most extensive PT that the recruiting class of 2008 has seen their whole career and we're seeing Bo's haste in putting it together bite us in the butt. He had a decimated class after Callahan got fired and had to offer kids that had less prestigious offers to get them to commit because he needed kids period, he couldn't afford to be picky. The last three years Nebraska has stabilized and you're seeing that with each progressive recruiting class. Are you suddenly discounting Bo's wealth of defensive experience? His experience as the DB's coach of the super bowl winning 49ers? D-coordinator of NC winning LSU? What about when he shut down Urban Meyer when Urban was at UF? Think before you say such outlandish statements

I agree Bo's defense with the right peices is stout & the scheme is brillant if everyone makes the correct read. The only real flaw that I have seen is when teams do a lot of shifting. His defense is a read & react. Every player on the defense needs to be able to adjust to what the offense is showing & when the offense shifts muiltiple times before the snap it can confuse them & create missed assignments, it also can delay the defensive play calling & make muiltiple players not know their assignments. This is a big part to why UCLA & Wisconsin(2) were so successful. The other reason I feel this defense has looked poor are all of the injuries, a large number of offensive turnovers & a conference change that went from a pass happy offenses to a run base offenses. Add all that to a couple of recruiting classes that were not considered very good to begin with & it is a recipe for defensive disaster.

I still believe we have the right guy for success, i just hope he doesn't get run out of town before he gets a fair shake.

 

[NUinID]

Our O-line is very good for what we have, and they have been coached hard to be where they are at. We are top 10 in rushing.

I know this is an exhausted subject but I have to disagree. Barney Cotton is not very good at what he does, very mediocre. I thought he was a subpar coach in 2003 and he's done nothing to change my opinion. Sure you'll see some great performances here and there but far too inconsistent. my only real qualm with Saint Boseph is his insistence on keeping Cotton around and the nepotism exhibited towards his relatively untalented sons.

This is Nebraska. I would've always thought We would have among the best line play consistently in the nation. Yes the best skill players are mostly to be found in the south and the 90s will never be replicated again, but I like to think that our lines should always be elite on the 90s status. Despite the dearth of population in our great state, we churn out steak n' tater eatin', corn-fed beef boys who got country-strong stacking bales of hay on their family farm. We still have those kids. And offensive line play will always require physical overpowering of the other team's d-line. We should have this market corned along with Wisconsin's cheese fed dairy farm boys. So it seems like the only explanation for the subpar play is coaching. Someone correct me if I'm offbase

Weather Barney Cotton is a problem is another story, but Ben Cotton is not playing because he is Barney's son. He is talented and will most likely play some on Sundays. As for his other sons Jake has been hurt most of his career, but will get some playing time on the O-line if he can stay healthy, and Sam is red shirting and will be a decent TE that probably will get some playing time next year.

Barney Cotton may not be what everyone wants as a line coach, but he is not stupid enough to play his sons just because they are his sons.

 

[NUinID]

It's not recruiting that is the problem... It's that Bo Pelini doesn't know how to face a multiple offense. Ucla, Ohio State, Wisconsin 2.0. Period. He can't even defend an obvious jet sweep. Granted against Ucla and Wisconsin hardly showed their gameplan on film coming into the game but there was absolutely no in game adjustments until he put in Courtney Osborne in the game down 70 with 2:00 left in the game.

Did you just start watching Nebraska football this year? I would like to remind you that multiple is a very broad category and can be applied to a good number of teams. Bo shut down multiple offenses in Texas and Oklahoma in 09 (that OU offense was as multiple as it gets, they had future NFL passing running and receiving threats and that season they popularized the diamond formation that we all know and love). Bo can shut down any offense if he has the pieces. If he was still LSU's DC I would bet the farm that he would dismantle Oregon's offense with those guys.

Like I said, this year is the most extensive PT that the recruiting class of 2008 has seen their whole career and we're seeing Bo's haste in putting it together bite us in the butt. He had a decimated class after Callahan got fired and had to offer kids that had less prestigious offers to get them to commit because he needed kids period, he couldn't afford to be picky. The last three years Nebraska has stabilized and you're seeing that with each progressive recruiting class. Are you suddenly discounting Bo's wealth of defensive experience? His experience as the DB's coach of the super bowl winning 49ers? D-coordinator of NC winning LSU? What about when he shut down Urban Meyer when Urban was at UF? Think before you say such outlandish statements

I agree Bo's defense with the right peices is stout & the scheme is brillant if everyone makes the correct read. The only real flaw that I have seen is when teams do a lot of shifting. His defense is a read & react. Every player on the defense needs to be able to adjust to what the offense is showing & when the offense shifts muiltiple times before the snap it can confuse them & create missed assignments, it also can delay the defensive play calling & make muiltiple players not know their assignments. This is a big part to why UCLA & Wisconsin(2) were so successful. The other reason I feel this defense has looked poor are all of the injuries, a large number of offensive turnovers & a conference change that went from a pass happy offenses to a run base offenses. Add all that to a couple of recruiting classes that were not considered very good to begin with & it is a recipe for defensive disaster.

I still believe we have the right guy for success, i just hope he doesn't get run out of town before he gets a fair shake.

Good points, Bo IMO is too enamered with getting his players to be in the perfect defense all the time, he does value knowing scheme over raw ability in most cases. This is why we don't see Valentine out there yet. He is too cerebral about his approach to defense all the time. His approach is opposite of most defensive guys also. He wants to be sound in the back end first and then worry about stopping the run. This can work, but only if you have the right pieces.

 

[Blackshirt96]

Our O-line is very good for what we have, and they have been coached hard to be where they are at. We are top 10 in rushing.

I know this is an exhausted subject but I have to disagree. Barney Cotton is not very good at what he does, very mediocre. I thought he was a subpar coach in 2003 and he's done nothing to change my opinion. Sure you'll see some great performances here and there but far too inconsistent. my only real qualm with Saint Boseph is his insistence on keeping Cotton around and the nepotism exhibited towards his relatively untalented sons.

This is Nebraska. I would've always thought We would have among the best line play consistently in the nation. Yes the best skill players are mostly to be found in the south and the 90s will never be replicated again, but I like to think that our lines should always be elite on the 90s status. Despite the dearth of population in our great state, we churn out steak n' tater eatin', corn-fed beef boys who got country-strong stacking bales of hay on their family farm. We still have those kids. And offensive line play will always require physical overpowering of the other team's d-line. We should have this market corned along with Wisconsin's cheese fed dairy farm boys. So it seems like the only explanation for the subpar play is coaching. Someone correct me if I'm offbase

Weather Barney Cotton is a problem is another story, but Ben Cotton is not playing because he is Barney's son. He is talented and will most likely play some on Sundays. As for his other sons Jake has been hurt most of his career, but will get some playing time on the O-line if he can stay healthy, and Sam is red shirting and will be a decent TE that probably will get some playing time next year.

Barney Cotton may not be what everyone wants as a line coach, but he is not stupid enough to play his sons just because they are his sons.

I don't know if it was Garrison or Cotton or both that has worked with Long, Choi & Jackson, but whoever it was desirives a lot of credit. All three were walkons & performed solid this year.