Mike Riley's Recruiting Adventures and What Nebraska Fans Should Expect Moving Forward

[quesadilla]

While I'd agree that negativity from the fan base is unlikely to be a huge factor for most recruits most of the time, I do think it was problem this year for the simple reason that one of the Huskers' highest profile recruits, Keyshawn Johnson, Jr., actually commented about the negative statements he heard from fans on a visit:

LINK

He's about as savvy a recruit as you'll find and while he said it wouldn't have a impact on his decision, it made enough of an impression for him to comment. The fan base and atmosphere at Memorial are supposed to be advantages for recruiting, certainly not something a 5-star recruit needs to be discounting as part of his decision process, let alone giving interviews about. That's just fodder for negative recruiting by other programs and will have a negative impact on the team's ability to recruit equally talented but less savvy recruits.

I was at the same game (Wisconsin) that led to Keyshawn's comments, as were several of my friends and relatives. We were scattered around the stadium and every one of us had a similar experience to what he had. It was enough for my wife to want to move (we were about row 15 on the 35 yard line so I told her to suck it up), and this was during a close game against a team that has completely embarrassed us in recent years, so I'm sure it was much worse later in the season.

Riley and crew certainly did a lot worthy of criticism this season but there is a world of difference between informed and honestly held critical opinions and vicious, snarky, uniformed, and disrespectful ad hominem attacks. When the later start drowning out the former, that is a huge problem for a program that touts the quality of it's fan base and game-day atmosphere as a key selling point.

 

[Elf]

Or any other program for that matter. The recruit who is capable of being dissuaded by just one negative comment will likely not find a home anywhere without developing thicker skin.

These are 17 and 18 year old kids that have been raised by helicopter parents...

 

[huskered17]

I could see Riley maybe not getting to many highly rated players at O St. Here he has the resources, he never had there. A recruiting class of 2* and low 3* players is not going to impress, the fan base. It's great he is on some of the top players, but he needs to land more than 1-2 of them. Bo maybe didn't like to recruit, but at least he had a winning program, while he was here. Sure we should have won 3-4 more games this year. I put that on the coaches shoulders. Some really bad play calling, late in games, he had the players to have a winning season. He still does.

Now I am ready to wait and see what he can do, with time to recruit the players he couldn't get at O St, that he should be able to get here. Didn't like the hire, but am still willing to wait a couple more years, unless there is a complete melt down next year. Good signing class or not, we will have Riley for at least two more years. We might as well get behind this staff.

GBR!!!

What 2 star and low 3 star recruits are you saying we have.

Was referring to Riley's O St days, in recruiting.

GBR!!!

 

[Saunders]

I truly fear all of the FIRE RILEY discussion that goes on around places like this will turn away the likes of Keyshawn and his crew. We have a bigger voice than we know.

That said, we do need a solid commit here soon before our class momentum completely dies. Hopefully once the dead period ends, we see an explosion and a strong finish.

I still, for the life of me, don't understand why people think the fan angst has such a big impact on recruiting separate and apart from the reason for the angst in the first place.

For one, as long as the stadium is full on game days, it is only relevant if one assumes that fan angst will translate into a coach's firing and we all know that ADs don't fire successful coaches just because the fans are in uproar (assuming fans would even be in uproar if the coach was successful, itself a dubious assumption).

Two, it unrealistically assumes that other programs experiencing similar problems are magically going to have much more patient, well-behaved fans than ours. But if you're read any other teams' message boards, you'd know that the angst is at best a wash and, more realistically, other teams' boards make Nebraska's message boards look like The Reading Rainbow. You think Texas, USC, LSU, or Alabama have less caustic boards than Nebraska? They will tar and feather their coaches if the margin of victory is not to their liking. Half of our fanbase would feel guilty about getting angry at Riley if he tortured dogs in his free time and would probably find a way to blame themselves for him doing it.

Blaming the message boards for paltry recruiting is at once a very arrogant and very self-loathing thing to say, IMO.

Forgetting that 18 year old kids who are highly touted have access to the internet is part of that line of thinking.

If they are considering school A and school B, jump on a social media website for both and randomly see positive thinking from one fan base but anger and loathing from the other, it could easily sway them the other way.

Our players see more of what we post on this message board than you think, why wouldn't a recruit come to anplace like this to see what the fans think?

I don't doubt recruits might peruse the boards. But the false predicate in your hypothetical is that our board will be more "negative" than the boards pertaining to the other 5-7 teams the recruit is also considering. I think that's really unlikely.

And if your answer is to point out the recruit might be comparing us to successful programs with positive boards, I would counter that (1) our relative negativity would be over shadowed by the reason for it (I.e., our comparatively poor record), and (2) that any recruit worth having should be able to see that comparing the attitudes of fans on a 10-2 team to those of a 5-7 team is very apples to oranges.

Unless we are supposed to act like over medicated, loopy Stepford fans with creepy plastic smiles in the face of objectively terrible coaching decisions, I don't find the content of the board all that surprising or abnormal and neither would a recruit comparing us to TCU.

You are missing the point. All it takes it 1 nasty comment and it could completely change a kids mind on whether or not he wants to come here.

I'm not saying we should all pump sunshine, but some of the crap that gets posted here is exactly what would make me not want to play here if it were me.

If it only takes one nasty comment for them not to want to come here, they probably weren't coming anyway or wouldn't have lasted if they did.

This. Our overall success (or lack thereof) this season is a much bigger hit to recruiting than fans being negative on a message board. I was listening to yesterday's HOL podcast, and they said other teams were using the 5-7 (at the time) record as a negative recruiting tool, and pushing it hard.

 

[Redux]

I truly fear all of the FIRE RILEY discussion that goes on around places like this will turn away the likes of Keyshawn and his crew. We have a bigger voice than we know.

That said, we do need a solid commit here soon before our class momentum completely dies. Hopefully once the dead period ends, we see an explosion and a strong finish.

I still, for the life of me, don't understand why people think the fan angst has such a big impact on recruiting separate and apart from the reason for the angst in the first place.

For one, as long as the stadium is full on game days, it is only relevant if one assumes that fan angst will translate into a coach's firing and we all know that ADs don't fire successful coaches just because the fans are in uproar (assuming fans would even be in uproar if the coach was successful, itself a dubious assumption).

Two, it unrealistically assumes that other programs experiencing similar problems are magically going to have much more patient, well-behaved fans than ours. But if you're read any other teams' message boards, you'd know that the angst is at best a wash and, more realistically, other teams' boards make Nebraska's message boards look like The Reading Rainbow. You think Texas, USC, LSU, or Alabama have less caustic boards than Nebraska? They will tar and feather their coaches if the margin of victory is not to their liking. Half of our fanbase would feel guilty about getting angry at Riley if he tortured dogs in his free time and would probably find a way to blame themselves for him doing it.

Blaming the message boards for paltry recruiting is at once a very arrogant and very self-loathing thing to say, IMO.

Forgetting that 18 year old kids who are highly touted have access to the internet is part of that line of thinking.

If they are considering school A and school B, jump on a social media website for both and randomly see positive thinking from one fan base but anger and loathing from the other, it could easily sway them the other way.

Our players see more of what we post on this message board than you think, why wouldn't a recruit come to anplace like this to see what the fans think?

I don't doubt recruits might peruse the boards. But the false predicate in your hypothetical is that our board will be more "negative" than the boards pertaining to the other 5-7 teams the recruit is also considering. I think that's really unlikely.

And if your answer is to point out the recruit might be comparing us to successful programs with positive boards, I would counter that (1) our relative negativity would be over shadowed by the reason for it (I.e., our comparatively poor record), and (2) that any recruit worth having should be able to see that comparing the attitudes of fans on a 10-2 team to those of a 5-7 team is very apples to oranges.

Unless we are supposed to act like over medicated, loopy Stepford fans with creepy plastic smiles in the face of objectively terrible coaching decisions, I don't find the content of the board all that surprising or abnormal and neither would a recruit comparing us to TCU.

You are missing the point. All it takes it 1 nasty comment and it could completely change a kids mind on whether or not he wants to come here.

I'm not saying we should all pump sunshine, but some of the crap that gets posted here is exactly what would make me not want to play here if it were me.

If it only takes one nasty comment for them not to want to come here, they probably weren't coming anyway or wouldn't have lasted if they did.

Or any other program for that matter. The recruit who is capable of being dissuaded by just one negative comment will likely not find a home anywhere without developing thicker skin.

I truly fear all of the FIRE RILEY discussion that goes on around places like this will turn away the likes of Keyshawn and his crew. We have a bigger voice than we know.

That said, we do need a solid commit here soon before our class momentum completely dies. Hopefully once the dead period ends, we see an explosion and a strong finish.

I still, for the life of me, don't understand why people think the fan angst has such a big impact on recruiting separate and apart from the reason for the angst in the first place.

For one, as long as the stadium is full on game days, it is only relevant if one assumes that fan angst will translate into a coach's firing and we all know that ADs don't fire successful coaches just because the fans are in uproar (assuming fans would even be in uproar if the coach was successful, itself a dubious assumption).

Two, it unrealistically assumes that other programs experiencing similar problems are magically going to have much more patient, well-behaved fans than ours. But if you're read any other teams' message boards, you'd know that the angst is at best a wash and, more realistically, other teams' boards make Nebraska's message boards look like The Reading Rainbow. You think Texas, USC, LSU, or Alabama have less caustic boards than Nebraska? They will tar and feather their coaches if the margin of victory is not to their liking. Half of our fanbase would feel guilty about getting angry at Riley if he tortured dogs in his free time and would probably find a way to blame themselves for him doing it.

Blaming the message boards for paltry recruiting is at once a very arrogant and very self-loathing thing to say, IMO.

Forgetting that 18 year old kids who are highly touted have access to the internet is part of that line of thinking.

If they are considering school A and school B, jump on a social media website for both and randomly see positive thinking from one fan base but anger and loathing from the other, it could easily sway them the other way.

Our players see more of what we post on this message board than you think, why wouldn't a recruit come to anplace like this to see what the fans think?

I don't doubt recruits might peruse the boards. But the false predicate in your hypothetical is that our board will be more "negative" than the boards pertaining to the other 5-7 teams the recruit is also considering. I think that's really unlikely.

And if your answer is to point out the recruit might be comparing us to successful programs with positive boards, I would counter that (1) our relative negativity would be over shadowed by the reason for it (I.e., our comparatively poor record), and (2) that any recruit worth having should be able to see that comparing the attitudes of fans on a 10-2 team to those of a 5-7 team is very apples to oranges.

Unless we are supposed to act like over medicated, loopy Stepford fans with creepy plastic smiles in the face of objectively terrible coaching decisions, I don't find the content of the board all that surprising or abnormal and neither would a recruit comparing us to TCU.

You are missing the point. All it takes it 1 nasty comment and it could completely change a kids mind on whether or not he wants to come here.

I'm not saying we should all pump sunshine, but some of the crap that gets posted here is exactly what would make me not want to play here if it were me.

If it only takes one nasty comment for them not to want to come here, they probably weren't coming anyway or wouldn't have lasted if they did.

Maybe, but why risk it?

We can keep throwing out the excuse of "Other fan bases are just as pissy and hostile on the internet as we are so it doesn't hurt recruiting" all we want, but it's BS. It's just a way to pretend we are still a special fan base while getting to say we should fire our coach 4 games into a season. Our fan base used to be an asset and not only in the stadium on game day.

It has nothing to do with preserving our "specialness" as a fan base. The reason I reject the contention that negative comments dissuade recruits is because that assertion is being used as a basis for censorship. People who share your mindset want to whitewash message boards and online discussion of the team so that it is all roses and sunshine. But that would be as dishonest as it is unrealistic.

Being "negative" serves a purpose. It is frankly cathartic to be able to vent after a frustrating game. It may also be productive in the sense that fan angst could be a catalyst for the coaches to reexamine their strategies. I have very little doubt that game plan against UCLA and Riley's comments about wanting to establish the run are, at least in part, a reaction to the overwhelming consensus among fans that Nebraska needed/needs to run the ball more.

Of course, people can go to far in their "negativity" and it becomes unproductive, but even so, I think those instances are no more destructive to the program than the many sunshine pumpers who are happy to dispense a multitude of excuses for the program's struggles and are glossing over very real issues with the program.

As in everything, there is balance. But to say that anything but non-stop sunshine pumping is damaging to the program is nonsense, in my humble opinion. And if speaking one's honest opinion is wrong, then I don't want to be right.

(BTW, 1995, I don't necessarily consider you part of the group of non-stop sunshine pumpers I'm referencing; I'm merely addressing you because we're having the discussion, but I don't have any contempt for you personally, FWIW.)

And I agree with all that. The point is most recruits aren't stupid, they see through blatant BS.

Point being when a someone goes too far and makes a mockery out of our program through daily multuple posts by attacking our staff and players, it can have an impact on a recruits decision.

Lets say a kid is down to LSU and Nebraska. He loved both visits but is leaning our way. He randomly jumps on Huskerboard and reads say something like....

"Our staff is so incompetent. Our coordinators should be fired and if they aren't then Riley should be fired. Worst season I have ever seen with no signs of improvement. No wonder our recruiting has turned into nothing!"

Now what does that recruit think? That the staff he is commiting to isn't stable and that he has been lumped into thr category of poor recruiting. Maybe he sees through it, maybe it sticks with him.

 

[huskerfan2000]

How is a recruiting class ranked in the 40's receive an A?

1.) We're viewing Riley's hiring to now as the year.

2.) Nebraska's current rank is 32.

haha, and that is an A?

 

[huskerfan2000]

I truly fear all of the FIRE RILEY discussion that goes on around places like this will turn away the likes of Keyshawn and his crew. We have a bigger voice than we know.

That said, we do need a solid commit here soon before our class momentum completely dies. Hopefully once the dead period ends, we see an explosion and a strong finish.

I still, for the life of me, don't understand why people think the fan angst has such a big impact on recruiting separate and apart from the reason for the angst in the first place.

For one, as long as the stadium is full on game days, it is only relevant if one assumes that fan angst will translate into a coach's firing and we all know that ADs don't fire successful coaches just because the fans are in uproar (assuming fans would even be in uproar if the coach was successful, itself a dubious assumption).

Two, it unrealistically assumes that other programs experiencing similar problems are magically going to have much more patient, well-behaved fans than ours. But if you're read any other teams' message boards, you'd know that the angst is at best a wash and, more realistically, other teams' boards make Nebraska's message boards look like The Reading Rainbow. You think Texas, USC, LSU, or Alabama have less caustic boards than Nebraska? They will tar and feather their coaches if the margin of victory is not to their liking. Half of our fanbase would feel guilty about getting angry at Riley if he tortured dogs in his free time and would probably find a way to blame themselves for him doing it.

Blaming the message boards for paltry recruiting is at once a very arrogant and very self-loathing thing to say, IMO.

Forgetting that 18 year old kids who are highly touted have access to the internet is part of that line of thinking.

If they are considering school A and school B, jump on a social media website for both and randomly see positive thinking from one fan base but anger and loathing from the other, it could easily sway them the other way.

Our players see more of what we post on this message board than you think, why wouldn't a recruit come to anplace like this to see what the fans think?

I don't doubt recruits might peruse the boards. But the false predicate in your hypothetical is that our board will be more "negative" than the boards pertaining to the other 5-7 teams the recruit is also considering. I think that's really unlikely.

And if your answer is to point out the recruit might be comparing us to successful programs with positive boards, I would counter that (1) our relative negativity would be over shadowed by the reason for it (I.e., our comparatively poor record), and (2) that any recruit worth having should be able to see that comparing the attitudes of fans on a 10-2 team to those of a 5-7 team is very apples to oranges.

Unless we are supposed to act like over medicated, loopy Stepford fans with creepy plastic smiles in the face of objectively terrible coaching decisions, I don't find the content of the board all that surprising or abnormal and neither would a recruit comparing us to TCU.

You are missing the point. All it takes it 1 nasty comment and it could completely change a kids mind on whether or not he wants to come here.

I'm not saying we should all pump sunshine, but some of the crap that gets posted here is exactly what would make me not want to play here if it were me.

Do you have any facts that prove the comments on here make a difference? I mean, it isn't like this site just went online, or that people just started posting their thoughts.

 

[cm husker]

I truly fear all of the FIRE RILEY discussion that goes on around places like this will turn away the likes of Keyshawn and his crew. We have a bigger voice than we know.

That said, we do need a solid commit here soon before our class momentum completely dies. Hopefully once the dead period ends, we see an explosion and a strong finish.

I still, for the life of me, don't understand why people think the fan angst has such a big impact on recruiting separate and apart from the reason for the angst in the first place.

For one, as long as the stadium is full on game days, it is only relevant if one assumes that fan angst will translate into a coach's firing and we all know that ADs don't fire successful coaches just because the fans are in uproar (assuming fans would even be in uproar if the coach was successful, itself a dubious assumption).

Two, it unrealistically assumes that other programs experiencing similar problems are magically going to have much more patient, well-behaved fans than ours. But if you're read any other teams' message boards, you'd know that the angst is at best a wash and, more realistically, other teams' boards make Nebraska's message boards look like The Reading Rainbow. You think Texas, USC, LSU, or Alabama have less caustic boards than Nebraska? They will tar and feather their coaches if the margin of victory is not to their liking. Half of our fanbase would feel guilty about getting angry at Riley if he tortured dogs in his free time and would probably find a way to blame themselves for him doing it.

Blaming the message boards for paltry recruiting is at once a very arrogant and very self-loathing thing to say, IMO.

Forgetting that 18 year old kids who are highly touted have access to the internet is part of that line of thinking.If they are considering school A and school B, jump on a social media website for both and randomly see positive thinking from one fan base but anger and loathing from the other, it could easily sway them the other way.

Our players see more of what we post on this message board than you think, why wouldn't a recruit come to anplace like this to see what the fans think?

I don't doubt recruits might peruse the boards. But the false predicate in your hypothetical is that our board will be more "negative" than the boards pertaining to the other 5-7 teams the recruit is also considering. I think that's really unlikely.And if your answer is to point out the recruit might be comparing us to successful programs with positive boards, I would counter that (1) our relative negativity would be over shadowed by the reason for it (I.e., our comparatively poor record), and (2) that any recruit worth having should be able to see that comparing the attitudes of fans on a 10-2 team to those of a 5-7 team is very apples to oranges.

Unless we are supposed to act like over medicated, loopy Stepford fans with creepy plastic smiles in the face of objectively terrible coaching decisions, I don't find the content of the board all that surprising or abnormal and neither would a recruit comparing us to TCU.

You are missing the point. All it takes it 1 nasty comment and it could completely change a kids mind on whether or not he wants to come here.I'm not saying we should all pump sunshine, but some of the crap that gets posted here is exactly what would make me not want to play here if it were me.

If it only takes one nasty comment for them not to want to come here, they probably weren't coming anyway or wouldn't have lasted if they did.

Or any other program for that matter. The recruit who is capable of being dissuaded by just one negative comment will likely not find a home anywhere without developing thicker skin.

I truly fear all of the FIRE RILEY discussion that goes on around places like this will turn away the likes of Keyshawn and his crew. We have a bigger voice than we know.

That said, we do need a solid commit here soon before our class momentum completely dies. Hopefully once the dead period ends, we see an explosion and a strong finish.

I still, for the life of me, don't understand why people think the fan angst has such a big impact on recruiting separate and apart from the reason for the angst in the first place.

For one, as long as the stadium is full on game days, it is only relevant if one assumes that fan angst will translate into a coach's firing and we all know that ADs don't fire successful coaches just because the fans are in uproar (assuming fans would even be in uproar if the coach was successful, itself a dubious assumption).

Two, it unrealistically assumes that other programs experiencing similar problems are magically going to have much more patient, well-behaved fans than ours. But if you're read any other teams' message boards, you'd know that the angst is at best a wash and, more realistically, other teams' boards make Nebraska's message boards look like The Reading Rainbow. You think Texas, USC, LSU, or Alabama have less caustic boards than Nebraska? They will tar and feather their coaches if the margin of victory is not to their liking. Half of our fanbase would feel guilty about getting angry at Riley if he tortured dogs in his free time and would probably find a way to blame themselves for him doing it.

Blaming the message boards for paltry recruiting is at once a very arrogant and very self-loathing thing to say, IMO.

Forgetting that 18 year old kids who are highly touted have access to the internet is part of that line of thinking.If they are considering school A and school B, jump on a social media website for both and randomly see positive thinking from one fan base but anger and loathing from the other, it could easily sway them the other way.

Our players see more of what we post on this message board than you think, why wouldn't a recruit come to anplace like this to see what the fans think?

I don't doubt recruits might peruse the boards. But the false predicate in your hypothetical is that our board will be more "negative" than the boards pertaining to the other 5-7 teams the recruit is also considering. I think that's really unlikely.And if your answer is to point out the recruit might be comparing us to successful programs with positive boards, I would counter that (1) our relative negativity would be over shadowed by the reason for it (I.e., our comparatively poor record), and (2) that any recruit worth having should be able to see that comparing the attitudes of fans on a 10-2 team to those of a 5-7 team is very apples to oranges.

Unless we are supposed to act like over medicated, loopy Stepford fans with creepy plastic smiles in the face of objectively terrible coaching decisions, I don't find the content of the board all that surprising or abnormal and neither would a recruit comparing us to TCU.

You are missing the point. All it takes it 1 nasty comment and it could completely change a kids mind on whether or not he wants to come here.I'm not saying we should all pump sunshine, but some of the crap that gets posted here is exactly what would make me not want to play here if it were me.

If it only takes one nasty comment for them not to want to come here, they probably weren't coming anyway or wouldn't have lasted if they did.

Maybe, but why risk it?

We can keep throwing out the excuse of "Other fan bases are just as pissy and hostile on the internet as we are so it doesn't hurt recruiting" all we want, but it's BS. It's just a way to pretend we are still a special fan base while getting to say we should fire our coach 4 games into a season. Our fan base used to be an asset and not only in the stadium on game day.

It has nothing to do with preserving our "specialness" as a fan base. The reason I reject the contention that negative comments dissuade recruits is because that assertion is being used as a basis for censorship. People who share your mindset want to whitewash message boards and online discussion of the team so that it is all roses and sunshine. But that would be as dishonest as it is unrealistic.

Being "negative" serves a purpose. It is frankly cathartic to be able to vent after a frustrating game. It may also be productive in the sense that fan angst could be a catalyst for the coaches to reexamine their strategies. I have very little doubt that game plan against UCLA and Riley's comments about wanting to establish the run are, at least in part, a reaction to the overwhelming consensus among fans that Nebraska needed/needs to run the ball more.

Of course, people can go to far in their "negativity" and it becomes unproductive, but even so, I think those instances are no more destructive to the program than the many sunshine pumpers who are happy to dispense a multitude of excuses for the program's struggles and are glossing over very real issues with the program.

As in everything, there is balance. But to say that anything but non-stop sunshine pumping is damaging to the program is nonsense, in my humble opinion. And if speaking one's honest opinion is wrong, then I don't want to be right.

(BTW, 1995, I don't necessarily consider you part of the group of non-stop sunshine pumpers I'm referencing; I'm merely addressing you because we're having the discussion, but I don't have any contempt for you personally, FWIW.)

And I agree with all that. The point is most recruits aren't stupid, they see through blatant BS.
Point being when a someone goes too far and makes a mockery out of our program through daily multuple posts by attacking our staff and players, it can have an impact on a recruits decision.

Lets say a kid is down to LSU and Nebraska. He loved both visits but is leaning our way. He randomly jumps on Huskerboard and reads say something like....

"Our staff is so incompetent. Our coordinators should be fired and if they aren't then Riley should be fired. Worst season I have ever seen with no signs of improvement. No wonder our recruiting has turned into nothing!"

Now what does that recruit think? That the staff he is commiting to isn't stable and that he has been lumped into thr category of poor recruiting. Maybe he sees through it, maybe it sticks with him.

Or sees us roasting players and claiming we have no talent...

Anyway, funny you should use LSU. I'm just going to assume you don't follow LSU or their fans at all.

 

[Redux]

I truly fear all of the FIRE RILEY discussion that goes on around places like this will turn away the likes of Keyshawn and his crew. We have a bigger voice than we know.

That said, we do need a solid commit here soon before our class momentum completely dies. Hopefully once the dead period ends, we see an explosion and a strong finish.

I still, for the life of me, don't understand why people think the fan angst has such a big impact on recruiting separate and apart from the reason for the angst in the first place.

For one, as long as the stadium is full on game days, it is only relevant if one assumes that fan angst will translate into a coach's firing and we all know that ADs don't fire successful coaches just because the fans are in uproar (assuming fans would even be in uproar if the coach was successful, itself a dubious assumption).

Two, it unrealistically assumes that other programs experiencing similar problems are magically going to have much more patient, well-behaved fans than ours. But if you're read any other teams' message boards, you'd know that the angst is at best a wash and, more realistically, other teams' boards make Nebraska's message boards look like The Reading Rainbow. You think Texas, USC, LSU, or Alabama have less caustic boards than Nebraska? They will tar and feather their coaches if the margin of victory is not to their liking. Half of our fanbase would feel guilty about getting angry at Riley if he tortured dogs in his free time and would probably find a way to blame themselves for him doing it.

Blaming the message boards for paltry recruiting is at once a very arrogant and very self-loathing thing to say, IMO.

Forgetting that 18 year old kids who are highly touted have access to the internet is part of that line of thinking.

If they are considering school A and school B, jump on a social media website for both and randomly see positive thinking from one fan base but anger and loathing from the other, it could easily sway them the other way.

Our players see more of what we post on this message board than you think, why wouldn't a recruit come to anplace like this to see what the fans think?

I don't doubt recruits might peruse the boards. But the false predicate in your hypothetical is that our board will be more "negative" than the boards pertaining to the other 5-7 teams the recruit is also considering. I think that's really unlikely.

And if your answer is to point out the recruit might be comparing us to successful programs with positive boards, I would counter that (1) our relative negativity would be over shadowed by the reason for it (I.e., our comparatively poor record), and (2) that any recruit worth having should be able to see that comparing the attitudes of fans on a 10-2 team to those of a 5-7 team is very apples to oranges.

Unless we are supposed to act like over medicated, loopy Stepford fans with creepy plastic smiles in the face of objectively terrible coaching decisions, I don't find the content of the board all that surprising or abnormal and neither would a recruit comparing us to TCU.

You are missing the point. All it takes it 1 nasty comment and it could completely change a kids mind on whether or not he wants to come here.

I'm not saying we should all pump sunshine, but some of the crap that gets posted here is exactly what would make me not want to play here if it were me.

Do you have any facts that prove the comments on here make a difference? I mean, it isn't like this site just went online, or that people just started posting their thoughts.

No, not that a specific post or poster on here turned them away, but...

While I'd agree that negativity from the fan base is unlikely to be a huge factor for most recruits most of the time, I do think it was problem this year for the simple reason that one of the Huskers' highest profile recruits, Keyshawn Johnson, Jr., actually commented about the negative statements he heard from fans on a visit:

LINK

He's about as savvy a recruit as you'll find and while he said it wouldn't have a impact on his decision, it made enough of an impression for him to comment. The fan base and atmosphere at Memorial are supposed to be advantages for recruiting, certainly not something a 5-star recruit needs to be discounting as part of his decision process, let alone giving interviews about. That's just fodder for negative recruiting by other programs and will have a negative impact on the team's ability to recruit equally talented but less savvy recruits.

I was at the same game (Wisconsin) that led to Keyshawn's comments, as were several of my friends and relatives. We were scattered around the stadium and every one of us had a similar experience to what he had. It was enough for my wife to want to move (we were about row 15 on the 35 yard line so I told her to suck it up), and this was during a close game against a team that has completely embarrassed us in recent years, so I'm sure it was much worse later in the season.

Riley and crew certainly did a lot worthy of criticism this season but there is a world of difference between informed and honestly held critical opinions and vicious, snarky, uniformed, and disrespectful ad hominem attacks. When the later start drowning out the former, that is a huge problem for a program that touts the quality of it's fan base and game-day atmosphere as a key selling point.

That alone is an impact enough that people should occasionally quit their bellyaching.

 

[BIG ERN]

At the end of the day it doesn't matter if you are pulling in all 5 stars or 2 stars. What matters is the record on the field. And at 6-7, that is a failing grade.

 

[Redux]

At the end of the day it doesn't matter if you are pulling in all 5 stars or 2 stars. What matters is the record on the field. And at 6-7, that is a failing grade.

Yeah...and that is why we are discussing what will move us forward past the 6-7 year that is now over.

 

[RedSavage]

Youngstown has as many recruits at this point as it usually does and a 3 star, which is its first since at least 2012.

You shouldn't be allowed to rewrite history, let alone the present.

My assessment of Callahan has almost nothing to do with my personal dislike of his coaching styles and philosophies. Almost every objective measure demonstrates that he recruited no better than solich and pelini and managed a roster even worse.

Huh, I must have blacked out for the time when Solich and Pelini had consistent top 20 recruiting classes, with one of those being a consensus top ten class.

 

[cm husker]

Recruitnik ratings are basically irrelevant and not remotely objective.

 

[BIG ERN]

At the end of the day it doesn't matter if you are pulling in all 5 stars or 2 stars. What matters is the record on the field. And at 6-7, that is a failing grade.

Yeah...and that is why we are discussing what will move us forward past the 6-7 year that is now over.

1. Well, it took the staff a long time, but they started to put the best players on the field. Jones > Davie, Kalu > Rose, Ozigbo > Newby, Sterup > Kondolo, Newby > Gifford
   
2. Play calling looked great against UCLA. Having Tommy throw around 20-25 times is a lot better than around 40-45. Hope this is a trend next year
3. Recruiting. Right now isn't that great, but some time to improve that. 17' class has promise, but means nothing until they sign.

 

[olddominionhusker]

Interesting that the author wrote what amounts to a hit piece on Nate Gerry earlier in the year which he eventually felt compelled to apologize for(if you felt the piece was accurate and fair why apologize?), but is wringing his hands over message boards attacking the coaching staff.

If I was a player I would have a lot more problem with a fanbase that takes public shots at individual players then the coaching staff.

Unfortunately much like this particular "writer", for many defending the coaching staff means torching individual players.

If you are a player, which is worse?