Proud of Coach Rhule

[Dr. Strangelove]

First, that's not really a way to compare team talent.

Second - which is a corollary to the first - you kept changing which teams you were comparing us to (other than Minnesota).  

Third, since you're the one wanting to compare star rankings, on this year's roster (per the 247 Composite):

• Nebraska has one five-star and 23 four-stars
  
• Wisconsin has one five-star and 18 four-stars
  
• Maryland has 0 five-stars and 16 four-stars
  
• Purdue has 0 five-stars and 15 four-stars
  
• Northwestern has 0 five-stars and 7 four-stars
  
• Minnesota has 0 five-stars and 7 four-stars
  
• Rutgers has 0 five-stars and 5 four-stars
  
• Illinois has 0 five-stars and 6 four-stars
  

So there isn't a huge talent difference between us and Wisconsin, but still noticable.  But Wisconsin wasn't one of the teams I listed as a "should beat".  I said toss-up, which looks close.

Everyone else we have at least a 50% lead on, according to your metric.  A 300%-400% lead on some of them.

Now I'll hang up and listen for you moving the goal posts.

I'm comparing team talent by looking at the number of Blue Chip players each team recruits out of high school. The numbers you listed include transfers, inflating Nebraska's numbers - to include a 5* player in Arik Gilbert who was with the team for 6 weeks. Getting former high ranked players in the transfer portal is great, but Kaine Williams (4*) was a backup at Alabama for a reason. 

When listing teams to compare talent, I was simply listing teams often thought of as teams that Nebraska 'should' beat to illustrate that we don't significantly out recruit them.  Over a 4 year period, Nebraska doesn't significantly out recruit Minnesota,  Northwestern, etc. The difference between a team recruiting 2 blue chip players and a team doubling them and recruiting 4 isn't anything to write home about. They're both bad. 

But go on believing that just because there's an N on the helmet and they play in front of 85,000 fans it magically makes the roster better than it is. It doesn't. 

 

[runningblind]

And Rhule said recently he thinks we have a relented team and is ready to get to work. 
 

he thinks there’s talent on the team.  He hasn’t said, one time as far as I know, that we are seriously lacking talent (like Prime did). 
 

he wants to get back to work and get these players to play to their potential.  
 

we have a couple of veins of our “systemic problems” still gushing blood. I think we see a nice jump in performance during spring. 
 

assuming we get a decent QB and eliminate the turnovers, I agree w him. 

He would never say that though, which is a good thing.  Leaders praise in public and teach/criticize in private.  Whatever you truly think of the talent, that is what you have to work with right now and you roll with it until you have more.

 

[Jason Sitoke]

I'm comparing team talent by looking at the number of Blue Chip players each team recruits out of high school. The numbers you listed include transfers, inflating Nebraska's numbers - to include a 5* player in Arik Gilbert who was with the team for 6 weeks. Getting former high ranked players in the transfer portal is great, but Kaine Williams (4*) was a backup at Alabama for a reason. 

When listing teams to compare talent, I was simply listing teams often thought of as teams that Nebraska 'should' beat to illustrate that we don't significantly out recruit them.  Over a 4 year period, Nebraska doesn't significantly out recruit Minnesota,  Northwestern, etc. The difference between a team recruiting 2 blue chip players and a team doubling them and recruiting 4 isn't anything to write home about. They're both bad. 

But go on believing that just because there's an N on the helmet and they play in front of 85,000 fans it magically makes the roster better than it is. It doesn't. 

According to 247…since 2020 Nebraska has 20 4* recruits to Northwestern’s 7, and Minnesota’s 10.  
 

Using your own metric, and the specific teams you’re comparing…I’d say that’s a fairly substantial recruiting gap 

 

[Archy1221]

According to 247…since 2020 Nebraska has 20 4* recruits to Northwestern’s 7, and Minnesota’s 10.  
 

Using your own metric, and the specific teams you’re comparing…I’d say that’s a fairly substantial recruiting gap 

One other to note that Strangelove doesn’t consider, is the range of rankings in each specific star class.   A low four star kid isn’t that much different than a high three star kid who may just not have enough tape on film yet or didn’t go the right camps or doesn’t have the “measurables” but can flat out play.   
 

I don’t know this and won’t take the time to look at it, but I’d NU is getting more kids high up on the three star ranks vs the other schools then theoretically that gives an even bigger starting roster talent advantage to NU.  

 

[Mavric]

I'm comparing team talent by looking at the number of Blue Chip players each team recruits out of high school. The numbers you listed include transfers, inflating Nebraska's numbers - to include a 5* player in Arik Gilbert who was with the team for 6 weeks. Getting former high ranked players in the transfer portal is great, but Kaine Williams (4*) was a backup at Alabama for a reason. 

Are transfers not eligible to play?  Otherwise, it doesn't make much sense not to include them when comparing who has more talent.

When listing teams to compare talent, I was simply listing teams often thought of as teams that Nebraska 'should' beat to illustrate that we don't significantly out recruit them.  Over a 4 year period, Nebraska doesn't significantly out recruit Minnesota,  Northwestern, etc. The difference between a team recruiting 2 blue chip players and a team doubling them and recruiting 4 isn't anything to write home about. They're both bad. 

We actually do out-recruit them.  Significantly.  You only cherry-picked some data to fit your narrative.  You didn't include the entire picture.

But go on believing that just because there's an N on the helmet and they play in front of 85,000 fans it magically makes the roster better than it is. It doesn't. 

Yep, that's exactly the argument I made.  Just like I expected the goal posts to be moved.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

Are transfers not eligible to play?  Otherwise, it doesn't make much sense not to include them when comparing who has more talent.

We actually do out-recruit them.  Significantly.  You only cherry-picked some data to fit your narrative.  You didn't include the entire picture.

Yep, that's exactly the argument I made.  Just like I expected the goal posts to be moved.

I didn't include transfers because the metrics on their success rate is not yet defined since the transfer portal is relatively new. With high school recruits, a 3*, 4* or 5* player has a certain probability of success. A certain percentage of each recruit ends up in the NFL, as an All-American or on a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd all conference team. It's fairly consistent over time. With transfer players, that probability is much harder to quantify because it's hard to judge if a former 4* player that was a backup at a different program with little playing time is on the bust side of that statistic or not. For every Trey Palmer, there's an Arik Gilbert/Stephon Wynn/Kaine Williams/Corey Collier. That isn't to say that the transfer portal isn't important, but you really don't know what you're going to get out of a former high ranked high school player.

Secondly, we do not significantly out recruit them. I don't know why people think because they come to Nebraska that the players are better than they are - because they are not. I decided to go back through the last few years of high school recruiting to compare ourselves to other programs, and looked at the number of blue chip players (4* or 5* players) that each program recruited and retained on their roster for at least a season. I hope the formatting of this works out:

Nebraska recruited out of high school, Nebraska retained after transfers (247 Composite):   

2020: Recruited 10, Retained 3 - Max exodus of 4* players, largely out of Florida hurt Nebraska significantly.

2021: 4, 3

2022: 2, 1

2023: 4, 4

Four year total retained: 11

Minnesota:

2020: 2, 1

2021: 4, 2

2022: 2, 2

2023: 2, 2

Four year total retained: 7

Northwestern:

2020: 1, 1

2021: 3, 2

2022: 2, 2

2023: 1, 1

Four year total retained: 6

Rutgers:

2020: 0, 0

2021: 3, 2

2022: 5, 4

2023: 0, 0

Four year total retained: 6

Illinois:

2020: 0, 0

2021: 0, 0

2022: 0, 0

2023: 3, 3

Four year total Retained: 3

Nebraska barely out recruits these schools, recruiting and retaining a grand total of of ONE 4* player per year over most of them. That is not a significant advantage. Nebraska has a marginal, at best, roster compared to these schools. 

Also, the numbers for Wisconsin (17 blue chip players retained), Iowa (10 blue chip players retained) and Maryland (12 blue chip players retained) show that Nebraska is more or less on par with those programs as well. It's why the B1G West more or less beats each other, all their rosters have about the same amount of talent.