Recruiting grades

I give it a high B to B+

First, since last spring I thought this class needed to sit inside the Top 20, that was the goal I felt was acheivable and would show good progress by Riley and his staff, which would set up for a bigger future. They hit that goal in a couple services, but not all.

I'm overall pretty happy with the result of the class, they landed positions of need and loaded up at almost every other position. They nailed a number of big fish at nearly every position; Roberts, Gebbia, Tyjon, Jaimes, Blades, Daniels. Then just fill in the rest, in what I believe, all legit players with high ceilings if they realize their potential and work for it.

I'm disappointed we couldn't land a major coup in players like Lewis, Greg Johnson, Lenoir, Sarrell, and especially Darnay. If we could have landed 1-2 of those kids, we would be firmly inside the top 20 and cracking top 15. I'm critical of missing out on one more DB and a then a can't miss OT like Sarrell, who would be a huge boost to a struggling position over the years. Lewis would have been a WR we have never seen before.

High B to B+ because in my opinion of grade marks, that's still a pretty good grade, but leaves room for much improvement that I believe we all want to see and can envision. Rough estimate...Top 15 is A- Top 10 A, Top 5 is A+... just to get that out there. I am a big fan of this class and think this could be a foundation class for bigger opportunities in the future. I believe next year they should recruit inside the top 15. They may have a few less spots available to get there, but as long as they show improvement on the field, this staff is going to be able to bring in higher quality players to help get them there. Players like Trevor Trout, Bookie, Eric Fuller, Jurgens, etc.

Just my two cents. GBR!

 
I give it a high B to B+

First, since last spring I thought this class needed to sit inside the Top 20, that was the goal I felt was acheivable and would show good progress by Riley and his staff, which would set up for a bigger future. They hit that goal in a couple services, but not all.

I'm overall pretty happy with the result of the class, they landed positions of need and loaded up at almost every other position. They nailed a number of big fish at nearly every position; Roberts, Gebbia, Tyjon, Jaimes, Blades, Daniels. Then just fill in the rest, in what I believe, all legit players with high ceilings if they realize their potential and work for it.

I'm disappointed we couldn't land a major coup in players like Lewis, Greg Johnson, Lenoir, Sarrell, and especially Darnay. If we could have landed 1-2 of those kids, we would be firmly inside the top 20 and cracking top 15. I'm critical of missing out on one more DB and a then a can't miss OT like Sarrell, who would be a huge boost to a struggling position over the years. Lewis would have been a WR we have never seen before.

High B to B+ because in my opinion of grade marks, that's still a pretty good grade, but leaves room for much improvement that I believe we all want to see and can envision. Rough estimate...Top 15 is A- Top 10 A, Top 5 is A+... just to get that out there. I am a big fan of this class and think this could be a foundation class for bigger opportunities in the future. I believe next year they should recruit inside the top 15. They may have a few less spots available to get there, but as long as they show improvement on the field, this staff is going to be able to bring in higher quality players to help get them there. Players like Trevor Trout, Bookie, Eric Fuller, Jurgens, etc.

Just my two cents. GBR!

 
Savage Husker said:
I give it a high B to B+

First, since last spring I thought this class needed to sit inside the Top 20, that was the goal I felt was acheivable and would show good progress by Riley and his staff, which would set up for a bigger future. They hit that goal in a couple services, but not all.

I'm overall pretty happy with the result of the class, they landed positions of need and loaded up at almost every other position. They nailed a number of big fish at nearly every position; Roberts, Gebbia, Tyjon, Jaimes, Blades, Daniels. Then just fill in the rest, in what I believe, all legit players with high ceilings if they realize their potential and work for it.

I'm disappointed we couldn't land a major coup in players like Lewis, Greg Johnson, Lenoir, Sarrell, and especially Darnay. If we could have landed 1-2 of those kids, we would be firmly inside the top 20 and cracking top 15. I'm critical of missing out on one more DB and a then a can't miss OT like Sarrell, who would be a huge boost to a struggling position over the years. Lewis would have been a WR we have never seen before.

High B to B+ because in my opinion of grade marks, that's still a pretty good grade, but leaves room for much improvement that I believe we all want to see and can envision. Rough estimate...Top 15 is A- Top 10 A, Top 5 is A+... just to get that out there. I am a big fan of this class and think this could be a foundation class for bigger opportunities in the future. I believe next year they should recruit inside the top 15. They may have a few less spots available to get there, but as long as they show improvement on the field, this staff is going to be able to bring in higher quality players to help get them there. Players like Trevor Trout, Bookie, Eric Fuller, Jurgens, etc.

Just my two cents. GBR!
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All good comments on the grades. Seems like B to B+ is the consensus. I do feel like we could have used one more WR and one more RB in this class.

 
For the defense as a whole, probably an A- to a B+. I'm very happy with the work done on the DL. One of those recruits will be an early contributor. The LB group was a mixed bag (I put Guy Thomas in that group). I like Roberts and GT a whole lot, and Hampton as an athletic projection. I fail to see the upside to Ward, however, and I definitely see him as an odd man out. 6'1 and 200 without flashy athleticism? I would have liked for us to grab another tall, OLB type hybrid player, but the potential change in scheme maybe came too late. I also would have preferred that we snagged another DB, but it's hard to argue against getting the longest DB in the entire class in Blades.

For the offense, I'd give this class a B to a B-. I like Gebbia, but a few years down the line. His high school offense and frame will prevent him from being an early contributor. Tyjon and Jaevon are two of my favorite prospects. KJJ has the potential to be the best pure WR of the bunch, but he's got to get his body back into order. Jaimes and Matt have the potential to provide quality depth, but in ~3 years. Not a big Bando fan, but I understand the offer. Allen and Rafdal look promising (I like Allen more long term than Rafdal). Not a fan of having a scholarship FB. Bradley would have been excellent as a complementary RB to the class, definitely worth the offer. But I'm of the opinion that NU could and should land a 4* RB every year.

 
I guess I am disappointed as most other are about only having 20 signees - we need more quality athletes and to build up the athleticism on the team. I believe Boyd E made commnets suggesting the team's overall physicality and etc needed dramatic upgrade.

I do feel that the class, as a group, is quite good (above the average of the past 5 years a couple notches I'd say). As far as a grade, I think had we signed 24, say, I would give it a grade of B. We would need to have another 15 stars or so and 24 or more to get an A minus and to earn an A+, we would have needed 25 with atleast 3 or 4 five star and another 12 more more 4 star type guys.

To be fair, I feel there are several lower rated guys that are clearly better than their ratings. I really think Ben Miles will be a fine player and would give him another star. I know FBs are not popular and that makes it hard. I believe he will surely earn his scholarship admirably. Bradley will be a solid RB and looks underrated as well.

Our tight ends should be good. The receivers certainly have great promise and ought to be better athletically than those who graduated. Should be an upgrade at that position and we had some very fine receivers this past season without question. They caught a lot of balls that maybe your historically 'average' Huskers would not have handled. Tommie threw hard and not always on target as we all know.

I am not sure what to think about some of the 'big guys'. They seem to have size and some decent ratings. We need them to prove the analysts wrong and standout and not sit out. We need the defenders to have speed and more speed and be hard nosed, aggressive and a nasty side.

Gebbia is one of the best passing type QBs we have ever recruited to Lincoln, although I admit we have frankly not recruited many, ever, to Nebraska so POB and Gebbia have plenty of opportunity to make a big career here. Riley will certainly be happy to let them throw to the WRs and RBs and there will be little chance that our QBs will be 'hogging' all the carries in the run game. The skill guys should be more than able to win a bunch of games if the O line and Blackshirts and kicking game do their part.

 
National rankings are misleading as teams like Maryland has 30 recruits and ranks above the Huskers. If you take their best 20 they are below us. Many SEC teams will have over 25 recruits every year, like Tennessee. Its about meeting need and finding talent, some of which will be under rated.

 
SouthLincoln Husker said:
National rankings are misleading as teams like Maryland has 30 recruits and ranks above the Huskers. If you take their best 20 they are below us. Many SEC teams will have over 25 recruits every year, like Tennessee. Its about meeting need and finding talent, some of which will be under rated.
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Hopefully not overrated

 
Pretty similar to what I thought about last year's class. I'd say this class is a step up but maybe not a really big one.

One a individual player level, I'd grade it close to a B+. Lindsey is a game-changing talent. Roberts and Blades are top-shelf guys. And I think we have several other nice pieces.

But on a big picture grade, I can't give higher than a B and possibly a B-. There were simply too many misses position-wise to do better than that. We wanted 5 WRs and may have taken 6 - we got 3. We had to reach for a last OT and took a chance at RB (not so much on a talent level but kind of a boom-or-bust situation). We shorted ourselves at least one DB. And we definitely could have taken two more guys if not 3-4. I don't buy the arguments that we didn't just want to fill in. We were already doing that. And we knew we had a lot of guys that weren't deciding until late. We should have shot for about 24 and then if you come up a couple short you're still at a "full" class. Next years class will be smaller but the minimum is 16, 18 is likely and 20 would not be out of the question. You take the talent when you can get it and sort it out later. We passed on guys earlier then didn't get some of the bigger fish we were after.

It's interesting how some of the issues that used to be pointed to as detriments are now trying to be sold as strengths. That should tell us something. It was a small step in the right direction. But last year we were told this class would be "special" because of the full cycle the coaches had, the talent we were in on and how they could recruit. Now here we are and all those targets are being pushed into the next year. Same story, second verse. The class ranking was a step up from what we've seen - the average rating was ... well... just about average. It's likely the next class will have a better average - smaller classes tend to do that. But that's also pushing the point where that talent actually gets on the field down the road another year.

 
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Mav, I agree somewhat. I give the class a solid B. We haven't had this many kids ranked 4 stars in a long time. All be it that some sites differ.

I like our oline class. I disagree Walker being a reach. I think Bando is the bigger reach.

Wide receivers Great talent just needed to get at least 1 more.

Tight ends - great job for a non paid coach.

Qb- I really think A job here.

Defense- I think after losing a coordinator and dbs coach they did fine. DBs we have a ton of. Next year I will grade the db coaches harder.

DB- A- one of the best corners in the country to maybe help right away.

LBs- solid B Avery might help right away

Dline solid B I think very good

 
Also I really like this walk on class. A lot of people aren't saying a lot about it but the Paup kid in 2/3 years could be a very good player. He is explosive. I also think the kid from cherokee iowa could be a good player. Those two stick out to me but the other kids are also good players.

 
I can buy what Mav is selling, but I'm still overall happy with this class. I still think we hit what we need but also think what we missed out on was doubling up at positions with more elite players, OL/RB/WR/DB. I moreso agree with his last paragraph, which is why I believe we should have been a firm top 20 class. Call it excuse making or what you will, but I do believe on field results - that were both coaches and players faults - has stagnated progress by at least a year. 2015 was a huge kick in the shorts, the offense falling flat post Indiana and the defense falling apart OSU forward made Nebraska look soft, plus going up against a resurgent USC and then Stanford is still just too much to overcome right now. Which is why I hope, on top of CA, we recruit better in STL and states south of the MD-Line this upcoming year

 
I don't know if this is exactly on-topic but I totally agree.

Kind of goes with the feeling of under-valued talent, which basically every team tries to claim.


 
Rivals (HOL) Grades:

QB - A

RB - B

WR - B+

TE/FB - B+

OL - B

DT - A

DE - B

LB - B+

DB - B+

Looks to be a B+ average.

CornNation

QB - A

RB - D

WR - B-

TE - B

OL - B

DL - B+

LB - A

DB - B+

Overall - B

 
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Posted this in another thread, but am re-posting it here (thank you copy and paste):

There are 120 schools that are in the FBS.

1 - 10 = A+

11 - 20 = A

21 - 25 = A-

26 -34 = B+

35 - 44 = B

45 - 54 = B-

55 - 64 = C+

65 - 74 = C

75 - 84 = C-

85 - 94 = D+

95 - 104 = D

105 - 114 = D-

115 - 120 = F

It makes sense that since there are 120 FBS schools, that just under 25% would be A's as that's only a quarter of the overall total.

Thus, I think Nebraska's grade for this recruiting class in an A-.

 
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