Rex on SI.COM

[kchusker_chris]

a lot of people think he doesn't get any praise/hype. he was front cover of SI.com CFB section today.

http://sportsillustr...l?sct=cf_t11_a0

Burkhead served as the fuel behind the Huskers' attack. The rising senior will reprise that role this fall as the most important offensive player on Nebraska's roster -- and as a true Heisman contender.

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[Blackshirts007]

Good to see. He's going to be an absolute monster this year and will help us make a BCS run. Unfortunately he isn't flashy enough to get heisman consideration, however Toby gerhart from Stanford ran like Rex does so you never know

 

[kchusker_chris]

Good to see. He's going to be an absolute monster this year and will help us make a BCS run. Unfortunately he isn't flashy enough to get heisman consideration, however Toby gerhart from Stanford ran like Rex does so you never know

This is true. That was on a what, 12-1 team? Nebraska will need to finish with a similar record for Burkhead to have a chance. Burkhead will have the stats, and likely a highlight or two. The team has to be in contention though.

 

[Foppa]

I don't see him as a heisman contender, but he's obviously a huge player for NU. Nice to see him getting some preseason props.

 

[Husker_x]

All depends on record, record, record. We lose a game and take the conference, Burkhead will likely be the reason and in the conversation. But that farfetched possibility hangs on the defense, which is obviously our concern this year.

 

[RedRedJarvisRedwine]

All depends on record, record, record. We lose a game and take the conference, Burkhead will likely be the reason and in the conversation. But that farfetched possibility hangs on the defense, which is obviously our concern this year.

I LOVE REX!! But I'm willing to bet that If we win our conference and have somebody up for the heisman, it will be Taylor! Not that Rex wouldn't have great numbers, but if our team has that kinda success, I believe it will be because of a stellar season from Taylor. jmo....GBR!!

 

[KJ.]

So we finished 7-1 in the Leaders Division last year. Sweet.

 

[Foppa]

All depends on record, record, record. We lose a game and take the conference, Burkhead will likely be the reason and in the conversation. But that farfetched possibility hangs on the defense, which is obviously our concern this year.

Take care of business on the field, and the individual awards will take care of itself. And even if it doesn't, well...that's why you play a 'team' game, right?

 

[HuskerFowler]

Good to see. He's going to be an absolute monster this year and will help us make a BCS run. Unfortunately he isn't flashy enough to get heisman consideration, however Toby gerhart from Stanford ran like Rex does so you never know

This is true. That was on a what, 12-1 team? Nebraska will need to finish with a similar record for Burkhead to have a chance. Burkhead will have the stats, and likely a highlight or two. The team has to be in contention though.

Yep i agree.

Have a question for you. You seem to follow recruiting and like to give Pelini alot of flak for his inability to recruit, but when we land a couple of big fish your no where to be found? We landed 2 four star kids, in the last 2 weeks after you said we would only end up with 4 or 5 for the class. Dont you think you should give credit where credit is due? I enjoy reading most of your stuff, but when it comes to recruiting it bothers me that your never around to enjoy the good times, and always show up when we miss on a kid or put up a bunch of stats from rivals trying to prove how our recruiting doesnt measure up. Drink some koolaid and come enjoy a good victory. Im interested to hear your thoughts on our last few recruits, you can bring the convo on over to the cool forum if you would like.

 

[HuskerLuke]

Nice to see Rex get some attention, but yikes, they needed to do a little proofreading (or thinking) for such a short article:

Despite four consecutive seasons with at least nine wins, the Huskers have not claimed a conference championship since 1999 and finished just third in the Leaders Division last fall despite a 7-1 league mark

The team's passing offense finished a mere 104th nationally last season, partially because of Martinez's inconsistent play, partially because opponents knew to key in on Nebraska's run-heavy attack.

We went 5-3 in league play last year. And I don't think opponents keying in on our running game had anything to do with our passing struggles.

 

[kchusker_chris]

Good to see. He's going to be an absolute monster this year and will help us make a BCS run. Unfortunately he isn't flashy enough to get heisman consideration, however Toby gerhart from Stanford ran like Rex does so you never know

This is true. That was on a what, 12-1 team? Nebraska will need to finish with a similar record for Burkhead to have a chance. Burkhead will have the stats, and likely a highlight or two. The team has to be in contention though.

Yep i agree.

Have a question for you. You seem to follow recruiting and like to give Pelini alot of flak for his inability to recruit, but when we land a couple of big fish your no where to be found? We landed 2 four star kids, in the last 2 weeks after you said we would only end up with 4 or 5 for the class. Dont you think you should give credit where credit is due? I enjoy reading most of your stuff, but when it comes to recruiting it bothers me that your never around to enjoy the good times, and always show up when we miss on a kid or put up a bunch of stats from rivals trying to prove how our recruiting doesnt measure up. Drink some koolaid and come enjoy a good victory. Im interested to hear your thoughts on our last few recruits, you can bring the convo on over to the cool forum if you would like.

Well, we landed 1 (but you guys like to cherry pick which recruiting site you use to ensure we have as many 4* as possible) and now have 4 total, with one likely still headed to LSU...so 3 total.

As for recruiting (since you asked)....

• solid LBer class this year - but we lose a lot. We're gonna be hurting there next year. This was a must, and you couldn't have asked for much better.
  
• Glad we finally got one of our QB targets...no idea where he ranked on the board. Shocking it took us this long. When you look at dual threats, there was only 2 left in Rivals top 25...things were looking pretty desperate. Big sigh of relief in the coaches offices, and from J. Turner. Looks like a quality QB though.
  
• Still not seeing the OL guys I'd like. I expect us to go JUCO there by the end of the year. We're young with Pensick, Long, Moore, ARod, Sirles. This is the class that can finally begin the pipeline. They'll be rfr/sophomores when these guys start graduating. We missed on the OL last year only taking 2 (and watching Peat go west). We can't afford to be thin there 2 years in a row.
  
• No RB recruit to replace Heard/Green/Rex yet. If we don't get a "ready to play" RB, Heard will end up back @ RB next year and never see the field because he's been switched around so much.
  
• No DTs yet on a team whose depth was exposed there last year, that's concerning.
  
• Got the TE.
  
• Perfectly happy with 1 WR this class.
  
• Would like to see another DE (Mathis).
  
• Gotta get a true safety. If ever a need for a 4*+, ready to play guy it's here. Otherwise JUCO we go again.
  

At this point, OL, S, DT, RB are our priorities. That's a pretty good chunk of the class still missing (including the trenches). All-in-all pretty ho-hum thus far. #20-25ish ranking. It'll turn out to be a good class 4 years from now primarily because we'll be able to take 26-28 (so we might even crack top 20 with the numbers). But nothing to get too excited over. Nothing thus far that would lead me to believe Nebraska will be taking those next steps into the elite. If we do, it'll have to be coaching, because it doesn't look to be recruiting.

 

[kchusker_chris]

here's another thing about our recruiting that is a little troubling. remember when we used to own the state of Missouri? Pinkel has 10 recruits from KC/Missouri, including 2 4* guys, and 4 from the KC area. We talk so much about recruiting to Nebraska being so difficult because of the proximity to recruits...well we've officially yielded a decent state for talent just 200 miles south --- to a bottom dweller SEC team.

 

[knapplc]

Rex won't even get invited to New York if the O Line isn't vastly improved. No more whiffs on blocks. No more blown assignments. No more drive-killing mental mistakes resulting in penalties. No more worrying about the second and third levels before the first level is sealed. No more running plays stuffed in the backfield because our linemen are getting shoved off their heels.

 

[NUance]

Nebraska's Rex Burkhead rushed for 1,357 yards in 2011, the most by a Cornhusker running back since 1997.

LINK​

Photo and caption of the SI article. fyi

 

[kchusker_chris]

Rex won't even get invited to New York if the O Line isn't vastly improved. No more whiffs on blocks. No more blown assignments. No more drive-killing mental mistakes resulting in penalties. No more worrying about the second and third levels before the first level is sealed. No more running plays stuffed in the backfield because our linemen are getting shoved off their heels.

makes you wonder how good he'd be at a place like Wisconsin. he'd done a lot with very little.