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Sherman: Too early to dismiss '10 class
OWH
Ted Gilmore has a message for any of you worried about Nebraska's recruiting after the recent loss of two pledges.
"We're not panicking," said Gilmore, the Huskers' fifth-year assistant coach in his third season as the recruiting coordinator. "Whoever's panicking, shame on them."
There's been some buzz among those who care too much about recruiting that NU lost focus this summer in building its class of 2010.
Nebraska secured recent pledges from defensive end Donovan Vestal of Arlington, Texas, and Tyler Evans of Waverly. But it lost receiver Keeston Terry and cornerback Anterio Sloan. Sloan reneged on his pledge over the weekend, leaving the Huskers with five commitments.
Big 12 rivals Oklahoma (23 commitments), Oklahoma State (22), Texas A&M (20) and Texas (19) are nearly finished recruiting. Missouri (14) and Kansas (13) aren't far behind.
"We know what we're doing," Gilmore said. "We've got plenty of people to target. We have a healthy board, and just because (people) think we should have more than we have, that's not their place."
Let's all take a deep breath and consider a few items.
• The Huskers have 14 seniors, all of whom are on scholarship. Translation: The 2010 recruiting class will be small, probably no more than 17 or 18 signees.
"It won't be a full class," Gilmore said. "You're going to make sure you take the right guy."
With fewer spaces available, every recruiting mistake is magnified.
• Which brings us to Sloan. The defender out of West Helena, Ark., said he had trouble of late reaching Marvin Sanders, the secondary coach who played a key role Sloan's initial decision in April.
A coach at Sloan's school said this week that the loss of interest was apparently mutual. Sloan was spooked by Nebraska's depth at cornerback. He also measured 5-foot-8 at a summer combine — not exactly the size of corner for which NU is searching to fill its reshaped group of diverse defensive backs.
Sloan committed to Nebraska without visiting Lincoln, always odd but especially when it happens nine months before signing day. Remember that a recruiting visit is important for the prospect to check out the school but also for the school to get a close look at the prospect.
• It's a down year in Nebraska. The Huskers have secured pledges from Evans and Aurora lineman Andrew Rodriguez.
A few others remain under consideration, but it's conceivable that NU won't offer a scholarship to another Nebraskan this season. In-state players are most likely to commit early. Of the 84 recruits committed to UT, OU, OSU and A&M, 88 percent live in Texas or Oklahoma.
Gilmore said the Huskers' recruiting board includes more than 300 players. And speaking of that recruiting board, there's a somewhat infamous quote attributed to Gilmore from the Huskers' Football 202 event in July, at which Gilmore supposedly said the NU coaches returned from vacation to learn that their top 30 prospects had committed elsewhere.
"It wasn't our top 30 prospects," Gilmore said this week. "I said 30 prospects committed. You can't sign them all."
All things considered, the Huskers look fine. If the last decade at Nebraska taught us anything about recruiting, it's that you can't accurately evaluate a class until the players get to campus and play.
As soon as Saturday, we may learn something from Rex Burkhead, Sean Fisher, Will Compton and Cody Green about the ability of Bo Pelini's coaches to recruit.
OWH
Ted Gilmore has a message for any of you worried about Nebraska's recruiting after the recent loss of two pledges.
"We're not panicking," said Gilmore, the Huskers' fifth-year assistant coach in his third season as the recruiting coordinator. "Whoever's panicking, shame on them."
There's been some buzz among those who care too much about recruiting that NU lost focus this summer in building its class of 2010.
Nebraska secured recent pledges from defensive end Donovan Vestal of Arlington, Texas, and Tyler Evans of Waverly. But it lost receiver Keeston Terry and cornerback Anterio Sloan. Sloan reneged on his pledge over the weekend, leaving the Huskers with five commitments.
Big 12 rivals Oklahoma (23 commitments), Oklahoma State (22), Texas A&M (20) and Texas (19) are nearly finished recruiting. Missouri (14) and Kansas (13) aren't far behind.
"We know what we're doing," Gilmore said. "We've got plenty of people to target. We have a healthy board, and just because (people) think we should have more than we have, that's not their place."
Let's all take a deep breath and consider a few items.
• The Huskers have 14 seniors, all of whom are on scholarship. Translation: The 2010 recruiting class will be small, probably no more than 17 or 18 signees.
"It won't be a full class," Gilmore said. "You're going to make sure you take the right guy."
With fewer spaces available, every recruiting mistake is magnified.
• Which brings us to Sloan. The defender out of West Helena, Ark., said he had trouble of late reaching Marvin Sanders, the secondary coach who played a key role Sloan's initial decision in April.
A coach at Sloan's school said this week that the loss of interest was apparently mutual. Sloan was spooked by Nebraska's depth at cornerback. He also measured 5-foot-8 at a summer combine — not exactly the size of corner for which NU is searching to fill its reshaped group of diverse defensive backs.
Sloan committed to Nebraska without visiting Lincoln, always odd but especially when it happens nine months before signing day. Remember that a recruiting visit is important for the prospect to check out the school but also for the school to get a close look at the prospect.
• It's a down year in Nebraska. The Huskers have secured pledges from Evans and Aurora lineman Andrew Rodriguez.
A few others remain under consideration, but it's conceivable that NU won't offer a scholarship to another Nebraskan this season. In-state players are most likely to commit early. Of the 84 recruits committed to UT, OU, OSU and A&M, 88 percent live in Texas or Oklahoma.
Gilmore said the Huskers' recruiting board includes more than 300 players. And speaking of that recruiting board, there's a somewhat infamous quote attributed to Gilmore from the Huskers' Football 202 event in July, at which Gilmore supposedly said the NU coaches returned from vacation to learn that their top 30 prospects had committed elsewhere.
"It wasn't our top 30 prospects," Gilmore said this week. "I said 30 prospects committed. You can't sign them all."
All things considered, the Huskers look fine. If the last decade at Nebraska taught us anything about recruiting, it's that you can't accurately evaluate a class until the players get to campus and play.
As soon as Saturday, we may learn something from Rex Burkhead, Sean Fisher, Will Compton and Cody Green about the ability of Bo Pelini's coaches to recruit.
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