Stability Among the Big 12 North

H

huskersurfer

Three-Star Recruit
Reading the article on Husker Extra they say that Nebraska had 50 redshirts this year. The most in the country! Anyone know about how many teams usually redshirt! Having that large number of redshirt freshman next year has to be a huge advantage for the team next year.

See article HERE

 
I can see it both ways.

A chance to grow up a little bit, but also the fact that we are not getting Freshman that ready to play right away.

That also is a lot of players with no field experience going into next year.

I can see it as a positive and a negative. We really won't know until next season.

 
skersfan said:
I can see it both ways.

A chance to grow up a little bit, but also the fact that we are not getting Freshman that ready to play right away.

That also is a lot of players with no field experience going into next year.

I can see it as a positive and a negative. We really won't know until next season.
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Maybe I read it wrong, but I got the impression that those 50 players are already on the team this year practicing. They do at least have one year within the college system under their belts.

 
A wealth of redshirted playersNebraska has played only three true freshmen this season -- Alfonzo Dennard, Mason Wald and walk-on Matt Holt.

(Cameron Meredith and Sean Fisher each appeared in one game, but Husker coaches are hoping they're given medical redshirts).

So, all told, Nebraska will end up redshirting nearly 50 players in the class of 2008.

I included this statistic in a column today as an example of what I see as stability in the Husker program.

"It may not always be like that here," defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said of the high number of redshirts. "We just felt it was important this year to do that and develop those guys. Now, in hindsight, you're really glad you did it. And I think it's going to mean good things for this program as time goes on."

The high number of redshirts can be traced in part to having new coaches installing new systems.

"We felt like this year being our first year -- the system was new on defense, and a lot of new wrinkles on offense -- that we needed to focus primarily on our veterans and their development within the system," Carl Pelini explained. "It was quite literally hard to get enough work to those young guys."

Now that the older players are versed in the system, "You can have a little more time with the young guys," Pelini said. "And maybe each year there are more and more of those true freshmen that end up playing for you."

Nebraska's class of 2008 included about 30 walk-ons. Will the Huskers have that many walk-ons in every class?

"That's something we have to talk about," Pelini said. "It really comes down to a question of numbers and facilities and what we can handle. Shoot, you'd love to take 30 every year. But after four years, you'd have a small army out there and you wouldn't have enough lockers for the players."
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http://journalstar.com/blog/huskers.php?ti...p;tb=1&pb=1

 
skersfan said:
I can see it both ways.

A chance to grow up a little bit, but also the fact that we are not getting Freshman that ready to play right away.

That also is a lot of players with no field experience going into next year.

I can see it as a positive and a negative. We really won't know until next season.
Click to expand...

I see how it can be a negative but I think having a player 100% ready to see the field is better than sending a guy out to play when he isn't ready just so he can have on the field experience. These redshirts will see the field with confidence that has been gained from practice.

 
i really like the idea for THIS year...i dont think we will see this every year...i think more and more true freshman will play in the coming years

 
huskersurfer said:
skersfan said:
I can see it both ways.

A chance to grow up a little bit, but also the fact that we are not getting Freshman that ready to play right away.

That also is a lot of players with no field experience going into next year.

I can see it as a positive and a negative. We really won't know until next season.
Click to expand...

I see how it can be a negative but I think having a player 100% ready to see the field is better than sending a guy out to play when he isn't ready just so he can have on the field experience. These redshirts will see the field with confidence that has been gained from practice.
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Although one could make the argument that no one is ever 100% ready to see the field until they actually see the field for a while. There's a difference between being as best prepared as you can before seeing the field and being 100% ready. I have no problem redshirting players until they've learned all they can outside of playing on Saturdays.

 
I always go with the axiom 'Bo knows best'. Outside of that logic I don't see it as being a bad thing. I can't see this being the norm, but for the current time and situation, why not? Have to see how it plays out I guess.

 
I agree Bo knows best. The only draw back that I see is that the freshman we are recruiting are not the impact playes others may be getting.

I do not see it as a major hurdle by any means. We have to understand we are not going to get those highly sought after recruits that are capable of playing as a true freshman, on a regular basis. At least not at this time.

 
Pelini's establishing longevity. He's playing for the future, not the present. I don't think we'll see this every year, but for his first year in, to lay the groundwork for the program he envisions, this strikes me as a smart move. Get as many kids physically ready to play at the D-1 level, and then slowly but surely leak them onto the field on Saturday. Now we have 50 guys who are a year into Dobson's training program, a year into Pelini's scheme or Watson's playbook, practicing with other D1 athletes, and with four full years of playing time ahead of them.

I guess I don't see the downside, unless we have Reggie Bush on our depth chart and nobody knows it yet.

 
This is awesome. It can only help the program in the long run. Our depth will be much improved. Which after seeing this year we are in great need of.

P.S. TURNER GILL JUST TURNED DOWN ISU. My condolences Cy. Tell pollard to give me a ring, I play a mean game on PS3.

 
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