Very Encouraging Class

kchusker_chris said:
i do expect us to close the gap. if we don't we're in for a lot of frustration in the coming years. we never had to compete directly with Oklahoma/Texas. Our road to the championship game in the Big12 wasn't exactly difficult. We went into nearly every game in the north race with the best tallent on the field. and will still didn't reach the title game for a number of years. we get Michigan every year now. we have to be closer from a tallent perspective than we are currently. Meyer will outcoach Pelini. Mattison will outcoach Beck. tallent will be what we have to rely on. right now we don't have it. undersigning is not the way to get it.
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It seems that you think that the coaches at Michigan and at OSU are superior to those at NU (which I think is indeed the case --- they are several levels up from our staff). So why would you expect an inferior staff (ours at NU) to recruit better than a superior staff? Am I correct in concluding that you are really saying that we need to out-recruit them, and we want to out-recruit them --- not that you expect them to actually do it?

If so... we agree. NU needs to close the talent gap. I want them to. But I do not see it as a possibility at this point.

So... for me, comparing this class to Michigan or OSU is not realistic --- of course those classes are superior. That said, there is encouragment to be had --- we got some good kids.

 
Manhattan, KS is much harder to recruit to than Lincoln, NE. Snyder has made a living off JuCo's. LaVonte David was a JuCo. Maybe we need to hit this angle a little more. Bo in his four years here has definitely got some diamonds in the rough with regards to JuCo players. The thing that concerns me about falling behind to Michigan and Ohio State is they have better coaches. With better talent on their side as well, the Big 10 will turn into nothing more than a two horse race year in and year out. If we can't get better high school athletes than them, maybe we should try to get better JuCo's?

 
robsker said:
kchusker_chris said:
i do expect us to close the gap. if we don't we're in for a lot of frustration in the coming years. we never had to compete directly with Oklahoma/Texas. Our road to the championship game in the Big12 wasn't exactly difficult. We went into nearly every game in the north race with the best tallent on the field. and will still didn't reach the title game for a number of years. we get Michigan every year now. we have to be closer from a tallent perspective than we are currently. Meyer will outcoach Pelini. Mattison will outcoach Beck. tallent will be what we have to rely on. right now we don't have it. undersigning is not the way to get it.
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It seems that you think that the coaches at Michigan and at OSU are superior to those at NU (which I think is indeed the case --- they are several levels up from our staff). So why would you expect an inferior staff (ours at NU) to recruit better than a superior staff? Am I correct in concluding that you are really saying that we need to out-recruit them, and we want to out-recruit them --- not that you expect them to actually do it?

If so... we agree. NU needs to close the talent gap. I want them to. But I do not see it as a possibility at this point.

So... for me, comparing this class to Michigan or OSU is not realistic --- of course those classes are superior. That said, there is encouragment to be had --- we got some good kids.
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Inferior on the field does not have to translate to inferior in recruiting. Pelini had an oportunity to bring in an ace recruiter this year and his missed it IMO. See Washington as a prime example. Our coaches need (and I expect them) to be able to out-recruit UCLA, Washington, etc. Going head-to-head in a recruiting battle over an Ohio kid with OSU is not what I'm talkign about. What I'm talking about is out-recruiting some of the other 20 schools in between us. Getting 2-3 of the guys they are taking from us. AND NEVER UNDERSIGN! It's a number game. We missed on more kids in that 2007 class than we signed in total this year. But you know what...that still left 15 solid contributers. Do you expect us to get 15 solid contributers out of this class when 50% usually don't pan out? Not a chance.

 
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zoogies said:
A big big part of recruiting isn't talent per person, it's having enough persons.

And yeah, I know we're Nebraska and nobody wants to come here and everything, but we've got to close the gap if we want to compete on a consistent basis with these guys. Maybe we can't beat 'em, but we'll need to get closer in order to raise the level of talent and athleticism we put out on the field.

Or hope that we get lucky ;) The 2007 class was not extremely heralded, but it ended up being one of our finest classes in years.

The backbone of this team will always be blue-collar, hard-working kids throughout the roster, scholarship or not. But you know what? We also need the Lavonte Davids who are also freak-level talents, and we need them bad. Imagine a defense without David last year. Not only do we need him, we need more athletes of his caliber all over the field. Frankly, the future of the secondary right now is downright concerning.
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Zoogies:

Not to change the intent of the OP for this thread (which, oddly, was me) --- but the primary reason for not competing overly with the top teams in the B1G is more a function of coaching than talent --- both are an issue... but the coaching gap is really, really huge. NU needs to take the talent they have and get it to play hard, every player, every play, every game (something this staff has not been able to do or even remotely approach). Our staff cannot continue to allow our players to play with such lack of focus, with poor fundamentals, confused re: scheme, Our staff must manage the roster that it has better.

The coaches we have are not, at all... encourageing. But, being a fringe top 25 program.... with this staff... I think the recruiting class is very encouraging. better than I thought it would be. But yes, relative to the elite it is true... we did not make up ground. We did, however, address some needs well (DB, LB, QB).

 
Regarding the undersigning.... the day (even week, I suppose) is not yet over. There is a chance that Smith (a S), Ford (a CB), or someone else that NU has been after may sign on.

The staff was holding out for some big guys that went elsewhere... it may be later in the day that we land a player or two more... perhaps someone really needed. Let us see how it plays out.

And, here I could be mistaken... but is not Charles jackson in need of a scholarship? If he clears the tings that need to be cleared and takes one of these scholarships that would be a huge addition.

Again. Lets see how it plays out. It is not yet over.

 
robsker said:
Does anyone really expect us to close the gap with OSU (with their coaches) or with Michigan (with their coaches and their being on a recent upswing)? Certainly we might desire, draem and wish for a "gap-closing" recruiting class. But that cannot be the standard we use to assess this class. It is a good class. Smaller than, but likely comparable to NU's recent classes in terms of talent per person. And, the needs that were most pressing were addressed.
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Well said, robsker. Especially about meeting our needs. Even better, some more vicious linemen.

We really needed some more road graders and we got a few good ones with Thurston & Whitaker. That's our 3rd straight year with some quality Olinemen although I really, really wanted one more (even with a small class). Some are very high on walkon Utter. Maybe walk-on Johns can contribute too. Decent chance one of them might help.

The Dline scored big for sure w/Valentine, Moss, Curry & McMullen. I like that a lot. Honestly, I think Bo decided lineplay on both sides of the ball is priority numero uno the last couple of years. Makes sense to me.

LBs & the secondary, again as you said did just great!

For a small class I'm happy with it! Just think, next year we get a LOT bigger one. Just keep loading up on the big uglies, Bo.....

 
This class left something to be desired for me. Big time. Considering we missed on the following recruits that I was REALLY pushing for.

Fuller

Foster

Diggs

Peat

Lambert

Bullard.

These are the type of athletes we need to reel in and it seems that this year for the first time we really missed our mark.

I just think that we are lacking contributors in this class. Rose, Anderson, McMullen, Siesay, and Westerkamp are great, we just need more of it.

 
We ended up with the #24 class. #19 by average stars.

Could it have been better? Sure. But to focus more on the guys we didn't sign than the guys we signed..... that's just sad.

 
I'm not focusing more on who we didn't sign, but it is something to look at. This class compared to last years class is just a large drop in overall talent in my opinion.

 
We definitely have fewer stars on average than last year. But wasn't last year kind of a peak year?

2012 - 3.35

2011 - 3.53

2010 - 3.24

2009 - 3.25

2008 - 2.96

Granted, 2008 was Bo's first year, but this is his second-best class.

 
I really like the athletes we brought in especially Seisay and Moore at the CB spot. Those two bring something we hvan't had in awhile at the CB position, length. Westerkamp is a very good WR, and I like Thurston.

The most important position for this class was LB, and I love the guys we brought in.

 
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