Who entered a better situation?

[Dagerow]

I think there is a lot of talent here now. People say Suh and Amukamara, but I think Bo had a lot to do with their development.

Suh, prior to Bo, was a different player. Take a look at the USC game where they ran it at him repeatedly. Also, Amukamara was a 3 star athlete/rb, who changed to defense based upon Bo's suggestion (if my memory serves me right) who flourished in Bo's scheme.

Right now, I think we have great talent. Not only are they great players, they also are (for the most part) people with integrity and a great mental framework. Bo didn't just recruit players. He recruited men and looked at their maturity too. I think he was great at evaluating talent.

We have at least two potential NFL DLs, as well as Gerry who should make it as well. There is lots of talent all over the field. My concern isn't with the talent, but with depth at certain positions. Injuries, at certain positions, will have a lot to do with our success.

Admittly, I do think our QB group is not ideal for Riley. There is no "premier" qb, and they are all running qbs. I was hoping in the last recruiting cycle he could pull in a 4 or 5 star qb. (that is not an attack on Riley. I know it is next to impossible to get a highly touted qb late in the game. It was a "hope", something I thought would really add excitement for the new higher and future of NU football).

(I know my memory is not the best, so if any of the above is incorrect, feel free to correct it.)

 

[zoogs]

Prince was already a CB when Bo arrived, but it's a really common misconception -- a lot of TV announcers carried the myth.

But you're right, a lot of players flourished under Bo and that is to his credit. It's why we might call QB, RB, OL or WR well-stocked positions right now -- because on paper, there are a lot of recruits with promise. Because certainly none of them have shown it yet. But other positions are just dangerously thin, and that could really hurt us in year one.

I think overall though, we do have good talent. But the roster, numbers wise and management wise, isn't in the shape it could have been. Maybe that's splitting hairs but a few extra spots can have an impact.

 

[admo]

I believe Terrence Nunn was the fumbling culprit, not Brandon Jackson. I know it was a receiver.

Nunn... Wow nice memory, thank you! +1 that was driving me crazy

 

[Dagerow]

Prince was already a CB when Bo arrived, but it's a really common misconception -- a lot of TV announcers carried the myth.

But you're right, a lot of players flourished under Bo and that is to his credit. It's why we might call QB, RB, OL or WR well-stocked positions right now -- because on paper, there are a lot of recruits with promise. Because certainly none of them have shown it yet. But other positions are just dangerously thin, and that could really hurt us in year one.

I think overall though, we do have good talent. But the roster, numbers wise and management wise, isn't in the shape it could have been. Maybe that's splitting hairs but a few extra spots can have an impact.

I misspoke, but there is some truth to my above point about Prince. Apparently, he was forced to move by Callahan and wasn't happy. He decided he was going to transfer after his redshirt freshman year, so he could play rb. However, Bo encouraged (/not forced) him to stay on defense, saying he had the potential to make money. Bo's words ultimately started to make sense to him, and he followed Bo's advice.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft2011/news/story?id=6225668

 

[HuskerNationNick]

If Riley and his staff turns some of these kids into stars (and it could happen with guys like Collins, Valentine and M Rose) next year, you think we would view this roster as being more talented than the one Bo took over?

I personally think there is a misconception of the roster Bo took over. I didn't think it was filled with talent, or stars, until we got to see what they were like under Bo.

 

[ADS]

Bo easy. People wanted him after Solich was fired and he built goodwill from his '03 defense. Callahan left such a bad taste in nearly everyone's mouth, combined with what he did in '03, made it a welcoming transition. Not to mention Callahan left Bo a good deal of talent. Not saying Bo didn't leave Riley any, but there are sizable deficiencies at QB and the front 7 that weren't there for Bo.

Nailed it

 

[Blackshirt96]

I'd say it's pretty close[SIZE=11pt]—[/SIZE]the situation each guy walked into.

• Fan's wanting a new guy: When Bo took over there was much more clamor by the fans to fire Callahan and get a new coach. Bo was universally recognized as a guy who could be our savior. Back then anyway. Sure, there was a lot of talk about firing Bo five months ago. But it certainly wasn't universal like it was back in 2007. Not even close. (Edge to Bo.)
• Recruiting class loss: If you recall, when Callahan got fired we lost nearly our entire recruiting class. Sure, Bo pulled in a number of solid 11th hour recruits. But if you look back at that 2008 recruiting class you'll see a lot of names of guys who never sniffed the depth chart. The transition in bringing Riley in was MUCH more smooth. Barely even a hiccup in the 2015 recruiting. (Edge to Riley.)
• Roster Talent: Talent-wise on the whole roster, I'd say it's pretty even.
• Expectations for performance: And finally, as for fan expectations, we're another seven years removed from the period of Husker dominance that was the 90s. I think our expectations are tempered a bit too. Or at least mine are.

I voted for Riley. I think he is equipped with a better attitude and outlook to succeed at DONU. I don't think Rile will alienate the fans, reporters, refs, his boss, the kid at the drive-up window of MacDonalds, etc. like Bo had a propensity to do.

I don't think that this team has anywhere the talent that Bo was left. Granted that talent still needed to be molded which Bo did a great job of doing, but I don't see any Suh's or Amukamara's on this team.

Yeah, Suh was one of a kind. We don't have a game changer like him. But Nate Gerry could easily be a first round pick in a couple years. And who know how big of an impact Pierson-El will be in Riley's offense.

If you look at the whole roster I don't think we're lacking for talent right now. Not far off from where we were when Pelini started out. /JMHO

Maliek Collins is right about where Suh was after his Soph year maybe even slightly better. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that Collins will be the next Suh, but I'm also not saying he couldn't be. He also gets to play along side VV. There is a lot of talent at DT.

IMO the QB spot is the biggest difference. Joe Ganz in the same offense vs Tommy Armstrong in a new offense. Riley also will be under a microscope his first year after taking over a 9 win team. Pelini was taking over a program that was down in the dumps & had a little lower expectations.

 

[Redux]

I'm actually pretty surprised with the poll standings. I kinda expected Bo in a landslide.

It's nice seeing us at least able to look back and say "Bo did this right". He did indeed develop some serious talent under his watch. It's just too bad he didn't develop into the HC we needed.

Riley has a tough task ahead I think. Basically has to turn a union into a family again all the while implementing a new business model. And guess what, no easy sale your first day. Some Mormons are going to come for a meeting and they won't pull any punches.

 

[Count 'Bility]

If this new direction of the defense goes as advertised, Collins, and maybe even Valentine as well, will be a hell of a lot more impactful than Gregory ever wouldve dreamed of being. When Collins lets loose, he's is absolutely unblockable. His low center of gravity and his first step are incredible for a 300 pounder and his hand techniques from his wrestling background are insane. This was a guy that's been misused in the heavy 2 gap scheme under Bo. This guy is like a Warren Sapp or a Suh. He needs to be set loose to penetrate and disrupt. Do that against Wisconsin last year instead of allowing their offense to dicatate everything all the time and all those traps and powers they run get stuffed and theyre probably luck to make it to 30.

 

[QMany]

In key spots, Bo walked into a WAY better spot. Helu, Ganz, Suh, Amukamara. We have a bundle of QB's and RB's that have to be sorted through and yeah we can only hope to get Suh like production out of Gerry or Valentine.

To play devils advocate, those players were 3, 2, 4, and 3 star recruits, respectively.

At the same positions, Riley walks into:

RB: Terrell Newby, Mikale Wilbon, and Adam Taylor, all 4 stars.

QB: Tommy Armstrong and Johnny Stanton, three stars and Elite 11.

DT: Vincent Valentine and Maliek Collins, both 3 stars with NFL futures. Davis Twins, both 4 stars.

CB: Eric Lee and Avery Anderson, both 4 stars.

Bo had the luxury of having those guys a little more matured and "sorted" when he took over, but Riley has a lot of talent and a lot of years with said talent at those key spots.

 

[Redux]

In key spots, Bo walked into a WAY better spot. Helu, Ganz, Suh, Amukamara. We have a bundle of QB's and RB's that have to be sorted through and yeah we can only hope to get Suh like production out of Gerry or Valentine.

To play devils advocate, those players were 3, 2, 4, and 3 star recruits, respectively.
At the same positions, Riley walks into:

RB: Terrell Newby, Mikale Wilbon, and Adam Taylor, all 4 stars.

QB: Tommy Armstrong and Johnny Stanton, three stars and Elite 11.

DT: Vincent Valentine and Maliek Collins, both 3 stars with NFL futures. Davis Twins, both 4 stars.

CB: Eric Lee and Avery Anderson, both 4 stars.

Bo had the luxury of having those guys a little more matured and "sorted" when he took over, but Riley has a lot of talent and a lot of years with said talent at those key spots.

Even if we say the talent level overall is even to both scenarios, I still give the advantage to Bo. Riley has to clear 9 wins, convince a group of guys to buy in still reeling from the regime change, and figure out who the hell is going to take snaps come fall.

Bo could have went 7-6 and been considered an improvement. The players were mostly all on board for new leadership, and Joe Ganz was a lock at QB.

 

[RunMickeyRun02]

I don't think it's an apples to apples thing. I think both are entering the right situation for each of them.

Riley thought this was his last chance to do something special, to see what he could do with the resources at at a place like Nebraska. He seems to enjoy the non-coaching stuff Bo hated (meeting folks, shaking hands, interviews, press conferences etc).

Bo gets to return to his hometown, a lower profile job, focus on the coaching aspect, less emphasis on recruiting, less pressure to win.

 

[Redux]

I don't think it's an apples to apples thing. I think both are entering the right situation for each of them.

Riley thought this was his last chance to do something special, to see what he could do with the resources at at a place like Nebraska. He seems to enjoy the non-coaching stuff Bo hated (meeting folks, shaking hands, interviews, press conferences etc).

Bo gets to return to his hometown, a lower profile job, focus on the coaching aspect, less emphasis on recruiting, less pressure to win.

It wasn't Bo entering YSU, it's did Bo or Riley have it easier coming into Nebraska.

 

[TGHusker]

Bo had it easier based on two words: Expectations & Acceptance After BC's last season, our win total expectations were less. BC had 2 losing seasons in 4 years. We just wanted to be consistently above 500 again.

Acceptance: Most of us immediately accepted Bo back in the NU family because of his DC role in 2003 and his success at LSU as DC. (Paul Johnson, at Navy at that time, was my 1st choice wt Bo as my second choice - experience as a HC over a good DC but no HC experience). We felt that all that needed to be fixed was the D and Bo would get that done. Most of us believed that the O was in good shape and that Ganz should have been the starter during BC last year (I think the players knew it too and that was a big part of losing the players during that disastrous year. ) Wt Ganz at the wheel and Bo over the D - most thought this would be a easy turn a round.

MR comes in this year with much higher expectations. We've gotten use to 9 wins each year so now the bar is not only to bring in the 9+ wins but the hardware also and now. Acceptance: I think 99% of us said "WHO" when MR was named as our coach. We were looking for the splash hire who would guaranty us that hardware next year or at the latest year 2. While I think many of us have now dealt wt the acceptance part - we seem to think that he and his staff are an upgrade, we like his demeanor, tone, and hiws embrace of NU tradition - we still have this hesitancy based on his pass record. So the jury is still out - he still isn't one of us until he proves it on the field. Bo was one of us the day he came back to become our HC.

 

[Redux]

Bump

Would anybody change their answer now? I still think Bo had it wasy easier coming into Nebraska than Riley has had it.