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passionate Husker fans share their ideas and opinions in the
Internet galaxy, with just as many, or more, avid readers. Message
boards and fan sites are going crazy with speculation about
what is next for the Husker Nation. This is the idea behind
our BIGHUSKERFAN.COM roundtable discussion. |
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 Are
you happy with the staff Bo Pelini seems to be assembling?
What
do you think abut these guys from a recruiting perspective?
How
about from a coaching perspective? |
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First of all I
want to say how happy I am that Bo Pelini is the Huskers
new coach. I am so stoked that Bo is the new head coach
of my Huskers I could kiss Tom Osborne right on the mouth
.As far as I am concerned this is the best news I have
heard out of Huskerville since that idiot Steve Pederson
passed on Bo the first time. I think Pelini is the perfect
coach to bring NU back to where we were, a top 10 team.
A team with swagger, a team that had a presence on the
field, a team that other teams hate to play, a team they
know they played 4 days later.
It was only four years ago, when Cornhuskers fans were
pulling for Pelini to replace Frank Solich, who was fired
after a 9-3 season in 2003.It was only four years ago
that after Kansas State defeated us 38-9 in Lincoln, Pelini
chased down Wildcats wind bag coach Bill Snyder at midfield
and jumped his ass for running up the score. Imagine after
four years of Callahan thinking that 38-9 was running
up the score. This is the kind of coach NU needs.
"Guys were ready to run through a wall for him, he
is such a great motivator. He'd print out cards with different
quotes and leave them in their locker to fire up the defense
before games, and when it came to X's and O's, he definitely
had "it" This is a guy that actually knows how
to make adjustments at half time. Definitely not the kind
of defense Kevin Cosgrove was so fond of.
After Pelini annihilated Michigan State 17-3 in the Alamo
Bowl, we were chanting "Bo, Bo" as he left the
field.
In the end, it didn't matter. Steve Pederson had "other
ideas.
Pelini said Nebraska AD Pederson "stopped talking"
to him in the days leading up to the bowl game and, following
the victory, Pederson didn't fly back to Lincoln with
the team.
I quess Pederson eventually spoke with Pelini about the
opening, but Pelini said it was clear he had no chance
of landing the job.
"It was just a token interview," Pelini said.
" (Pederson) brought me in because he had to bring
me in. He told me I was being considered, but I don't
think I ever was. He wanted to hire a name guy. He would've
hired anybody that had a big name." That "big
name" was Bill Callahan and as far as I am concerned
the worst coach that could have been picked. Now is the
time to make up for that mistake and Bo is the answer.
I can already hear the fanboys on the message boards complaining
about TO’s search for the new head coach wasn’t
intensive enough and not enough time was spent looking
for "name" coaches. "We need a HC with
experience as HC, we need a NFL guy ,we need a fat guy
like Kansas ,we need a Brian Kelly or a Jim Grobe,bla
bla bla". We don’t need any of those things.
What we do need is Bo Pelini, and if you don’t believe
that, be careful he might take you outside and beat the
hell out of you. OK, now about the round-table questions:
Are you happy with the staff Bo Pelini seems to be assembling?
Hell yes, are you kidding me? These coaches are the best
of both worlds. Guys that know what it is like to be a
Husker, yet accomplished in their own coaching specialties.
Guys like Ron Brown are exactly what we need to get this
team back on track.
What do you think abut these guys
from a recruiting perspective?
I have two words to say about recruiting, Tom Osborne.
I think that Dr. Tom and Bo will be very successful in
recruiting all over the USA. Kids in H.S. know about the
history of the Big Red and they know about Bo,s successes
at LSU,I am sure they will do fine.
How about from a coaching perspective?
We already know what we are getting from Bo as a coach
and that is a hell of a lot better than we have had the
last four years. It will be nice to see a coach that actually
knows how to make adjustments at half time. BO is the
new Bob Devaney-the Bofather. |
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| John Carter |
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Are you happy
with the staff Bo Pelini seems to be assembling?
The staff that Bo Pelini seems to be assembling at Nebraska
seems to have a bit of everything. A little of this, a
little of that.
Let’s start on offense: Shawn Watson represents
continuity on offense, something both Bo Pelini and Tom
Osborne seemed to have wanted on that particular side
of the ball. Ted Gilmore represents a dedication to the
recruiting system that was refined in Lincoln under Bill
Callahan and the watchful eye of Tim Cassidy. Barney Cotton
represents a desire to be a physical force on the offensive
side of the ball, something the Cornhuskers seemed to
be lacking the past four seasons. Ron Brown represents
the dedication that Nebraska has to developing young men
and not just top-notch athletes. He is a walking embodiment
of the motto, “More than winning”.
On defense coach Pelini seems to be assembling a unique
blend of youth and knowledge. Marvin Sanders represents
a playmaking secondary, one that should be as brash as
it is disciplined. John Papuchis represents a youthful
exuberance on the recruiting trail, someone who seems
on the verge of developing into one of the nation’s
most feared recruiters. Mike Ekeler represents reckless
abandon and high-effort, things that any successful defense
will need in abundance. Ekeler also brings a wealth of
special team knowledge with him to Lincoln. Carl Pelini,
rumored to be named defensive coordinator, represents
familiarity. He is someone that his brother can lean to
and rely upon to be his eyes in the sky.
There seems to be a certain amount of unknown factors
when it comes to a couple of these coaches, most notably
Papuchis and Ekeler. Though there is also a great amount
of trust between staff members when you begin talking
about guys like the Pelini brothers, Sanders, Cotton and
Brown. Another aspect that many are seemingly neglecting
is that each of these coaches brought in by Bo Pelini
realize what Cornhuskers football means to the great state
of Nebraska. They have grown up in Nebraska, played for
Cornhuskers or coached for the Big Red (or in some cases
combinations of the aforementioned).
There are some potential concerns as well. Questions such
as: Will Ted Gilmore look to jump on the next Greyhound
out of town the next time that the NFL comes looking?
Or will Ron Brown assert himself on coaches like Watson
and Gilmore and convince them just how great an opportunity
it is to remain in Lincoln, even if you are not yourself
sitting in the big seat? Will Shawn Watson view Barney
Cotton and Ron Brown as peers? Will he be susceptive of
their advice and input in all matters offensively? I do
see where there is the potential for a rift on that side
of the ball, though I also believe that each of those
coaches are professional enough to make it a working relationship.
I don’t see any of those issues or concerns on the
defensive side of the ball. Every defensive coach should
be lock step with what Bo Pelini wishes to accomplish
defensively. There are some young bucks that will be learning
from some very accomplished coaches. I like the chemistry
that appears to be forming within the new defensive staff.
What do you think about these guys from a recruiting
perspective?
Ron Brown has always been an above-average recruiter.
His message and sincere approach to prospective recruits
has always been an asset to the University of Nebraska.
Families always seem to be assured that their youngsters
are I good hands after a conversation with Brown. After
a four year hiatus from coaching he should be invigorated
and primed to make a difference on the recruiting circuit.
The two young guys that followed coach Pelini from Baton
Rouge, John Papuchis and Mike Ekeler, bring a lot of energy
to the recruiting aspect of things. Both guys have assembled
eval tapes as well as broken down film with the likes
of Bob Stoops and Bo Pelini. They know exactly what type
of player that coach Pelini is looking for and they seem
to be relating rather well to the current generation of
high school prospects. Papuchis is particular seems to
be a top-tier recruiter in the making.
Barney Cotton is more than able to reel in his fair share
of recruits but he will never be confused with Dennis
Wagner in the living room. Marvin Sanders has a very infectious
personality and kids seem to be drawn to him but he has
lacked the will to recruit at times in the past. He’s
always going to be a lot better on official visits to
Lincoln than he is on the road. Carl Pelini has some Ohio
and Pennsylvania contacts that could prove invaluable
over time to the Nebraska recruiting efforts.
Shawn Watson and Ted Gilmore are obviously well known
for their recruiting prowess. Gilmore has become the linchpin
as far as closing out the 2008 recruiting class. He has
been instrumental in gathering background information
on each prospect and relaying that to coach Pelini in
such a short amount of time. Gilmore has also coordinated
the efforts as to what staff member goes where, if not
for him the Cornhuskers would be in a lot of trouble right
now. The guy has done a tremendous job. Watson has been
working on building a lot of relationship in both Nebraska
and the heartland region in general that had been severed
or strained throughout the Callahan era.
Nebraska seems to be adhering to the Tim Cassidy recruiting
system. Cornhusker fans should be ecstatic about this
as this formula has been quite successful over the past
four years. Now there will be tweaks made as kids will
be pitched on the merits of the University of Nebraska
and what our programs, both academically and athletically,
can offer them rather than how it can simply be a bridge
to their NFL dreams. We will begin to see an influx of
kids who want to play for Nebraska instead of simply at
Nebraska. That’s a culture that this great school
should never have been allowed to lose.
How
about from a coaching perspective?
Again, I will begin on the offensive side of the ball:
Shawn Watson was handcuffed at times under former head
coach Bill Callahan, who was the de facto offensive coordinator.
Now that Watson should be given free reign over the offensive
system and be allowed to call plays I suspect that we
will see an offense that has multiple facets. Equal part
spread offense, timing-based short/intermediate passing
game and power running schemes. We can probably also expect
some semblance of the quarterback running game.
Watson has done some fine work in readying both Sam Keller
and Joey Ganz this past season. From all accounts Pat
Witt is also ahead of schedule in terms of his development.
I think that this was very much a known commodity and
his retention for 2008 should bode well for the quarterbacks
that we have in our system.
Teddy Gilmore has had some questionable success developing
receivers while at Nebraska. Todd Peterson, Nate Swift
and Terrence Nunn have improved under his watch, though
many may argue that they have also leveled off. It remains
to be seen what he is able to do with raw talents such
as Meno Holt, Will Henry, Niles Paul and Curenski Gilleylen.
The wide receiver corps at Nebraska is arguably the deepest
in school history, so Gilmore will have a full cupboard
in which to work with in 2008.
Ron Brown has a long track record taking tight ends to
the next level. Todd Millikan, Johnny Mitchell, Sheldon
Jackson, Tracey Wistrom and Matt Herian are simply a few
of the talents that Brown has developed for the Cornhuskers.
Brown is also one of the greatest cultivators of men at
the collegiate level. His experiences, both in life and
athletics, will aid him in his second go round in Lincoln.
He has the ability to teach a tight end sound blocking
technique as well as how to gain separation over the middle
of the football field and create space in the red zone.
Coach Brown is as demanding in practice as he is on game
day, never allowing one of his charges to give less than
maximum effort.
Barney Cotton will instill a mean streak in the offensive
line. The days of hitting high and hard in practices are
now a thing of the past. Coach Cotton not only preaches
toughness and aggression but also walks that line himself.
It is not out of the norm to witness Cotton to drop down
in a three-point stance in practice to teach technique
to a young lineman in full pads, himself without the benefit
of any safety equipment. Barney talks tough and walks
even tougher. He not only expects his offensive linemen
to be dominant but he wants them to do so with an attitude,
a swagger that has been long missing from the bowls of
Memorial Stadium. And how could anyone talk about Barney
Cotton without quoting the famous, "When we get inside
that 10 yard line, that's our f%^&ing piece of real
estate!!!” What more could you ask for in an o-line
coach?
If there is one thing that Nebraska fans can be assured
of on the offensive side of the ball under this staff
it is that a player who does not give maximum effort in
both practice and games will not see the field under these
coaches watch. The Cornhuskers will be a physical football
team, hell bent on administering their will on their opponent
week in and week out.
Many naysayers would have you believe that Carl Pelini
is nothing more than an updated case of nepotism manifesting
itself on the sidelines of Memorial Stadium. Quite the
contrary, you see Carl has been coaching up the defensive
line at Ohio under Frank Solich rather well. His charges
have accounted for roughly two-thirds of the sacks that
the Bobcat defense has amassed over the past couple of
seasons. Carl worked with the defensive ends at Nebraska
in 2003 as a graduate assistant prior to taking the defensive
coordinator job at Minnesota State-Mankato in 2004 where
he engineered the best turnaround in Division II. Carl
has also coached prep ball in both Kansas City and Ohio,
which should further help recruiting in those Midwestern
talent hotbeds. And after all the Bob Stoops/Mike Stoops
setup worked fairly well in Norman, let’s hope the
updated version of Bo Pelini/Carl Pelini turns out just
as good up in Lincoln.
Marvin Sanders returns to Lincoln presumably to coach
the secondary at Nebraska. He has long been a proponent
of ball-hawking defensive backs who takes risks, albeit
calculated ones. At each stop Marvin seems to get his
d-backs to play with swagger and confidence, and the turnover
numbers always seem to swing in their favor. Attack, attack,
attack will be the mantra. Instead of reacting to receivers
we will begin to see our cornerbacks play a physical style
and our safety’s fly to the ball. Besides possessing
the ability to teach sound technique coach Sanders also
draws players into his inner circle and gains their trust
and respect. This enables Sanders to ride these kids in
practice, demanding perfection. Marvin also has a wealth
of experience in all levels of the defense, so he should
be instrumental in bringing along the younger Mike Ekeler
and John Papuchis.
We also must talk about energy and effort. Mike Ekeler
is a high energy guy who was a special teams dynamo while
at Kansas State. And he obviously is from the Pelini/Stoops
school of defense as when you start talking defense he
talks about that magic word, effort. As Ekeler said, “One
thing that people will be able to see about our defense
is that will be pure effort all the time. We are going
to run multiple formations, but still keep things simple.”
Mike from all reports relates well to the collegiate players
and he has been instrumental to coach Pelini as an intern.
Ekeler has also been a defensive coordinator under former
Nebraska assistant Jeff Jamrog. Some question whether
he is ready for a full-time coaching position at a place
at Nebraska, to which I would ask: Do you entrust the
defense to Bo Pelini and his track record of turning around
things on that side of the ball in record time? If the
answer is yes, which I imagine it is, then some patience
is probably in store as Mike Ekeler comes into his own.
John Papuchis has worked with both linebackers and the
secondary while performing a graduate assistant stint
at Kansas and in a support role at LSU. He played for
legendary defensive coordinator Bud Foster at Virginia
Tech. He brings a strong scouting background to the fold,
something that will help in the defensive game-planning
as he tracked tendencies for coach Pelini the past three
seasons in Baton Rouge. Papuchis seems to be slated to
either coaching defensive tackles and working with Carl
Pelini or coaching safeties and learning at the feet of
Marvin Sanders. Either way how could you go wrong? You
get a dose of youthful energy and unwavering commitment
to coach Pelini.
Most importantly I think that this staff brings a proven
track record of possessing the ability to motivate and
develop young men that they have been entrusted with.
They are a group of highly driven individuals whose greatest
asset may very be the sum of their part. Each brings something
unique to the table, a trait that this program will greatly
benefit from. Overall they are a great bunch of teachers,
the one trait that Bo Pelini seemed to harp on when asked
what he would be looking for when assembling his staff.
There is also a great amount of character on this staff.
This is spearheaded by our fearless leader, Bo Pelini,
who made some promises to a few of these coaches back
in 2003 and kept his word four years later. That is a
trait of a native Nebraskan if I ever heard one, a trait
that belongs to our adopted son. This staff gets what
it means to play for Nebraska. They get what it means
to play a physical brand of football. They get what it
means to show effort and strive each day to better than
they were the previous one. They understand why Nebraska
is the greatest football factory in the history of the
collegiate game - even if they are biased. |
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| Jacob Mann
Jones |
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Are you happy
with the staff Bo Pelini seems to be assembling?
I am fairly happy with Bo Pelini's staff. It is not a
surprise at all that he choses to work with people he
is comfortable with and has worked with before. Its not
like he is going to be able to raid the LSU defensive
staff or anything like that. Marvin Sanders is very well
respected as a defensive backs coach and the players love
him by all accounts. Offensively the only thing I would
be leery of is the hire of Barney Cotton as offensive
line coach, although I suspect he will show vast improvement
over the last few years as far as running the football
goes. Finally, to see Ron Brown back on the Husker sidelines
makes me very happy. He is such a great guy and a fantastic
coach. For all of these guys to come back to Nebraska
truly shows their dedication to this football program.
I think fans should be very happy to see what these guys
can do this coming season and two or three seasons down
the road.
What do you think abut these guys
from a recruiting perspective?
From a recruiting perspective, it is hard to know what
each guy brings to the table. However, the holdovers of
Watson and Gilmore should help in recruiting. These two
coaches are fairly respected as excellent recruiters.
How about from a coaching perspective?
From a coaching standpoint, I see nothing but good things.
Since this staff has many members from the 2003 season,
we know they can coach defense and really get the most
out of the talent that they do have. The players will
really bust their rear ends for this coaching staff. This
will be a welcome change from the past four seasons. |
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| Jeremy Ryan |
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Are you happy
with the staff Bo Pelini seems to be assembling?
I am pretty happy with the staff Coach Pelini is putting
together. I like the mix of former Husker coaches and
players with some of the current coaches combined with
some others from outside the program. I had hoped that
Shawn Watson and Ted Gilmore would be retained if any
of the previous staff was. Watson is a proven offensive
coordinator and has coached some very proficient offenses
in the past. In addition, he isn’t solely a WCO
guy as he has ran some spread in the past and is not opposed
to it as he has stated. Ted Gilmore, I believe, is a very
good receivers coach. I expressed this past week some
concern about him being replaced by Ron Brown as Gilmore
had experience coaching big time receivers in passing
offenses where as Brown was a good coach in the past for
receivers who were good down field blockers in Nebraska’s
old option offense. Brown will be a very good source for
inspiration and motivation for our players. Very much
like the idea of having Marvin Sanders back coaching the
defensive backfield as he and Pelini work very well together
and our defense needs them badly. Like the idea of having
Cotton back coaching our offensive line. He is a decent
line coach with plenty of experience and should be able
to help Watson as he has OC experience in offenses that
I would consider spread offenses. The staff is still taking
shape and may certainly change in the near and distant
future but it seems to be looking pretty good at this
point.
What do you think abut these guys
from a recruiting perspective?
As far as these coaches’ recruiting ability, I am
not as concerned about it as I was about our previous
staff’s. Recruiting has obviously been over rated
by the past staff. I am more of the belief now that it
is more important to have good x’s and o’s
coaches who have the ability to instill playing for pride
into players and being good motivators. The Huskers of
old never had the best recruiting classes. The players
played for Husker pride and for their coaches and that
outweighed the 4 and 5 star recruits they faced quite
often. We will still get quality players to come here.
Running a spread/WCO mix will draw in the high quality
players who want to play at the next level as NU is a
high profile place to play and the quality defensive staff
lead by the head coach will draw quality defensive players.
I see these coaches getting more kids that want to be
Huskers and that may be as important as how many stars
a kid has.
How about from a coaching perspective?
From a coaching perspective, it appears as though Coach
Pelini is surrounding himself with people who he knows
or believes are good coaches. All have very good experience
and are well liked by players. Are they all household
names? Maybe not. But I don’t think they have to
be if they can instill playing for Husker pride, playing
for each other and a desire to play and win for their
coaches. |
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| Bryan Smith |
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Are you happy
with the staff Bo Pelini seems to be assembling?
I am very happy with the new staff as it’s developing,
and am more than a little tired of hearing people carping
about there being a “family reunion” underway
at the Osborne Complex. Since when is having served a
stint as an assistant coach at Nebraska anything but a
résumé enhancement? I think we saw all too
clearly how steep the cultural learning curve is for coaches
with limited prior knowledge or experience of the somewhat
ephemeral and indefinable “Nebraska Way”.
More is expected here, pure and simple - MUCH more. While
prior experience as a player or coach at NU isn’t
by any means a prerequisite for success, it most certainly
is a distinct advantage in confronting, accepting, meeting,
and exceeding those expectations.
It is amusing just how substantive the “style points”
demanded by the Big Red faithful truly are. Tough, physical
play, fighting the good fight – everything the rules
allow right up to the whistle, every play, every game,
every year; these are all components of the “Nebraska
Way” that many of us believe are largely a matter
of style. Most places, those qualities are the steak,
not the sizzle, and therein lies one of the fundamental
differences between the Huskers and everyone else. Here,
that hard-nosed, never-say-die, you-may-beat-me-but-you’ll-pay-dearly-for-it
style of play is simply the way things are, not only expected,
but until recently, taken almost wholly for granted as
class after class, squad after squad, generation after
generation of Nebraska football players exemplified and
celebrated it with unparalleled consistency. It was so
fully ingrained that it was literally woven into the very
identity of the team. Here, the Xs and Os are the hard
part, because the physicality will take care of itself.
This is the sort of football Bo Pelini represents, proof
positive that Nebraska hasn’t cornered the market
on it, though nowhere else is it so institutionalized
as to be a genuine cultural touchstone as it is in Lincoln.
Bo is a football guy, through and through – he gets
it, because he LIVES it, and he’s seeking to surround
himself with assistant coaches who understand the sheer
Joy and fun of a knock-down, drag-out brawl, and the value
of your boys simply having more fight in them than their
opponents.
Starting from the “outside”, you have “the
survivors”, Shawn Watson and Ted Gilmore, purportedly
NU’s Offensive Coordinator and receivers’
coach, respectively. They’ve faced Nebraska in its
more vintage form while coaching at Colorado, and served
through the toughest patch in recent Husker history under
the previous regime. I think they understand pretty well
what’s brewing in Lincoln under Pelini – which
is probably the main reason they’ll be around in
2008.
Then there are the two young `uns with Big Eight/Twelve
experience by way of Loiusiana State, Mike Ekeler and
John Papuchis. Mike Ekeler, born in Blair, Nebraska, certainly
knows Nebraska football from the receiving end, as a player
at K-State in Bill Snyder’s early years. He’s
also served under former Husker player and coach Jeff
Jamrog as his defensive coordinator at Minnesota State
- Mankato. He’s a disciple of Bo Pelini, and while
NU might be his first stint as a full-time D1 assistant
coach, his pedigree fits the job description, and his
boss thinks he’s ready – good enough for me.
John Papuchis is a little less seasoned than Ekeler, but
also comes from pretty impressive stock, having learned
“Beamer Ball” at Virginia Tech under Hokie
DC Bud Foster, serving as a GA at Kansas, and basically
being one of Pelini’s “go-to” guys at
LSU. Bo sees him as an up-and-comer who can fit in almost
anywhere on the defensive side of the ball. There have
been some rumblings and grumblings about allegations of
recruiting improprieties by Papuchis while at KU, but
if neither Bo Pelini nor Tom Osborne felt they were disqualifiers,
then I don’t see the problem.
Carl Pelini was a GA at NU in 2003, has coached at the
high school level in the Midwest, and played his college
ball at Youngstown State – so he knows something
about hard-nosed football and the success that descends
from it. He’s been at Ohio, coaching under Frank
Solich for the last two seasons, another source of insight
into the “Nebraska Way".
Barney Cotton and Marvin Sanders offer the unique perspective
of having played and coached at Nebraska. Cotton will
preach “smashmouth” as well as quickness to
an NU offensive line that has seemed as far removed from
“The Pipeline” as Spam is to Prime Rib. Marvin
Sanders will bring greed back into vogue in the NU secondary,
where picks have been far too few and far too long in
between the last several years. No one need wonder whether
these two coaches “get it” because they helped
make “it” as players and coaches. They’ll
hit the ground running and bring a sense of purpose and
the weight of tradition to their charges.
What do you think abut these guys from a recruiting
perspective?
You know, after four years of hearing how vitally imperative
recruiting is, being told that the number of four- and
five-star recruits brought in was directly proportional
to Nebraska’s future success, and watching it deliver
very seldom on the field, I am frankly sick to death of
the breathless discussion of it. First of all, the ratings
are compiled by services who are paid for their ratings.
These services seek to create “buzz” about
high school players, through methods and evaluation processes
that are wildly variable and often biased by their personal
relationships with both high school and college coaches.
The last four years of Nebraska recruits probably ranked
far more highly than any four-year stretch since ratings
debuted, and the team’s success on the field had
never been in shorter supply.
Consider how many of Bill Callahan’s “blue
chip” high school recruits ended up leaving the
program before making any significant contributions. Of
what value is a top-five rated recruiting class if the
attrition rate approaches 70 percent – between the
recruits that transfer out, suffer injury, or simply never
pan out. I’ve never seen as much “dead wood”
drift out of a Nebraska squad as I saw lope across Tom
Osborne field this last Senior Day. Wasted scholarships,
(over a $100,000 expenditure per player over a 4-year
career), along with almost uniformly dismal efforts on
the field in 2007, have taken quite a lot of the luster
off of Callahan and staff’s recruiting efforts,
so forgive me if I am not overly impressed.
Having said that, I should note that obtaining a signature
on a letter-of-intent and a valid enrollment at NU are
only the first two steps in the recruiting process. In
my opinion, the far more important aspect is the recognition
of what a kid CAN become as a college football player,
rather than what MADE him a fine high school player. Here
is where I believe that this staff will make their predecessors
look like pretenders, and do it with the product on the
field.
Barney Cotton will not have a template that would exclude
an offensive lineman because of his height or length of
his arms, or 40 time. Ron Brown will make tight ends that
block like guards or run like deer effective and viable
weapons in NU’s passing game. Bo Pelini will look
more at a kid’s desire and intensity than his measurables.
Marvin Sanders will find difference makers in the secondary,
wringing physicality and ferocity out of a bunch that
has been all too passive the last 4 years. Shawn Watson
will adjust his offensive attack to fit his offensive
players’ strong points, just as he did as OC at
Colorado, and just as he wasn’t allowed to do as
the “sort of” OC at NU under Callahan.
You won’t see “star” ratings put ahead
of an NU coach’s gut instincts and personal evaluations.
You won’t see NU stacked 5- and 6- deep at quarterback
and wideouts while having to mine JUCOs for defensive
linemen and defensive backs every year, and you’ll
see Nebraska taken as a serious recruiting region once
again.
You get the idea.
How about from a coaching perspective?
Simply stated, this staff will COACH. Football is a physical
game, and the skills, reflexes, and timing of it can’t
be learned by playing patty-cake during practice. Look
for Bo’s first spring and fall camps to be VERY
rude awakenings to players accustomed to “wrap high”
tackling drills and sham spring games under the last staff.
The best things in life are worth some suffering to achieve,
and championship football is certainly no exception. Some
of the kids too cognizant of their high school “star”
ratings will probably fall by the wayside, and some blue-chips
will be looking up the depth chart at some grayshirt from
Schuyler, and another Makovicka might actually carry the
ball from the fullback position.
Bo Pelini’s players play HARD for him; it’s
been true at every school where he’s coached, from
Nebraska to LSU and back again. Look for this passion
to be on display on BOTH sides of the ball at NU in 2008,
because Pelini has surrounded himself with passionate
coaches who will demand the very best out of their players,
especially in terms of effort.
We could run through each and every position and predict
the effect each new coach will have on the under-developed,
under-achieving returnees from 2007, but the more important
factors will be universal on the NU squad. They’ll
play with Joy, reveling in the sheer love of the game,
and the satisfaction in a job well done and nothing left
on the field.
Nebraska will be a physical presence again, punishing
their opponents, win or lose. The Blackshirts will earn
back and then live up to their legacy; I believe it will
be the most damning indictment of Kevin Cosgrove’s
abilities as a defensive coordinator and his defensive
staff’s abilities to develop young players when
this NU defense ranks toward to top of the conference
in every category in 2008, and be recognized on the national
scene. Look for a defensive front four that you won’t
even recognize right away come August 30, 2008.
Look for an offense where there isn’t a glorified
guard lined up at fullback, where big, slow quarterbacks
need not apply, and where a receiver who hesitates to
go across the middle will find himself enjoying the view
from the sideline.
Look for responsibility to be taken and for excuses to
be conspicuous by their absence.
Look for Nebraska to finally be Nebraska again. |
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| Mark Solomon |
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Are you happy
with the staff Bo Pelini seems to be assembling?
When I wrote this, I was relying on an LJS blog for information
about who will be on the staff. Only Barney Cotton and
Ron Brown had been officially announced. But what I saw
on the blog looks good to me. A decent mix of guys with
a strong background in traditional Husker football, guys
who come from outside the program, and who may bring some
new approaches, and a couple of guys who have established
relationships with the existing players. They all seem
to have solid backgrounds.
I don’t have many worries stemming from the specific
stats that were associated with the individual coaches
at prior coaching jobs. That’s because they were
all part of teams-within-teams when they coached at other
schools. They can’t take sole credit for what occurred
on the field and they can’t be assigned sole blame.
As they meld together into a new staff with new dynamics
and new players in a new setting, the numbers produced
at other schools where they were on staff will have progressively
less relevance to what is going to happen at NU.
I’m most curious about how this new team-within-a-team
will mesh for the Cornhuskers. If the chemistry is right,
then there’s no reason to be anything but happy
with the staff.
What do you think about these
guys from a recruiting perspective?
There’s no reason to think this staff won’t
do well in recruiting, either. They‘re selling an
exciting product to the kids they visit. It’s hard
to grade a staff on the subject of recruiting without
time in the seat; time to learn what kinds of athletes
and citizens they have recruited. After the kids live
in the community, get some effective S & C work, pay
some dues, and take the field, we’ll know what to
think. Personally, I don’t tend to hang my hat on
the ratings services because they are so self-serving,
and because a “five-star” recruit who gets
busted, can’t make grades, doesn’t live up
to expectations or transfers to another school can be
worse than a non-commit. To me, a key will be finding
kids who really yearn to be Cornhuskers. I’m confident
the staff will trust their own judgments about who and
where to recruit, and the re-emphasis of in-state recruiting
is already showing up.
How about from a coaching
perspective?
I’m willing to bet that these guys will do a heck
of a job in the actual task of coaching-up the kids. They‘ve
done good work at their prior positions, and will have
great facilities, firm support from the Athletic Department,
and a fan base that is among the most staunchly supportive
in the country. I’m ready to assume that they’ll
work well together, restore energy and fire to the team,
take advantage of existing talent, recruit players who
want to be Huskers, and perform their jobs with the same
zeal they have elsewhere. When they do, we’ll see
a much-improved team, year over year, as the Huskers move
back to prominence. |
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| Mike Boohar |
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| Contributors |
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| John
Carter is one of the original Husker commentariest and co-founder
of BIGHUSKERFAN.COM. Some of his greatest Husker memories are
of spending Saturday afternoons with his father watching Johnny
Rodgers race down the field for six. A lifelong Nebraskan, he
lives in Western Nebraska with his wife and children. Johnny
is also a great fan of the Wiener Slinger. |
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| Jacob
Mann Jones is currently an executive for a St. Louis based
acquisition and venture capital firm. He was born and raised
in the large shadow cast upon the great state of Nebraska by
the Cornhuskers dynasty built by the legendary Bob Devaney and
perfected under the watchful eye of Dr. Tom Osborne. He has
resided out of state for the last decade with his wife and three
children, although he continues to live by the old adage that
home is where the heart is. |
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| Jeremy
Ryan is a sports writer and message board administrator
at BIGHUSKERFAN.COM. He is currently a graduate student at the
University of Illinois studying bacterial genetics. An alum
of UNL and was born and raised in Nebraska. His grandpa bought
season tickets to the Huskers when they put the south endzone
on Memorial Stadium, and he started taking him to games when
he was 7 years old. |
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| Bryan
Smith is a sports writer and message board administrator
at BIGHUSKERFAN.COM. He has been a Husker fan since as long
as he can remember. Growing up playing football in the streets
of his hometown (Omaha) while listening to Lyle Bremser call
football games from his hand held transistor radio. He has been
a member of BIGHUSKERFAN.COM since January of 2003 and began
writing articles and moderating the message boards shortly thereafter. |
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| Mark
Solomon is a lifelong Husker fan. Mark played football for
13 seasons through college, then served as a defensive graduate
assistant for one season. He has been a University of Nebraska
donor and season ticket holder since 1989, and founded the Greater
Omahans for Nebraska NU Alumni Association Chapter. Mark is
involved in medical research at UNMC and is a total college
football geek saying, "I love the strategy - the game behind
the game." Mark has served as an editorialist at BIGHUSKERFAN.COM
since 2004. |
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| Mike
Boohar and his family moved to Lincoln in 1967. He became
an ardent Cornhusker when Joe Orduna signed his baseball glove
after Little Chiefs practice. A small, timid youth, he was regularly
beat up by future Big Red lettermen, thus helping them develop
aggressive tendencies. He’s proud to know he contributed
to the Husker program in this significant way. A UNL alum (Class
of ’82), he and his wife reside in Des Moines, where he
serves as in-house counsel for a bank holding corporation. |
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