National perception of Bo Pelini

Look at Bama and LSU and USC -- those are great recruits. And don't give me any BS about how hard it is to get kids to come to Lincoln, because neither Baton Rouge nor Tuscaloosa have anything that Lincoln doesn't have. The difference is that their programs have coaches who kids want to play for, and they don't care where the school is located. I have no doubt that if Saban began coaching in Alaska, he'd still finish in the Top 5 for recruiting.

 
I don't really think thats a fair/accurate perception of Bo either... Kind of threw the pic in as kindling. :D

I love that Bo is fiery. Especially if it means winning excellence.

 
zoogies said:
You know, as much as I have had specific criticisms of Bo Pelini, I think the national perception is highly flawed.

I think he's a good coach who, for his students, is maybe the best thing for them. He isn't perfect even in that regard, but his sideline temper is a total non-issue. It's just something that people will pick on, if they want something to pick on Bo for. I think he's running this program, by and large, the right way and that is what ultimately matters. Even more than W's and L's, but of course, this 'perception' talk isn't so much about his abilities as a coach as it is about whether or not we should issue indictments of his character. I don't think we should.

I'll draw an analogy to our former coach, Bill Callahan. His sideline fire was highly commendable on a number of occasions. His players were getting harassed by OU fans and he urled a pretty awesome, and pretty memorable expletive back at them. He would get in refs' faces a number of times when he felt the call was bad. Of course now he's ridiculed for both those things, including the widely misinterpreted throat-slash ('I've had it up to here').

The point is, coaches that do good work for the student athletes in the program, their character often gets unfairly dragged through the mud when we find it convenient to. When we dislike the job a coach is doing we try to blow them up into some larger evil...when such a dramatization is very, very rarely fair.

All recruits need to know is that Bo's troops would run through a brick wall for him. Our issues with recruiting have not been Bo - they've been with organization and effort and treatment of the recruiting process (IMO).
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Very well said and it is a good point on how hypocritical the fan base has been in comparing Bill and Bo. Bo is loved for his "fire" but Bill was the devil for doing less than Bo has done. And as you said it all comes down to winning. Bo won with Bill's players better than Bill did. Now can Bo win with his own players? I think if nothing else, last night proved that Bo has ran out of Bill's players.

 
I guaran-f'ing-tee that if Saban became HC at Nebraska, we'd be in the Top 5 year for recruiting year after year. What would all the naysayers say then?

 
FLU said:
What do you consider to be "great" recruits? Just because they're better than the ones he was getting before, does not make them great. Barely cracking the Top 25 in recruiting every year does not equal great recruiting, IMO.
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It's better than what we had isn't it?

it's pretty visible on the field. Abdullah is turning into a top-tier running back if you watched last night. Turner can change the entire field and get ten yards in an instant. Charles Jackson needs his time to shine. But being 25th is better than being 30th, isn't it? Yes, because it shows improvement. I really do feel we're on the way up, at least in the recruiting aspect, we have players actually starting to consider nebraska, because they hear how incredible it really is once they get here. I kind went off topic, but you get the gist.

 
FLU said:
Look at Bama and LSU and USC -- those are great recruits. And don't give me any BS about how hard it is to get kids to come to Lincoln, because neither Baton Rouge nor Tuscaloosa have anything that Lincoln doesn't have. The difference is that their programs have coaches who kids want to play for, and they don't care where the school is located. I have no doubt that if Saban began coaching in Alaska, he'd still finish in the Top 5 for recruiting.
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i guess you, for whatever reason, know more about the psyche and interests of high school recruits than anyone else here.

 
FLU said:
I guaran-f'ing-tee that if Saban became HC at Nebraska, we'd be in the Top 5 year for recruiting year after year. What would all the naysayers say then?
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now he would, did he when he was coaching michigan st.? it is going to take bo longer. haste is what caused the callahan era.

 
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I think it's pretty obvious and clear-cut. Saban came to LSU, who was getting zilch as far as recruiting, and led them to a NC. Then he went to Bama, which was a disaster thanks to Shula, and did the same thing. If you can't admit that, then you are in denial, plain and simple.

 
FLU said:
I think it's pretty obvious and clear-cut. Saban came to LSU, who was getting zilch as far as recruiting, and led them to a NC. Then he went to Bama, which was a disaster thanks to Shula, and did the same thing. If you can't admit that, then you are in denial, plain and simple.
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Most people don't think it matters, but those schools are in the south. They're close to homes of the elite talent in the country, and that's why even Vandy can have a better class than us. And i know you're gonna respond with some pessimistic crap, but it's true that playing for nebraska is quite the culture shock for most athletes especially coming from the west coast or the south.

 
OK, so we all agree that if Saban was here, we'd be in the Top 5 for recruiting. So why can't we do it now?? There should be no excuses.

 
FLU said:
I think it's pretty obvious and clear-cut. Saban came to LSU, who was getting zilch as far as recruiting, and led them to a NC. Then he went to Bama, which was a disaster thanks to Shula, and did the same thing. If you can't admit that, then you are in denial, plain and simple.
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I'm curious. What color is the sky in the world where Saban is the coach here next year?

Honestly. NU can boast to having the most irrational, deluded fans ever.

 
ibleedredsince1985 said:
FLU said:
I think it's pretty obvious and clear-cut. Saban came to LSU, who was getting zilch as far as recruiting, and led them to a NC. Then he went to Bama, which was a disaster thanks to Shula, and did the same thing. If you can't admit that, then you are in denial, plain and simple.
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Most people don't think it matters, but those schools are in the south. They're close to homes of the elite talent in the country, and that's why even Vandy can have a better class than us. And i know you're gonna respond with some pessimistic crap, but it's true that playing for nebraska is quite the culture shock for most athletes especially coming from the west coast or the south.
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All I'm saying is, as long as we keep using that excuse as a crutch, then things won't improve. If Saban could come here and recruit, then what is stopping the others??

 
FLU said:
I think it's pretty obvious and clear-cut. Saban came to LSU, who was getting zilch as far as recruiting, and led them to a NC. Then he went to Bama, which was a disaster thanks to Shula, and did the same thing. If you can't admit that, then you are in denial, plain and simple.
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i am saying it is different down there. players get to stay close to home, play close to home, stay in the area they were raised. there is a huge pool of talent right in his backyard. if saban came to NU next year, i do agree he would be able to get top recruits, but that is after all of the success he has had in the SEC.

if you can not admit that it is harder to recruit at nebraska, then you are in denial, plain and simple.

 
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