Epley's comments on Talent

The Boleavers were out in force on the radio today. They basically said that Epley was a puppet of the University and he was backing Riley. I love idiots talking smack in public with no basis.

 
BigRedBuster said:
I think a lot of people are reading a lot into his comments that wasn't intended.

He did not say we don't have talent on the team.

Epley said seven football players scored in the 1,700s. Twenty were at 900 or below. Epley said that 900 figure is a good benchmark for walk-ons. NU has a significant number over 1,500.

What he is getting at is that we need to bring in players that are already at the 1,500 mark as a true freshman so they don't have to spend 1.5 years getting them to that point. There are lots of players on the team at that level but they had to be developed to that point.
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Thank you!!

And he probly had these exact same measurables for a couple decades, wherein he can look and see how today's players are measuring up: by team, by season, by position, by age, by many many factors.

So when he says we need an infusion of younger talent that doesn't need as much time to develop he's pointing to previous guys like Grant W, Will Shields, Ahman Green, Eric Crouch etc who probly came in as freshman and scored as high as most upperclassman.

Raw talent/skill development/standards/work ethic....Epely knows what the f#*k he's talking about. Let him speak.

 
In a nut shell. Boyd, an innovator and nationally respected S and C guy, used a set of matrix and analytical data to say that our team is currently not where it needs to be physically. We currently have 3 guys who scored high enough on this matrix to be considered "elite". At a school like NU, hoping to get back to prominence, this is unacceptable.

We can't compare this to other schools as we do not have their measurables. Suffice to say if Boys says we are weak. We are. He is advocating, in competition that NU faces for recruits, to "test" where the kids are so we recruit kids who can contribute. Not guys we need to strengthen and condition for 2 years (1.5). Another coach whose mentality is "we don't recruit kids who can't contribute immediately". This guy has done pretty well. Bob Stoops.........

Bo won 9 with these kids in a system that was predicated with numerous kids in the league. KB, AA, Randy, Mitchell on a practice squad and others. This year? Collins? VV? As well as a system that relied on TA's legs and a solid run game.

We simply need to get stronger and faster.

 
lo country said:
In a nut shell. Boyd, an innovator and nationally respected S and C guy, used a set of matrix and analytical data to say that our team is currently not where it needs to be physically. We currently have 3 guys who scored high enough on this matrix to be considered "elite". At a school like NU, hoping to get back to prominence, this is unacceptable.

We can't compare this to other schools as we do not have their measurables. Suffice to say if Boys says we are weak. We are. He is advocating, in competition that NU faces for recruits, to "test" where the kids are so we recruit kids who can contribute. Not guys we need to strengthen and condition for 2 years (1.5). Another coach whose mentality is "we don't recruit kids who can't contribute immediately". This guy has done pretty well. Bob Stoops.........

Bo won 9 with these kids in a system that was predicated with numerous kids in the league. KB, AA, Randy, Mitchell on a practice squad and others. This year? Collins? VV? As well as a system that relied on TA's legs and a solid run game.

We simply need to get stronger and faster.
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And we had one of the best RBs in the country, who carried NE on his back!

 
cm husker said:
Warrior10 said:
We have 3 NFL caliber athletes, 7 above average, a significant number average, and around 20 walk on caliber.

I cant link via mobile. I read the Journal Star article, OWH has one too.

Epley says Phillips is doing best he can but we need 1.5 years to get the talent we need.
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If he really said that, I'm seriously curious how he thinks there are only 3 NFL caliber players right now. Did he mean on the roster or in the senior class? 20 "walk on caliber" athletes wouldn't be surprising on the roster, as we have a number of walkons.

But I would be shocked if there are only 3 players registering as "NFL caliber" players, because I can think of about a dozen guys off the top of my head who will likely be actually drafted and more who will get a look in free agency (let alone who demonstrate pure "NFL athleticism" based on the index). If he's talking about just the senior class, then these numbers are hardly alarming. 3 guys drafted per year isn't that far out of line with NU's historical 1-6 rounds drafts.

It is pretty low brow to put this out in public. I wonder how the players are going to react to this. Kind of reminds me of when Tenipor came out with criticisms about OL talent (which he was actually responsible for (not) recruiting). There's some serious politics going on here, as there was with Milt's comments, and it's mainly related to Boyd coming back the month before Pelini's firing and the positioning he's taking within the AD.

I do find it interesting that he (and posters here) want to compare it to the 90s talent. Well, two things: (1) compare almost any team this year to the 90s talent, and you'll see some deficiencies in this year's teams, and (2) the OL talent on those teams was largely (like 50%) homegrown. Should we blame the Nebraska moms for the inability to recruit significant numbers of elite OL talent since then?

Finally, this quote demonstrates why Boyd is a strength coach, and not an actual team coach, or it means that Boyd recognizes that current coaching talent isn't going to bridge the gap.

"we need to do a better job of bringing in talented recruits so we dont have to do quite so much development or quite so much coaching"
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Dude. You are wrong on so many levels. Name the "dozen or so guys off the top of your head" that will get drafted.

There was a multiple page thread on here a couple yrs ago about which team Martinez would go to. People thought if Rex Burkhead was drafted to the right team he'd be all pro. Yoshi was considered by many here to be a pretty good tackle. There was actually discussion here if TA switched positions, which would it be to in order to make an NFL roster. lololololol

What Eply is talking about is MEASURABLES.

Numbers don't lie when testing speed/height/weight/strength/shuttle/vert/ etc...

He can pull his old stone tablet out from 1993 and look at the measurables of those players and contrast them of the players today. Not names, not faces, not trophies, not fan favs...numbers.

Then he can see those numbers of the guys who went pro and see where we stand today.

And before anyone starts talking about "you can't measure heart!!!1!!!1" let me say this: when you use Outliers in your argument you've lost.

So let's get real: Eply has seen ALL there is to see here. He is the GRANDAD of sports strength and conditioning science. He matters. He knows. And when he says we have 3 guys who MEASURE to pro standards and that we need an infusion of young talent more MEASURABLY ready to go from day 1...he knows what he speaks of.

 
Makes it sound much more like Jimmy and Joe's then coaching.
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You know, I have never heard a WINNING coach or anyone connected to a WINNING program ever use the "Jimmies and Joes" excuse explanation...probably because winners don't need any excuses. That, and the WINNING programs think they win because they outwork and outperform everybody. Vince Lombardi's Packers, Osborne's Cornhuskers, Walsh's '49ers, Bear Bryant's Crimson Tide, etc., etc.

 
I am I said:
cm husker said:
Warrior10 said:
We have 3 NFL caliber athletes, 7 above average, a significant number average, and around 20 walk on caliber.

I cant link via mobile. I read the Journal Star article, OWH has one too.

Epley says Phillips is doing best he can but we need 1.5 years to get the talent we need.
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If he really said that, I'm seriously curious how he thinks there are only 3 NFL caliber players right now. Did he mean on the roster or in the senior class? 20 "walk on caliber" athletes wouldn't be surprising on the roster, as we have a number of walkons.

But I would be shocked if there are only 3 players registering as "NFL caliber" players, because I can think of about a dozen guys off the top of my head who will likely be actually drafted and more who will get a look in free agency (let alone who demonstrate pure "NFL athleticism" based on the index). If he's talking about just the senior class, then these numbers are hardly alarming. 3 guys drafted per year isn't that far out of line with NU's historical 1-6 rounds drafts.

It is pretty low brow to put this out in public. I wonder how the players are going to react to this. Kind of reminds me of when Tenipor came out with criticisms about OL talent (which he was actually responsible for (not) recruiting). There's some serious politics going on here, as there was with Milt's comments, and it's mainly related to Boyd coming back the month before Pelini's firing and the positioning he's taking within the AD.

I do find it interesting that he (and posters here) want to compare it to the 90s talent. Well, two things: (1) compare almost any team this year to the 90s talent, and you'll see some deficiencies in this year's teams, and (2) the OL talent on those teams was largely (like 50%) homegrown. Should we blame the Nebraska moms for the inability to recruit significant numbers of elite OL talent since then?

Finally, this quote demonstrates why Boyd is a strength coach, and not an actual team coach, or it means that Boyd recognizes that current coaching talent isn't going to bridge the gap.

"we need to do a better job of bringing in talented recruits so we dont have to do quite so much development or quite so much coaching"
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Dude. You are wrong on so many levels. Name the "dozen or so guys off the top of your head" that will get drafted.
There was a multiple page thread on here a couple yrs ago about which team Martinez would go to. People thought if Rex Burkhead was drafted to the right team he'd be all pro. Yoshi was considered by many here to be a pretty good tackle. There was actually discussion here if TA switched positions, which would it be to in order to make an NFL roster. lololololol

What Eply is talking about is MEASURABLES.

Numbers don't lie when testing speed/height/weight/strength/shuttle/vert/ etc...

He can pull his old stone tablet out from 1993 and look at the measurables of those players and contrast them of the players today. Not names, not faces, not trophies, not fan favs...numbers.

Then he can see those numbers of the guys who went pro and see where we stand today.

And before anyone starts talking about "you can't measure heart!!!1!!!1" let me say this: when you use Outliers in your argument you've lost.

So let's get real: Eply has seen ALL there is to see here. He is the GRANDAD of sports strength and conditioning science. He matters. He knows. And when he says we have 3 guys who MEASURE to pro standards and that we need an infusion of young talent more MEASURABLY ready to go from day 1...he knows what he speaks of.
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To be fair, Martinez would have had a chance in the NFL but he failed the physical because of injuries that I think he is still having surgeries to fix.

He Definattly was athletic enough to be in the NFL.

 
As was mentioned on "Sports Nightly" tonight. Many or even most of the players that scored the highest in Epleys testing in the 90's failed to make much of an impact on the football field. He stated that the best football players aren't necessarily the top athletes on the team.

 
Warrior10 said:
We have 3 NFL caliber athletes, 7 above average, a significant number average, and around 20 walk on caliber.

I cant link via mobile. I read the Journal Star article, OWH has one too.

Epley says Phillips is doing best he can but we need 1.5 years to get the talent we need.

OWH: http://www.omaha.com/huskers/boyd-epley-s-bringing-back-the-peformance-index-and-weighing/article_1a7c4940-a387-11e5-9643-0bc10d4a2c5d.html
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Haven't read anything past this, but I will in a sec.

So apparently, offense, defense, all the backups and rotations and extra depth, the special teams and so forth...... yeah, that's not really good.
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cm husker said:
Warrior10 said:
We have 3 NFL caliber athletes, 7 above average, a significant number average, and around 20 walk on caliber.

I cant link via mobile. I read the Journal Star article, OWH has one too.

Epley says Phillips is doing best he can but we need 1.5 years to get the talent we need.
Click to expand...
If he really said that, I'm seriously curious how he thinks there are only 3 NFL caliber players right now. Did he mean on the roster or in the senior class? 20 "walk on caliber" athletes wouldn't be surprising on the roster, as we have a number of walkons.

But I would be shocked if there are only 3 players registering as "NFL caliber" players, because I can think of about a dozen guys off the top of my head who will likely be actually drafted and more who will get a look in free agency (let alone who demonstrate pure "NFL athleticism" based on the index). If he's talking about just the senior class, then these numbers are hardly alarming. 3 guys drafted per year isn't that far out of line with NU's historical 1-6 rounds drafts.
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You're misunderstanding some of this as he's not just talking about seniors, but I think you're close.

The measurable numbers applied to the entire team and, based on those numbers, there are only three NFL caliber players. That doesn't mean other, younger players can't develop and eventually become NFL talent. A freshman running back, in all likelihood, will not test out to the same level as a senior. That freshman could still make it to the NFL but it will take a few years to get to that level, potentially.

So, based on how the program has currently sent players to the NFL (about three a year) his numbers are right on point.

 
I am I said:
So let's get real: Eply has seen ALL there is to see here. He is the GRANDAD of sports strength and conditioning science. He matters. He knows. And when he says we have 3 guys who MEASURE to pro standards and that we need an infusion of young talent more MEASURABLY ready to go from day 1...he knows what he speaks of.
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This. And yet, why is it that some folks do not want to accept this and deal with this?
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It's great and not at all uncommon for a new guy (well -- Epley is not *that* new to Nebraska) to come in and say "Here's where we are. Here's where we want to be." I love that he lays out the roadmap so concretely. You'd think him to be an authority on the subject, or something!

Recall it was after the '11 season that an outgoing assistant coach made some stinging comments of his own about the level of athletic talent Nebraska displayed vs an SEC team. Idon't know if this staff can rise up to meet it, but that's the task they've been given. +600 over player careers is also a high bar; that's the difference between walk-on and average, and average and NFL caliber. This is Philipp's task.

FB & S/C need to be in sync with the vision and that vision is what's being expressed by Boyd Epley here. It cannot be surprising that they feel there's work to be done here. Frankly, if good progress in roster talent (both athletic & football) isn't made from was bequeathed to them over the next several years, these coaches are likely going to get fired.

 
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