cubhusker23
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Taken from Omaha World Herald-8/31/05
by Mitch Sherman
The numbers are getting better.
Of the 124 players on the Nebraska football roster as the Huksers open the season Saturday, 17 come from CA and FL. That's 13.7 percent of the team, well above the 5.5 percent figure (9 of 164) from just two years ago.
NU would like to see that number keep rising.
It's no accident that six of nine NU assistant coaches list CA or FL among their areas of recruiting emphasis. The others, Jay Norvell, Kevin Cosgrove and Scott Downing, will no doubt also spend part of their time combing the beach for talent over the next five months.
The long-awaited depth chart released Tuesday provides more evidence to back the value of HUskers' coastal movement. Of the four new starters from this heralded NU recruiting class, linebacker Steve Octavien and wide receiver Frantz Hardy come from FL. Another, kicker Jordan Congdon, is from San Diego.
Need more confirmation? Just look at ht elist of visitors lined up to attend the Nebraska opener against Maine this week. Linebacker Allen Bradford of Colton, CA is rated by rivals.com as the NO. 1 prospect in the state and the nation's NO. 6 player.
Bradford's high school teammate, cornerback Shareeece Wright, plus Californians Devin Ross, a cornerback from Rancho Cucamonga and safety Jonas Mouton of Venice, are scheduled to watch NU face Maine.
Expect the whole group to spend significant time w/ Marlon Lucky. And they are sure to notice Saturday when one of the loudest ovations comes as the freshman I-back, CA's NO. 2 prep propect a year ago, debuts in the NU backfield.
Next week, wide receiver David Ausberry of Lemoore, CA, the NO. 3 player in his state, plans to visit Memorial Stadium.
In, 2004 Nebraska lapped most of the nation by Halloween with its early emphasis on recruiting. The Huskers, though, with five secure commitments, lag behind Texas and its stunning 24 pledges for the class of 2006.
"Our plan is not to compare ourselves with everbody else," said Downing, the third-year NU recruiting coordinator. "We're trying to utilize the strengths of Nebraska. Obviously, the strength of our recruiting program is the whole game atmosphere. It's a chance for Nebraska to put its best foot forward.
"The best thing is that we have five straight home games."
If these NU coaches are nothing else under Bill Callahan, they're persistent and organized. By the time Nebraska hits the road Oct. 15, it may well have used more than half of the 56 official recruiting visits allowed by the NCAA in one year.
The blueprint appeared to work to near perfection last season, when the visitors arrived early and in large numbers.
The Huskers got linebacker Phillip Dillard after his trip for the 2004 opener against Western Illinois. Cornerback Zack Bowman visited a week later. The defensive depth chart currently lists both at NO. 2, with the expectation that neither is long for reserve duty.
"There's a tempo about our daily work that is relentless," said receivers coach Ted Gilmore, the lone new member of the NU staff this year. "And I learned right away, before even coaching a down here, that in recruiting, game day is what this place is all about."
by Mitch Sherman
The numbers are getting better.
Of the 124 players on the Nebraska football roster as the Huksers open the season Saturday, 17 come from CA and FL. That's 13.7 percent of the team, well above the 5.5 percent figure (9 of 164) from just two years ago.
NU would like to see that number keep rising.
It's no accident that six of nine NU assistant coaches list CA or FL among their areas of recruiting emphasis. The others, Jay Norvell, Kevin Cosgrove and Scott Downing, will no doubt also spend part of their time combing the beach for talent over the next five months.
The long-awaited depth chart released Tuesday provides more evidence to back the value of HUskers' coastal movement. Of the four new starters from this heralded NU recruiting class, linebacker Steve Octavien and wide receiver Frantz Hardy come from FL. Another, kicker Jordan Congdon, is from San Diego.
Need more confirmation? Just look at ht elist of visitors lined up to attend the Nebraska opener against Maine this week. Linebacker Allen Bradford of Colton, CA is rated by rivals.com as the NO. 1 prospect in the state and the nation's NO. 6 player.
Bradford's high school teammate, cornerback Shareeece Wright, plus Californians Devin Ross, a cornerback from Rancho Cucamonga and safety Jonas Mouton of Venice, are scheduled to watch NU face Maine.
Expect the whole group to spend significant time w/ Marlon Lucky. And they are sure to notice Saturday when one of the loudest ovations comes as the freshman I-back, CA's NO. 2 prep propect a year ago, debuts in the NU backfield.
Next week, wide receiver David Ausberry of Lemoore, CA, the NO. 3 player in his state, plans to visit Memorial Stadium.
In, 2004 Nebraska lapped most of the nation by Halloween with its early emphasis on recruiting. The Huskers, though, with five secure commitments, lag behind Texas and its stunning 24 pledges for the class of 2006.
"Our plan is not to compare ourselves with everbody else," said Downing, the third-year NU recruiting coordinator. "We're trying to utilize the strengths of Nebraska. Obviously, the strength of our recruiting program is the whole game atmosphere. It's a chance for Nebraska to put its best foot forward.
"The best thing is that we have five straight home games."
If these NU coaches are nothing else under Bill Callahan, they're persistent and organized. By the time Nebraska hits the road Oct. 15, it may well have used more than half of the 56 official recruiting visits allowed by the NCAA in one year.
The blueprint appeared to work to near perfection last season, when the visitors arrived early and in large numbers.
The Huskers got linebacker Phillip Dillard after his trip for the 2004 opener against Western Illinois. Cornerback Zack Bowman visited a week later. The defensive depth chart currently lists both at NO. 2, with the expectation that neither is long for reserve duty.
"There's a tempo about our daily work that is relentless," said receivers coach Ted Gilmore, the lone new member of the NU staff this year. "And I learned right away, before even coaching a down here, that in recruiting, game day is what this place is all about."
) yet came to NU, won alot of awards (All Conf/AA) and helped win alot of championships.