Recruits Decommitting

[BigRedBuster]

Because I honestly don't know, what is the difference between Oklahoma getting Joe Mixon out of CA and Nebraska doing the same thing?

We have pulled some very good recruits out of California just like they did. However, it's a numbers game. Look at how many players they have on their roster from Texas....more specifically from the Dallas area. It is extremely easy for a recruit out of Dallas to get to Norman for a game even when they play a game Friday night. Heck, I'm sure they could even make OU 11:00 games.

That may be true, but Oklahoma always recruits nationally very well. To me, I don't I think getting a kid to come from FL, CA, NY, NJ, VA to Nebraska is much different than getting a kid to go to Oklahoma. I see these schools as being equal in about everything but coaching.

On individual players, I agree. But Oklahoma only has to get a few players from outside a few hours drive of Norman. Nebraska typically has to get a LOT more players from outside the nearby region. The difference is really in the number of players each team is trying to recruit nationally and the amount of time and effort coaches can expend recruiting nationally.

Is that a problem with resources? I am just trying to paint a picture here because I want the B1G to be strong and Nebraska pushing some of the other B1G teams to be better.

I want that too.

But, my opinion is, for that to happen on a consistent basis, NCAA regulations need to change. For one heck of a lot of the kids we are trying to recruit, we have about a 2-3 week period in January that they can come visit. That is a real disadvantage for Nebraska if a kid from Florida or California only can see Nebraska in January.

 

[dylan]

Because I honestly don't know, what is the difference between Oklahoma getting Joe Mixon out of CA and Nebraska doing the same thing?

We have pulled some very good recruits out of California just like they did. However, it's a numbers game. Look at how many players they have on their roster from Texas....more specifically from the Dallas area. It is extremely easy for a recruit out of Dallas to get to Norman for a game even when they play a game Friday night. Heck, I'm sure they could even make OU 11:00 games.

That may be true, but Oklahoma always recruits nationally very well. To me, I don't I think getting a kid to come from FL, CA, NY, NJ, VA to Nebraska is much different than getting a kid to go to Oklahoma. I see these schools as being equal in about everything but coaching.

On individual players, I agree. But Oklahoma only has to get a few players from outside a few hours drive of Norman. Nebraska typically has to get a LOT more players from outside the nearby region. The difference is really in the number of players each team is trying to recruit nationally and the amount of time and effort coaches can expend recruiting nationally.

Is that a problem with resources? I am just trying to paint a picture here because I want the B1G to be strong and Nebraska pushing some of the other B1G teams to be better.

Actually, I think we do have a problem with resources. We have to recruit kids from further away moreso than any other major program. That means our coaches have to outwork every other program. That's just how it is and that's the job they signed up for. If we expect them to compete with the top programs for recruits, we need to give them the tools to do so. They're already fighting up hill, so we need to make it as easy as possible. We need to be giving our coaches more access to private flights. We need to be giving our coaches more recruiting administrative support. Now, we don't need to be setting up an army like Alabama, but if we're supposed to compete with them, let's at least make it more than one or two admin assistants that get paid chump change. We also need to dedicate the money to the assistants doing the leg work to make sure we don't lose them to higher pay elsewhere. Losing Joseph because the administration let us get outbid is ridiculous. If we expect elite results, the school needs to give the coaches elite resources.

 

[dylan]

Also, as mentioned, Oklahoma gets a ton of top talent from Texas that is in easy driving distance. Yes, they get some kids from other places, but they're not nearly as reliant on it as NU.

And it's not like NU isn't getting talented kids from far away. We're getting plenty of good kids and almost all of them had to be convinced to fly or drive across the country to get here.

 

[jaws]

Also, as mentioned, Oklahoma gets a ton of top talent from Texas that is in easy driving distance. Yes, they get some kids from other places, but they're not nearly as reliant on it as NU.

And it's not like NU isn't getting talented kids from far away. We're getting plenty of good kids and almost all of them had to be convinced to fly or drive across the country to get here.

Texas is a big state. There isn't that much of a difference from a kid going from Dallas to Lincoln and a kid going from Houston to Norman. Not all recruits that go to Oklahoma come from the DFW area.

 

[Mavric]

Also, as mentioned, Oklahoma gets a ton of top talent from Texas that is in easy driving distance. Yes, they get some kids from other places, but they're not nearly as reliant on it as NU.

And it's not like NU isn't getting talented kids from far away. We're getting plenty of good kids and almost all of them had to be convinced to fly or drive across the country to get here.

Texas is a big state. There isn't that much of a difference from a kid going from Dallas to Lincoln and a kid going from Houston to Norman. Not all recruits that go to Oklahoma come from the DFW area.

Houston -> Norman: 428 miles

Dallas -> Lincoln: 638 miles

So it's 50% farther. But that's not even the point. I think it should be pretty obvious that Oklahoma is generally closer to Texas than Nebraska. Not only distance wise but Oklahoma and Texas have been playing each other for over 100 years so there is much more familiarity.

 

[dylan]

Not to mention the climate differences between Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska. It's OK to admit that OK has it easier than us in recruiting. There's a reason OU keeps picking its rivalry with Texas over other options in realignment and that reason is that Texas talent is the lifeblood of their program.

 

[RedDenver]

Also, as mentioned, Oklahoma gets a ton of top talent from Texas that is in easy driving distance. Yes, they get some kids from other places, but they're not nearly as reliant on it as NU.

And it's not like NU isn't getting talented kids from far away. We're getting plenty of good kids and almost all of them had to be convinced to fly or drive across the country to get here.

Texas is a big state. There isn't that much of a difference from a kid going from Dallas to Lincoln and a kid going from Houston to Norman. Not all recruits that go to Oklahoma come from the DFW area.

Somewhere there's an article about how many D1 players come from within 300 miles of Lincoln and some other places like Norman. IIRC they average out to about 30 per year for Lincoln and over 100 per year for Norman. (This is based on my memory of reading this a few years ago, so take the numbers with a grain of salt. The 300 mile radius is an estimate on how far recruits usually are willing to travel for unofficial visits.) The disparity gets larger when the radius is increased to 500 miles.

The basic problem is that the states of Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, and Kansas produce few D1 players. Colorado, Oklahoma, and especially Missouri produce more. But all those states combined can't equal Texas or even Ohio. Teams with large nearby talent pool of players can get many of them to come on unofficial visits. And recruiting numbers show that players tend to stay fairly close to home when choosing a school. And coaches who go out to convince players to come visit have to take valuable time traveling to and from where those players live. These, and I'm sure many other, factors are what makes recruiting to Nebraska difficult.

 

[BigRedBuster]

Also, as mentioned, Oklahoma gets a ton of top talent from Texas that is in easy driving distance. Yes, they get some kids from other places, but they're not nearly as reliant on it as NU.

And it's not like NU isn't getting talented kids from far away. We're getting plenty of good kids and almost all of them had to be convinced to fly or drive across the country to get here.

Texas is a big state. There isn't that much of a difference from a kid going from Dallas to Lincoln and a kid going from Houston to Norman. Not all recruits that go to Oklahoma come from the DFW area.

Houston -> Norman: 428 miles

Dallas -> Lincoln: 638 miles

So it's 50% farther. But that's not even the point. I think it should be pretty obvious that Oklahoma is generally closer to Texas than Nebraska. Not only distance wise but Oklahoma and Texas have been playing each other for over 100 years so there is much more familiarity.

It is 638 miles for Nebraska to just get to basically the edge of the Texas talent. Lincoln to Houston is 880 miles. Meanwhile, OU is 188 miles from Dallas and 431 miles from Houston.

HUGE difference.

 

[dylan]

Yup. We had the good fortune to have the greatest coach of all time overcome that biggest challenge for a lot of years and finally got all the right factors to fall together and produce championships. Unfortunately, we now seem to think it's our god-given right to have that level of success and are hell bent on firing successful coaches until we find the right coaching genius to make it happen. The problem is that such coaching geniuses are rare and those that do exist are unlikely to want to coach at a place that is working on its reputation for firing successful coaches.

On the other hand, the genius we did have, already tried to help get us back on the right course and pointed out the importance of such factors as fan support and coaching stability, but what does he know? He's old and times have changed. We better find some new fangled way to win by out USC'ing USC and out SEC'ing the SEC.

 

[jaws]

Also, as mentioned, Oklahoma gets a ton of top talent from Texas that is in easy driving distance. Yes, they get some kids from other places, but they're not nearly as reliant on it as NU.

And it's not like NU isn't getting talented kids from far away. We're getting plenty of good kids and almost all of them had to be convinced to fly or drive across the country to get here.

Texas is a big state. There isn't that much of a difference from a kid going from Dallas to Lincoln and a kid going from Houston to Norman. Not all recruits that go to Oklahoma come from the DFW area.

Houston -> Norman: 428 miles

Dallas -> Lincoln: 638 miles

So it's 50% farther. But that's not even the point. I think it should be pretty obvious that Oklahoma is generally closer to Texas than Nebraska. Not only distance wise but Oklahoma and Texas have been playing each other for over 100 years so there is much more familiarity.

It is 638 miles for Nebraska to just get to basically the edge of the Texas talent. Lincoln to Houston is 880 miles. Meanwhile, OU is 188 miles from Dallas and 431 miles from Houston.

HUGE difference.

So basically all the talent coming from areas south of the DFW area aren't leaving Saturday morning for Norman to catch a game. 200 extra miles isn't that big of a deal for me but I am OK with a 14 hour car ride, maybe recruits aren't.

I don't know what the NCAA can't change that would possibly make it easier for Nebraska since there are many people that are giving distance as the main reason. However, if other northern schools can get kids out of the south, I am sure Nebraska can do it as well. Maybe it is resources and/or coaching.

 

[dylan]

Which northern schools are getting more kids out of the south than we are?

 

[jaws]

It could be worse. Illinois is loaded with talent but can't get any of it to stay in state. I think that would make me more angry than the position Nebraska is in.

 

[BigRedBuster]

Also, as mentioned, Oklahoma gets a ton of top talent from Texas that is in easy driving distance. Yes, they get some kids from other places, but they're not nearly as reliant on it as NU.

And it's not like NU isn't getting talented kids from far away. We're getting plenty of good kids and almost all of them had to be convinced to fly or drive across the country to get here.

Texas is a big state. There isn't that much of a difference from a kid going from Dallas to Lincoln and a kid going from Houston to Norman. Not all recruits that go to Oklahoma come from the DFW area.

Houston -> Norman: 428 miles

Dallas -> Lincoln: 638 miles

So it's 50% farther. But that's not even the point. I think it should be pretty obvious that Oklahoma is generally closer to Texas than Nebraska. Not only distance wise but Oklahoma and Texas have been playing each other for over 100 years so there is much more familiarity.

It is 638 miles for Nebraska to just get to basically the edge of the Texas talent. Lincoln to Houston is 880 miles. Meanwhile, OU is 188 miles from Dallas and 431 miles from Houston.

HUGE difference.

So basically all the talent coming from areas south of the DFW area aren't leaving Saturday morning for Norman to catch a game. 200 extra miles isn't that big of a deal for me but I am OK with a 14 hour car ride, maybe recruits aren't.

I don't know what the NCAA can't change that would possibly make it easier for Nebraska since there are many people that are giving distance as the main reason. However, if other northern schools can get kids out of the south, I am sure Nebraska can do it as well. Maybe it is resources and/or coaching.

Really??? First of all, I've asked it a couple times now, what program located like Nebraska has been able to bring in the talent that we expect this program to bring in and nobody has been able to answer that question.

Allow athletes to take official visits over the summer before their senior year. This would allow them to get on campus when they have time to travel AND, when the weather is nice and the kids can see how nice Nebraska really is instead of seeing it in January when it's 10 degrees with 30 mile per hour winds.

 

[Mavric]

So basically all the talent coming from areas south of the DFW area aren't leaving Saturday morning for Norman to catch a game. 200 extra miles isn't that big of a deal for me but I am OK with a 14 hour car ride, maybe recruits aren't.

I don't know what the NCAA can't change that would possibly make it easier for Nebraska since there are many people that are giving distance as the main reason. However, if other northern schools can get kids out of the south, I am sure Nebraska can do it as well. Maybe it is resources and/or coaching.

The number you should be using is 452 miles - a six and a half hour drive. That's basically the difference between Lincoln and Norman for most recruits in Texas. Not to mention the difference in a three hour drive from Dallas to Norman versus probably flying to Nebraska.

 

[FrankWheeler]

Because I honestly don't know, what is the difference between Oklahoma getting Joe Mixon out of CA and Nebraska doing the same thing?

We have pulled some very good recruits out of California just like they did. However, it's a numbers game. Look at how many players they have on their roster from Texas....more specifically from the Dallas area. It is extremely easy for a recruit out of Dallas to get to Norman for a game even when they play a game Friday night. Heck, I'm sure they could even make OU 11:00 games.

That may be true, but Oklahoma always recruits nationally very well. To me, I don't I think getting a kid to come from FL, CA, NY, NJ, VA to Nebraska is much different than getting a kid to go to Oklahoma. I see these schools as being equal in about everything but coaching.

Let's look at the Oklahoma versus Nebraska rosters for the past season.

California - 8 for Oklahoma - 9 for Nebraska

Florida - 4 for Oklahoma - 5 for Nebraska

Texas - 45 for Oklahoma - 18 for Nebraska