State of the program - Spring 2017

Thanks_Tom RR said:
84HuskerLaw said:
95 Redux: I would say you summed up things fairly well in your intro post. I do believe that we are on the brink of our first really 'top ten' recruiting class since early Solich years or so. We may have had a couple thereafter but they turned out to be mirages in many ways. But, to finish this class with half a dozen more 'elite-ish' guys AND ACTUALLY SIGN THEM next Feb will be very much tied to the success on the field this fall. If we find a way to get to the conf championship game and playwell (win or lose), we will hold the class together and we will have taken a giant leap forward as a program going into 2018.

2018 will be a gauntlet of a schedule and to manage 9 or so wins then will be 'coach of the year' type results for Riley. Of course he won't be coach of the year but it will be monumental in my view.

All this being said, this fall has the potential to be Riley's make or break year as a result. If the wheels fall off and the team loses confidence, or the QB gambit blows up in Riley's face (it surely could), then all bets are off. There remains a lot of weak links in this chain, although it is getting better in some areas. As many have mentioned, the O line remains a big "if" and two or three injuries there could spell disaster. We do have several RBs with ability and WRs have skills. The defense, IF we are able to build a front "3 or 4" as it turns out to be, should be pretty good and surely ought to be sufficient to keep us in the games, and if they grow a bunch as a group, keep us within 3 or 4 TDs of the Buckeyes. The offense, by then, has the potential to be able to play some catch up and take quick advantage of any turnovers or other breaks.

The kicking game, by golly, surely can improve dramatically by year three. A senior placekicker gives a chance to make those key field goals to keep the score from getting out of hand before half time. Anything can happen in a couple quarters, especially as DBs get a little fatigue in their legs by the 4th Qtr crunch time.

We have been hopeful and overly optimistic as it turns out nearly every season for the past 20. It is not a surprise that many of us are getting a little excited and hopeful yet again. But, as to the 'state of the program', I believe there are more positives than negatives at this point in time. We have a pretty good staff, overall, and Riley is a very good coach. Can't say 'great' yet, really in regards to any of the players or the coaches but 'very good' is better than we have had for a decade or more. How many all conference preseason pickes do we have? Probably NONE. That is not a good sign but there is one important consideration that we must recognize: the Big Ten is now the premiere conference in the country, as I have predicted for years. When Nebraska joined the league, it was apparent to me that we would make the Big Ten 'elite' and the Big 12 irrelevant. It has happened. This is the gravitas that is Nebraska football nationally. Whether or not we are rated highly, we are STILL Nebraska. The difference, evidenced by the alarmingly rapid rise last fall in the rankings by simply going 7-0, is that there are many millions of college football fans and commentators, etc, who really WANT us to be back where we belong. We aren't facing the headwinds that Bill Callahan and even Pelini faced towards the end there. We will get the benefit of the doubt more because many around the college football world want to see Nebraska in the big picture. Let's hope that come January, 2018, we are there. If so, the state of the program will be GOOD. We are on the rise but we have a long way to go.
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Don't expect a top ten recruiting class this year. It requires a large quantity of high quality prospects to get in the top ten. The class size is just not there this year (despite some good talent throughout).
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I will considerit 'top ten' in my view, whether or not it is scored that way by the services, IF we fill 'er up with lots of players that are being recruited by other top ten type programs. If we are bringing in guys that have 'best' offers from middle of their conference type programs, then not so much. It seems we are getting these early commits from players who have a long list of other offers that will include the perennial powers such OU, Texas, USC, UCLA, the Floridas, Oregon, other top tier Big Tens and SEC programs. This tells me, that not only are they being rated with 4 stars by the 'gurus', they are being sought after by other programs with real stature. This is not guarantee of course and they need to fill our needs as much as anything but it is a good indicator that it is not just our coaches taking the 'left overs' and the guys who just didn't quite make the cut at the top programs. We need to recruit with the best if we really want to compete with them - as many comments have stated aptly - it still takes 'talent' and you can't take a bunch of hungry, hard working, guys and build a champion. You need some real difference makers sprinkled in there with those blue collar guys to give you the extra speed and skills to make plays when its crunch time and it takes a rare kind of young man to do the special things. Champions need luck but teams with great talent somewhat make their own luck and can overcome otherwise deadly mistakes.

One class of 16 or 17 is enough but the cupboard is NOT bare and we have some youth and some experience and the 'system' is now in year 3. Guys should now be starting to play faster without the hestitation and over thinking. Athleticism helps, We are going to have to outwork and out smart the elites but we should be closer to be on an equal footing with most teams outside the top fifteen or so as opposed to maybe more like the top 25. An upset is now possible against nearly all oppoents. As little as two years ago, it was not. Last year, half a dozen injuries to key guys made it a snowballs' chance in hell of winning down the stretch run. Despite the rough ending, there seem to be no real signs that this 2017 bunch is suffering from real hangover or a loss of confidence and faith. They seem to be determined to work as hard as ever and also to be going into the season with heads held high and a feeling that good things will come. This is a VERY POSITIVE sign for me.

 
RedDenver said:
KingBlank said:
Landlord of Memorial Stadium said:
Program is definitely trending up in almost every area you could think of, which is very encouraging. But make no mistake - we are not there yet. We are not a championship caliber football team. We won't be this year.
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Except for actually playing good football on offense, or defense, or special teams, in any improving capacity.
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Cool post, first I am not a troll. Do you want me to go down the list a factual evidence of what has actually happened? Everyone can have their own opinion of this program rise but until there is actual statical and on the field evidence is yet to be proven. Remeber Riley's "good seasons" are outliers for him. That is all I am saying. Yes I do disagree with most of the sunshine pumpers on here, I like facts better then hope.

 
Every Husker coach since Devaney has either won or played for a conference championship by his third year. Even Callahan managed that mark. If Riley can't do that, I'd probably consider it a major failure....

Hedley Lamarr said:
For those of you saying we HAVE to make the ccg this year....what if we go 11-1 and our only loss is to Wisconsin who goes 12-0?
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...but playing in a major bowl (which we haven't done since 2001) would do a lot to placate me.

 
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Are there a significant number of Husker fans who are:

1) Unduly optimistic

2) Satisfied with the current state of Nebraska football

Some posters act like there are, but I'm just not seeing it.

 
The on field results have not yet bore out any major improvement over the last decade and a half. Nobody is questioning that. But we also haven't seen this level of commitment to behaving like the big boys, this level of coaching staff pedigree, or this level of optimism towards recruiting either from the perspective of the coaches or the recruits since the very early 2000's. And 2016 was a much better year than 2015 results wise.

You can enjoy the ride while simultaneously not being content with where you are.

 
Huskerzoo said:
saunders45 said:
RedDenver said:
KingBlank said:
Landlord of Memorial Stadium said:
Program is definitely trending up in almost every area you could think of, which is very encouraging. But make no mistake - we are not there yet. We are not a championship caliber football team. We won't be this year.
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Except for actually playing good football on offense, or defense, or special teams, in any improving capacity.
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He's hyperbolic, but not entirely wrong. All the "feel good" about the program is almost entirely cemented in recruiting. The on the field product isn't measurably better than it has been for the last 16 years, and the hype for 2017 right now is entirely based on potential and hope.
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I wouldn't say it's all recruiting. I feel good about Diaco. It's also worth noting, that you more or less have to look at recruiting to feel good about the future. As good as coaches might be, almost all the data says you don't take mediocre recruiting and turn it into big game wins. The system takes time to play out.
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I should have clarified by saying that the fact based "feel good" is about recruiting. I mean, most (all?) of us think Diaco is an upgrade, but we haven't seen it on the field yet, so it still falls under the potential and hope banner.

 
That's a tough list to look at in regards to the older recruits. Aaron Green transferred, Jamal Turner didn't have what I would consider a significant impact, Charles Jackson had knee problems and left the team, and Bubba Starling went to baseball.

Newby is about the only bright spot on there right now.

It's hard for me to draw any significant conclusions from those lists because I don't know what other programs (who recruit similarly to us) face in terms of highly-touted recruit performances/turnover.

 
What I take from that list is the fact that we are recruiting more quantity of highly rated players in 2015, 2016, 2017...and so far 2018 than we did in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.

From there it's a numbers game. Unfortunately, the luck we have had with highly rated players hasn't been good between 2011 and 2014. Let's hope with higher numbers of highly rated players, we have some that reach their potential.

 
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