HSKRNOKC
New member
about our new coaching staff. Good read.
The final word
***The rumors have been flying at an all-time high, and I thought I heard it all until this one. The rumor I heard today is almost as good as the “Bob Davie has gotten cable installed at his house” story from several years ago.
A guy at Prairie Life told me on Thursday that his dental hygienist told him Bo Pelini’s wife has already registered her kids into a Lincoln Catholic grade school and he has a buddy that works at Duncan Aviation that swore Pelini has already been in Lincoln. I love it…these rumors are so out of control I laugh every time I hear them.
***Bill Callahan was very adamant about not letting any media around the program this week. Originally we were slated to have two days of access, then they tried to get us one, but Callahan said he wanted nobody over there all together this week. Do I agree with it…no, but I can understand where he’s coming from.
***Keep your eyes on Shane Prater of Omaha Central in tonight’s Class A state title game. Word is Nebraska may make a late run at him and offer him a scholarship after the season. I’m told NU has tried to get in with his twin brother Shaun Prater, but he continues to remain solid on his verbal commitment to Iowa.
***Vondrae Tostensen’s top team is still Nebraska and that’s where he hopes to go I’m told by two people close to Vondrae.
***A local high school coach told me this week that John Levorson is one of the best high school safeties he’s ever seen in Nebraska. He said Levorson controlled the entire field during Crete’s semifinal win over Beatrice.
Key dates
As Husker fans count down the days until they get the final word from Athletic Director Tom Osborne on what, if any, coaching changes will be made to the Nebraska football program, it's a good time to check some key dates on the calendar going forward for the next few weeks.
Thursday, Nov. 22 - Thanksgiving Day
Friday, Nov. 23 - Nebraska vs. Colorado football game
Saturday, Nov. 24 ? A.D. Osborne has meeting with current NU coaching staff; Also Nebraska vs. Creighton basketball game at Qwest Center Omaha (Tom Osborne has connections to both the NU & CU athletic programs, and he might not want to rain on the parade of this big in-state basketball rivalry game with the competing news of a new Husker coach. But since he’s announced he will be sitting down to let coach Callahan and staff know of his evaluation this could be the proverbial ‘Day of Decision’.)
Saturday, Dec. 1 - Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship
Friday Dec. 7 - Cornhusker Football Team Banquet (This would give A.D. Osborne two weeks after the last regular season game to hire a new coach if it comes to that. NU commits David Whitmore and Will Compton are scheduled to take their official visits to Lincoln at this time, and there could be other officials added depending on the circumstances.)
Monday, Dec. 17 - Start of NCAA Dead Period (The dead period runs through January 1, 2008, and it is that period of time when it is not permissible for coaches to make in-person recruiting contacts or evaluations on- or off-campus or permit official or unofficial visits. )
Wednesday, Dec. 19 - Midyear JUCO Transfer signing day (This is the first day for mid-year junior college transfers to sign letters-of-intent which runs through Jan. 15, 2008. Ideally, if a change is going to be made, Nebraska should have a new coach by this time so that NU's junior college commits will know if they still wish to sign with the Huskers.)
Thursday, Dec. 20 - College Football Bowl season starts
Saturday, Dec. 29; Sunday, Dec. 30; Monday, Dec. 31 - Alamo Bowl, Independence Bowl and Insight Bowl (If NU beats Colorado, these are the three most likely bowl destinations)
The timeline will be tight for any new NU head coach to be announced, if that happens, and for him to be able to hit the ground running in assembling his staff and to start working on salvaging this year's recruiting class. I'd expect Dr. Osborne to have his ducks in a row for whichever direction he is planning to go since time is of the essence.
Doc Sadler and staff got themselves a real steal in Roburt Sallie. He had some of college basketball’s big boys after him all along the couple few years, and the intensity only picked up after his MVP performance in his first tournament of the season. Fans are hopeful that Sallie will live up to his billing and help take Nebraska basketball to that next level.
## As we do every year, we’ll be taking a break from Tunnel Talk Thanksgiving week. When TT picks back up again the following week the big picture of the future direction Husker football should be clarified.
Mother knows best
One of the few prospects that Nebraska has improved their position with over the past six weeks is Quentin Toailoa. When I talked to Quentin back in early October, he planned to visit Lincoln “because his mother wanted him to”. Now, the big defensive tackle from Redlands, California is glad that he did.
“The fans were awesome,” Toailoa said. “They knew my name and had me signing autographs. The ‘Sea of Red’ stayed the whole game, even though the team was losing.”
Toailoa visited Nebraska in late October and was on hand to witness the Huskers loss to Texas A&M. He spent a lot of time with Nebraska commit Simi Kuli throughout the weekend and the two became fast friends.
Toailoa plans to take a few more visits before making a college decision but Nebraska is his current leader. In fact, he admitted to me that he almost committed to the ‘Big Red’ while in Lincoln.
“I’ll try to take all five visits unless someone gets me and just blows me away,” Toailoa said. “Nebraska came close but I wanted to take at least one more visit and see what else is out there.”
New linebacker prospect
Another prospect from Redlands, California (though a different school) that the Huskers have offered is linebacker Brandon Phillips. The 5-foot-10, 217-pounder was extremely productive from his inside backer position this fall, logging close to 100 tackles and four sacks.
Phillips plans to visit Arizona State, Nebraska and San Diego State before solidifying his college plans. Both Phillips and Toailoa said that Husker assistant coach (Joe) Rudolph is actively recruiting both of them. Both told me that Rudolph is probably recruiting them harder than any other coach. This kind of debunks the rumors that members of the current Nebraska coaching staff has stopped recruiting. Rudolph sure hasn’t.
Junior to watch
Cole Pensick should be one of the top five prospects in the state of Nebraska for the Class of 2009. The son of former Husker defensive tackle Dan Pensick camped at Nebraska this past summer and, despite the uncertainty in Lincoln, favors the ‘Big Red’.
When I asked him what his father thought of the recruiting process, he said, “My dad wasn’t real happy when coach (Frank) Solich was let go four years ago. He’s still a Husker fan though. Deep down inside, I know he’d want me to play for the Huskers.”
Opening at quarterback
Obviously the Blaine Gabbert de-commitment has opened up the door for a new scholarship offer for James Vandenberg.
While he may have a lack of offers, keep in mind that stats-wise this guy has produced. He now owns state records for yards in a season (3,509) and career (7,481) and touchdown passes in a season (46) and career (90) going into this Saturday’s championship game.
When I asked him about favorites, he responded that he’s not leaning any direction yet.
“All the schools I’m being recruited for I could definitely see myself at,” Vandenberg said. “I’m going to keep it off my mind this week. I couldn’t say there is a clear cut favorite now.”
Kansas is another school that hasn’t offered but is showing a lot of interest right now. He likes their offense and Michigan State has also asked him about visiting.
He had this to say about where he wanted to visit after his season concludes.
“I’m going to take an official visit to Nebraska, an official visit to Northern Illinois, and maybe Iowa,” he said. “Kansas is still contacting me and Michigan State they want me to come on an official visit.”
Another interesting prospect is Robert Griffin from Copperas Cove, Texas. He has an offer from Nebraska but is firmly committed to Houston right now. He has a strong relationship with Art Briles. If there is a coaching change of some sort with a new offense scheme that relies on a mobile quarterback, he may be a guy to watch out for. Right now, there isn’t anything to report on him.
Williams breaks it down
I spoke with NU commit Josh Williams this week. He’s picked up two new offers, one from Kansas and one from Kentucky.
Of those two, the Kansas offer seemed to impress him more. He kind of broke down where things are at after visiting Texas this past weekend and what’s next.
“Man, I mean the stir up with the coaches and things, just started getting real crazy and people started de-committing,” Williams said. “I thought it would be good for me to have a second option for myself.”
However, if a change were to me made, Williams said it would have an effect, but that staying a part of the class would depend on “me getting to meet the new coaching staff.”
Official visits to Missouri, Kansas, and Texas are the next on the list and it appears a visit to Nebraska later to see what happens is probable.
Etc.
***Most people saw my hunch on Bryce Givens about him not coming to Nebraska. I’m hearing from a lot of people down in Texas that the Longhorns may be the team to beat in the end but I think you could make an argument for a lot of teams on his list. On the other hand, I also feel pretty strong about Quentin Toailoa and Trevor Robinson heading to Nebraska.
*** I think the biggest thing for Sean Fisher and Collins Okafor that is keeping them committed to Nebraska is not just the tradition and the fact that they’re in-state prospects, but the bond they have with each other. They’re more than just fellow commits, but good friends. Okafor didn’t seem real interested in Iowa if you read the update and from what I’m told, the visit was just to go with a former Westside teammate ? nothing more. I’ll be surprised if either switches.
*** Prospects aside from Fisher and Okafor not to worry about right this second? I think ironically that David Whitmore, Riley Reiff and Brandon Thompson have to be on that list. All out-of-state prospects, they all seem to be just waiting to see what happens after the Colorado game and nothing more. Also remember that new targets can emerge if there is a coaching change because as well-known as it is in Nebraska or would appear to be everywhere with all of the media attention, there are distant out-of-state prospects who still don’t have a clue about any this right now and things can change quickly when they do find out.
The balloon is getting bigger and bigger and it will pop soon. I have a strong feeling - hunch if you will - that the recruits that have de-committed and that are thinking about de-committing will have second thoughts about what they did. I am not saying they will switch back. What I mean is that they will wish they had waited until a new head coach was named.
The new coach will bring in an energetic new staff that makes people wonder what happened this year or why or should it have been this bad. You can say that I am thinking like Simi Kuli and let it go at that, but my thoughts go beyond that. I believe Huskerland will be pleased - for the most part. Sure some won’t. If I have not learned anything from watching Nebraska fans from a distance, it is that not all are always pleased with things - human nature.
I cannot read minds, but it is not too difficult to reason things out. Call it being elderly and trying to think like Dr. Osborne (I wish - I said trying). I believe he will honestly do what is best and I believe it will all prove in the end what I said in the first paragraph.
Just a few notes on recruiting and I am done for this week.
Congratulations must be given to Shaun Mohler and Simi Kuli. Both were named co-defensive players of the year for their conference - possibly the toughest JC conference in the nation.
Let me run by some numbers for you. Remember now, Kuli did not play in the first 2-3 games of the year. Simi ended up with 59 tackles and 13 were for a loss or about two a game. I lost track of his sacks, but they were around 10. The last game he had 6 tackles and 6 QB hits. I will have some fresh film and you judge for yourself.
Justin Thompson had a good year with 34 tackles from DT and 11 for loss and in their last game he had 4 tackles and 1 QB hit. El Camino ended the year #1 in rush D, #2 in total defense, scoring defense, and sacks.
If you think Simi and Justin are the only ones doing a good job at ELCO, you might be interested to know that KSU (DT John Finau) and CU (LB Josh Berard) got two of the very best, too. ELCO has 11 players that have already committed to a D-I school. That is one very good JC.
CB Lamar Chapman from ELCO is a Utah commit, but I would not be surprised to see a late push to get him at NU from the new staff.
I sure cannot say what a kid will do, but I believe that Shaun Mohler will still end up at Nebraska. If Shaun doesn't attend NU, I think he will pick CU. He is visiting them, Kentucky and Iowa. I seldom say things like this without some foundation. Simi Kuli will stay. Adrian Hilburn is less than 50-50. Tyson Hetzer is more than 50-50.
The final word
***The rumors have been flying at an all-time high, and I thought I heard it all until this one. The rumor I heard today is almost as good as the “Bob Davie has gotten cable installed at his house” story from several years ago.
A guy at Prairie Life told me on Thursday that his dental hygienist told him Bo Pelini’s wife has already registered her kids into a Lincoln Catholic grade school and he has a buddy that works at Duncan Aviation that swore Pelini has already been in Lincoln. I love it…these rumors are so out of control I laugh every time I hear them.
***Bill Callahan was very adamant about not letting any media around the program this week. Originally we were slated to have two days of access, then they tried to get us one, but Callahan said he wanted nobody over there all together this week. Do I agree with it…no, but I can understand where he’s coming from.
***Keep your eyes on Shane Prater of Omaha Central in tonight’s Class A state title game. Word is Nebraska may make a late run at him and offer him a scholarship after the season. I’m told NU has tried to get in with his twin brother Shaun Prater, but he continues to remain solid on his verbal commitment to Iowa.
***Vondrae Tostensen’s top team is still Nebraska and that’s where he hopes to go I’m told by two people close to Vondrae.
***A local high school coach told me this week that John Levorson is one of the best high school safeties he’s ever seen in Nebraska. He said Levorson controlled the entire field during Crete’s semifinal win over Beatrice.
Key dates
As Husker fans count down the days until they get the final word from Athletic Director Tom Osborne on what, if any, coaching changes will be made to the Nebraska football program, it's a good time to check some key dates on the calendar going forward for the next few weeks.
Thursday, Nov. 22 - Thanksgiving Day
Friday, Nov. 23 - Nebraska vs. Colorado football game
Saturday, Nov. 24 ? A.D. Osborne has meeting with current NU coaching staff; Also Nebraska vs. Creighton basketball game at Qwest Center Omaha (Tom Osborne has connections to both the NU & CU athletic programs, and he might not want to rain on the parade of this big in-state basketball rivalry game with the competing news of a new Husker coach. But since he’s announced he will be sitting down to let coach Callahan and staff know of his evaluation this could be the proverbial ‘Day of Decision’.)
Saturday, Dec. 1 - Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship
Friday Dec. 7 - Cornhusker Football Team Banquet (This would give A.D. Osborne two weeks after the last regular season game to hire a new coach if it comes to that. NU commits David Whitmore and Will Compton are scheduled to take their official visits to Lincoln at this time, and there could be other officials added depending on the circumstances.)
Monday, Dec. 17 - Start of NCAA Dead Period (The dead period runs through January 1, 2008, and it is that period of time when it is not permissible for coaches to make in-person recruiting contacts or evaluations on- or off-campus or permit official or unofficial visits. )
Wednesday, Dec. 19 - Midyear JUCO Transfer signing day (This is the first day for mid-year junior college transfers to sign letters-of-intent which runs through Jan. 15, 2008. Ideally, if a change is going to be made, Nebraska should have a new coach by this time so that NU's junior college commits will know if they still wish to sign with the Huskers.)
Thursday, Dec. 20 - College Football Bowl season starts
Saturday, Dec. 29; Sunday, Dec. 30; Monday, Dec. 31 - Alamo Bowl, Independence Bowl and Insight Bowl (If NU beats Colorado, these are the three most likely bowl destinations)
The timeline will be tight for any new NU head coach to be announced, if that happens, and for him to be able to hit the ground running in assembling his staff and to start working on salvaging this year's recruiting class. I'd expect Dr. Osborne to have his ducks in a row for whichever direction he is planning to go since time is of the essence.
Doc Sadler and staff got themselves a real steal in Roburt Sallie. He had some of college basketball’s big boys after him all along the couple few years, and the intensity only picked up after his MVP performance in his first tournament of the season. Fans are hopeful that Sallie will live up to his billing and help take Nebraska basketball to that next level.
## As we do every year, we’ll be taking a break from Tunnel Talk Thanksgiving week. When TT picks back up again the following week the big picture of the future direction Husker football should be clarified.
Mother knows best
One of the few prospects that Nebraska has improved their position with over the past six weeks is Quentin Toailoa. When I talked to Quentin back in early October, he planned to visit Lincoln “because his mother wanted him to”. Now, the big defensive tackle from Redlands, California is glad that he did.
“The fans were awesome,” Toailoa said. “They knew my name and had me signing autographs. The ‘Sea of Red’ stayed the whole game, even though the team was losing.”
Toailoa visited Nebraska in late October and was on hand to witness the Huskers loss to Texas A&M. He spent a lot of time with Nebraska commit Simi Kuli throughout the weekend and the two became fast friends.
Toailoa plans to take a few more visits before making a college decision but Nebraska is his current leader. In fact, he admitted to me that he almost committed to the ‘Big Red’ while in Lincoln.
“I’ll try to take all five visits unless someone gets me and just blows me away,” Toailoa said. “Nebraska came close but I wanted to take at least one more visit and see what else is out there.”
New linebacker prospect
Another prospect from Redlands, California (though a different school) that the Huskers have offered is linebacker Brandon Phillips. The 5-foot-10, 217-pounder was extremely productive from his inside backer position this fall, logging close to 100 tackles and four sacks.
Phillips plans to visit Arizona State, Nebraska and San Diego State before solidifying his college plans. Both Phillips and Toailoa said that Husker assistant coach (Joe) Rudolph is actively recruiting both of them. Both told me that Rudolph is probably recruiting them harder than any other coach. This kind of debunks the rumors that members of the current Nebraska coaching staff has stopped recruiting. Rudolph sure hasn’t.
Junior to watch
Cole Pensick should be one of the top five prospects in the state of Nebraska for the Class of 2009. The son of former Husker defensive tackle Dan Pensick camped at Nebraska this past summer and, despite the uncertainty in Lincoln, favors the ‘Big Red’.
When I asked him what his father thought of the recruiting process, he said, “My dad wasn’t real happy when coach (Frank) Solich was let go four years ago. He’s still a Husker fan though. Deep down inside, I know he’d want me to play for the Huskers.”
Opening at quarterback
Obviously the Blaine Gabbert de-commitment has opened up the door for a new scholarship offer for James Vandenberg.
While he may have a lack of offers, keep in mind that stats-wise this guy has produced. He now owns state records for yards in a season (3,509) and career (7,481) and touchdown passes in a season (46) and career (90) going into this Saturday’s championship game.
When I asked him about favorites, he responded that he’s not leaning any direction yet.
“All the schools I’m being recruited for I could definitely see myself at,” Vandenberg said. “I’m going to keep it off my mind this week. I couldn’t say there is a clear cut favorite now.”
Kansas is another school that hasn’t offered but is showing a lot of interest right now. He likes their offense and Michigan State has also asked him about visiting.
He had this to say about where he wanted to visit after his season concludes.
“I’m going to take an official visit to Nebraska, an official visit to Northern Illinois, and maybe Iowa,” he said. “Kansas is still contacting me and Michigan State they want me to come on an official visit.”
Another interesting prospect is Robert Griffin from Copperas Cove, Texas. He has an offer from Nebraska but is firmly committed to Houston right now. He has a strong relationship with Art Briles. If there is a coaching change of some sort with a new offense scheme that relies on a mobile quarterback, he may be a guy to watch out for. Right now, there isn’t anything to report on him.
Williams breaks it down
I spoke with NU commit Josh Williams this week. He’s picked up two new offers, one from Kansas and one from Kentucky.
Of those two, the Kansas offer seemed to impress him more. He kind of broke down where things are at after visiting Texas this past weekend and what’s next.
“Man, I mean the stir up with the coaches and things, just started getting real crazy and people started de-committing,” Williams said. “I thought it would be good for me to have a second option for myself.”
However, if a change were to me made, Williams said it would have an effect, but that staying a part of the class would depend on “me getting to meet the new coaching staff.”
Official visits to Missouri, Kansas, and Texas are the next on the list and it appears a visit to Nebraska later to see what happens is probable.
Etc.
***Most people saw my hunch on Bryce Givens about him not coming to Nebraska. I’m hearing from a lot of people down in Texas that the Longhorns may be the team to beat in the end but I think you could make an argument for a lot of teams on his list. On the other hand, I also feel pretty strong about Quentin Toailoa and Trevor Robinson heading to Nebraska.
*** I think the biggest thing for Sean Fisher and Collins Okafor that is keeping them committed to Nebraska is not just the tradition and the fact that they’re in-state prospects, but the bond they have with each other. They’re more than just fellow commits, but good friends. Okafor didn’t seem real interested in Iowa if you read the update and from what I’m told, the visit was just to go with a former Westside teammate ? nothing more. I’ll be surprised if either switches.
*** Prospects aside from Fisher and Okafor not to worry about right this second? I think ironically that David Whitmore, Riley Reiff and Brandon Thompson have to be on that list. All out-of-state prospects, they all seem to be just waiting to see what happens after the Colorado game and nothing more. Also remember that new targets can emerge if there is a coaching change because as well-known as it is in Nebraska or would appear to be everywhere with all of the media attention, there are distant out-of-state prospects who still don’t have a clue about any this right now and things can change quickly when they do find out.
The balloon is getting bigger and bigger and it will pop soon. I have a strong feeling - hunch if you will - that the recruits that have de-committed and that are thinking about de-committing will have second thoughts about what they did. I am not saying they will switch back. What I mean is that they will wish they had waited until a new head coach was named.
The new coach will bring in an energetic new staff that makes people wonder what happened this year or why or should it have been this bad. You can say that I am thinking like Simi Kuli and let it go at that, but my thoughts go beyond that. I believe Huskerland will be pleased - for the most part. Sure some won’t. If I have not learned anything from watching Nebraska fans from a distance, it is that not all are always pleased with things - human nature.
I cannot read minds, but it is not too difficult to reason things out. Call it being elderly and trying to think like Dr. Osborne (I wish - I said trying). I believe he will honestly do what is best and I believe it will all prove in the end what I said in the first paragraph.
Just a few notes on recruiting and I am done for this week.
Congratulations must be given to Shaun Mohler and Simi Kuli. Both were named co-defensive players of the year for their conference - possibly the toughest JC conference in the nation.
Let me run by some numbers for you. Remember now, Kuli did not play in the first 2-3 games of the year. Simi ended up with 59 tackles and 13 were for a loss or about two a game. I lost track of his sacks, but they were around 10. The last game he had 6 tackles and 6 QB hits. I will have some fresh film and you judge for yourself.
Justin Thompson had a good year with 34 tackles from DT and 11 for loss and in their last game he had 4 tackles and 1 QB hit. El Camino ended the year #1 in rush D, #2 in total defense, scoring defense, and sacks.
If you think Simi and Justin are the only ones doing a good job at ELCO, you might be interested to know that KSU (DT John Finau) and CU (LB Josh Berard) got two of the very best, too. ELCO has 11 players that have already committed to a D-I school. That is one very good JC.
CB Lamar Chapman from ELCO is a Utah commit, but I would not be surprised to see a late push to get him at NU from the new staff.
I sure cannot say what a kid will do, but I believe that Shaun Mohler will still end up at Nebraska. If Shaun doesn't attend NU, I think he will pick CU. He is visiting them, Kentucky and Iowa. I seldom say things like this without some foundation. Simi Kuli will stay. Adrian Hilburn is less than 50-50. Tyson Hetzer is more than 50-50.