Folks, the only way that we're going to get over the hump quickly (say in the next several years) is to hire that lightning rod recruiter.
Otherwise, it's going to be a slow build.
From the looks of things, it appears that the program is OK with the slow build.
What "build?" .... What exactly are you talking about? Nebraska has to win the Big Ten West first. Then they can worry about beating Ohio State and making the playoffs.
There is more than enough talent on this current roster to win the Big Ten West right now. If you don't believe that, then you clearly don't understand why Bo Pelini lost his job.
But guess what? No team in college football is beating Ohio State next season.
The absurd part of this argument stems from Classes of 2016 and 2017. Even if you signed the #1 class in 2016 and 2017, you're not winning a National Championship in 2017 because of those classes alone. That type of thinking is the type of thinking The "May National Champs on the Main Board" make. That's Michigan Fan 2013 and Tennessee fan 2013, 2014, and 2015 mantra.
Do you think every recruit from a #1 class in 2016 would start in 2016? Do you know how many games that team would lose?
Riley is going about this the right way. The 1st thing he did was address depth. Where is the depth the worst?
1. Linebacker - Riley signed Young, Talan, Barry, and Ferguson. His most recent commit, William Johnson, will potentially be the #1 or #2 JUCO linebacker in the class of 2016.
And ironically enough, in 2015, Nebraska will be the only team in the Big Ten, other than Ohio State, with all three of their starting linebackers as former 4-Stars. So he has some talented starters for a couple of seasons before his depth is completely built up.
2. Riley believes his roster and 2-deep is good enough right now to win the Big Ten West. He's not an idiot. He sees talent. He has watched film. He's seen his personnel, and he knows what the schedule holds. So he's going to make the offense more fluid and mold it around his current talent instead of trying to insert quare pegs into round holes.
3. Intergrate and develop depth along the D-line. he's doing this. Get your talented starters some rest. Give them a rotation. You suddenly go from basically 5 guys playing per game to now having a rotation of 8 to 10 scholarship guys.
4. Overhaul the strength and conditioning. you build a roster capable of holding up in Novemebr in the Big Ten. This is paramount along the offensive line.
5. RECRUIT SPEED - Look at his recruits. If you can;t get the #1 on your board, you sign dudes who can run. An extension of that aspect is Special teams. You create a true advantage on Special teams and insert athletes who can make plays on Special teams while they're developing their roles.
Then you win games. Win the division and prove progression is coming.
Lastly, and this is something Bo never did:
Riley and staff clearly have a "big board." They have obviously ranked their recruits based on talent, need, and necessity. If 1A is no longer an option, they're moving to 1B because theyre is already a relationship in place.
If Bo missed out on his 1A, he then moved to 1H at the last minute.