**Big Red Breakfast 10.9.15 with former NU star Guy Ingles**
_____________________________________________________________________
From Ross Jernstrom:
It’s been a long week, not sure how many of you were out there. The wind was 25 miles per hour, wind chill low, started raining towards the end of the game. A lot of our passes were into the wind, esp. in the 4th quarter. Our team is at a crossroads, possibly 2-4 after this weekend. Tremendous LB, Joe Schobert, #58, walkon, very smart player, leads nation in sacks. Have given up one TD in last 4 games. Rank 4th in nation in scoring defense, defense is the strength of their team. This is a down year for them on offense running the ball, 74th in the nation, NU is 42nd. Have had a lot of injuries at TE and WR spots, this has been their Achilles heel.
From Chris Baker:
Obvious last week that the team was jetlagged, TSA confiscated the luggage that had the playbook in in it for all of our running plays…….haha! I want to see a decisive victory!
From Sean Callahan:
It is a good matchup for NU; it is NU’s offense vs Wisconsin’s defense. DeMornay will be back in a starting role, hopefully will see him get some big plays, we have been missing the consistent big plays. No one has come at NU like the way Wisconsin will. They will pound the ball at us, chew clock, and shorten the game. Valentine is expected to play, but how much? He has really only played one game all year. Collins had his best game of year last week which was encouraging. Keyshawn Johnson Jr will be here, it’s his 4th trip to Lincoln since the spring, very interested in coming here. Every time he comes, he brings plane load of 4 and 5 start players with him, very good recruiting relationship we have here.
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Q & A (New format: Panel with Jim Rose, Guy, Ross Jernstrom, Chris Baker and guest panelist former NU player Guy “The Fly” Ingles)
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You and Johnny Rogers were rivals in high school?
When we played Tech Johnny was a sophomore and tech wasn’t smart enough to play him on offense. He played LB. I appreciate Johnny talking about me. My senior year, Tech was ranked ahead of us, had 7-8 college prospects, we had 3 or 4. We beat them 46-6. Things just went our way, we weren’t that much better. Johnny is still the best football player I have ever seen. He’s a better person today than when we were in school – hahaha! Was a pleasure playing with him. Johnny was the difference between us being good and real good. Punt return against Oklahoma in 1971 was the difference in the game. In 1968, I remember getting beat bad by OK; there were petitions around town to fire Bob. I have found out since which some of them were. I’m glad that didn’t happen because then we wouldn’t have had 33 yrs in a row of 9 wins, streak started in 1969.
Tech game in 1966 – that probably earned you the NU scholarship.
I just had one of those nights where everything went well, rushed for 164 yds, returned 5 punts for 80 yds, and caught 5 passes. I was not big enough to play in those days, I was about 146 lbs in high school, played at 158 in Lincoln, ran 4.6 40. I’m big enough to play at NU now……..haha! 26 months after we got beat by Oklahoma 47-0, we won the WHOLE THING….26 mos. Recruiting got real good in a hurry. Two very good classes back to back...Johnny, Dutton, Glover, Harper, Tagge, Bronson, and Kinney. That’s what’s got to happen today. We are not going to win in the Big 10 conference until we have All-Conference linemen on both sides of the ball!! I went up to Wisconsin the first time we played up there...I won’t go back there, BTW. I told my wife, we are in big trouble.there were 3 guys on that team that were drafted. And they had Russell Wilson.
The key here is recruiting. In 1973, TO had a meeting.The difference will be the walk-ons guys; they will give us the 3-4 guys per year that will enable us to beat the big teams. I will never forget that. It was the difference through the 70’s and into the 80’s. When the scholarships were cut back and recruiting was cut back, a lot of those kids went somewhere else where they could get a scholarship. Biggest difference from my day to today, we had 150 players. You had rep after rep after rep. Spring ball was 30 practices long, now you have 15. Everybody is in the same boat now, but at Nebraska, it was built on repetition.
My daughter Bailey in 1996 was 12 yo. She wanted to meet TO. That was the Saturday before we went to the Fiesta Bowl to play Florida. Everybody was worried. I saw the best practice I ever saw in my life, 55 degrees, no wind. Perfect head coach, perfect RB, perfect QB. Frazier never missed a pitch or pass, no one fumbled. I just wasn’t smart enough to put $50K on the Huskers…..haha!!
Challenges to be a repeat champion, how did you stay motivated after 1971?
I was a GA that year. We were pretty good in 1970, but 71 was another step up, Johnny was a Junior, QBs had more experience, John Dutton who played 12 yrs in the pros couldn’t start…that’s how loaded we were. TO called every offensive play from 1969 to 1997, he is the only one alive associated with all 5 championships. OK was real close but they were only about 6 mos into the wishbone.
Social media :
A player can’t walk anywhere. I would have been in trouble; Bob would have been in really big trouble – hahaha! Back then, it was a wonderful atmosphere, the students really cared and there were more seats for students then. It was important to be a player. There were a lot of things going on off the field with the Vietnam War, drugs got to Lincoln but not until 1974-75. Bob’s teams in 63-65 came close, but didn’t. We had some breaks go our way. Once you gave Tom 20 yrs to get the system perfected and get the athletes, we did it again. We were never abused by the coaches.
You had some characters on the team – Jerry Murtaugh blames you for the USC loss.
1969 Sun Bowl trip was one of the very best. I was not on the ill-fated trip to Juarez. Thank God Jerry was there; even though he had a rocky relationship with Coach Devaney……Jerry actually saved the day. I do remember we beat Georgia pretty handily. Al Larsen and I had our girlfriends in El Paso. They actually came and sat with us on the bench for the last 5 minutes of the game. I don’t think that would happen today….haha!
Election of co-captains:
In those days, it was a player vote. Offensive players voted for offensive captain, defense voted for defense. Jerry was captain for defense, Bob not too happy about that. Melton was the buffer between Bob and Jerry, thank God. Scrutiny from fans was intense, but not as intense as it is today. In the month of May, I didn’t do anything, I didn’t work out, didn’t touch a ball. Then in the summer, we’d start to work out. The first time they let us on the Astroturf, it was just green, there were no yard markers – I thought I could jump higher, run faster. The linemen hated it, turf burns, not as nice as it is today.
You were an assistant at NU in the 70’s. Then you joined Monte Kiffin at NC State. Jason Peter accused some of the former assistant coaches of tampering with current players. Is this something that assistant coaches would do?
I have never been in that situation, but I can’t really imagine it. I don’t know what that coach would have to gain unless he has a job somewhere waiting for him and he wants to take a few players along with him. Today the money that is thrown around and the scrutiny and the pressure and the 24 hr news cycle, it’s difficult for coaches, players. I never have had a cross word with a fan or a player or anyone else. I can’t imagine doing what Bo did at the end of the season last year either.
Coach Riley – you would love to have played in this offense, they throw the ball a lot.
I am encouraged. A little disappointed in what has happened lately. A bit 'snake-bit'. Talent level isn't anywhere near where it has to be, esp. in the lines. We have skill players which are very good. Riley had a very good reception on signing night last year. He is easy to like, pleasant, all positive. In time, he might be tremendous. What he did at OSU is somewhat comparable to what Snyder has done at K State. They had 28 losing seasons in a row before he went to OSU. At some point in time, he got them to the Fiesta Bowl, that’s a pretty good accomplishment. At a place like OSU, you are not going to be 9-3 or 10-2 every single year. He’s got to get his guys in here; we do have to learn to run the ball a little better.
If you can control the tempo of the game, that’s key. We can’t block ‘em because we don’t have enough linemen. When we are 3rd and 5, we probably aren’t going to run it…and when people watch us for a few weeks, they know it. We are forced into being one dimensional. Today, if you can’t rush the QB with 4 guys, you are dead. Then you have to blitz and then they’ve got you. Then you have man to man and someone uncovered, these great receivers are going to get open, even if they are slow. You have to start with best 4 D-linemen you can find. If you have a Selmon, Glover, Wistrom, Dutton…….5 O-linemen can’t keep guys like this away.
Our receivers are good. DeMornay is another world if he is healthy. Apparent to me over last 8-10 years……our QBs haven’t improved over the course of a season. You can’t have this; the QB has to get better. Riley’s QBs have improved over the course of the year during his career. So he’s done this. OSU has had more guys drafted in the last 10 years, than WE have…..chew on that one.
On rotating the O-line:
I think they would be doing this if they thought that had more than 5 or 6 guys who could play. You’ve got to give the linemen a breather, esp. on defense. Rushing the passer is exhausting.
Alex Lewis – this guy has a mixed relationship with the fans right now, he is a captain. How is he still on the team? What does this do to a locker room?
It depends. I am not happy with his interaction on the field or with the fans. I’ve not met his dad who played for NU in the mid 80’s. I think they’ve taken some action within the program. In my day, there was always internal discipline. Today, with everyone on phones, cameras, replays night after night. I would just say, you are important, but you are not more important than anyone else. Our relationship with our fans is important. You owe it to your teammates to be a team player and not go off half- cocked. I’m sure he has had a sit down. You have to subjugate your personal feelings for what is for the betterment of all.
Bo Pelini was never on the campus at Iowa Western Community College. That is a mistake! They have sent many guys on who were really good. The player that caught the winning TD last Saturday against NU played at Iowa Western……..(From Rose) that’s the kind of info I didn’t need…..haha!
1978 game very hard-hitting – did Frank want to recruit Danny Woodhead but his staff talked him out of it?
Not true. Frank thought Danny was too small to play. He was an asthmatic, didn’t want to use a scholarship at that time. They just weren’t sure. Woodheads did not feel welcome at NU and that was a failure on our part! NU had just one scholarship that year and they gave it to Brandon Jackson who ended up being a 2nd round pick…..but Woodhead has had the more prolific NFL career. Mack Brown was wrong on Burkhead – he might not have started for Texas but he would have helped them out. Recruiting is a very inexact science even today. If I came out of high school today, I would be a walk-on at best. I think they talked to Danny about walking on and he wasn’t in a financial position to do that. He ended up at Chadron and more power to him. Roy Helu was recruited to NU by Callahan. I think Callahan would have turned Woodhead into a 3rd down back.
Do you think it might help if we allowed girlfriends on the sidelines?
HAHA! I don’t know Riley. I like his approach to recruiting. Guys, it’s harder here than it is anywhere else. Not impossible. You don’t have population. You have 2-3 kids in the state that are scholarship players, the rest are walk-ons. You can’t miss the kids at Iowa Western, etc. I think our receivers are great. Stanley Morgan is going to be a stud. Tommy is playing better. We are still turning the ball over, but he’s spending a lot of the game running for his life. We don’t have any big guys.
____________________
That's all she wrote for this week. Go Big Red!
-Thor
_____________________________________________________________________
From Ross Jernstrom:
It’s been a long week, not sure how many of you were out there. The wind was 25 miles per hour, wind chill low, started raining towards the end of the game. A lot of our passes were into the wind, esp. in the 4th quarter. Our team is at a crossroads, possibly 2-4 after this weekend. Tremendous LB, Joe Schobert, #58, walkon, very smart player, leads nation in sacks. Have given up one TD in last 4 games. Rank 4th in nation in scoring defense, defense is the strength of their team. This is a down year for them on offense running the ball, 74th in the nation, NU is 42nd. Have had a lot of injuries at TE and WR spots, this has been their Achilles heel.
From Chris Baker:
Obvious last week that the team was jetlagged, TSA confiscated the luggage that had the playbook in in it for all of our running plays…….haha! I want to see a decisive victory!
From Sean Callahan:
It is a good matchup for NU; it is NU’s offense vs Wisconsin’s defense. DeMornay will be back in a starting role, hopefully will see him get some big plays, we have been missing the consistent big plays. No one has come at NU like the way Wisconsin will. They will pound the ball at us, chew clock, and shorten the game. Valentine is expected to play, but how much? He has really only played one game all year. Collins had his best game of year last week which was encouraging. Keyshawn Johnson Jr will be here, it’s his 4th trip to Lincoln since the spring, very interested in coming here. Every time he comes, he brings plane load of 4 and 5 start players with him, very good recruiting relationship we have here.
_______________
Q & A (New format: Panel with Jim Rose, Guy, Ross Jernstrom, Chris Baker and guest panelist former NU player Guy “The Fly” Ingles)
_______________
You and Johnny Rogers were rivals in high school?
When we played Tech Johnny was a sophomore and tech wasn’t smart enough to play him on offense. He played LB. I appreciate Johnny talking about me. My senior year, Tech was ranked ahead of us, had 7-8 college prospects, we had 3 or 4. We beat them 46-6. Things just went our way, we weren’t that much better. Johnny is still the best football player I have ever seen. He’s a better person today than when we were in school – hahaha! Was a pleasure playing with him. Johnny was the difference between us being good and real good. Punt return against Oklahoma in 1971 was the difference in the game. In 1968, I remember getting beat bad by OK; there were petitions around town to fire Bob. I have found out since which some of them were. I’m glad that didn’t happen because then we wouldn’t have had 33 yrs in a row of 9 wins, streak started in 1969.
Tech game in 1966 – that probably earned you the NU scholarship.
I just had one of those nights where everything went well, rushed for 164 yds, returned 5 punts for 80 yds, and caught 5 passes. I was not big enough to play in those days, I was about 146 lbs in high school, played at 158 in Lincoln, ran 4.6 40. I’m big enough to play at NU now……..haha! 26 months after we got beat by Oklahoma 47-0, we won the WHOLE THING….26 mos. Recruiting got real good in a hurry. Two very good classes back to back...Johnny, Dutton, Glover, Harper, Tagge, Bronson, and Kinney. That’s what’s got to happen today. We are not going to win in the Big 10 conference until we have All-Conference linemen on both sides of the ball!! I went up to Wisconsin the first time we played up there...I won’t go back there, BTW. I told my wife, we are in big trouble.there were 3 guys on that team that were drafted. And they had Russell Wilson.
The key here is recruiting. In 1973, TO had a meeting.The difference will be the walk-ons guys; they will give us the 3-4 guys per year that will enable us to beat the big teams. I will never forget that. It was the difference through the 70’s and into the 80’s. When the scholarships were cut back and recruiting was cut back, a lot of those kids went somewhere else where they could get a scholarship. Biggest difference from my day to today, we had 150 players. You had rep after rep after rep. Spring ball was 30 practices long, now you have 15. Everybody is in the same boat now, but at Nebraska, it was built on repetition.
My daughter Bailey in 1996 was 12 yo. She wanted to meet TO. That was the Saturday before we went to the Fiesta Bowl to play Florida. Everybody was worried. I saw the best practice I ever saw in my life, 55 degrees, no wind. Perfect head coach, perfect RB, perfect QB. Frazier never missed a pitch or pass, no one fumbled. I just wasn’t smart enough to put $50K on the Huskers…..haha!!
Challenges to be a repeat champion, how did you stay motivated after 1971?
I was a GA that year. We were pretty good in 1970, but 71 was another step up, Johnny was a Junior, QBs had more experience, John Dutton who played 12 yrs in the pros couldn’t start…that’s how loaded we were. TO called every offensive play from 1969 to 1997, he is the only one alive associated with all 5 championships. OK was real close but they were only about 6 mos into the wishbone.
Social media :
A player can’t walk anywhere. I would have been in trouble; Bob would have been in really big trouble – hahaha! Back then, it was a wonderful atmosphere, the students really cared and there were more seats for students then. It was important to be a player. There were a lot of things going on off the field with the Vietnam War, drugs got to Lincoln but not until 1974-75. Bob’s teams in 63-65 came close, but didn’t. We had some breaks go our way. Once you gave Tom 20 yrs to get the system perfected and get the athletes, we did it again. We were never abused by the coaches.
You had some characters on the team – Jerry Murtaugh blames you for the USC loss.
1969 Sun Bowl trip was one of the very best. I was not on the ill-fated trip to Juarez. Thank God Jerry was there; even though he had a rocky relationship with Coach Devaney……Jerry actually saved the day. I do remember we beat Georgia pretty handily. Al Larsen and I had our girlfriends in El Paso. They actually came and sat with us on the bench for the last 5 minutes of the game. I don’t think that would happen today….haha!
Election of co-captains:
In those days, it was a player vote. Offensive players voted for offensive captain, defense voted for defense. Jerry was captain for defense, Bob not too happy about that. Melton was the buffer between Bob and Jerry, thank God. Scrutiny from fans was intense, but not as intense as it is today. In the month of May, I didn’t do anything, I didn’t work out, didn’t touch a ball. Then in the summer, we’d start to work out. The first time they let us on the Astroturf, it was just green, there were no yard markers – I thought I could jump higher, run faster. The linemen hated it, turf burns, not as nice as it is today.
You were an assistant at NU in the 70’s. Then you joined Monte Kiffin at NC State. Jason Peter accused some of the former assistant coaches of tampering with current players. Is this something that assistant coaches would do?
I have never been in that situation, but I can’t really imagine it. I don’t know what that coach would have to gain unless he has a job somewhere waiting for him and he wants to take a few players along with him. Today the money that is thrown around and the scrutiny and the pressure and the 24 hr news cycle, it’s difficult for coaches, players. I never have had a cross word with a fan or a player or anyone else. I can’t imagine doing what Bo did at the end of the season last year either.
Coach Riley – you would love to have played in this offense, they throw the ball a lot.
I am encouraged. A little disappointed in what has happened lately. A bit 'snake-bit'. Talent level isn't anywhere near where it has to be, esp. in the lines. We have skill players which are very good. Riley had a very good reception on signing night last year. He is easy to like, pleasant, all positive. In time, he might be tremendous. What he did at OSU is somewhat comparable to what Snyder has done at K State. They had 28 losing seasons in a row before he went to OSU. At some point in time, he got them to the Fiesta Bowl, that’s a pretty good accomplishment. At a place like OSU, you are not going to be 9-3 or 10-2 every single year. He’s got to get his guys in here; we do have to learn to run the ball a little better.
If you can control the tempo of the game, that’s key. We can’t block ‘em because we don’t have enough linemen. When we are 3rd and 5, we probably aren’t going to run it…and when people watch us for a few weeks, they know it. We are forced into being one dimensional. Today, if you can’t rush the QB with 4 guys, you are dead. Then you have to blitz and then they’ve got you. Then you have man to man and someone uncovered, these great receivers are going to get open, even if they are slow. You have to start with best 4 D-linemen you can find. If you have a Selmon, Glover, Wistrom, Dutton…….5 O-linemen can’t keep guys like this away.
Our receivers are good. DeMornay is another world if he is healthy. Apparent to me over last 8-10 years……our QBs haven’t improved over the course of a season. You can’t have this; the QB has to get better. Riley’s QBs have improved over the course of the year during his career. So he’s done this. OSU has had more guys drafted in the last 10 years, than WE have…..chew on that one.
On rotating the O-line:
I think they would be doing this if they thought that had more than 5 or 6 guys who could play. You’ve got to give the linemen a breather, esp. on defense. Rushing the passer is exhausting.
Alex Lewis – this guy has a mixed relationship with the fans right now, he is a captain. How is he still on the team? What does this do to a locker room?
It depends. I am not happy with his interaction on the field or with the fans. I’ve not met his dad who played for NU in the mid 80’s. I think they’ve taken some action within the program. In my day, there was always internal discipline. Today, with everyone on phones, cameras, replays night after night. I would just say, you are important, but you are not more important than anyone else. Our relationship with our fans is important. You owe it to your teammates to be a team player and not go off half- cocked. I’m sure he has had a sit down. You have to subjugate your personal feelings for what is for the betterment of all.
Bo Pelini was never on the campus at Iowa Western Community College. That is a mistake! They have sent many guys on who were really good. The player that caught the winning TD last Saturday against NU played at Iowa Western……..(From Rose) that’s the kind of info I didn’t need…..haha!
1978 game very hard-hitting – did Frank want to recruit Danny Woodhead but his staff talked him out of it?
Not true. Frank thought Danny was too small to play. He was an asthmatic, didn’t want to use a scholarship at that time. They just weren’t sure. Woodheads did not feel welcome at NU and that was a failure on our part! NU had just one scholarship that year and they gave it to Brandon Jackson who ended up being a 2nd round pick…..but Woodhead has had the more prolific NFL career. Mack Brown was wrong on Burkhead – he might not have started for Texas but he would have helped them out. Recruiting is a very inexact science even today. If I came out of high school today, I would be a walk-on at best. I think they talked to Danny about walking on and he wasn’t in a financial position to do that. He ended up at Chadron and more power to him. Roy Helu was recruited to NU by Callahan. I think Callahan would have turned Woodhead into a 3rd down back.
Do you think it might help if we allowed girlfriends on the sidelines?
HAHA! I don’t know Riley. I like his approach to recruiting. Guys, it’s harder here than it is anywhere else. Not impossible. You don’t have population. You have 2-3 kids in the state that are scholarship players, the rest are walk-ons. You can’t miss the kids at Iowa Western, etc. I think our receivers are great. Stanley Morgan is going to be a stud. Tommy is playing better. We are still turning the ball over, but he’s spending a lot of the game running for his life. We don’t have any big guys.
____________________
That's all she wrote for this week. Go Big Red!
-Thor
