It's been fairly proven that at NU we can recruit top 20 classes with just about any coach that tries (Urban obviously could make it top 10, I have no doubt). We've been able to do it pretty often and I believe that's partly because Nebraska is still a name to a recruit's parents (which gets you in the door). They're old enough to remember that Nebraska used to be Bama.
But what's worrisome is...how much longer will that be true?
I'm 43 and the good Dr was at the helm until the year I graduated high school. Basically, I'm pretty much on the younger side of those that "still remember".
If the average age of player's parents when the athlete was born is 25 (close to the average age of first time parents) that means the average age of an 18 year old's parents is 43.
In 10 years, a 43 year old won't remember who Tom Osborne was...at least not from their own observations. Sure, maybe their grandparents can tell them, but that person will have been 8 when Tom retired. That's a problem.
We desperately need to establish Nebraska as a big-time program for this new generation. We don't have to get back to the Osborne level success (would be nice of course), but we do need to establish with a new generation that our peers are OSU, Michigan, Bama, etc. Not Iowa, Minnesota, Purdue....and in this anonymous internet poster's humble opinion...we're running out of time. We maybe have 1 or 2 hires left to do that. Every failing hire makes it that much harder to get back.
But what's worrisome is...how much longer will that be true?
I'm 43 and the good Dr was at the helm until the year I graduated high school. Basically, I'm pretty much on the younger side of those that "still remember".
If the average age of player's parents when the athlete was born is 25 (close to the average age of first time parents) that means the average age of an 18 year old's parents is 43.
In 10 years, a 43 year old won't remember who Tom Osborne was...at least not from their own observations. Sure, maybe their grandparents can tell them, but that person will have been 8 when Tom retired. That's a problem.
We desperately need to establish Nebraska as a big-time program for this new generation. We don't have to get back to the Osborne level success (would be nice of course), but we do need to establish with a new generation that our peers are OSU, Michigan, Bama, etc. Not Iowa, Minnesota, Purdue....and in this anonymous internet poster's humble opinion...we're running out of time. We maybe have 1 or 2 hires left to do that. Every failing hire makes it that much harder to get back.
