As for burying our heads in the sand, Frost has 2 full classes and a few of a third available for spring ball. I would say he is pretty much playing with his guys this season, but they are a little young. He did take CFU from 0-12 to 12-0 in two seasons. I think it's apparent that CFU had way more talent that the 0 for record indicated, but that team's culture turned around pretty quickly. That's a program with players that want to win.
Having once been a part of an NU sports team, I can tell you that what an athlete does out of the training facility is as important as what they do inside of it. And that happens to be the thing that coaches have the least control over. These kids are getting every opportunity to get better. What they do with their time to achieve this is indeed largely of their own making. If you've played a sport with competent coaching, the winning is largely up to you. Anybody that has done such knows this.
Frost knows what a team that takes no prisoners at any time, be it in practice or on game day, looks like. He was on such a team. And that tradition carried on its own momentum for years, but then took some hits and was finally snuffed out, perhaps about the moment Tommy Armstrong ganked his leg against Minnesota.
Bitch about Frost if you want. He faces a program rebuild in a conference that becomes more competitive each season. It used to be beat the Badgers to win the division. Now the West contains no true doormat programs. There are no weeks off in the conference.
Frost needs to get more kids that won't take no for an answer when it comes to winning games. There a few on the roster. Wan'dale and Mills as examples. Martinez has been slagged on as of late. But he's another guy that wants to win. Frost needs more of these guys.