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Nebraska's 2017 recruiting class now ranked 70th

9and4

All-American
Dec 4, 2013
4,070
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Out of 70 teams analyzed by Max Olsen of The Athletic. It's a paid site, but if you're interested in several teams in different markets, it's worth the cost.

Anyway, here's the link.

Summary:
  • Riley's class ranked 23rd at the time, February 2017.
  • Arkansas, Kansas State, Mississippi and Maryland all have classes that came close to being as bad as ours.
  • Players from that class averaged 1.73 points based on this scale:
    • 5=All-American, award winner, top 50 NFL draft pick
    • 4=Multi-year starter, all-conference
    • 3=one-year starter or key reserve
    • 2=career backup
    • 0=left program, no impact
  • Alabama was first at 3.48 with a 79 percent "hit rate"
  • Wisconsin finished 8th, up from the original 39th, with 86 percent "hit rate"
  • Northwestern finished 11th, up from 50th, and an 86 percent "hit rate"
That was our fourth-year senior class in 2020, and will be our fifth-year senior class this year. Not a good anchor for any team.
 
I'd like to see rankings for 2018-20 now as well. My guess would be they are ranked significantly lower as well.

One thing you can take to the bank, Northwestern and Wisconsin are doing a better job of evaluating and coaching the talent they sign when comapred to US!
 
Was that the "Calibraska" class? I am old, and these things slip away more easily now.....
Yes. Here is Mitch Sherman's summary of that:
The Calibraska recruiting campaign helped define the class for Nebraska as it was constructed. It featured four-star prospects (Keyshawn) Johnson, whose father played for Riley at USC in the 1990s, and (Tristan) Gebbia, the No. 9-rated pro-style QB in the 2017 class.

Johnson committed early in 2016 before his junior season at Calabasas High School. Gebbia, his prep teammate, soon followed after the duo, to much fanfare, visited Lincoln multiple times.

The whole thing fell flat. Johnson left the program in June 2017. Gebbia transferred in August 2018 after losing a QB competition with Adrian Martinez ahead of Scott Frost’s Nebraska head-coaching debut.
 
Yes. Here is Mitch Sherman's summary of that:
The Calibraska recruiting campaign helped define the class for Nebraska as it was constructed. It featured four-star prospects (Keyshawn) Johnson, whose father played for Riley at USC in the 1990s, and (Tristan) Gebbia, the No. 9-rated pro-style QB in the 2017 class.

Johnson committed early in 2016 before his junior season at Calabasas High School. Gebbia, his prep teammate, soon followed after the duo, to much fanfare, visited Lincoln multiple times.

The whole thing fell flat. Johnson left the program in June 2017. Gebbia transferred in August 2018 after losing a QB competition with Adrian Martinez ahead of Scott Frost’s Nebraska head-coaching debut.
Thank you
 
I would imagine recruiting classes that commit to coaches who got fired have the same trajectory as that one. Wasn’t the best recruiting class in the first place but at the time many loved the calibrasksa connection. Must not have been true fans and just trolls.
 
Out of 70 teams analyzed by Max Olsen of The Athletic. It's a paid site, but if you're interested in several teams in different markets, it's worth the cost.

Anyway, here's the link.

Summary:
  • Riley's class ranked 23rd at the time, February 2017.
  • Arkansas, Kansas State, Mississippi and Maryland all have classes that came close to being as bad as ours.
  • Players from that class averaged 1.73 points based on this scale:
    • 5=All-American, award winner, top 50 NFL draft pick
    • 4=Multi-year starter, all-conference
    • 3=one-year starter or key reserve
    • 2=career backup
    • 0=left program, no impact
  • Alabama was first at 3.48 with a 79 percent "hit rate"
  • Wisconsin finished 8th, up from the original 39th, with 86 percent "hit rate"
  • Northwestern finished 11th, up from 50th, and an 86 percent "hit rate"
That was our fourth-year senior class in 2020, and will be our fifth-year senior class this year. Not a good anchor for any team.
Oh Noo Way. We have soo much talent.
Why are we losing these games lol
 
I would imagine recruiting classes that commit to coaches who got fired have the same trajectory as that one. Wasn’t the best recruiting class in the first place but at the time many loved the calibrasksa connection. Must not have been true fans and just trolls.
One of the interesting notes in the story is that Colorado, which has undergone two coaching changes since 2019, had its 2017 class — committed to Mike McIntyre, coached by Mac, Mel Tucker and Karl Dorrell — come in 36th, had a player ranking of 2.48 and had a 77 percent "hit rate."
 
One other note is about Iowa and Iowa State, which finished 46th and 48th in the re-ranking, yet have won 33 and 32 games respectively in the four seasons 2017-2020. Iowa's can be chalked up to a system that works the way they want it to work and how it has worked for 22 years, as a developmental program with an occasional AJ Epenesa stud. ISU's points to an equally impressive job of finding under-the-radar talent and coaching them up to win games.
 
One of the interesting notes in the story is that Colorado, which has undergone two coaching changes since 2019, had its 2017 class — committed to Mike McIntyre, coached by Mac, Mel Tucker and Karl Dorrell — come in 36th, had a player ranking of 2.48 and had a 77 percent "hit rate."
Interesting? I wonder if Mel Tucker and Karl Dorrell tried to run recruits off if they weren’t their recruits.
 
One other note is about Iowa and Iowa State, which finished 46th and 48th in the re-ranking, yet have won 33 and 32 games respectively in the four seasons 2017-2020. Iowa's can be chalked up to a system that works the way they want it to work and how it has worked for 22 years, as a developmental program with an occasional AJ Epenesa stud. ISU's points to an equally impressive job of finding under-the-radar talent and coaching them up to win games.
It’s only temporary for Iowa state.
 
I'd like to see rankings for 2018-20 now as well. My guess would be they are ranked significantly lower as well.

One thing you can take to the bank, Northwestern and Wisconsin are doing a better job of evaluating and coaching the talent they sign when comapred to US!
They also either do a better job developing or their evaluation is better than the guru's at the recruitment stage.

Bama just gets the cream
 
Out of 70 teams analyzed by Max Olsen of The Athletic. It's a paid site, but if you're interested in several teams in different markets, it's worth the cost.


That was our fourth-year senior class in 2020, and will be our fifth-year senior class this year. Not a good anchor for any team.


The 5th year seniors are going to be JoJo, Ben Stille, and Dismuke, all from the 2016 class. But yes, the 2017 class has been the worst recruiting class in Nebraska history. When its all said and done, the only dudes will start from that class include:

Damion Daniels
Austin Allen
Brendan Jaimes
 
Yes. Here is Mitch Sherman's summary of that:
The Calibraska recruiting campaign helped define the class for Nebraska as it was constructed. It featured four-star prospects (Keyshawn) Johnson, whose father played for Riley at USC in the 1990s, and (Tristan) Gebbia, the No. 9-rated pro-style QB in the 2017 class.

Johnson committed early in 2016 before his junior season at Calabasas High School. Gebbia, his prep teammate, soon followed after the duo, to much fanfare, visited Lincoln multiple times.

The whole thing fell flat. Johnson left the program in June 2017. Gebbia transferred in August 2018 after losing a QB competition with Adrian Martinez ahead of Scott Frost’s Nebraska head-coaching debut.
Four stars for Johnson speaks to the sham nature of some recruiting evaluations. The kid was slow and doughy. After a short stay at Nebraska he completely washed out of football. Not sure it's accurate to even call him a two-star.
 
Out of 70 teams analyzed by Max Olsen of The Athletic. It's a paid site, but if you're interested in several teams in different markets, it's worth the cost.

Anyway, here's the link.

Summary:
  • Riley's class ranked 23rd at the time, February 2017.
  • Arkansas, Kansas State, Mississippi and Maryland all have classes that came close to being as bad as ours.
  • Players from that class averaged 1.73 points based on this scale:
    • 5=All-American, award winner, top 50 NFL draft pick
    • 4=Multi-year starter, all-conference
    • 3=one-year starter or key reserve
    • 2=career backup
    • 0=left program, no impact
  • Alabama was first at 3.48 with a 79 percent "hit rate"
  • Wisconsin finished 8th, up from the original 39th, with 86 percent "hit rate"
  • Northwestern finished 11th, up from 50th, and an 86 percent "hit rate"
That was our fourth-year senior class in 2020, and will be our fifth-year senior class this year. Not a good anchor for any team.
This is where the "young team" narrative comes from. Tons of dudes from those 16, 17, and 18 classes just aren't here any more.

Also the reason to sign as many as you can every time.
 
Is it the fact that Scott Frost is not developing talent, or Riley was a really bad recruiter? I’m guessing the 18, 19 classes are worse than 70th!
 
Can somebody simply give me the season when the excuses are gone and it is completely on Frost?

It won't happen. There will always be the excuse that Riley left Frost with nothing. He just wasn't able to overcome it.

Now some will say that a significant portion of the two deep were Riley recruits but that doesn't mean anything because the talent that Frost is bringing in is better they are just young and inexperienced.

But to answer your question, there will be a portion of the fanbase that will never turn on Frost because he is a former Husker and Osborne signed off on the hire. So if it doesn't work out it has to be something other than Frost that is the issue.
 
Out of 70 teams analyzed by Max Olsen of The Athletic. It's a paid site, but if you're interested in several teams in different markets, it's worth the cost.

Anyway, here's the link.

Summary:
  • Riley's class ranked 23rd at the time, February 2017.
  • Arkansas, Kansas State, Mississippi and Maryland all have classes that came close to being as bad as ours.
  • Players from that class averaged 1.73 points based on this scale:
    • 5=All-American, award winner, top 50 NFL draft pick
    • 4=Multi-year starter, all-conference
    • 3=one-year starter or key reserve
    • 2=career backup
    • 0=left program, no impact
  • Alabama was first at 3.48 with a 79 percent "hit rate"
  • Wisconsin finished 8th, up from the original 39th, with 86 percent "hit rate"
  • Northwestern finished 11th, up from 50th, and an 86 percent "hit rate"
That was our fourth-year senior class in 2020, and will be our fifth-year senior class this year. Not a good anchor for any team.
This scale has absolutely nothing to do with Rivals or composite recruiting rankings. Another point is Frost purposely embraces attrition. I don't necessarily agree with it myself, but maybe it's helped some programs recruit more players and perform better.
 
Is it the fact that Scott Frost is not developing talent, or Riley was a really bad recruiter? I’m guessing the 18, 19 classes are worse than 70th!

Recruiting isn’t an exact science. In most instances schools are offering kids based on their junior year evaluation. It’s very often that the kid who turns in a great senior year can slip through the cracks.

Mack Brown was criticized heavily towards the end of his run at Texas for what they called “lazy recruiting”. His classes were mostly finished before the high school season began and missed out on a ton of talent as a resulted.
 
Out of 70 teams analyzed by Max Olsen of The Athletic. It's a paid site, but if you're interested in several teams in different markets, it's worth the cost.

Anyway, here's the link.

Summary:
  • Riley's class ranked 23rd at the time, February 2017.
  • Arkansas, Kansas State, Mississippi and Maryland all have classes that came close to being as bad as ours.
  • Players from that class averaged 1.73 points based on this scale:
    • 5=All-American, award winner, top 50 NFL draft pick
    • 4=Multi-year starter, all-conference
    • 3=one-year starter or key reserve
    • 2=career backup
    • 0=left program, no impact
  • Alabama was first at 3.48 with a 79 percent "hit rate"
  • Wisconsin finished 8th, up from the original 39th, with 86 percent "hit rate"
  • Northwestern finished 11th, up from 50th, and an 86 percent "hit rate"
That was our fourth-year senior class in 2020, and will be our fifth-year senior class this year. Not a good anchor for any team.
I'm going to stealthis post for elsewheres, nice post
 
This scale has absolutely nothing to do with Rivals or composite recruiting rankings. Another point is Frost purposely embraces attrition. I don't necessarily agree with it myself, but maybe it's helped some programs recruit more players and perform better.
Kinda like this!
Well ya see, Norm, it’s like this… A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members.In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. That’s why you always feel smarter after a few beers.”
-Cliff Clavin
 
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It won't happen. There will always be the excuse that Riley left Frost with nothing. He just wasn't able to overcome it.

Now some will say that a significant portion of the two deep were Riley recruits but that doesn't mean anything because the talent that Frost is bringing in is better they are just young and inexperienced.

But to answer your question, there will be a portion of the fanbase that will never turn on Frost because he is a former Husker and Osborne signed off on the hire. So if it doesn't work out it has to be something other than Frost that is the issue.



I was here 3 years ago and said it would take 5 years to get out of this hole left by Mike Riley. Although, I won't completely blame Riley. Shawn Eichorst was really the architect of all this suck.

1. He forced Riley to hire a Director of Player Personnel in Devaney who completely hamstrung the staff, which was unlike any other program in the country.

2. Riley was told from day one that JUCO players were not allowed. This is something Nebraska had always done to supplement holes, especially on defense.

3. Eichorst forced Riley to fire Banker after basically two straight classes recruiting to the 4-3, including above average defenses in 15 and 16.

3. This meant a lot of the defensive players recruited from 15, 16, and even into 17 were going to be out of position and then obsolete in transferrence to the 3-4 with the addition of that dipshit, Bob Diaco. Nebraska went from a viable and athletic 4 man front to an undersized 3 man front with no True Nose. That became a disaster vs. the rough and tumble, run heavy, Big Ten for the 17, 18, and 19 seasons.

4. Don't kid yourself, Eichorst basically forced Riley to hire Diaco.

5. In the meantime, Riley didn't have a lot of cache to attract a good RB, LB, or OL Coach. Those three recruiters completely fvcked up the recruiting trajectory of those positions groups. Reggie Davis alone is one the worst recruiters Nebraska has ever had.... period.


- Nebraska needed the 2018 and 19 classes to re-tool the defensive recruiting philosophy. And its made headway. Anyone who can't see that is just too biased to warrant a viable opinion.

- Frost and Chin also immediately realized the Secondary was frankly too small to compete in the Big Ten. They weren't capable of physically staying with bigger wideouts in the league, and they were virtually useless in run support. I believe Nebraska will have the top Secondary in the Big Ten West for 2021.

- Nebraska has made substantial grounds with Offensive Line recruiting, both nationally and Regionally. That is an upgrade over Cav where the Huskers never had more than 6 guys they could trust. Nebraska will be young up front in 2021, but will still have a true 2-deep with legit swing guards and tackles who have game experience.

- The last issue was the absence of 1st or 2nd year players at those positions to help mold into guys who would be older in 20 and 21. Davis was a joke and Coach Drunk Uncle targeted too many elite dudes while failing to close on more attainable talents who WANTED to play for the Huskers.

But Frost has not been able to make up enough ground yet to overcome the shit left over at RB and WR.


This is really a two fold problem:

1. Walters WAS NOT a Power 5 evaluator. The kids he signed would've been productive outside the Power five, but they were years away from competing in the Big Ten. Frost should've seen that issue early on and never brought him to Lincoln.

2. Held and Frost placed too much faith in Character REHAB for dudes like Greg Bell and Mo Washington. Those dudes were good players, but they were flakes. Bringing them into the program really set back the clock on RB development.




There is good news on the horizon though:

- I believe the full fruition of Nebraska's defensive rebuild will present itself in 2021. No team in the country. The Huskers finished 34th Nationally in Defensive Efficiency according to ESPN FPI. None of the 33 teams above them will return as much experience and production as Nebraska.

- I won't blow smoke up your ass about the receiving corp. I don't believe preaching a message of hope. But from a positivity standpoint, I do believe Nebraska hit ROCK BOTTOM at that position early last year and is climbing out. Soure is a big time addition. Nebraska got a legit ringer there. Betts should take a jump. Alante Brown, Martin, and even Falck will all benefit from a full spring and offseason in the system. People who I speak with claim Omar Manning is going to play in 2021. (I will believe it when I see it.) I think Fidone will also be an added spark who actually plays more than Tight End with Allen and Vokolek. Don't count out Nixon as well.


- Stepp is an upgrade from Mills, but the youngins needs to prove they can produce at this level. I wouldn't have a problem with Nebraska trying to find one more proven transfer at the RB position.



I believe Nebraska is right on schedule with year 4 and year 5.


Also, anyone want to bet me some cash on something?

I bet Nebraska beats Iowa in 2021.- DM me for VENMO INFO.
 
I was here 3 years ago and said it would take 5 years to get out of this hole left by Mike Riley. Although, I won't completely blame Riley. Shawn Eichorst was really the architect of all this suck.

1. He forced Riley to hire a Director of Player Personnel in Devaney who completely hamstrung the staff, which was unlike any other program in the country.

2. Riley was told from day one that JUCO players were not allowed. This is something Nebraska had always done to supplement holes, especially on defense.

3. Eichorst forced Riley to fire Banker after basically two straight classes recruiting to the 4-3, including above average defenses in 15 and 16.

3. This meant a lot of the defensive players recruited from 15, 16, and even into 17 were going to be out of position and then obsolete in transferrence to the 3-4 with the addition of that dipshit, Bob Diaco. Nebraska went from a viable and athletic 4 man front to an undersized 3 man front with no True Nose. That became a disaster vs. the rough and tumble, run heavy, Big Ten for the 17, 18, and 19 seasons.

4. Don't kid yourself, Eichorst basically forced Riley to hire Diaco.

5. In the meantime, Riley didn't have a lot of cache to attract a good RB, LB, or OL Coach. Those three recruiters completely fvcked up the recruiting trajectory of those positions groups. Reggie Davis alone is one the worst recruiters Nebraska has ever had.... period.


- Nebraska needed the 2018 and 19 classes to re-tool the defensive recruiting philosophy. And its made headway. Anyone who can't see that is just too biased to warrant a viable opinion.

- Frost and Chin also immediately realized the Secondary was frankly too small to compete in the Big Ten. They weren't capable of physically staying with bigger wideouts in the league, and they were virtually useless in run support. I believe Nebraska will have the top Secondary in the Big Ten West for 2021.

- Nebraska has made substantial grounds with Offensive Line recruiting, both nationally and Regionally. That is an upgrade over Cav where the Huskers never had more than 6 guys they could trust. Nebraska will be young up front in 2021, but will still have a true 2-deep with legit swing guards and tackles who have game experience.

- The last issue was the absence of 1st or 2nd year players at those positions to help mold into guys who would be older in 20 and 21. Davis was a joke and Coach Drunk Uncle targeted too many elite dudes while failing to close on more attainable talents who WANTED to play for the Huskers.

But Frost has not been able to make up enough ground yet to overcome the shit left over at RB and WR.


This is really a two fold problem:

1. Walters WAS NOT a Power 5 evaluator. The kids he signed would've been productive outside the Power five, but they were years away from competing in the Big Ten. Frost should've seen that issue early on and never brought him to Lincoln.

2. Held and Frost placed too much faith in Character REHAB for dudes like Greg Bell and Mo Washington. Those dudes were good players, but they were flakes. Bringing them into the program really set back the clock on RB development.




There is good news on the horizon though:

- I believe the full fruition of Nebraska's defensive rebuild will present itself in 2021. No team in the country. The Huskers finished 34th Nationally in Defensive Efficiency according to ESPN FPI. None of the 33 teams above them will return as much experience and production as Nebraska.

- I won't blow smoke up your ass about the receiving corp. I don't believe preaching a message of hope. But from a positivity standpoint, I do believe Nebraska hit ROCK BOTTOM at that position early last year and is climbing out. Soure is a big time addition. Nebraska got a legit ringer there. Betts should take a jump. Alante Brown, Martin, and even Falck will all benefit from a full spring and offseason in the system. People who I speak with claim Omar Manning is going to play in 2021. (I will believe it when I see it.) I think Fidone will also be an added spark who actually plays more than Tight End with Allen and Vokolek. Don't count out Nixon as well.


- Stepp is an upgrade from Mills, but the youngins needs to prove they can produce at this level. I wouldn't have a problem with Nebraska trying to find one more proven transfer at the RB position.



I believe Nebraska is right on schedule with year 4 and year 5.


Also, anyone want to bet me some cash on something?

I bet Nebraska beats Iowa in 2021.- DM me for VENMO INFO.

Wow. What a truly solid post that gives a guy some desperately needed hope. I was open to year four being a "must improve" situation but with your post I stand humbly in error. Oh, I still think they should come around somewhat in year four with a far more vicious OLine but that may not be enough. God help us with our special teams. Center hikes flying around everywhere don't help a lot either.

But yeah, HCSF absolutely did take over a dumpster fire with Smiling Mike's career losing machine. Year five is fair enough!
 
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I'd like to see rankings for 2018-20 now as well. My guess would be they are ranked significantly lower as well.

One thing you can take to the bank, Northwestern and Wisconsin are doing a better job of evaluating and coaching the talent they sign when comapred to US!
Last year's class will also rank terribly.
 
I was here 3 years ago and said it would take 5 years to get out of this hole left by Mike Riley. Although, I won't completely blame Riley. Shawn Eichorst was really the architect of all this suck.

1. He forced Riley to hire a Director of Player Personnel in Devaney who completely hamstrung the staff, which was unlike any other program in the country.

2. Riley was told from day one that JUCO players were not allowed. This is something Nebraska had always done to supplement holes, especially on defense.

3. Eichorst forced Riley to fire Banker after basically two straight classes recruiting to the 4-3, including above average defenses in 15 and 16.

3. This meant a lot of the defensive players recruited from 15, 16, and even into 17 were going to be out of position and then obsolete in transferrence to the 3-4 with the addition of that dipshit, Bob Diaco. Nebraska went from a viable and athletic 4 man front to an undersized 3 man front with no True Nose. That became a disaster vs. the rough and tumble, run heavy, Big Ten for the 17, 18, and 19 seasons.

4. Don't kid yourself, Eichorst basically forced Riley to hire Diaco.

5. In the meantime, Riley didn't have a lot of cache to attract a good RB, LB, or OL Coach. Those three recruiters completely fvcked up the recruiting trajectory of those positions groups. Reggie Davis alone is one the worst recruiters Nebraska has ever had.... period.


- Nebraska needed the 2018 and 19 classes to re-tool the defensive recruiting philosophy. And its made headway. Anyone who can't see that is just too biased to warrant a viable opinion.

- Frost and Chin also immediately realized the Secondary was frankly too small to compete in the Big Ten. They weren't capable of physically staying with bigger wideouts in the league, and they were virtually useless in run support. I believe Nebraska will have the top Secondary in the Big Ten West for 2021.

- Nebraska has made substantial grounds with Offensive Line recruiting, both nationally and Regionally. That is an upgrade over Cav where the Huskers never had more than 6 guys they could trust. Nebraska will be young up front in 2021, but will still have a true 2-deep with legit swing guards and tackles who have game experience.

- The last issue was the absence of 1st or 2nd year players at those positions to help mold into guys who would be older in 20 and 21. Davis was a joke and Coach Drunk Uncle targeted too many elite dudes while failing to close on more attainable talents who WANTED to play for the Huskers.

But Frost has not been able to make up enough ground yet to overcome the shit left over at RB and WR.


This is really a two fold problem:

1. Walters WAS NOT a Power 5 evaluator. The kids he signed would've been productive outside the Power five, but they were years away from competing in the Big Ten. Frost should've seen that issue early on and never brought him to Lincoln.

2. Held and Frost placed too much faith in Character REHAB for dudes like Greg Bell and Mo Washington. Those dudes were good players, but they were flakes. Bringing them into the program really set back the clock on RB development.




There is good news on the horizon though:

- I believe the full fruition of Nebraska's defensive rebuild will present itself in 2021. No team in the country. The Huskers finished 34th Nationally in Defensive Efficiency according to ESPN FPI. None of the 33 teams above them will return as much experience and production as Nebraska.

- I won't blow smoke up your ass about the receiving corp. I don't believe preaching a message of hope. But from a positivity standpoint, I do believe Nebraska hit ROCK BOTTOM at that position early last year and is climbing out. Soure is a big time addition. Nebraska got a legit ringer there. Betts should take a jump. Alante Brown, Martin, and even Falck will all benefit from a full spring and offseason in the system. People who I speak with claim Omar Manning is going to play in 2021. (I will believe it when I see it.) I think Fidone will also be an added spark who actually plays more than Tight End with Allen and Vokolek. Don't count out Nixon as well.


- Stepp is an upgrade from Mills, but the youngins needs to prove they can produce at this level. I wouldn't have a problem with Nebraska trying to find one more proven transfer at the RB position.



I believe Nebraska is right on schedule with year 4 and year 5.


Also, anyone want to bet me some cash on something?

I bet Nebraska beats Iowa in 2021.- DM me for VENMO INFO.
That's it. Frost gets 5 more years. Sign the extension now.
 
I was here 3 years ago and said it would take 5 years to get out of this hole left by Mike Riley. Although, I won't completely blame Riley. Shawn Eichorst was really the architect of all this suck.

1. He forced Riley to hire a Director of Player Personnel in Devaney who completely hamstrung the staff, which was unlike any other program in the country.

2. Riley was told from day one that JUCO players were not allowed. This is something Nebraska had always done to supplement holes, especially on defense.

3. Eichorst forced Riley to fire Banker after basically two straight classes recruiting to the 4-3, including above average defenses in 15 and 16.

3. This meant a lot of the defensive players recruited from 15, 16, and even into 17 were going to be out of position and then obsolete in transferrence to the 3-4 with the addition of that dipshit, Bob Diaco. Nebraska went from a viable and athletic 4 man front to an undersized 3 man front with no True Nose. That became a disaster vs. the rough and tumble, run heavy, Big Ten for the 17, 18, and 19 seasons.

4. Don't kid yourself, Eichorst basically forced Riley to hire Diaco.

5. In the meantime, Riley didn't have a lot of cache to attract a good RB, LB, or OL Coach. Those three recruiters completely fvcked up the recruiting trajectory of those positions groups. Reggie Davis alone is one the worst recruiters Nebraska has ever had.... period.


- Nebraska needed the 2018 and 19 classes to re-tool the defensive recruiting philosophy. And its made headway. Anyone who can't see that is just too biased to warrant a viable opinion.

- Frost and Chin also immediately realized the Secondary was frankly too small to compete in the Big Ten. They weren't capable of physically staying with bigger wideouts in the league, and they were virtually useless in run support. I believe Nebraska will have the top Secondary in the Big Ten West for 2021.

- Nebraska has made substantial grounds with Offensive Line recruiting, both nationally and Regionally. That is an upgrade over Cav where the Huskers never had more than 6 guys they could trust. Nebraska will be young up front in 2021, but will still have a true 2-deep with legit swing guards and tackles who have game experience.

- The last issue was the absence of 1st or 2nd year players at those positions to help mold into guys who would be older in 20 and 21. Davis was a joke and Coach Drunk Uncle targeted too many elite dudes while failing to close on more attainable talents who WANTED to play for the Huskers.

But Frost has not been able to make up enough ground yet to overcome the shit left over at RB and WR.


This is really a two fold problem:

1. Walters WAS NOT a Power 5 evaluator. The kids he signed would've been productive outside the Power five, but they were years away from competing in the Big Ten. Frost should've seen that issue early on and never brought him to Lincoln.

2. Held and Frost placed too much faith in Character REHAB for dudes like Greg Bell and Mo Washington. Those dudes were good players, but they were flakes. Bringing them into the program really set back the clock on RB development.




There is good news on the horizon though:

- I believe the full fruition of Nebraska's defensive rebuild will present itself in 2021. No team in the country. The Huskers finished 34th Nationally in Defensive Efficiency according to ESPN FPI. None of the 33 teams above them will return as much experience and production as Nebraska.

- I won't blow smoke up your ass about the receiving corp. I don't believe preaching a message of hope. But from a positivity standpoint, I do believe Nebraska hit ROCK BOTTOM at that position early last year and is climbing out. Soure is a big time addition. Nebraska got a legit ringer there. Betts should take a jump. Alante Brown, Martin, and even Falck will all benefit from a full spring and offseason in the system. People who I speak with claim Omar Manning is going to play in 2021. (I will believe it when I see it.) I think Fidone will also be an added spark who actually plays more than Tight End with Allen and Vokolek. Don't count out Nixon as well.


- Stepp is an upgrade from Mills, but the youngins needs to prove they can produce at this level. I wouldn't have a problem with Nebraska trying to find one more proven transfer at the RB position.



I believe Nebraska is right on schedule with year 4 and year 5.


Also, anyone want to bet me some cash on something?

I bet Nebraska beats Iowa in 2021.- DM me for VENMO INFO.

So coach "Drunk Uncle" and Frost and Held have the same issue? Targeting the high profile dudes while not signing the less talented guy who wanted to come to Nebraska.

I notice you didn't address the QB issue. Perhaps the most important position of them all. To me that is a two, maybe three, fold problem. The QB coach is a buffoon. There has been zero improvement at the QB position in 3 years. Two, the level of QB is not great. Martinez was damaged goods when he arrived and hasn't completed a full season in 3 years due to injury. The next two guys on the roster were run first guys, now you have a run first guy and a kid who is more pass first, neither of who have played a down of college football. The run first philosophy is great if you play at Navy or Army, not in the offense that Frost has built his reputation running. Third, is that Frost has changed that offensive philosophy at Nebraska as compared to UCF and Oregon. Running QBs that are oft injured may well be the most asinine strategy I've seen yet from this staff.

Then you look at the offensive recruiting philosophy since year one. Take QBs out of the equation and you still have huge holes at RB and WR. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I wouldn't be surprised if the number of scholarship guys signed by Frost and still on the roster is about the same as the number of guys signed by Frost and no longer on the roster. Blame it on ability or heart, or whatever you want, it still comes down to recruiting and talent evaluation.

I think you are hoping more than believing what you say about next year. This team will struggle to be .500 again in my opinion. Other teams in the league are making positive strides while we continue to thread water hoping to keep our head above water
 
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