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.