Will Nebraska ever recruit like Bama, Ohio State, Michigan and get the four and five star players from across the country with Mike Riley's and his crew or do we need a high profile coach to do that? What do you guys think, will his 2017 class finish strong?
Recruiting
- Thread starter starhusker
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No. I wish we could, but there is just no way. Too much competition and other coaches making promises. The southern schools have so much garbage to dangle in front of these kids faces that Nebraska, although good, just isn't as attractive.
That being said, There are a Ton of good players out there though. I believe thats what we all thought we were getting when we hired Mike Riley anyway. A coach that would hire great Coaches that will make good players better. The good "gets" will help tremendously, but I still think we can get a bunch of good players in here. Hopefully the coaches don't get stuck on all the best players and miss out on the pretty good ones.
That being said, There are a Ton of good players out there though. I believe thats what we all thought we were getting when we hired Mike Riley anyway. A coach that would hire great Coaches that will make good players better. The good "gets" will help tremendously, but I still think we can get a bunch of good players in here. Hopefully the coaches don't get stuck on all the best players and miss out on the pretty good ones.
You don't have to be top 3 constantly to win championships. it sure as shit helps though.
you do need to be top 10-15 consistently though... and we haven't been.
you do need to be top 10-15 consistently though... and we haven't been.
A former coach of ours recruited a Top 5 recruiting class in 2005. That same 2005 class nearly beat Texas in the Big 12 championship in 2009 (as I'm sure all of us remember.)
Of course, that coach was here before the $EC dominance stretch. And yes, the advancement of social media has changed the game. Committing has also changed, as the Playoff Committee has turned college football into almost a reality TV show. But if you ask me, yes. We can recruit at that level. It can be done again. But at Nebraska, it will be very gradual. Will Riley's staff be the one to do it? TBD.
Of course, that coach was here before the $EC dominance stretch. And yes, the advancement of social media has changed the game. Committing has also changed, as the Playoff Committee has turned college football into almost a reality TV show. But if you ask me, yes. We can recruit at that level. It can be done again. But at Nebraska, it will be very gradual. Will Riley's staff be the one to do it? TBD.
I think Riley and crew will elevate Nebraska's talent level gradually and the team will compete for conference championships before he's done.
Long term, I think it's in our best interest to have Scott Frost do great things at UCF so that he makes a name for himself before he comes back home.
Long term, I think it's in our best interest to have Scott Frost do great things at UCF so that he makes a name for himself before he comes back home.
I believe that in order to recruit at that high level, a program/coach needs:
- recent success
- great facilities
- geographical advantages
- a coach who doesn't recruit solely with a smile and the promise the kid will play for a "good guy"
That is not a knock on Riley, but from what I can tell, Harbaugh and Meyer are both a-holes. But they're type of a-holes players are willing to tolerate to play for to play for a winner. Nice doesn't seem to get too far any longer.
Basically, they're (Harbaugh & Meyer) salesman who lay it on the line and tell the truth, even if crude, crass, or unethical. Or even douchey. I don't really know much about Saban, but I would guess he isn't exactly on the up and up, either. All three coaches, however, have enough talent in their radius to consistently deliver a perennial top 10 class, however. But their history of coaching style, success, and recent program success garners them players from outside their respective radii.
Nebraska has enough recent wins, success, conference champion game appearances, and supposed lack of talent to recruit and promise immediate playing time to any recruit. The geographical challenge will always be there until we're winning 11-12 games/year. On average, we don't have a top 10 class of recruits in our radius. That's why we recruit nationally. And why we just need a salesman who can sell a ketchup popsicle to a woman who has ketchup popsicles for hands.
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I totally agree with all of this.
I won't be shocked if in the future you see programs that start hiring away top salesmen from companies to work with the coaching staffs on how to sell the school.
Obviously the best coaching staffs are very skilled at recruiting. This doesn't mean that you need "a-holes" to accomplish that. One year ago, this staff came in with the recruiting class basically left in scramble mode. They came into a program with a bunch of players who loved the old staff and it resulted in a 6-7 campaign. The next year they are sitting at 9-4 with a shot at 10 wins and now recruiting is looking up. No, Riley is not Harbaugh where he can virtually land a top 5 recruiting class right off the bat. This turnaround is going to be gradual to turn the culture and athlete coming here. But God, give Riley and his staff some time to turn this ship.
The impatience of some on this board is mind boggling to me.
The impatience of some on this board is mind boggling to me.
My concern is that this staff is putting a lot of focus on the west coast because of their prior recruiting history there, but it's hard to get the top recruits from that area to come to the mid-west. In my opinion, focusing on areas where recruits are more likely to come to Nebraska (e.g., Illinois, Missouri, Colorado, Texas and even Arizona) is a better key to recruiting success. And that means hiring recruiters with established connections in those areas, which Riley really hasn't done. I guess time will tell if his recruiting approach is successful here. If it's not, he probably won't be here very long.
For the record, Riley came in over 2 years ago. And I never said we need an a-hole for a coach, just said I thought Meyer and Harbaugh ARE a-holes.
More than anything, all the self-professed experts here had me upset when they claimed Riley's predecessor "wasn't doing enough," when it came to recruiting. All the while, dismissing the obvious challenges in recruiting to Nebraska.
People said, "how could Riley possibly land good recruiting classes while coaching at Oregon State?" Well, don't look at them now.
We're now in year 3 of the Riley recruiting regime, and I'm already reading the litany of excuses for what hasn't even played out yet (NU's 2017 class).
What's worse, to me, is that people are makimg the same excuses for Riley that people made for Pelini - RECRUITING-WISE.
I guess I would have to look it up but are the beavers on pace for like their best recruiting class in the last 15 years or something?
I don't understand why some coaches get the label as being jerks. How long does that last with the players? I don't see Urban as a jerk and from all indications he has excellent relationships with players. Why is that even a factor? Then there is the crooked coach theory that goes to anyone in the SEC. What does that have to do with anything? Another one I hear is the promise of playing time which never happens. No coach in their right mind would promise that - recruits know where they stand in the que but that is about it.
Bama is a machine right now and about the only thing that will derail them is a major violation or Saban leaving. He is building a juggernaut that no one will be able to touch. They are putting kids in the league left and right and winning championships, who wouldn't want to be part of that? I agree that Nebraska needs to have a break out year or two to gain some recognition back. Put some guys in the NFL, play for some championships and have overall success. One or two classes won't even make a dent in the program. My guess is if one went back and looked at the ranking for the classes over the past few years, our team ranking for the end of the year isn't too far off so we are probably play about where the classes have been ranked within a few either way. We need so many more athletes it isn't even funny. Restocking this mess is going to take lots of time, perhaps more than even the career of coach Riley.
I do agree with the comment about the west coast being a big focus. That is a tough market to crack and we will continually butt heads there.We are so far behind our league leaders it is not even a close race. For those who think we are just a player or two away, I am sorry but we are not that good and there is a ton of work to be done. That said, it is obvious this staff works at it very hard and it appears Williams was brought in for his recruiting abilities primarily. How long does anyone think he will stay?
Bama is a machine right now and about the only thing that will derail them is a major violation or Saban leaving. He is building a juggernaut that no one will be able to touch. They are putting kids in the league left and right and winning championships, who wouldn't want to be part of that? I agree that Nebraska needs to have a break out year or two to gain some recognition back. Put some guys in the NFL, play for some championships and have overall success. One or two classes won't even make a dent in the program. My guess is if one went back and looked at the ranking for the classes over the past few years, our team ranking for the end of the year isn't too far off so we are probably play about where the classes have been ranked within a few either way. We need so many more athletes it isn't even funny. Restocking this mess is going to take lots of time, perhaps more than even the career of coach Riley.
I do agree with the comment about the west coast being a big focus. That is a tough market to crack and we will continually butt heads there.We are so far behind our league leaders it is not even a close race. For those who think we are just a player or two away, I am sorry but we are not that good and there is a ton of work to be done. That said, it is obvious this staff works at it very hard and it appears Williams was brought in for his recruiting abilities primarily. How long does anyone think he will stay?
Where to begin? I'll keep it short. If Keith Williams can get it done, then it can be done for other positions as well.
Yes we can but dont know if this staff can.
But we dont need to. Stanford doesnt and look at their success. We need a better system/philosopy imo.
But we dont need to. Stanford doesnt and look at their success. We need a better system/philosopy imo.
While it's safe to say that Riley is predeminantly a west-coast recruiter, he did let Bruce Read go after 16 years with the guy. At least we know he is committed to getting the best. Let's see how this year's class plays out and if there's progress from last year, then we can evaluate from there.
I am honestly not seeing any excuses made for our recruiting, feel feee to show me if I'm wrong. I think Riley and this staff have done a lot of good things recruiting wise, yes much better than his predecessor, now it is time to close on some guys.
Oregon State came close to Nebraska's class last year. And they're on pace to beat Nebraska this year.
You know, the place that was impossible to get quality recruits when our coach was there.
But I thought Nebraska's class last year sucked. So you are saying the Oregon St class sucked more than Nebraska's?
Nebraska ranked 26 with 21 signees
Oregon St ranked 40 with 26 signees
And they are not on pace to beat Nebraska. They are one spot ahead of Nebraska in the rankings and have 4 more commitments. By no measure is that on pace to do better than Nebraska.
Oregon St ranked 35 with 18 commitments
Nebraska ranked 36 with 14 commitments
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No, they did not. No, they are not and no, they will not.
100% false and you know it. No one is fooled by this BS.
You are not serious are you? This is just ridiculous
Is there a huge difference between 26 and 40? And I'm told average star ranking doesn't mean anything. Because Riley can coach any player up.
And for the record, per rivals, Oregon State is one spot ahead of us currently. Doesn't mean anything in the end, per se, but I would like to think Nebraska is notches above Oregon State.
Our average star ranking is currently fantastic. Let's seenif that holds [fingers crossed].
Yes. I don't think you realize how close we are to Oregon State, recruiting-wise.
These comparisons are with the wrong OSU. I don' expect a top 5 class this year, but we better be 15-20.
I'm not trying to fool anyone. The differences between Nebraska and Oregon State vs Nebraska and Ohio State isn't even close.
But people here will still manage to blame Pelini for it all.
Pretty obvious what he's trying to do with his responses in different threads. I fell for it, for the last time.
Stop putting Harbaugh in the same sentence with Meyer. These two aren't in the same stratosphere in accomplishments. Harbaugh has two third place finishes in the Big east division.... Michigan clearly isn't getting their money's worth yet.
I think it depends entirely on the attitude the coaching staff takes to recruiting. Callahan and his staff lacked in the coaching department but they were all-in on recruiting and it showed. I am more optimistic for future classes with the recent hire of Donte Williams to replace Read.
In a perfect world, I would like 3-4 great recruiters on staff with one being the head coach. I'm optimistic the staff is trending in that direction.
In a perfect world, I would like 3-4 great recruiters on staff with one being the head coach. I'm optimistic the staff is trending in that direction.
The genius of Osborne's final 60-3 run was that it didn't require #1 ranked recruiting classes.
The option took mobile quarterbacks who would have been running backs or DB's at other schools. It took 6'0" offensive linemen who were amazing players but overlooked by top schools wanting everybody to be 6'5". It allowed an attacking style of defense where the players wouldn't get tired because the offense was on the field for long, grinding drives. Tight ends and wide receivers who needed to be better blockers than catchers. Fullback when no one else even used fullbacks.
Callahan tried the West Coast offense when everybody was running it. Pelini tried the zone read when everyone else was running it. Nothing to differentiate yourself.
Maybe you can never go back, but to go back would be to separate yourself from everybody else, and stop trying to compete with USC, Texas, Ohio State, and Alabama for top quarterbacks and wide receivers, when 98% of the time you are going to lose those recruiting battles.
The option took mobile quarterbacks who would have been running backs or DB's at other schools. It took 6'0" offensive linemen who were amazing players but overlooked by top schools wanting everybody to be 6'5". It allowed an attacking style of defense where the players wouldn't get tired because the offense was on the field for long, grinding drives. Tight ends and wide receivers who needed to be better blockers than catchers. Fullback when no one else even used fullbacks.
Callahan tried the West Coast offense when everybody was running it. Pelini tried the zone read when everyone else was running it. Nothing to differentiate yourself.
Maybe you can never go back, but to go back would be to separate yourself from everybody else, and stop trying to compete with USC, Texas, Ohio State, and Alabama for top quarterbacks and wide receivers, when 98% of the time you are going to lose those recruiting battles.
Totally agree. Was definitely easier to get the #1 option QB and a top RB when we ran Osbornes O
Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program. While recruiting rankings aren't perfect they are a pretty accurate indicator of whether a program can compete for the championship or not. Talent acquisition is the most important function of a coaching staff, if we aren't consistently in the top 15 we aren't competing for a title unless we get the next Mariota.
The recipe for success here is well-known but nobody wants to do that. They want to do it their way.
Coach Riley will likely succeed in getting us a few nice seasons but the reality of it is, he will only turn over the roster to his style of players, before he retires or is run out of town. If the next coach has a different system, it's going to take another 3-4 years to turn the roster over for that system.
One failed experiment after another, with nothing but more and more time lost.
While I do think a positive attitude is important, this idea that some energy bus book is going to translate into winning championships is naive. Our AD doesn't have the experience, wisdom, nor the leadership ability that the position requires.
They say life is a balance of making things happen, and letting things happen. I know the staff is trying very hard in recruiting, but maybe that is in some ways part of the problem.
Coach Riley will likely succeed in getting us a few nice seasons but the reality of it is, he will only turn over the roster to his style of players, before he retires or is run out of town. If the next coach has a different system, it's going to take another 3-4 years to turn the roster over for that system.
One failed experiment after another, with nothing but more and more time lost.
While I do think a positive attitude is important, this idea that some energy bus book is going to translate into winning championships is naive. Our AD doesn't have the experience, wisdom, nor the leadership ability that the position requires.
They say life is a balance of making things happen, and letting things happen. I know the staff is trying very hard in recruiting, but maybe that is in some ways part of the problem.
The disparity in talent between the two isn't cut and dried, certainly not by subtraction. Or is this the time of year when you say the rivals and scout metrics work? Only to backtrack when Nebraska finishes ranked 35th by those very same services?
But it seems you're from North Dakota, so I'll give you a pass.
Get back to this board when Nebraska finishes 35th. Until then, give it a rest.The disparity in talent between the two isn't cut and dried, certainly not by subtraction. Or is this the time of year when you say the rivals and scout metrics work? Only to backtrack when Nebraska finishes ranked 35th by those very same services?
But it seems you're from North Dakota, so I'll give you a pass.
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