Remarkable changes....

[Laner2]

So I was thinking of how NU recruiting has been over the last year or so and realized how much things have changed for NU.

The staff has a template for recruits that not everyone, especially the pundits, understand. Rhule was clear that he wasn't chasing stars, instead looking for athletes with the right character set. If they had the high stars, that seemed to be a sidebar to the template. Yesterday's commits are a case in point: one was a guy no one heard of and no stars, the other was a high four-star top running back that dusted off Bama, MeCheatin, OU, Oregon and other top shelf programs to select NU.

Then there's this guy....



He's a high four-star LB who has been committed to UGA for a long time. He and Dylan R. were commits at UGA together and worked to bring other commits to UGA. Now NU might get OV from him. Not saying he's in the bank, but NU is punching high with the big boys and is doing well at it.

NU seems to be in the process of morphing into a program that the elites have to worry about. When was the last time UGA had to worry about NU poaching a long-term commit? Again, this is a thing in process and it could all go south, but I'm not putting any money on that line. Stay tuned.....

 

[king_kong_]

Hopefully most stay long enough and are developed well enough to make an impact

Would be nice to crack the national top 15

We’re 5-7 until we aren’t

One thing that hasn’t changed - offseason hype

 

[RedCap]

So I was thinking of how NU recruiting has been over the last year or so and realized how much things have changed for NU.

The staff has a template for recruits that not everyone, especially the pundits, understand. Rhule was clear that he wasn't chasing stars, instead looking for athletes with the right character set. If they had the high stars, that seemed to be a sidebar to the template. Yesterday's commits are a case in point: one was a guy no one heard of and no stars, the other was a high four-star top running back that dusted off Bama, MeCheatin, OU, Oregon and other top shelf programs to select NU.

Then there's this guy....

View embedded media

He's a high four-star LB who has been committed to UGA for a long time. He and Dylan R. were commits at UGA together and worked to bring other commits to UGA. Now NU might get OV from him. Not saying he's in the bank, but NU is punching high with the big boys and is doing well at it.

NU seems to be in the process of morphing into a program that the elites have to worry about. When was the last time UGA had to worry about NU poaching a long-term commit? Again, this is a thing in process and it could all go south, but I'm not putting any money on that line. Stay tuned.....

As I always said when we went through all those failed head coaches, culture is the ultimate key to recruiting success. And so far at least, Rhule is proving that point. And it is MORE important today than it even ever was with the transfer portal allowing players to leave as they please. Now it's not the only thing but it's the most important. Being able to assess and recognize talent and potential also is an important factor in successful recruiting.

 

[Laner2]

Hopefully most stay long enough and are developed well enough to make an impact

Would be nice to crack the national top 15

We’re 5-7 until we aren’t

One thing that hasn’t changed - offseason hype

It's interesting that for some reason people no longer seem obsessed about how NU's recruiting ranking is affected by a new commit. I'm not all that worried at all about cracking the national top 15. Stars matter until they don't.

 

[drubendall]

It’s an inexact science for sure, but somehow Rhule is calculating the mix of athletic measurables, fit, character and the ability/desire to grow as players and young men. How he weighs these I have no idea. But yes, culture cannot be undervalued. He’ll miss on some, but I think he has a great feel for recruits overall.

 

[drubendall]

It's interesting that for some reason people no longer seem obsessed about how NU's recruiting ranking is affected by a new commit. I'm not all that worried at all about cracking the national top 15. Stars matter until they don't.

I think the long play is the right play. People wanna win right away at a high-level, but if we are building a program and striving for continuous improvement, that elevates everything from wins to the very best recruits. There is really no shortcuts to the recipe

 

[king_kong_]

It's interesting that for some reason people no longer seem obsessed about how NU's recruiting ranking is affected by a new commit. I'm not all that worried at all about cracking the national top 15. Stars matter until they don't.

Stars matter tremendously if you want to win a title

The data is impossible to dismiss

We are trending up but still very much in the honeymoon phase

Momentum is fleeting - time to capitalize

 

[10Trvln]

Hopefully most stay long enough and are developed well enough to make an impact

Would be nice to crack the national top 15

We’re 5-7 until we aren’t

One thing

Hopefully, most stay long enough and are developed well enough to make an impact - Very true, especially in the days of NIL

Would be nice to crack the national top 15 - Yes, would be nice, BUT, Hopefully we get a good mix of “Star” players as well as getting the right players that we can develop.

We’re 5-7 until we aren’t - True

One thing that hasn’t changed - offseason hype - Not sure the only thing. I think there is a LOT MORE in regards to recruiting.

A Lot More organization - Knowing your identity and having a good plan on who to recruit that fits that identity.
Not being afraid to go up against the top tier schools to compete for recruits.
Stay working and stay aggressive on the recruiting side.
That seems to be a change from previous staffs.

 

[RBigredMax]

What I get excited about is the level of some of these guys with the 5-7 record and thinking how much bigger this snowball will get rolling down the mountain once we start getting some W’s under our belt.

 

[HuskerDrew]

Hope our record improvement gets better recruits in the future because we still aren’t close to top 10 classes. By a mile.
Also, Satterfield still sucks.
Hopefully he will suck less with Thomas here and Dylan.
I hope we turn things around in the future for sure. I think recruits like Rhule but that isn’t enough.

 

[BTF69]

Stars matter tremendously if you want to win a title

The data is impossible to dismiss

We are trending up but still very much in the honeymoon phase

Momentum is fleeting - time to capitalize

Yep!

Bill Self said it best about recruiting. If you are not hearing "No" you are not recruiting the right kids.

This staff seems to take that approach, they are not afraid of that rejection because they believe in their product.

Recruiting is sales and if you don't believe in your product or if you are not just amazing at making others believe in it, you are going to be put on one of the draconian managing out plans where you have to make 120 calls a day and accumulate 2.5 hours of talk time otherwise you are gone.

 

[GBRforLife1]

So I was thinking of how NU recruiting has been over the last year or so and realized how much things have changed for NU.

The staff has a template for recruits that not everyone, especially the pundits, understand. Rhule was clear that he wasn't chasing stars, instead looking for athletes with the right character set. If they had the high stars, that seemed to be a sidebar to the template. Yesterday's commits are a case in point: one was a guy no one heard of and no stars, the other was a high four-star top running back that dusted off Bama, MeCheatin, OU, Oregon and other top shelf programs to select NU.

Then there's this guy....

View embedded media

He's a high four-star LB who has been committed to UGA for a long time. He and Dylan R. were commits at UGA together and worked to bring other commits to UGA. Now NU might get OV from him. Not saying he's in the bank, but NU is punching high with the big boys and is doing well at it.

NU seems to be in the process of morphing into a program that the elites have to worry about. When was the last time UGA had to worry about NU poaching a long-term commit? Again, this is a thing in process and it could all go south, but I'm not putting any money on that line. Stay tuned.....

One thing you didn't mention is our ability or willingness to pay for good players now.

I believe other programs paid even when it was illicit. Maybe we did too, but clearly not enough.

 

[bigboxes]

So I was thinking of how NU recruiting has been over the last year or so and realized how much things have changed for NU.

The staff has a template for recruits that not everyone, especially the pundits, understand. Rhule was clear that he wasn't chasing stars, instead looking for athletes with the right character set. If they had the high stars, that seemed to be a sidebar to the template. Yesterday's commits are a case in point: one was a guy no one heard of and no stars, the other was a high four-star top running back that dusted off Bama, MeCheatin, OU, Oregon and other top shelf programs to select NU.

Then there's this guy....

View embedded media

He's a high four-star LB who has been committed to UGA for a long time. He and Dylan R. were commits at UGA together and worked to bring other commits to UGA. Now NU might get OV from him. Not saying he's in the bank, but NU is punching high with the big boys and is doing well at it.

NU seems to be in the process of morphing into a program that the elites have to worry about. When was the last time UGA had to worry about NU poaching a long-term commit? Again, this is a thing in process and it could all go south, but I'm not putting any money on that line. Stay tuned.....

Rhule is doing what we hired him for. Building a program. Something that is sustainable at Nebraska. We're not going to get to where we want to be in one season. However, Raiola may move that timetable up. It was going to happen with or without Dylan. I have a feeling that Coach Rhule played a bigger role than our tradition and his uncle as many on here would like to believe.

I'm not going to do a bunch of handsprings like I would have in the past for each and every recruit. Right now I'm just going to kick back and believe in the system that Rhule has put in place. The wins will come and along with it the bandwagon fans. I'll be right here having never left in the first place.

 

[TruHusker]

Interesting thoughts here. My little brain has some.

Didn't Bo also dismiss stars saying something like we will put stars on them? I could be wrong.

It all starts with your head coach. I think past history at Nebraska and other places prove that. Very few just keep on winning throughout various transitions.

So far, this program has not won for so long, most kids in High School haven't seen this program being successful. To say building a program is sustainable, while true in the basic sense has not been true of this program for over 10 years. What is the common denominator in all of that time of losing?

Rhule has said he looks for athletes or some such statement. Fine. A few here and there is one thing but that is not sustainable when competing against the big boys. It is kind of a Nebraska feel good story with all the accolades our walk on program has produced. It was truth under the right head coach. There might be a common denominator there somewhere.

As kong said and the data supports - better players = championships. Bottom line.

When the dust clears, all that will matter is the win total. Playing teams close, the occasional upset won't mean much if we don;'t win and by that I don't mean just a winning record to get to a bowl game.

I had read that once Raiola said no to Nebraska and pledged to Georgia, Rhule quit recruiting him and focused on other QB's. It was Raiola who opened it back up with his contact of the coaching staff. Certainly having an uncle coach on the team helps but to suggest Rhule kept pursuing this kid through it all flies directly opposed to what Rhule said actually happened. That is, IF I got the story correct.

WIN. GAMES.END.OF STORY.

 

[timnsun]

Interesting thoughts here. My little brain has some.

Didn't Bo also dismiss stars saying something like we will put stars on them? I could be wrong.

It all starts with your head coach. I think past history at Nebraska and other places prove that. Very few just keep on winning throughout various transitions.

So far, this program has not won for so long, most kids in High School haven't seen this program being successful. To say building a program is sustainable, while true in the basic sense has not been true of this program for over 10 years. What is the common denominator in all of that time of losing?

Rhule has said he looks for athletes or some such statement. Fine. A few here and there is one thing but that is not sustainable when competing against the big boys. It is kind of a Nebraska feel good story with all the accolades our walk on program has produced. It was truth under the right head coach. There might be a common denominator there somewhere.

As kong said and the data supports - better players = championships. Bottom line.

When the dust clears, all that will matter is the win total. Playing teams close, the occasional upset won't mean much if we don;'t win and by that I don't mean just a winning record to get to a bowl game.

I had read that once Raiola said no to Nebraska and pledged to Georgia, Rhule quit recruiting him and focused on other QB's. It was Raiola who opened it back up with his contact of the coaching staff. Certainly having an uncle coach on the team helps but to suggest Rhule kept pursuing this kid through it all flies directly opposed to what Rhule said actually happened. That is, IF I got the story correct.

WIN. GAMES.END.OF STORY.

That is a well thought out, rational post. You make some good points. That said, I gotta come back to why posters feel compelled to squelch any excitement about what may be happening. That just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.

 

[RedMyMind]

That is a well thought out, rational post. You make some good points. That said, I gotta come back to why posters feel compelled to squelch any excitement about what may be happening. That just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.

I agree but they are psychologically abused and have charlie brown syndrome

 

[timnsun]

I agree but they are psychologically abused and have charlie brown syndrome

Don’t we all 😂?

 

[Laner2]

That is a well thought out, rational post. You make some good points. That said, I gotta come back to why posters feel compelled to squelch any excitement about what may be happening. That just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.

It's kind of Pavlovian. Post something that is cautiously hopeful and the hind brain of some folks kick in to shit on it. No one, including me, ever said everything was all roses.

 

[HuskerDrew]

That is a well thought out, rational post. You make some good points. That said, I gotta come back to why posters feel compelled to squelch any excitement about what may be happening. That just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.

It’s because no matter who we have landed in the last 10 years, it didn’t matter… we still sucked. Aside from a decent Riley year in 2016 we have dealt with garbage.

As someone alluded.. I don’t give a crap who we land or don’t, the only thing that matters is “Can you win with who ya got?”

I like our recruits but we need occasional top 10 classes if we want to sniff the playoffs. Especially in this tougher Big Ten

 

[GaRed]

So I was thinking of how NU recruiting has been over the last year or so and realized how much things have changed for NU.

The staff has a template for recruits that not everyone, especially the pundits, understand. Rhule was clear that he wasn't chasing stars, instead looking for athletes with the right character set. If they had the high stars, that seemed to be a sidebar to the template. Yesterday's commits are a case in point: one was a guy no one heard of and no stars, the other was a high four-star top running back that dusted off Bama, MeCheatin, OU, Oregon and other top shelf programs to select NU.

Then there's this guy....

View embedded media

He's a high four-star LB who has been committed to UGA for a long time. He and Dylan R. were commits at UGA together and worked to bring other commits to UGA. Now NU might get OV from him. Not saying he's in the bank, but NU is punching high with the big boys and is doing well at it.

NU seems to be in the process of morphing into a program that the elites have to worry about. When was the last time UGA had to worry about NU poaching a long-term commit? Again, this is a thing in process and it could all go south, but I'm not putting any money on that line. Stay tuned.....

 

[GaRed]

Rhule is doing what we hired him for. Building a program. Something that is sustainable at Nebraska. We're not going to get to where we want to be in one season. However, Raiola may move that timetable up. It was going to happen with or without Dylan. I have a feeling that Coach Rhule played a bigger role than our tradition and his uncle as many on here would like to believe.

I'm not going to do a bunch of handsprings like I would have in the past for each and every recruit. Right now I'm just going to kick back and believe in the system that Rhule has put in place. The wins will come and along with it the bandwagon fans. I'll be right here having never left in the first place.

We have many fans that forget the build part or that we have just plainly stank and don't deserve to sniff a top 25 class .

 

[timnsun]

It’s because no matter who we have landed in the last 10 years, it didn’t matter… we still sucked. Aside from a decent Riley year in 2016 we have dealt with garbage.

As someone alluded.. I don’t give a crap who we land or don’t, the only thing that matters is “Can you win with who ya got?”

I like our recruits but we need occasional top 10 classes if we want to sniff the playoffs. Especially in this tougher Big Ten

I don’t disagree, we do need better talent to contend. And I know we say this every year, but things do feel different under Rhule.

He is going to bring in guys that aren’t flashy, but we are also seeing him pursue players that Bo never would have pursued because he felt they would never come. So I get the wait and see crowd, but I don’t necessarily get the crowd that says “Nothing has changed. Not until we win more games.”

I feel like Rhule is really working hard to get more wins. And I really don’t care how we got Raiola, here’s what I know… Rhule didn’t stand in the way. No way in hades Raiola comes to Nebraska if Frost was still the coach. And now that he’s here, he’s really been a help in recruiting. Still gotta land some of these big fish, but we appear to be trending in the right direction.

 

[bigboxes]

We have many fans that forget the build part or that we have just plainly stank and don't deserve to sniff a top 25 class .

Coach Rhule is building the program from ashes. See Scott Frost. We're going to have to be patient as we improve from year to year. Just having Raiola won't do it. Having an NFL-caliber QB on the roster will only get you so far. Then you're just Purdue.

 

[king_kong_]

Having an NFL-caliber QB on the roster will only get you so far. Then you're just Purdue.

this is a good point.

There appears to be such a gigantic variance in outcomes this year it’s impossible to predict, and the NFL caliber is certainly part of that.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see us go 9-3.

I also wouldn’t at all be surprised if we’ve still got a game on our hands in the 2nd half against Akron.

 

[bigboxes]

this is a good point.

There appears to be such a gigantic variance in outcomes this year it’s impossible to predict, and the NFL caliber is certainly part of that.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see us go 9-3.

I also wouldn’t at all be surprised if we’ve still got a game on our hands in the 2nd half against Akron.

I don't see us struggling against Akron. I could see 9-3. It's because of Raiola. But I think that Rhule will build a more disciplined team with more in each and every year as we move forward.

 

[TruHusker]

That is a well thought out, rational post. You make some good points. That said, I gotta come back to why posters feel compelled to squelch any excitement about what may be happening. That just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.

Until things change for the better, it is who we are. Reality sometimes is hard to face but every coach I have been around has to come to reality of how good they really are. Your record tells you how good you are, not a bunch of feel good posts or article write ups. Remind me what many have predicted for the Huskers the last 10 years and compare that to reality. Until you win, that is the real world you inhabit.

 

[TruHusker]

I agree but they are psychologically abused and have charlie brown syndrome

Some live in reality and some live in make believe.

 

[RedMyMind]

Some live in reality and some live in make believe.

depressing but true. I'd rather try to enjoy the things that we cannot change.

 

[HuskerDrew]

This year, I feel like we will be an 8 win team. Second year under Rhule, new but talented QB, hopefully better OL play, and if WR are healthy then that group will likely be an upgrade over last years injury riddled WR corps.

I do like Rhule. I think we are in the right track but feel we are a team that needs to win in order to poach kids from schools closer to their own home.

Cannot wait for this season, it will be awesome.

Also, I may make my way over to the USC game but am not sure.
UCLA in 2025 is a no brainer as I live about 2 miles south of the Rose Bowl.
That will be Dylan’s second year and we should be rolling pretty good by then.

 

[timnsun]

Until things change for the better, it is who we are. Reality sometimes is hard to face but every coach I have been around has to come to reality of how good they really are. Your record tells you how good you are, not a bunch of feel good posts or article write ups. Remind me what many have predicted for the Huskers the last 10 years and compare that to reality. Until you win, that is the real world you inhabit.

Then you’ve bolstered the case for Rhule… his first year at every stop was bad. Second year was improved. 3rd year was a conference championship at Temple and a place in the conference championship game at Baylor.

Why can’t you see that?

 

[Husker.Wed.]

UCLA in 2025 is a no brainer as I live about 2 miles south of the Rose Bowl.

If you don't walk over early, make sure you park in the neighborhoods above the Rose Bowl before the people in the neighborhoods illegally block off their streets so no one can park there. The people who live around the Rose Bowl are deluded into thinking the public streets belong to only them.

 

[phoenix4nu]

this is a good point.

There appears to be such a gigantic variance in outcomes this year it’s impossible to predict, and the NFL caliber is certainly part of that.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see us go 9-3.

I also wouldn’t at all be surprised if we’ve still got a game on our hands in the 2nd half against Akron.

Akron? We don't play them until 2025.

 

[king_kong_]

Akron? We don't play them until 2025.

*UTEP

 

[Lincoln100]

 

[GaRed]

Coach Rhule is building the program from ashes. See Scott Frost. We're going to have to be patient as we improve from year to year. Just having Raiola won't do it. Having an NFL-caliber QB on the roster will only get you so far. Then you're just Purdue.

I'm all N the build. Although I celebrate recruiting I fully plan on waiting and seeing before getting wood. My nuts have been kicked in so many times I can be considered Trans.

 

[leodisflowers]

I don't see us struggling against Akron. I could see 9-3. It's because of Raiola. But I think that Rhule will build a more disciplined team with more in each and every year as we move forward.

If Dowdell emerges as a guy that can be a player or 1 more RB can step up and we can really run the ball, we are going to be a tough out for any team outside of Ohio St. Our TE and WR room are good.

 

[mgbreis]

We're all so mind-f___ed from Frost that it's hilarious! I include myself in that. The problem is that a good percentage of the players are/were mind-f___ed too. I really want to believe this is the year we start to see a roster that believes it can whoop some butt. The defense believed last year, the offense was not there.

 

[phoenix4nu]

If Dowdell emerges as a guy that can be a player or 1 more RB can step up and we can really run the ball, we are going to be a tough out for any team outside of Ohio St. Our TE and WR room are good.

The lack of play making ability at the running back position has been a big factor in our struggles on offense for the past 10 years or so.

 

[shocksker]

The lack of play making ability at the running back position has been a big factor in our struggles on offense for the past 10 years or so.

Correct, MO Washington and a young AMart looked promising but nothing from the entire backfield has been top tier since TM and Rex. Seems like forever ago.

 

[king_kong_]

We're all so mind-f___ed from Frost that it's hilarious! I include myself in that. The problem is that a good percentage of the players are/were mind-f___ed too. I really want to believe this is the year we start to see a roster that believes it can whoop some butt. The defense believed last year, the offense was not there.

wasn't Frost who pissed away the last 4 games of last season in all-too-familiar fashion

I'm hoping the staff makes as much improvement as we expect from the players this offseason

Rhule never really recovered from the maryland goal line debacle