Overview:
There were approximately 33 posts/DM's received to the OP which generated about 100 different replies to the question, "If you wake up tomorrow and the Huskers are nationally relevant/competitive again, and your pride and faith in the program has been restored, you believe it would be because of these three primary representations or characteristics".
These replies were grouped into the seven categories listed below along with the totals/results.
Breakdown by Category:
Coaching (Player Development) - 44.8%
Coaching (Scheme/Philosophy) - 31.0%
Recruiting Ability - 12.6%
Steward (Student Athlete) - 2.3%
Steward (Husker Nation) - 2.3%
Steward (Walk-On Program) - 1.2%
Other - 5.8%
Detailed Results/Descriptions:
Coaching (Player Development) - This category encompasses all replies that target on field play and results that are not of a schematic nature. This includes descriptors like: physical, hard working, S&C, disciplined, endurance, etc. This category includes the (by far) largest specific area of mention which is the play of the offensive and defensive lines. This alone represents approximately 30% of total replies.
Coaching (Scheme/Philosophy) - This category includes all replies that were specific to a scheme or an overarching style of play. It includes descriptors like: balanced, unique, identity, attacking, QB University (LB, RB), etc. When differentiated in the replies, it was pretty balanced between offense and defense but the specific mentions would lead you to believe that "unique" offense and an "attack" style defense would be the preferred overall schemes.
Recruiting Ability - Easily the number three overall choice behind coaching and the responses were fairly evenly divided into three distinct sub-groups. About 1/3 identified nationally focused recruiting with mentions of ranking service benchmarks (i.e. Rivals top 15, top 20, etc), another 1/3 mentioned more specific geographical recruiting (i.e. 500 mile radius, Texas, etc) and the final 1/3 made mention of a specific type of recruit or prospect profile (i.e. JUCO's, NFL QB's, system players, etc).
Steward (Student Athlete) - A couple of replies identified items like off-field excellence, life skills programs, GPA, etc.
Steward (Husker Nation) - A couple of replies identified items that would be specific to rallying and/or "mending" the fan base.
Steward (Walk-On Program) - One mention was made about emphasizing the walk-on program (specific to OL recruiting and development).
Other - This is the catch-all category for the Brick Tambland, "I love lamp" responses (i.e. boobs, beer, cornfields, etc) or the Charlie Sheen "winning" replies.
Summary:
Even though the scope of this exercise is very limited in nature, I don't think that the results are insignificant to the general topic. That the "Nebraska Way" is best defined by a football team that is well coached, plays hard and aggressive for four quarters and has a style/scheme that is unique to this program that fans can identify with and call their own and that the dominant characteristic of said team would emanate from it's play along the offensive and defensive lines.
I think it's pretty revealing that when you ask for these most important characteristics of the "Nebraska Way" that the focus is clearly on what most would simply call "good football" and not the other extraneous items we spend so much time fixating on and debating.
The walk-on program received only one mention. The term "Blackshirts" was used only one time. The sell out streak received zero mentions. Academic All-Americans received zero mentions. The tunnel walk received zero mentions. Best facilities received zero mentions. Option football received zero mentions. Tom Osborne, the 90's, legacies, Nebraska ties, etc received zero mentions.
Just show us good football. Fully 75% of responses lead to the conclusion that we simply want schemes that are easily recognizable through the play of a well coached team. It jumps to almost 90% if you include the desire for the coaches to be able to successfully recruit to said schemes.
Seemingly apparent within the results, the "Nebraska Way" doesn't require recreating the "glory days". We don't need it to mimic the 90's. It doesn't have to happen on the backs of walk-on's. It doesn't matter if we're wearing Adidas or Nike. Hell, if you read into the tone of the replies, it seems fans would get rid of all the flashy sports apparel companies and gladly don Duluth Trading attire which would be more appropriate for the work they want to see being done in the trenches.
That pretty well sums up my interpretation of the results. Now that it's reported, allow me to editorialize just a bit.
I truly hope our current leadership recognizes and looks to understand this about the "Nebraska Way". It's not something that is chained to the past nor married to any specific person, place or thing. To a large degree, the "Nebraska Way" is alive and well and is currently being implemented in Madison, Stanford, Ames, Orlando, Ft Worth and it's been seen recently in places like Eugene and Boise.
These are all places with situations and limitations that are unique to them that are being overcome by ingenuity, hard work and just some damned fine coaching. Not much different than what Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne did in Lincoln, NE.
It's why I bristle when such prominent and vocal representatives of this program (like Dave Rimington) give so much spotlight to an extraneous item like the walk-on program. One of the best interior o-lineman EVER and he's not using his platform to focus on a decade plus worth of average (at best) line play but rather to promote the plight and future of the walk-on program.
I think that we all agree that the walk-on program is a great story. It's a wonderful part of our history and it's steeped in tradition. It's one of the ingenuity's that helped shape who we are and it is still all of those things. Right now. Today.
In the list of priorities, the walk-on program is one spot above cleaning out the lint trap. To borrow a great Jack Nicholson line from the movie "As Good As It Gets",
I think it's clear to all that Husker football has been drowning for awhile and I'm so tired of having the admin and university leaders "describe the water". I'm tired of debating the extraneous. The ancillary. The trappings.
Just set the personal agendas aside, get us a great football coach and then allow them to do their job.
GBR!
There were approximately 33 posts/DM's received to the OP which generated about 100 different replies to the question, "If you wake up tomorrow and the Huskers are nationally relevant/competitive again, and your pride and faith in the program has been restored, you believe it would be because of these three primary representations or characteristics".
These replies were grouped into the seven categories listed below along with the totals/results.
Breakdown by Category:
Coaching (Player Development) - 44.8%
Coaching (Scheme/Philosophy) - 31.0%
Recruiting Ability - 12.6%
Steward (Student Athlete) - 2.3%
Steward (Husker Nation) - 2.3%
Steward (Walk-On Program) - 1.2%
Other - 5.8%
Detailed Results/Descriptions:
Coaching (Player Development) - This category encompasses all replies that target on field play and results that are not of a schematic nature. This includes descriptors like: physical, hard working, S&C, disciplined, endurance, etc. This category includes the (by far) largest specific area of mention which is the play of the offensive and defensive lines. This alone represents approximately 30% of total replies.
Coaching (Scheme/Philosophy) - This category includes all replies that were specific to a scheme or an overarching style of play. It includes descriptors like: balanced, unique, identity, attacking, QB University (LB, RB), etc. When differentiated in the replies, it was pretty balanced between offense and defense but the specific mentions would lead you to believe that "unique" offense and an "attack" style defense would be the preferred overall schemes.
Recruiting Ability - Easily the number three overall choice behind coaching and the responses were fairly evenly divided into three distinct sub-groups. About 1/3 identified nationally focused recruiting with mentions of ranking service benchmarks (i.e. Rivals top 15, top 20, etc), another 1/3 mentioned more specific geographical recruiting (i.e. 500 mile radius, Texas, etc) and the final 1/3 made mention of a specific type of recruit or prospect profile (i.e. JUCO's, NFL QB's, system players, etc).
Steward (Student Athlete) - A couple of replies identified items like off-field excellence, life skills programs, GPA, etc.
Steward (Husker Nation) - A couple of replies identified items that would be specific to rallying and/or "mending" the fan base.
Steward (Walk-On Program) - One mention was made about emphasizing the walk-on program (specific to OL recruiting and development).
Other - This is the catch-all category for the Brick Tambland, "I love lamp" responses (i.e. boobs, beer, cornfields, etc) or the Charlie Sheen "winning" replies.
Summary:
Even though the scope of this exercise is very limited in nature, I don't think that the results are insignificant to the general topic. That the "Nebraska Way" is best defined by a football team that is well coached, plays hard and aggressive for four quarters and has a style/scheme that is unique to this program that fans can identify with and call their own and that the dominant characteristic of said team would emanate from it's play along the offensive and defensive lines.
I think it's pretty revealing that when you ask for these most important characteristics of the "Nebraska Way" that the focus is clearly on what most would simply call "good football" and not the other extraneous items we spend so much time fixating on and debating.
The walk-on program received only one mention. The term "Blackshirts" was used only one time. The sell out streak received zero mentions. Academic All-Americans received zero mentions. The tunnel walk received zero mentions. Best facilities received zero mentions. Option football received zero mentions. Tom Osborne, the 90's, legacies, Nebraska ties, etc received zero mentions.
Just show us good football. Fully 75% of responses lead to the conclusion that we simply want schemes that are easily recognizable through the play of a well coached team. It jumps to almost 90% if you include the desire for the coaches to be able to successfully recruit to said schemes.
Seemingly apparent within the results, the "Nebraska Way" doesn't require recreating the "glory days". We don't need it to mimic the 90's. It doesn't have to happen on the backs of walk-on's. It doesn't matter if we're wearing Adidas or Nike. Hell, if you read into the tone of the replies, it seems fans would get rid of all the flashy sports apparel companies and gladly don Duluth Trading attire which would be more appropriate for the work they want to see being done in the trenches.
That pretty well sums up my interpretation of the results. Now that it's reported, allow me to editorialize just a bit.
I truly hope our current leadership recognizes and looks to understand this about the "Nebraska Way". It's not something that is chained to the past nor married to any specific person, place or thing. To a large degree, the "Nebraska Way" is alive and well and is currently being implemented in Madison, Stanford, Ames, Orlando, Ft Worth and it's been seen recently in places like Eugene and Boise.
These are all places with situations and limitations that are unique to them that are being overcome by ingenuity, hard work and just some damned fine coaching. Not much different than what Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne did in Lincoln, NE.
It's why I bristle when such prominent and vocal representatives of this program (like Dave Rimington) give so much spotlight to an extraneous item like the walk-on program. One of the best interior o-lineman EVER and he's not using his platform to focus on a decade plus worth of average (at best) line play but rather to promote the plight and future of the walk-on program.
I think that we all agree that the walk-on program is a great story. It's a wonderful part of our history and it's steeped in tradition. It's one of the ingenuity's that helped shape who we are and it is still all of those things. Right now. Today.
In the list of priorities, the walk-on program is one spot above cleaning out the lint trap. To borrow a great Jack Nicholson line from the movie "As Good As It Gets",
I think it's clear to all that Husker football has been drowning for awhile and I'm so tired of having the admin and university leaders "describe the water". I'm tired of debating the extraneous. The ancillary. The trappings.
Just set the personal agendas aside, get us a great football coach and then allow them to do their job.
GBR!
