We aren't going to get back to elite status overnight. We are too far down the rabbit hole of irrelevance to expect any coach to come in here and start recruiting elite athletes.
So we have to build toward that, step by step. Wisconsin, Iowa, and until this year, MSU, all had reached a level of consistency as programs such that they were competitive in almost every game, and did so largely with 3 star type guys. Were they spectacular? No. But for the most part they were/are competitive. I am not holding them up as our standard (God forbid), but merely as an example of programs (especially Wisky) that have done pretty damn well with 3 star talent.
I would be happy if I saw evidence that we were building toward that type of consistency. Reach that level, then you are able to recruit the next Tommie Frazier or Cam Newton and you are on your way.
But you need an identity and a "system". You need coaches that can elicit disciplined play in fundamentals. You need coaches that can teach 3 star lineman how to be tough as nails and take on anyone. You need to recruit athletes with character who are team players and are willing to work their asses off for the team.
Right now it seems Riley has swung for the fences in recruiting and failed. He brought in tons of elite athletes but almost all said "no thanks". Riley is being praised for getting them here and rightly so. Let's just hope he has about 8 or 9 "plan B" kind of guys lined up who are not just panic recruits who will never amount to much, but real ballers and gamers who can be coached up as described above. If he can at least do that I will be content.
Everyone on here who is screaming for us to have a top 15 class "or else" are being short sighted in my view. We certainly never want to lose our focus and our standards as a blue blood program. But the chest thumping mantra "we are Nebraska damn it and we don't settle for 25th rated classes!" is hurting us right now as a fan base rather than helping. The Nebraska brand is deeply diminished. We are not, despite what some might wish, what we used to be. It is going to take time to get us back there.
And even if Riley ends up with a class rated 26th, it will probably still be a better class than a Pelini class at 26th because they will be real recruits, filling real needs, rather than panic recruits brought in Willy Nilly at the end, scrambling for whatever.
We may go 5 or 6 more years of 9-4 or 10-3 type seasons, and Riley may retire, before we ever reach elite status again. But I will be content, in the short run, with those kinds of seasons so long as we are competitive in every game, not getting blown out on every big stage, and develop an identity once again as a tough, tough, team that plays with physicality, discipline and intelligence.
To me that is why our last two games worry me. Our team looks apathetic, undisciplined, unfocused and certainly not tough or competitive. I have zero insight as to why that is. I will leave that to others, much smarter in such things than I.
But I do know this: We won't ever break out of this valley if we change coaches every four years. I have serious doubts and misgivings about Riley and have expressed them on here. But that is all they are - - doubts and misgivings. Opinions.
Riley needs and deserves time. And it is in our best interests to give it to him no matter our doubts. That is why I started another thread that simply said "This year is done. Time to move on"
Bring on next year
GBR
So we have to build toward that, step by step. Wisconsin, Iowa, and until this year, MSU, all had reached a level of consistency as programs such that they were competitive in almost every game, and did so largely with 3 star type guys. Were they spectacular? No. But for the most part they were/are competitive. I am not holding them up as our standard (God forbid), but merely as an example of programs (especially Wisky) that have done pretty damn well with 3 star talent.
I would be happy if I saw evidence that we were building toward that type of consistency. Reach that level, then you are able to recruit the next Tommie Frazier or Cam Newton and you are on your way.
But you need an identity and a "system". You need coaches that can elicit disciplined play in fundamentals. You need coaches that can teach 3 star lineman how to be tough as nails and take on anyone. You need to recruit athletes with character who are team players and are willing to work their asses off for the team.
Right now it seems Riley has swung for the fences in recruiting and failed. He brought in tons of elite athletes but almost all said "no thanks". Riley is being praised for getting them here and rightly so. Let's just hope he has about 8 or 9 "plan B" kind of guys lined up who are not just panic recruits who will never amount to much, but real ballers and gamers who can be coached up as described above. If he can at least do that I will be content.
Everyone on here who is screaming for us to have a top 15 class "or else" are being short sighted in my view. We certainly never want to lose our focus and our standards as a blue blood program. But the chest thumping mantra "we are Nebraska damn it and we don't settle for 25th rated classes!" is hurting us right now as a fan base rather than helping. The Nebraska brand is deeply diminished. We are not, despite what some might wish, what we used to be. It is going to take time to get us back there.
And even if Riley ends up with a class rated 26th, it will probably still be a better class than a Pelini class at 26th because they will be real recruits, filling real needs, rather than panic recruits brought in Willy Nilly at the end, scrambling for whatever.
We may go 5 or 6 more years of 9-4 or 10-3 type seasons, and Riley may retire, before we ever reach elite status again. But I will be content, in the short run, with those kinds of seasons so long as we are competitive in every game, not getting blown out on every big stage, and develop an identity once again as a tough, tough, team that plays with physicality, discipline and intelligence.
To me that is why our last two games worry me. Our team looks apathetic, undisciplined, unfocused and certainly not tough or competitive. I have zero insight as to why that is. I will leave that to others, much smarter in such things than I.
But I do know this: We won't ever break out of this valley if we change coaches every four years. I have serious doubts and misgivings about Riley and have expressed them on here. But that is all they are - - doubts and misgivings. Opinions.
Riley needs and deserves time. And it is in our best interests to give it to him no matter our doubts. That is why I started another thread that simply said "This year is done. Time to move on"
Bring on next year
GBR
