Locked due to no posts in 60 days. Report 1st post if need unlocked Pelini's recruiting strategy/success

[Red Wiggler]

Yes, there were some serious issues with how the previous staff recruited on both lines.

Their last OL recruiting class (the one that scattered after BC was fired) was pretty damn good, with starters at Notre Dame, Missouri, Iowa and one in jail in Colorado. He also recruited Suh and Crick. I'm not sure that we have seen Bo recruit players on either side of the line to compare to these guys.

 

[RedEd]

Radio topic in the last couple days has been that Bo is frustrated that he's having a hard time getting the guys to lincoln that he really needs to run what he wants. NU is not an easy place to recruit to.

This can be looked at a few different ways. Great players have been recruited to NU in the past, therefore, it is not impossible. The only variables seems to be a small population, so, somewhat isolated for out of staters, but every game on tv now , cold climate, but so are all the B1G schools, academics, which are reasonably good and getting better with great support for athletes. The big difference, then, really is the staff. I guess maybe Bo needs to review their recruiting techniques and work harder at figuring out what is needed and work harder at doing them. Everything in the program should be under constant review, but that should be the norm always. No one that I can recall ever said these things were going to easy. Big money is being paid to coaches for making big decisions. Sorry, but those are the facts of life.

For some of you guys out there with sales experience, can closing techniques be learned and refined or is it a you either have it or you don't situation?

 

[RedEd]

Honestly, the more I think about it the more I'm convinced I probably won't see another National Title in my lifetime. It's pretty depressing (in the meaningless sports kinda way) to thing NU is now part of that group that will consider the Rose Bowl to be the holy grail.

That is what I said in 1991. I hope we are wrong, again.

Sometimes a light bulb goes on and a new recruiting philosophy and techniques are formed. TO's staff did this in the early 90's when they recruited more speed. That is where their talent evaluations changed, also. Hopefully, talent evaluations will improve for the staff. Bo did that for Prince when they changed him from O to D. They did a good job with that. Hopefully, that will pan out for Jean-Baptiste.

One thing seems for sure, to me at least. Great recruits are going to be hard to come by for a system until a system is chosen and stabilized for one's program. That being said, a system must be tweaked to take advantage of the talent one has on hand. But that is done with play calling, etc., it would seem, and scheme modifications. This staff seems to be still learning on the fly at times. For instance, Beck can be brilliant sometimes, and others puzzling with play calling. And it is puzzling that running qb's keep killing NU with no obvious solutions. That could be because of the LB depth problem, I hope, which, hopefully will be solved some time soon.

I'm am certainly no expert. An alternative might be to recruit the best talent possible and manipulate the system according to that talent. But, that would probably take much more time than the college game is allowed to use. Talent must be constantly and accurately evaluated. I think I read sometime that TO's guys actually recruited some guys for more than 3 years. Obviously, coaches have to be around for a time to do that. Coaching carousels are counterproductive in that respect.

I'm just rambling late into the night, please forgive. I'm not saying anything you guys don't already know. I'm not looking for an argument, just trying to analyze late at night. Difficulty trying to get to sleep.

 

[RedEd]

Exactly! That's why I think NU fan needs to temper expectations down to 9 - 3 seasons which let's face it, is pretty dang good.

I maintain the landscape has changed over the past 15 years if you haven't noticed. In the 90s, college football was the 3rd or 4th rated sport behind the nfl, mlb, and nba. Now it's the 2nd highest rated sport that is at an all-time popularity. The media coverage, the money...

Point being, geography didn't affect us at much in the 90s, but now with the emphasis on the sport, I think it's hitting huge.

Another thing, and laugh at me all you want, high school athletes weren't training hard core in the 90s like they are now. Joe Bob off the haystack from McCook, NE could compete fairly well with his peers at other universities making the walk on program more valuable in the 90s. I think now it's a different beast, with players coming out of high school chiseled and having better football skills. The walk on program is still important ie Mike Caputo, but I wonder if the higher skill level in college football hurts the walk ons and their contributions to on-field success.

I think the real value of the WO program, and TO has said this, is that it allows more stations to be run in practice to develop the talent better and make practices more efficient. It gives more bodies for the first to third string players to practice against and there is a lot less standing around and results in constant movement in and out of drills.

 

[RedEd]

The staff did recruit some blue chip players last year, though, and in the past. Rex in 09, the triplet RB's, Peat, O linemen, Turner, The MLB kid. They can recruit. Was the radio talk and Bo's frustration substantiated, or speculation? Anyone really know?, please comment.

 

[N2FL]

Radio topic in the last couple days has been that Bo is frustrated that he's having a hard time getting the guys to lincoln that he really needs to run what he wants. NU is not an easy place to recruit to.

If that is true and not just a radio topic for callers to dish about, than frankly Bo Pelini has nobody to blame for that other than himself. Pelini named 4 new full-time assistants to his staff this past season, and if I'm not mistaken all of them either had previous ties to Bo or Carl. While its nice to have coaching 'friends' on staff with you, it is not necessary IMO. There is nothing wrong with going after a coach with a great resume that you have no background with.

Bo could have easily gone after a guy either at a BCS school, or a lower level school that have tremendous recruiting and coaching reputations. Instead he chose 'friends' in the profession that he trusts to have the same philosophy that he does. On the surface this seems logical and smart, but really its not needed. A head coach can and should coach and train his assistants to the way he wants them to coach his players and teach philosophies. Other than Corey Raymond, none of the 4 new coaching additions came to Nebraska with strong recruiting reputations. Perhaps this is hurting the Huskers? Tim Beck and John Papuchis are as good of recruiters as you will find in the country, but the rest of the staff don't carry their reputations in that department. That's not to say they are poor, but Bo could have went out and tried to lure some proven BCS assistants to Lincoln. A non-BCS assistant with strong recruiting reps would likely jump at the chance to upgrade their surroundings at a place like Nebraska. I really like Central Florida's WR coach, David Kelly and SMU OL coach Adrian Klemm. With all due respect, I personally would have gone and hired these two guys over John Garrison and Rich Fisher.

Some other coaches from lower-tier programs that I think are great recruiters and coaches include:

Clint Hurtt, Defensive Line Coach & Recruiting Coordinator, Louisville
Reggie Mitchell, Running Backs Coach & Recruiting Coordinator, Kansas
Matt Lubick, Receivers Coach, Pass. Game Coordinator & Recruiting Coordinator, Duke
Robert Prunty, Defensive End Coach & Outside Linebacker Coach, Texas Tech
David Reaves, Offensive Coordinator & Quarterback Coach, New Mexico
Mike Cassity, DB coach, Marshall
Greg Burns, CB coach, Arizona State
Stan Eggen, Defensive Line Coach & Recruiting Coordinator, Louisiana Tech
Bob Connelly, Co-Offensive Coordinator & Associate Head Coach at UTEP
Jeff Hafley, DB coach, Rutgers
Tee Martin, Wide Receivers Coach & Pass. Game Coordinator, Kentucky
Keith Williams, WR coach, Fresno State
Eric Mathies, Defensive Tackle Coach & Recruiting Coordinator, Western Kentucky
Jason Candle, WR/TE coach, Toledo
Frank Ponce, WR coach, Florida International
Jeff Reinebold, WR coach, SMU
Mike Sabock, Running Backs Coach & Spec. Teams Coach, Western Michigan
Daryl Dixon, DB Coach, Ball State
Kevin Patrick, DL coach, South Florida

I think Nebraska would have had no problem luring guys from a list like this to Lincoln. A move that likely would have meant more money and a better notch on their resume's. Personally, its the way I would have went and the way I would look to go in the future. Watch when Urban Meyer starts to put his Ohio State staff together. Dont be shocked to see him go after recently fired Memphis head coach Larry Porter. Meyer and Porter have never coached together, but Porter has a reputation as being a top-flight recruiter at LSU and Oklahoma State. Rivals named Porter its 'Recruiter of the Year' in 2007 and 2009. You dont need to have a background with a coach with a resume like that....you take 'em.

 

[denisonred]

As NEWICO pointed out, LB is really the only position we haven't done well at since Pelini took over. I have no idea why that is. Ekeler was considered a pretty good recruiter, so you hesitate to point the finger at him specifically. For whatever reason, we just haven't landed the quantity or quality of LB needed to make that a deeper and more talented position group. This year we need a good haul at L

Our recruiting is the best it's been since I've followed it (circa 2002). We have a transition class as upperclassmen right now, which should be the nadir for the Pelini recruiting cycle. We are in on a ton of big names this fall...guys who will wait around and check out a lot of options before committing. When all is said and done, this should be a small, but high quality class.

The voice of reason. Thanks Flas

 

[denisonred]

Let me start with that I am not a BC fan and I also don't have an opinion on BP's recruiting yet, but that population argument is certainly a factor, but only a factor. BC coaxed some high star recruits to Lincoln and had respectable classes (ranking wise.) Whether BC was a good talent evaluator or could coach is a different discussion, but he showed that highly recruited athletes could be sold on Nebraska. A little guy named Suh comes to mind...

Remember we had John Blake back then. Was he playing by the rules? Its a legitimate question considering his North Carolina experience.

 

[CombatTargeteer]

So David and Stafford just walked in the door and asked for a spot?