[Husker] Osborne: "Faith in the Game"

[Mike Jaixen]

I must admit that last Wednesday, my thoughts and
emotions about Husker football were quite a bit
different than many of my fellow Husker fans.  I was
on vacation, far far away from all of the recruiting
hype, which I sometimes find irritating &/or
irrelevant.  But the 2005 signing class wasn't the
reason for my divergence in opinion from the
"Recruitniks", who may have been dancing from light
poles at 72nd & Dodge for all I know.  Instead, I had
just finished Tom Osborne's "Faith in the Game". 
Published in 1999, it's probably a book that Osborne
couldn't write today.

I have been a frequent critic of Steve Pederson, and
have had mixed emotions about Bill Callahan.  I've
felt that something very special was lost last winter,
but I've never been able to really define what it was.
 Certainly, the academic and support programs for the
Huskers are still there. In fact, I think Pederson is
trying to make this a point of emphasis again.
(Witness hiring Dave Kennedy and the stadium
improvements.)  I thought it might have been the old
unique Husker style of play, but even that has evolved
over the years.  That wasn't it.

After reading the book, I still can't be precise about
it, but maybe the best way to put it is that perhaps
it really is something inside - the soul.

Osborne's book talks about some of the values that the
Nebraska football program embraced - many of which
I've  seen obliterated over the last 14 months: 
Character, Faith, Honesty, Loyalty, Setting Goals,
Paying a Price, Unity, Hanging in There, and Teamwork.

Not all is negative about the current program; there
are still many positive traits in the program.  But
today's Ryan Schuler story is yet another example of
the program moving in the wrong direction.  Osborne
talks about his love for every member of the program,
and the necessity for the team and coaching staff to
be completely united with honest communications going
both ways. The Schuler and Andy Birkel stories come to
mind, as well as the warmup debacle from mid-season.

Recruiting is another area that receives scrutiny in
Osborne's book.  My favorite quote was "If there is
any validity to the ratings of the recruiting gurus,
our coaches and support staff have been able to
maximize the talents of our players to an unusual
degree."  Two practices that Osborne criticizes as
being dishonest now appear to be creeping into the
Husker program.  

Under Osborne and Solich, most recruiting visits
occurred during December and January.  The goal was to
maximize the amount of time spent with recruits and to
make sure the recruits had the maximum amount of time
to learn about the school, both academically and
athletically.  Osborne criticized recruiting that
tried to be flashy.  Today, players are rushed in
during the season after playing Friday night games to
see one of 7 home gamedays each year, when the
attention of coaches, support staff, and even faculty
is diverted for an extended period of time for the
game.

Osborne also never promised any player playing time or
positions, only the opportunity to compete for
positions.  Several recruits this year, especially the
JuCo's, gave the indications that they already are
starters before even enrolling.

Other aspects of recruiting that Osborne endorses as
being vital to the success of the program have fallen
by the wayside.  Osborne credits much of the success
of Nebraska football to the size of the walkon
program. There were 2 advantages of the walk-on
program:  walkons frequently were native Nebraskans
who had the heart and work ethic that sometimes meant
they became better college players than some of the
"blue chippers" that were recruited.  The other was
that it allowed Nebraska to run multiple stations at
practice, as both the first and second strings were
able to work against a scout team simultaneously.

The book is filled with many stories that explain how
Osborne ran the program.  Last week, I recall someone
on this list asking if Osborne ever turned away a
recruit; Osborne talks about telling Spencer Tillman
to sign with Oklahoma based on his academic desires. 
Tillman went on to become an all-American for Oklahoma
in the mid 80's.  I even gained a new respect and
understanding of Osborne's handling of Lawrence
Phillips, which I criticized 10 years ago.

As I stated, when I finished this book, I was rather
depressed for the direction of the Husker football
program.  However, Osborne's final chapter talks about
"moving on".  I do remind myself that just because
Callahan and Pederson have elected to run the program
differently doesn't automatically mean that it's wrong
either.  Just different.

=====
Mike Jaixen


		
__________________________________ 
Do you Yahoo!? 
All your favorites on one personal page – Try My Yahoo!
http://my.yahoo.com