[Husker] Re: Recruiting

[Andrew Smith]

It seems clear to me that
(1) Recruiting would be more difficult for several years after Osborne 
retired.  Joining a team lead by a first-time head coach is not going to 
be as enticing as joining a team headed by one of the top coaches of all 
time (who won 3 of the last 4 MNCs), not to mention one of the top 
offensive coordinators of all time.
(2) Recruiting on defense would be more difficult for a few years after 
McBride retired.  McBride was widely regarded as one of the best 
defensive coordinators in Div-I
(3) Recruiting would easier for a few years after Calahan arrived.  
Joining a team lead by a former NFL head coach is very attractive to 
almost all recruits.
(4) Recruiting is much easier when the team is switching from a non-NFL 
style offense to an NFL style offense. Almost every top recruit who fits 
the new offense knows they are much more likely to see playing time 
earlier than if they joined a team with a full roster of players who fit 
the new NFL style offense. 

I would have been surprised if Solich did not face greater than average 
challenges recruiting initially and after McBride retired, and extremely 
surprised if Calahan did not have a few great recruiting years at the start.

Andy


dryter at inebraska.com wrote:

>But the recruiting year immediately after Osborne retired was described by Steve
>Stone as "weak."  I would have to describe Calahan's recruiting as very
>strong--of course any class can turn sour due to injuries, eligibility and
>players that don't pan out--simply because he pulled in players that were
>courted by USC, Florida teams, and especially Turner from under Fuller's nose. 
>This will bring talent that will compete in the big 12 with a much higher
>likelihood than competing for players with Kansas and Washington State.
>
>+++++++++++++++++++++++
>
>  
>
>>And NU's strongest recruiting year in a decade--if not ever--came the
>>year after Solich was fired.  One must grudgingly attribute this to
>>Steve Peterson for hiring Callahan and, perhaps more importantly, Blake.
>>    
>>
>
>The problem I have with recruiting strength (other than I think most recruiting
>analysis is hogwash) it that I don't know what it measures other than
>'conventional wisdom' with regards to the style of offense that most school
>use.
>
>Most teams (now including Nebraska) recruit for the passing game.
>
>However, the best QB in Nebraska history, Tommie Frazier, was not ranked among
>the top 5 QB recruits because he wasn't a passing QB.  I think he was the top
>rated option QB.
>
>If Bill Callahan recruited only second tier players on offense, I think he could
>still have a higher rating than any of Osborne or Solich's recruiting teams had
>on offense, because he's recruiting the same type of players that other schools
>recruit.
>
>Here's a question for those who consider recruiting an accurate predictor of the
>future:  How much improvement has there been in DEFENSIVE recruiting under
>Callahan?
>--
>Mike Nolan
>
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