[Husker] Coaching Staff, Recruiting, SOS, Etc...

[Mark Landin]

On 12/5/07, Robert Christensen <rchriste at threeriver.net> wrote:

> Your focus on Grobe seems to forget that the credential that we
> were being sold with Callahan was "He coached in the Superbowl."  He
> also had a losing record the next year.  He seems to have a think about
> taking a winning program to the depths of bad in a short time.  I will
> take Bo over any of the "known winners".

What does Callahan's performance have to do with Jim Grobe?

>
> >
> > On Recruiting:
> When you have coaches that can coach, the talent will be there.

Explain what you mean here, please. Are you saying if you have good
coaches, that good talent will automatically gravitate to the program,
or that good coaches can assemble championship teams regardless of the
talent level they have recruited? Or something else entirely?

> I would
> much prefer someone that is actually evaluating the films and deciding
> the players they want to recruit over someone that decides their
> recruiting targets based on some "recruiting service" or "rating
> service".

Me too. Are you implying that the previous coaching staff did not do
this? If so, please cite which recruits you know were selected based
solely on their ratings without film evaluation.

> I don't doubt that a lot of the 3, 4 and 5 star recruits are
> pretty good.  I also think alot of the players that never touch the
> radar screen are pretty good.  I also think without good coaching and a
> plan to develop the talent, all of the recruits will come up well short
> of their potential.

No question about that. I think the previous staff fell far short on
the development aspect of the equation. Success in college athletics
(in any sport!) depends on a lot more than strength or speed or HS
success. An athlete's mental and emotional disposition is just as
large a factor, as are various factors like family situation, health
issues, and yes, even economics. (Film study doesn't do much to
evaluate those things, either.) Coaches must help guide their athletes
through challenges in all those areas, not just physical performance.
I think our staff just wasn't good at some of those things, so while
the ahtletes' flesh was willing, the spirit was weak, if you get my
drift.

> I'm sure that Coach Pelini and his staff will get
> their share of the recruits that Oklahoma and Missouri want.  But they
> will also have a good mix of Nebraska kids that will bring a stronger
> work ethic to the team.

There are plenty of "lazy kids" in Nebraska, and plenty of "hard
workers" in other states. Being from Nebraska is not an automatic
indicator of "work ethic".


-- 
"If hard work were such a wonderful thing, you'd think rich people
would have kept it all for themselves" - Lane Kirkland