[Husker] Pelini Article

[jon johnston]

I think you can look at this from more of a business perspective and  
get the idea of how the walk-on program is beneficial. Within any  
program there is a hierarchy - a top, a middle, and a bottom. The walk- 
on guys are at the bottom, and if you can get more performance out of  
the bottom third of your organization, you're going to be much better  
off.

Regardless of whether or not they ever see the field, the walk-on guys  
push the program up, granted that they're handled correctly. Bill  
Callahan didn't destroy the walk-on program, but instead treated walk- 
ons as second-class citizens, which took away the motivation factor.  
(And frankly, proved why Callahan was a complete moron when it comes  
to people skills).

Nebraska doesn't produce the number of athletes we need to be  
successful. A good walk-on program can help, and after studying it for  
a while, i've concluded that Osborne is right - we need a successful  
walk-on program to be good. When you're us, you have to find an  
advantage, and the walk-on program is it.

Jon Johnston
http://www.cornnation.com
On Aug 24, 2008, at 7:06 AM, Kathy Jackson wrote:

>> Mike and Kel wrote:
>>> I'm sure in Texas, California, Florida, etc. it isn't essential to  
>>> having a top program. In Nebraska it is more than "nice" and I  
>>> would have to agree with Dr. Osborne that it is pretty darn  
>>> important.
>>>
>>
>>    I am sure in Texas and California there a a few programs that  
>> have been pretty successful without walk-ons.  I wasn't talking  
>> about the need to have a top program.  I was talking about the need  
>> for walk-ons to make that happen.  Does USC have a big time walk-on  
>> program?
>>
>>> One only has to look at the outstanding walk-ons that we have had  
>>> in the past who contributed to National Championships. They could  
>>> have been playing somewhere else if they hadn't been encouraged to  
>>> walk-on.
>>>
>>
>>     Please tell me what the percentage of walk-ons versus  
>> scholarship players made a difference.  I really believe NU would  
>> be right where it is today without walk-ons.
>
> While there have been walk-ons that turned into scholarship players  
> and/or made a difference to the program I feel the main benefit is  
> to public relations.  Nebraskans being the hard working folks they  
> are love the idea of some kid from the farm heading off to the big  
> city of Lincoln to get their education and then by hard work and  
> perseverance they also get to suit up for the big red.  When I was  
> in school back in the dark ages I had the same major as one of these  
> kids.  He was from the panhandle and I bet he was in  less than 20  
> plays during his entire time on the team.  When we would go out to  
> the panhandle (we had family there) folks would always talk about  
> him, ask about him and by golly the radio in every pickup was tuned  
> to the Huskers every week.  Walk ons are a way to make sure you stay  
> connected to the folks all over the state of Nebraska and I don't  
> know about you all but I always specially look for kids I know when  
> I go to the games.  Sometimes those kids were a big name, most times  
> they hung out on the side lines but I know that I cared about what  
> happened to them more than I cared about all these big time guys  
> from Texas and New Jersey.
>
> Don't get me wrong - we need to recruit the best players from all  
> over but having that group of Nebraskans, either on scholarship or  
> not helps keep the Huskers what they are and keeps folks out in the  
> coffee shops of small town Nebraska more involved in the program  
> even if they themselves never attended the U
>
> Kathy Jackson
>
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jon johnston
jon.johnston at gmail.com