[Husker] Pelini Article

[Nick Chevance]

All -

Now that I've had my 5 and a half hours of sleep, my brain is a bit
better this morning.  And it occurred to me, looking back over the
discussion in this thread, that one of points brought up to
demonstrate that walk-ons aren't as important to a program was to pose
the question just how the walk-ons contributed to wins and losses.  To
me, that kind of argument is similar to ones the radio heads love to
pose to fill up a couple of hours every day - "Who's the better all
time Olympic Athlete, Michael Phelps (8 gold medals in swimming), or
Bolt (3 gold medals in track)?"

I mean, the fastest human in water vs. the fastest human on land.
That to me is like apples and oranges, unless Bolt and Phelps compete
in running AND swimming.  That's not likely.

The same goes to deciding just how many wins can be contributed to
walk-ons.  So much goes into a winning program that its silly to
decide that walk-ons don't contribute cuz we all know that they do.
As does the scholarship players, the coaches, the training staff, the
dietitian, the fans, and just how comfortable the dorm rooms are.  All
of that goes into a successful program and all have contributions.
How much of any of that contributes to wins and losses is tough to
say.  Its all kind of touchy-feely in how it all goes together, but I
guarantee that a team made up of 85 players on scholarship only, at
the college level, isn't likely to make you a national champ, either.
Great talent doesn't guarantee total success either (but I can't deny
that it does help).  But how you coach that talent, develop it in
practices, and increase its speed and timing and execution, all
requires others who contribute without having a bunch of stars next to
their names on recruiting boards.  Its those guys who play with only
some hope of making it on the field one day, who are willing to put up
with the rigors of football for the chance to play, that make it
possible for those who seem to be shoe-ins for glory on Saturday.
They're all Rudy's, and at Nebraska, they play an integral roll in
making Nebraska football what it is (or at least what it was) and what
we hope it to be.

Nick
-- 
"In India, "cold weather" is merely a conventional phrase and has come
into use through the necessity of having some way to distinguish
between weather which will melt a brass doorknob and weather which
will only make it mushy."
Mark Twain