[Husker] Lack of talent on defense

[Duane Feldman]

This is all very unsettling to me and I still haven't come to grips with it all. And it is more than just the walk on program.
 
Callahan was supposedly a "great recruiter" because he got all these 4* and 5* players.  These were rankings by Rivals and Scout, not just BC offering a kid and saying they were good.  According to a recent Tom Shatel article, these players had virtually no development and weren't challenged during the season (just starters practiced against the scout squad and 2nd and 3rd teamers stood around watching -- all with minimal contact during the season).  The new coaching regine now comes closer to the "Husker way" of high contact during the season for all levels.
 
Someone did a "stars analysis" prior to the Virginia Tech game and NU compares well to VT, MU, KU and many other schools  OU is about the only team on the schedule that beats us star wise and that one is closer than you might think. So why don't those four and five star players perform for NU THIS year?
 
EXAMPLE:  Blake Lawrence and Austin Stafford were highly ranked LB's out of HS, but they haven't seen the field (practically speaking if not in reality) in this their second season.  Conversely, Mohler (another recruited candidate) chose Colorado and is a starter in his first season.  Likewise Hoch and Trevor Robinson turned down NU offers and are starting and/or prime time subs for Missouri and ND respectively. Grabbert is getting reasonably good playing time at Missou, wny not Lee, Witt et al at NU?
 
So did Callahan have some unnatural ability to select only those highly recruited players who were doomed to fail?  If not that, then why can't Pelini get more out of the underutilized talent?  After all, other teams (better than NU) are getting quality time from players in their first years. Asante, Thenarse and Dillard were all highly recruited, but none will make All Conference with the types of years they are having.  They certainly can't stop a pass down the middle.  For those who suggest Solich and Co couldn't recruit but that Callahan could, compare these players to Fabian Washington, the Bullock brothers and Barrett Ruud, now all playing in the pros.
 
I just don't understand . . . .
 
Duane Feldman



----- Original Message ----
From: Shawn <shawnsherlock at sbcglobal.net>
To: Patrick Gaule <pgaule at cox.net>; husker-bounces at tssi.com; husker at tssi.com
Sent: Sunday, October 5, 2008 10:10:35 AM
Subject: Re: [Husker] Lack of talent on defense

It appears Callahan's means of ending the walk-on program was to just give all the kids we would generally ask to be prefered walk-ons a scholarship from the get go. Makes you wonder what he saw in these kids, but didn't see in Maclin (wanted him to gray shirt) or that KU LB that is all Big 12 I think. 
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

-----Original Message-----
From: Patrick Gaule <pgaule at cox.net>

Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2008 02:11:21 
To: <husker at tssi.com>
Subject: [Husker] Lack of talent on defense


This can't be said without knocking the current players, but it's simply 
the truth.  The cupboard is bare as far as the defense is concerned.  Bo 
has plenty of experience as a defensive coordinator in college football, 
and he's been succesful at 3 different schools.  He's proven that he can 
  have great defenses if he has a reasonable amount of talent to work 
with.  After tonight, it's obvious that he has virtually no talent to 
work with at Nebraska.

I have no idea what Dumb and Dumber (Callahan and Cosgrove) were doing 
during the last 4 years, but they sure weren't recruiting talent on 
defense.  I thought 2007 was going to be the low point of Nebraska 
football, but the stench of Bill Callahan may reak over Memorial Stadium 
for a few more years.  We are 2-3 years away from fielding a good team, 
and that will require top-notch recruiting by Bo.

The one upside to Callahan ("good recruiting") is now proving to be 
another lie.

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