[NU Sports] Talent

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

> <I was of the understanding that
> our style of spread offense could be adjusted to compensate
> for lesser talent.
> 
> Just how does one compensate for lesser talent?  If

Well, originally that WAS the purpose of the spread. It was an equalizer to use the space to spread out the other team's talent advantages and find a mismatch.

I'm not sure if that's still the case now that teams have had time to adjust, but that was the original purpose. Maybe we need to do a version of the new fad, The Wildcat! :) Just kidding.

> of average caliber.  To attract talent, we must build a
> quality, on-campus stadium and supporting facilities that

I just don't get the push for an on-campus stadium. It would be nice, but it's a dream.

For starters, our stadium is pretty much on campus now. Take the distance from Norris to Dyche and compare it with the distance from PSU's student union to Beaver Stadium, or Madison's union to Camp Randall. It's just that these other "on campus" stadiums are on massive campuses. It's not like it's a lengthy walk (and yes, I have done it - including after a January evening basketball game in subzero temps to the furthest dorm south on campus).

Secondly, an on-campus stadium would not solve the problems Dyche has in terms of accessibility, parking, etc.

And finally, I know our new president is a sports fan (great profile article last week!), but even he would find it tough to justify the massive cost. An on-campus basketball arena would be far more feasible, but still unnecessary.

> will wow a kid on a campus visit, which is what Ohio State,
> Penn State, and Michigan do every year.  (It will be

NU will never have the atmosphere of Ohio Stadium, the Big House or Happy Valley unless we become a 35,000-student state school with a massive base of local alumni.

Our campus visit is targeted at different types of kids and for the most part, it works well -- especially with a coach like Fitz. A nice crowd and atmosphere on gameday will help, but it won't be the major factor for NU recruits.

> interesting to see how Illinois, Indiana, and Minnesota
> progress over the next few seasons now that they are playing
> in new or updated faclilities.  We may not like the
> results, but they will be interesting.)  New facilities

Minnesota's will probably be a boost because of the move to campus and outdoors ... but Illinois and Indiana basically put "lipstick on a pig" to borrow a phrase from Floyd of Rosedale ... they couldn't fill their stadiums before and they just basically expanded them and added a bigger jumbotron.

NU just has to be smart and can't afford slip-ups. Other schools can get by with a struggling OC, defensive injuries, poor parking or so-so team chemistry. We can't. We can certainly try a bunch of new ideas to change it, but we also have to be realistic.

GO CATS!!!
-SjT