zE bOp Feb 02 09

Doesn't sound like a good situation any way you slice it.

nu-isu-fan Feb 02 09

Pelini and staff are all about character. For that matter, so is the entire program. We'll see what unfolds, but I find it hard to believe they just dumped the kid for no reason. At the same time, we've all made mistakes. Hopefully this isn't one of Pelini's.

zE bOp Feb 02 09

Well, I think there's going to be some negative blow back either way, but what I don't get is how long ago was he injured and why didn't they pull the scholly earlier in the game so he could look elsewhere?

Grant Feb 02 09

Even though the coaches would be allowed to discuss a recruit on Wed., I don't expect Bo Pelini to elaborate much on this particular situation. Some of the buzz indicates the staff did the right thing, but in terms of P.R. I don't think that will matter. I just don't see Pelini saying anything that would cast a negative shadow on a recruit, even if it clears the air on the situation. It would go against all of his past actions. I'd like to see it cleared, but I don't think Wed will bring us much more info other than "we decided to go in a different direction, which is unfortunate as we think Shawn is a great kid". Just my opinion.

teamster Feb 02 09

Grant is correct about what this staff's verbal response will be. They won't be looking to justify anything to us pundits by badmouthing or countering the remarks from the other side of the issue. They know that that very act will do more harm to their perceived honor.

The injury of this kid, in and of itself, didn't turn NU off. Cody Green was being recruited while gimpy and LB Chris Williams has a blownup knee as we speak. If a guy is good enough, he will get quality D1 offers even very, very late in the recruiting game. Do you think no one(assuming no character or grade issues)would be dropping offers on a limping Chris Williams tomorrow if NU cut him loose? NU picked up Kody Spano on short notice after being dropped from scholarship to greyshirt offer by OkieSt last year.

I also don't think NU waited this late to cut the kid uncaringly. Probably just the opposite. Probably every effort was made, for too long a time, to see if it was going to work out.

Perhaps the HS coach's remarks are a defensive reaction to some things he didn't do for this young man under his charge?

osisbs Feb 02 09

They probably discovered that he's all pumped up on 'roids and is synthetic. Players jump schools all the time...business is business.

HuskerDeck Feb 02 09

I agree with Grant and Teamster, I don't think the coaching staff will say something just to make themselves look better. I am still wondering what happened with Cody Gleen and his suspension.

The ole Swede & Husker in South Arkansas

huskerfan@mississippi Feb 02 09

I believe Bo and staff know we don't need any bad publicity. Plus Bo just doesn't seem like he would do a kid wrong like that. And I hope T.O. is keeping an eye on things, certainly he would advise Bo down the righy path.

teamster Feb 02 09

Check out this fired up exchange between a Scranton,PA newspaper reporter/blogger and a brigade of Husker fans. About 100 Huskers have Bo's back on this one. Check it out. News is going to be slow until Wednesday anyway.

http://community.thetimes-tribune.com/blogs/pennstate/archive/2009/01/31/the-dark-side-of-recruiting.aspx

zE bOp Feb 03 09

Reply from NE fan to PA guy:

"....By the way, our linebacker coach is Mike Ekler, not " Eckler." Any journalism school worth its salt would fail you on a misspelling like that - but then again, you have shown that you're not capable of reporting facts, so why should we hold you to the minimum journalistic standard of spelling someone's name correctly?.."
________________

It's E K E L E R!

Lesson here: if you are going to play grammar police at least get your own spelling correct.:)

Was a husker fan Feb 03 09

My heart goes out to this kid and his family I don't know if any of you know what goes into recruiting your child, but to find out a week befor signing day and been true since april would be devastating to start now. It sounds like he is a good kid I would like to know when Bo changed from good kids to stars like he once commented

Milt Feb 03 09

Talk about a poor decision. Why the hell would you write this story now? In a few days Bo will be able to give Nebraska's side of the story.

You couldnt wait? Youd rather portray the Huskers in a poor light?

I said it before, bad decision.

Danny Feb 04 09

I agree with milt. posting this story was a bad idea.

Please dont take this the wrong way as i enjoy your coverage of NU football but your into was a little hard to swallow, "when things happen that are hard to ignore, you also have an obligation when you run a site like this to tackle them head on."

Sorry but this is a blog, not an independent news organization. All you are doing is speculating on the situation - something best left to bulletin boards.

You have ZERO evidence of what actually happened. You are taking hearsay and running with it. Id expect that from a NU bashing member of the press, not from someone who is supposed to be a NU fan.

What if a woman's mother accused you of some bad behavior and called you out. The woman in question doesnt make any public comments and neither do you.

But here comes some blogger that feels he/she needs to address the situation. They run a story without talking to any of the parties involved.

So now you have a bunch of bad press / public opinion. No matter what you say, you cant unspil the milk. Wouldnt even matter if you turned out to be vindicated, many people will only remember you because of the accusations in the story - which turned out to be completely unfounded.

Bottom line. If you dont know first hand, or have information from someone with first hand knowledge, YOU HAVE NO PLACE WRITING ABOUT IT!

Gerald Ball Feb 04 09

Milt:

Talking about "Nebraska's side of the story" as if the parties here are equal is nonsense. Nebraska is an athletics powerhouse. If a kid rejects them, they will have 100 more lining up to try to take his place, this year and next year. And Bo Pelini: he has a five year contract for $1.1 million a year, right? That plus his salary from his years as a college and NFL assistant means that he is set for life.

Meanwhile, Bodtmann, a guy with only 3 Division I - A offers, is now checking out Division I - AA schools. Don't claim that there isn't a huge difference between playing at a major research university like Nebraska (or UConn or Syracuse), with all of the opportunities that it will open up when the playing days are over, and trying to market yourself with a degree from Western Carolina.

This is the worst part. When dealing with marginal prospects like Bodtmann, guys that are only going to have offers from two or three other major programs, schools tell them "commit early and lock up your spot now, because if you don't, we can't promise that your spot will be available down the line, because there are a lot of kids as good as you or better that we are looking at." So guys like this jump at the chance to secure a spot rather than taking all their visits and waiting to find the best situation, and then something like this happens? So of course the recruits and coaches get steamed ... the kids commit early in order to lock themselves into a spot only to have the school pull the offer anyway.

And people who parrot the "they offered him a greyshirt" line ... how many kids are able to afford paying their own way, especially for an out of state school? And also, there is a trust issue. If this staff did not honor their commitment to him before with the original deal, what evidence is there that they would fulfill their greyshirt promise? The kid could get to Nebraska and they could tell him to just remain a walk on, especially if it turns out that he isn't any good.

The reality is that if you are a 2 or borderline 3 star recruit, the school holds all the cards. They can pressure you to commit early and threaten to pull your scholarship if you don't cancel all your visits. If you comply, they reserve the right to pull your offer later, or to just run you off by things like not returning phone calls and refusing requests for unofficial visits (yes, it happens all the time ... eventually the recruit gets the message, decommits, and then has to scramble for whatever is left). Even if you do get a scholarship in hand, they are only for one year, and the school is not obligated to fully fund the scholarship. Many "player decisions to transfer" are actually players being told that their scholarship won't be renewed or fully funded, and the player doing his part to A) save face and B) maximize his transfer options.

The truth is that if you are a marginal prospect, you are better off committing to a mid - major school from the beginning, from a program that settles for 3 star recruits because they didn't land a 4 or 5 star to a program who sees any 3 star recruit as an improvement over the 2 and 1 star guys that they usually get. That way, your spot is virtually guaranteed, and you are still able to take visits and accept any offer from a bigger school that you get right before signing day. Except, of course, that the bigger schools would really rather you not do that, because they actually need a certain number of marginal recruits for the scout and special teams. So whether it is during recruiting or even after you get on campus, the schools really would rather the decision that they don't need you be theirs, not yours.

Now, of course, a school like Nebraska with a commitment to developing walk - on players is going to have a much smaller need for marginal recruits. So Nebraska messed up big time by offering this guy in the first place, because it would have been easy to find a walk - on more capable of helping the program than Bodtmann, even if he hadn't been injured. And they compounded their error by not pulling his scholarship sooner. Had they pulled Bodtmann's scholarship in November, his coach would have been able to indulge in all his histrionics, but the bottom line is that everyone knows that scholarship offers are not binding. Bodtmann would have been a 3 star recruit with plenty of time to find a spot.

So, this is only a story - and an outrage - because Nebraska pulled the offer so late. That is why you are not going to hear Nebraska comment on this story. This stuff about "he didn't respond to our phone calls or send us tape" ... that was why you pull the offer IN NOVEMBER, or at the very latest by mid - December.

Any way you cut it, Pelini and staff were the ones responsible for putting themselves in position to take this PR hit by offering a marginal prospect in April and waiting until right before signing day to chase him off. They made their bed, and they should lie in it. Bodtmann probably has his own share of responsibility too, especially if Nebraska's version of events are true. But the consequences that Nebraska has to face, a PR hit and being deprived the services of an undersized marginal recruit whose upside would have consisted of being a gunner on coverage units, are far lesser than being bumped from Syracuse (or even from a mid - major program that might have given him a listen, like home state Temple or their MAC rival Buffalo) to Western Carolina.

The players take the risks with their futures, and the mammoth athletics powerhouses stay mammoth athletics powerhouses and the coaches stay independently wealthy (even assistant coaches get six figure salaries and generally have little problem getting jobs!). Anyone who sides with the program or the coach over the player in instances like this ... well let's just say that they would feel differently if it happened to their kid, or to their player if they were a high school coach.

Milt Feb 05 09

Well if a recruit doesnt return phone calls for a few months... Gets injured and refuses to send a video tape...

Most people (im looking at you Gerald) dont know whats going on.

If you are making a decision on anything, and suddenly the other party stops communicating with you, refuses to do what they are supposed to do, why the hell should you honor your commitment.

Commitment is a 2 way street. Had Bodtman been upfront with the staff, something different may have happened.

But this "we made a commitment and have to honor it" no matter what is just plain stupid.

Gerald if you stopped going to work, how long would it take before you no longer had a job? You can use the "they made a commitment" excuse all you want.

If you arent fulfilling your responsibility, there are consequences.

Danny Webber Feb 05 09

Hey Gerald,

How about I watch yu work one day, then decide to critique your work? Doesnt really matter if i dont know what you do and only saw you work for a day, im an expert right? I have all the facts right?

There is more to being right than having an opinion. You dont have all the facts, but have no problem telling people where they screwed up.

Get a life.

Timothy Feb 07 09

If you are not sure a kid is what you want...if you are afraid a kid might have a bad senior year, or get hurt, or lose weight....then DON'T OFFER HIM A SCHOLARSHIP IN APRIL.

You made the offer. he took it. Now you have someone better, and yoy wait until a week before signing day to screw the kid an his dreams.

As an example of schools who do it right, and hold their heads up : Penn state has had several kids over the years who committed, then had injuries that ended their careers during their senior year in h.s. Penn State has honored the scholarship.

And to jump on the person who wrote this story...."why didn't you wait until after signing day to break the story " ?????? yea, lets wait until after signing day to break the story, and bury it. The story broke, Scranton papers picked it up and ran with it. I am embarrassed for you.

and yea, he must be on "roids..." you are an idiot.

Good luck getting any kid from Pennsylvania now. nebraska's name will be mud. And yes, there is a ton of talent in that state.

Gerald Ball Feb 09 09

Danny Webber:

If there were facts that made Bo Pelini and staff look better after this episode, they would have revealed them. As it is, even the "facts" that were being leaked by Nebraska fans, about how the kid was dodging coaches and never returned phone calls for weeks or months, were lies. Bodtmann and his coach personally addressed those lies, and not one person from Nebraska ever contradicted them.

You guys resorting to the "you don't know all the facts" nonsense is just nonsense to intimidate people into silence. Pelini and staff screwed up. They were hoping that the kid would go elsewhere on his own, and he didn't, so they had to pull the plug. If it had been about some tape or lack of progress or his quitting working his senior year, they should have raised those issues when they visited in November. They could have raised those issues with the player or with the coach. But right now, there is not a shred of evidence that any of those conversations took place. Bodtmann's last statement is that he was calling the Nebraska coaches several times a week. The Nebraska coaches have never refuted Bodtmann's statements. Instead, they went with the line "evaluations are an ongoing process" and "our commitment is bringing the best kids that we can to our university."

And predictably, Nebraska fans are saying "why not drop it and move on?" Again, would you feel the same way if you were Bodtmann, his father, or his high school coach?

Pelini screwed this one up and needs to do better in the future. Because if you don't believe that other schools won't be using the Bodtmann case to go after Nebraska's early commits in the future, you are fooling yourself.

This is just another instance of how the NCAA needs an early signing period. That would have forced Nebraska's hand on Bodtmann long before signing day. But the truth is that this staff should have dealt with Bodtmann long before they did. Period.

Milt Feb 10 09

Hey Pen state fans, isnt it time you started calling for your coach to retire again?

Jeeze, get a life guys.

To Timmothy: If Penn state is such a stand up place, why arent they offering a scholly to this "gem"? If he's deserving you'd think they'd jump right on. But NOTHING from his bIg instate school. That's not telling at all. Bottom line is recruiting athletes is about talent. If the talent bar slips, ANY university is within its rights to pull a scholly. Last time I looked it up, an offer was not a commitment.

To Gerald: Let me try to clear up some issues for you. Your ignorance is starting to make you look foolish.
1) Nebraska's staff cant directly address an issue with an unsigned player due to the NCAA.
2) The NU staff started to get concerned when he dropped his contact with NU & refused to send his tape. Are you really suggesting that once a university offers, its a lock? Accademics, legal issues, injuries and lack of production are ALL legitimate reasons to recind an offer.
3) NU's staff did raise these issues in Nov (following the visit when SB promised to send a tape), in Dec, Jan & Feb. But If you leave messages and the other person refuses to return your call... If your engaged to a girl who suddenly stops calling you back for a few months, do you still expect to get married?
4) You claim NU's "staff should have dealt with Bodtmann long before they did. Well once he stopped calling and doing the THINGS ALL RECRUITS AT ALL SCHOOLS NEED TO DO (send tape, return calls, improve from Jr to Sr year), they did, in Dec. But knowing Nu was going to change things to a greyshirt of drop the scholly, he thought he would stay safe by sticking his head in the sane and hoping for the best. A player who avoids confrontation, yea thats something every CFB team looks for. What a joke!
5) NU has kept schollys for players who were injured and had to stop playing, in fact NU has done so 3 times as much as your lovely Penn State.

If someone isnt interested, they dont call, they dont answer calls, they dont follow through on THEIR PROMISES. But you both seem to think there should be no consequences for someone who breaks their word as Shawn did by failing to send in his SR tape.

Bitch as much as you want, this was a 2 way street. Maybe NU's staff could have done somethings different. But that goes the same for Mr Bodtman. Every action has its consequences.

Richard Feb 11 09

Just sweep it under the rug and pretend it never happened. Typical cornhusker whitewash. Just like you do every time one of your star players smashes his girlfriend and knocks over a liquor store. Or smashes a liquor store and knocks up his girlfriend. It's hard to say which is more disgraceful - the actions of Pelini and his staff or those who attempt to defend them.

GBR Feb 11 09

Hey, toss a kid or two under the bus. What's it matter as long as we WIN?! I'll never understand why an athlete would want to play for a coach or school with a "win at any cost" attitude. And mark my words, those are the coaches and schools who end up in disgrace with NCAA sanctions. GBR indeed.

Tom Feb 11 09

Are you two kidding me? What a bunch of crying cowards. You are brave enough to post anonymously, bag on the huskers, and not mention what pathetic weak ass team you call your own.

Im so sick of hearing the abusive girlfriend angle about NU. Yea Lawrence Phillips did what NEVER SHOULD BE DONE. Yea a player knocked over a liquor store (i mean gas station) in 1970.

Wow NU really does have a bunch of abusive / criminal players. That's a whole 2 in the last 39 years. I wonder how NU can still be around with a record like that.

Yea Bo is a sweep it under the carpet guy. He suspended his #1 linebacker this year because he broke team rules. Wasnt charged with anything and had ZERO depth behind him. Didnt matter, he was gone. If you think thats a win at all costs coach, your on crack!

It would be a different story if NU didnt have the most academic all american athletes in the nation or have one of the highest graduation rates in the country.

Wait, we do have both those things.

Run your ignorant mouths all you want Richard & GBR. You're obviously living pathetic lives and if this is what gives you joy, i just feel sorry for you.

You both disgrace yourselves with your ignorant, fictional rants.

Carl Reilly Feb 11 09

Tom:

Being a fan doesn't mean making excuses for your team when they screw up.

It's really very simple, even for a corn-head: If you are not sure a kid has what you want...if you are afraid a kid might have a bad senior year, or get hurt, or lose weight...then DON'T OFFER HIM A SCHOLARSHIP IN APRIL!

Pelini made the offer and Bodtmann accepted. Now Pelini has someone better, and decides to wait until a week before signing day to screw the kid and his dreams. Nice.

Take off your corncob hat and try to imagine if you were this kid or his parents. It's simply wrong and beneath the dignity of a major university.

Richard Feb 11 09

Two players in 30 years?! Where did you learn math, at NU? Here's an NU Hall of Shame for the last 10 years:

HUSTON, KELLEN
LORD, JAMMAL
TAGOA'I, TAMOTU
DIEDRICK, DAHRRAN
BROWN, JOSH
COLLINS, THUNDER
TATA, TONY
WIGGINS, SHEVIN
VEDRAL, MIKE
MUHAMMAD, ABDUL
PHILLIPS, LAWRENCE
PETER, CHRISTIAN

That's 12 football players in 10 years. More than one criminal for each team.

Redman Feb 14 09

Richard - yet another moron who throws out names without knowing what really happened. Most of the players you mentioned were arrested AFTER they left NU.

I assume you mean that once they become a player, the university is responsible for the forever. BS, but i guess there's no limit on moronic thinking.

That said, lets evaluate your list shall we...

HUSTON, KELLEN
Arrested for midemeanor assault, charges dismissed.

LORD, JAMMAL
Arrested for egging the AD's house.

TAGOA'I, TAMOTU
Dismissed from the team after an arrest for assault. Arrested again 4 years after he left NU.

DIEDRICK, DAHRRAN
Suspended for 1 game by coach Solich after being arrested for disturbing the peace.

BROWN, JOSH
Suspended for 1 game by coach Solich after being arrested for disturbing the peace. later arrested for getting into a fight with a guy who was cheating with his GF.

COLLINS, THUNDER
Arrested for having a disorderly house (threw a party). Suspended for 4 games for violation of team rules. Arrested 6 years after he left the university.

TATA, TONY
Suspended for 1 game by coach Solich after being arrested for disturbing the peace.

WIGGINS, SHEVIN
Dismissed from the team after being arrested.

VEDRAL, MIKE
Arrested for an alleged rape. Charges later dropped after the woman recanted her story.

MUHAMMAD, ABDUL
Arrested 4 years after he left NU.

PHILLIPS, LAWRENCE
Arrested for assault. Suspended for 8 games.

PETER, CHRISTIAN
Rape charges that were dismissed.

That's 2 arrests for misdemeanors, 4 for such violent charges as disorderly conduct & disturbing the peace.

4 players were dismissed from the team following their arrests.

Thunder Collins & Lawrence Phillips were serious transgressions that should not ever be tolerated.

So out of your list of 12, half were for minor offenses, 4 were kicked off the team for their behavior. Both Collins & Phillips received lengthy suspensions or were later dismissed.

That leaves 2 players that were out of line and probably should have received much stuffer discipline at the time, but hind-site is 20/20.

Considering NU averages 150 players on the team each year, times 10 years = 1500 players. 2 of which should have been kicked off the team.

2 out of 1500!!!!! In any statistical analysis that's ridiculously low. When you consider were talking about 17-21 year old kids, many from urban areas... 2 out of 1500 is probably a stat that would lead the country.

All you NU haters, if your not going to list your team and want to bash NU, it just shows how much of a coward you are.

Greg Morrow Feb 15 09

http://runupthescore.wordpress.com/2008/06/11/penn-states-legal-problems/

Assuming these are Penn St. fans taking shots.
Impressive list. Took, oh, about a minute to find.
I would've list them myself, but the list is so long and so not worth bothering with...