What the Huskers Need

1 comment so far February 3, 2009 by Tom Cudd

The hardest job a college coach has is trying to determine the needs of his team once a season ends. In addition to figuring out what gaps are present, Bo Pelini has to find recruits that will fill in gaps years down the road. There are two types of players a coach can get from High School and Junior College Ranks, players who can impact the next season and those that will affect the team up to four years from now. What type of recruits should Pelini and his staff be looking for? I tried to seriously figure that out by only looking at our roster and statistics from last season.

The best place to start is to figure out what deficiencies existed in 2008 and what gaps will exist after the next few years. This last season, looking at where the Huskers ranked in various statistics, there are a couple areas of need. Almost everyone can agree that offensively, the Husker had a banner year. But if we're just looking at the numbers, pass defense, scoring defense, and turnover margin were some of the most disappointing areas. Straight numbers it's pretty clear what's needed.

Of course, it's not all about the stats. The other half is who will be missing from the roster. Our offense will be without a couple guys on the offensive line and the critical components like Joe Ganz, Marlon Lucky, along with the Swift and Peterson connection. On defense, we only lose about seven on the whole two-deep roster. So what does all this mean for who we should be recruiting?

Contrary to popular opinion, getting the guys who can play next year is almost never the way to go. Without looking at the major recruiting services and sites, the Huskers should be gunning for long term players who can be developed into the talent needed to fill the holes in two to three years. The battles start at the line – on defensive line next year, we will be looking at an experienced group. This means that defensive linemen should be a high priority for when this line leaves. On offense, our two deep has plenty of young guys, so it's not the most critical want this year.

With the way Helu and Castille have been improving throughout the season, I think Pelini only needs to gun for one great back this year. He's got next year to get someone to replace one of these guys.

The exception to getting players for the next year: speed in the defensive backfield. It's the one area that can see immediate impact because of one key thing. You can't teach speed. Linebackers and defensive backs both need to have game speed. You can improve a player's speed marginally from year to year, but they have to be pretty fast to begin with.

So what about offensively and all those guys that we're going to be losing? Well it's pretty important that Pelini recruited last year to fill in those areas. I know it's a little late for that, but if he's trying to get the guys now that will impact next year's offense, then he's lost the battle. Juco transfers and previously grey-shirted players are the stop gap for teams looking to see their recruits on the field in the fall. And let's face it, offense is complicated. You have to have guys that have experience in the formations and style that Nebraska puts on the field right now.

To sum it all up, Pelini hopefully should have focused on the following cast of characters being recruited: high school defensive linemen that can learn technique and defensive backs with serious speed. On offense, recruit from within by finding a player who deserves a scholarship or transfer in a receiver or lineman who can play right now.

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