Breaking the Recruiting News Rules
6 comments so far
May 27, 2009 by
2010. Two. Thousand. Ten. I can't believe how early coaches are having to get out there and start thinking about the next year's class anymore. A couple of years ago, I promised not to talk about the guys that will come in one year after a class we haven't even seen play a down of football yet. I'm still trying to figure out where the Husker gaps will be in the 2009 season, let alone having to worry about what we may possibly be missing a few years from now. Bo Pelini and his staff are trying to woo players who may or may not sign next February with Nebraska. On the off chance that a "commitment" might actually mean something to these players, I'm going to summarize the potential future players who have "reserved" their spot on the team starting at the end of the high school playing days.
Sometimes, I can't figure out what I'm going to eat for breakfast in the morning. Yet the coaches are analyzing a position that may need to be shored up in a couple of years, or an area that doesn't look like it's going to pan out from the players waiting in the wings. And talk about making a decision, the coaches are taking a chance to offer a player that could have any number of things go wrong from now until February. And it's not like the players have an easy time; they're trying to decide on a path that could alter the direction of their lives. Ok, waxing poetic just happens to me when summer starts to roll around. Let's look at the meat and potatoes.
Mike Moudy » Scout Rivals ESPN » If this guy is the meat, he makes everyone else look like a small fry. A beefy guy with the skills it takes to get the job done, I'm happy with him because he is also a steal from other area schools who showed a level of interest. The recruiting sites all agree that he is the least developed of the players committed so far, but he shows flashes of future talent. Plus, you can't teach big to an offensive tackle.
Andrew Rodriguez » Scout Rivals ESPN » Widely acknowledged as a potential top 100 player, the biggest worry is that this young man from Aurora, NE is good enough that his skills are still in high demand all over the country. This is a guy who could make a literal impact his first year. He's the type of guard that a quarterback would want to buy a steak dinner for saving his hide.
Anterio Sloan » Scout Rivals ESPN » A smaller defensive back at around 170, he could do with a little of Coach Dobson's treatment. But otherwise, he's got that special something that coaches are looking for that a stat sheet just won't show. Looks good in film (thanks Youtube!) and likes to make that big hit.
Keeston Terry » Scout Rivals ESPN » Above all else, I would like to keep this player away from the rest of the Big 12 North schools. He has one of those frames that looks like he could really bulk up and be a nice "jump ball" receiver. Mad props to DXP for linking to a nice video highlight of his junior year.
Hopefully, this is just the first round of some talented young men showing great interest in Nebraska football as the summer rolls in. We'll try to keep everyone up to date on the happenings in the 2010 recruiting world.
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JBLING22 May 27 09
Those videos are pretty good... And both Sloan and Terry look like studs.. Terry had 3 mins and 30 seconds of highlight from one game, thats pretty impressive... Sometimes its hard enough to find a whole teams worth of highlights in that time...
JBLING22 May 27 09
Those videos are pretty good... And both Sloan and Terry look like studs.. Terry had 3 mins and 30 seconds of highlight from one game, thats pretty impressive... Sometimes its hard enough to find a whole teams worth of highlights in that time...
caveman99 May 27 09
I like the commitments thus far, though the staff will have to work hard to hold onto them. Sloan especially will be tough to hang onto. Overall a good impression of what may be a great class, best part is that this class won't be bolstered up by a bunch of JUCO's. Winning this year is the key ingrediant to keep these young men on the hook. If Bo and Co can reel off a good to great year and get rid of the blow outs, then I think they pull in a great group of players.
James Moore May 27 09
I always had the personal impression that Sloan was a little too easy a get for us, considering that it seems Arkansas never got into the fray for him. We could end up losing him and getting him once again. Rodriguez, well, just like the article said the guy is good enough to make a difference, anywhere, off the top. However it's hard to see Rodriguez moving elsewhere. Terry has HUGE upside. He looks like a baby, and goodness knows how much bigger he will get. I feel that we're gonna keep him as well. Personally I like getting guys like Moudy & Qvale (last year). Give me a big frame, nasty attitude, and something to prove, and I'll show you somebody who will be a contributor to his recruiting class. . .
We all know what we went through in 2007 losing goodness knows how many recruits through November and December. Let's just speculate and say that Notre Dame flops and Weis is fired or Missouri tanks and the entitlement from last year's senior class is transferred to a new batch of Tigers who lack mental toughness to compete in pressure situations. What I'm trying to get at here is that even though we may lose someone here or there, we at least can pitch a program, tradition, coaching, and STABILITY moving forward. We could certainly find ourselves this November or December, 6-2 or 7-1, with the impression that we're taking some HUGE steps towards something big in 2010. It is not to difficult to envision a scenario where the roles are reversed, and we find ourselves having some talented prospects come knocking on our Big Red door and ask if they can become Huskers. . .
Our formula moving forward is rather simple: (1) turn the Big 12 North into OUR personal Big 8, (2) win the big non-conference showdown, and (3) make the Big 12 Championship game. If you can win the Conference Championship game then you are good enough to win it all. Substitute Big 8 for Big 12, and doesn't this formula sound a little familiar? Not too far-fetched either. Missouri is rebuilding, perhaps not to reach their 2006 levels of success for a little while. Colorado? Imploding before our eyes. Kansas? Mangino has turned them into the Big 12's Wake Forest. Solid, respectable, but hard to see Kansas football becoming the big dog in the North. Kansas State? I don't know if Snyder will be able to see this one through. Prince turned Manhattan into the Chernobyl of Big 12 football country. Iowa State? Seems that unless they get the football equivalent of Jamaal Tinsley and Marcus Fizer it just isn't gonna happen in Ames. . .
tom May 28 09
My big issue that I didn't get into too much is that fact that "commitment" doesn't mean commitment. I just wish that these guys were ALL serious about sticking to their word. Because a few who aren't for real make the ones who take it seriously look bad. Who can tell what makes a kid decide on a school and then rescind his word. Either way, I'm kind of surprised Bo is so interested in players (regardless of how good they are) that are still shopping their skills around.
lurkerwilly Jun 11 09
I think this year will be far different than the latter BC years when it comes to de-commitment and it's going to become evident that Bo and team are the ones that are committed.