A Brief History of Husker Recruiting: 1990-99
If you missed part one of this series (Recruiting: The 80s!) you might want to start there. That post has a full description of the methodology and reasoning behind this series. If you didn't miss it then you'll know that, as a valued commentor pointed out, this isn't really a brief history. In fact, this post is very long.
As with the previous post, click on the year to go to HuskerMax's list of each recruiting class (* denotes in-state recruit):
1990: The 90s start off relatively quietly for Nebraska. Tom Osborne, for the second time in six years, thinks an ill-timed story about a former running back is part of the problem. In 1984 it was Mike Rozier saying, and eventually recanting, that he received money from Nebraska alumni. In 1990 it's Doug DuBose who, in a massive four-part series by his home state Hartford Courant that is sadly behind a paywall, tells a reporter he received money ($50,000) and twice failed drug tests but was never disciplined. DuBose eventually says he was misquoted and Osborne, who denied the payment but did admit that DuBose did fail two drug tests and was punished by sitting out spring practice, laments that the backlash from the story cost Nebraska a shot at DB C.J. Richardson. Richardson goes on to become an All-American at Miami and has some interesting comments later.
The Huskers land two players ranked in SuperPrep's national top 100: RB Calvin Jones from Omaha (4th best RB nationally, 48th overall) and OL Joel Gesky from Chicago (78th overall). Then recruiting coordinator Jack Pierce says in a signing day wrap-up that Nebraska didn't get as many "difference-makers" as the usually do. All told, 15 of the 20 players in the 1990 class letter at least once and it produces three All-Americans: OL Brendan Stai, DB Ed Stewart and OL Zach Wiegert. Wiegert, from Fremont, goes on to win the Outland Trophy and becomes the first native Nebraskan to sign with Nebraska and eventually become an All-American since Danny Noonan and John McCormick signed in 1983. Nationally, the class falls outside of SuperPrep's Top 10:
| 1 | Notre Dame |
| 2 | Florida State |
| 3 | Michigan |
| 4 | Texas A&M |
| 5 | Georgia |
| 6 | Ohio State |
| 7 | UCLA |
| 8 | USC |
| 9 | North Carolina |
| 10 | Alabama |
1991: Entering his 18th season, Osborne sounds weary on national signing day. "I don't think (this class is) overwhelming, but I think it's good and solid," he tells the Omaha World-Herald. "And for the people in Nebraska, I'd just like to emphasize that this is the best we can do." Pressure to recruit better was obviously mounting after Nebraska finished 9-3 and ranked No. 23 in the final coaches poll. Later that year, in October, Pierce tells the OWH that Nebraska is changing it's approach and will focus its efforts on "the nation's top 80 players." Osborne says he's in favor of the switch.
"I don't know if recruiting coverage is getting too big, but sometimes I think this puts too much pressure on head coaches when people take this as 100 percent, that's the way it should go." -- Analyst and National Prep Report founder Tom Lemming in an op-ed in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1991
| 1 | Michigan |
| 2 | Florida State |
| 3 | Penn State |
| 4 | Tennessee |
| 5 | Colorado |
| 6 | Texas A&M |
| 7 | Florida |
| 8 | Georgia |
| 9 | Washington |
| 10 | Alabama |
1992: Nebraska is locked in a battle for All-American QB Tommie Frazier (No. 4 QB by SuperPrep) in the final week of January. "If Tommie should turn down Clemson or Notre Dame it would be the biggest surprise in the United States," SuperPrep's Allen Wallace tells the OWH one day before signing day. Frazier, of course, picks the Huskers and America grinds to a halt. He becomes the only eventual All-American in the class and the best player in school history. Before Frazier signed, Lemming put Nebraska's class in the Top 15 while Wallace had them in the Top 20.
After he signed, combined with a class that has eight other players -- Townsend, Wright, Saltsman, Morrow, Washington, Benning, Stokes, Rutz -- ranked in the top 15 by SuperPrep at their respectve positions, the class jumps to 14th in SuperPrep and 10th in a composite poll done by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that combines SuperPrep's, Lemming's and Emfinger's rankings. By way of a quick comparision, Nebraska's most recent class, which had 18 players compared to 24 in 1992, had four players ranked in the top 15 at their position by Rivals.
| Rank | SuperPrep | Composite |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida | Florida |
| 2 | Miami | Notre Dame |
| 3 | Colorado | Miami (T-2) |
| 4 | Michigan | Colorado |
| 5 | Texas A&M | Texas A&M |
| 6 | Clemson | Flordia State |
| 7 | Notre Dame | LSU |
| 8 | Florida State | Clemson |
| 9 | Texas | Michigan |
| 10 | Oklahoma | Nebraska |
1993: This is the year the nation's top recruting class was decided by a kicker. When Scott Bentley, who will end up on SI's cover before he even plays a game, chooses Florida State over Notre Dame it's enough for most of the national analysts to give the Seminoles the nod for the top class overall. SuperPrep doesn't rank Nebraska's class in its top 15 but a ranking from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution ranks it seventh nationally. At this point, we're still seeing papers rely on their own player and class rankings frequently, while also consulting the "experts" to add color.
Nebraska's class of 21 players (seven from Nebraska) produces two All-Americans in DT Jason Peter and OL Aaron Taylor. Taylor wins the Outland Trophy and eight players will become four-year letterwinners. Nebraska's class --ranked 23rd by SuperPrep -- would've gained some sizzle if Scott Frost (ranked as a Top 5 QB by SuperPrep) hadn't detoured through Palo Alto before arriving in Lincoln. Thanks Bill Walsh.
| Rank | SuperPrep | AJC |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida State | Florida State |
| 2 | Notre Dame | Michigan |
| 3 | Michigan | Notre Dame |
| 4 | Alabama | Tennessee |
| 5 | Tennessee | Stanford |
| 6 | Stanford | Syracuse |
| 7 | Miami | Nebraska |
| 8 | Florida | Oklahoma |
| 9 | Texas | Miami |
| 10 | Wisconsin | Alabama |
| 11 | Oklahoma | |
| 12 | Syracuse | |
| 13 | Georgia Tech | |
| 14 | Baylor | |
| 15 | California |
|
1994: Fresh off the heartbreaking loss to Florida State in the 1994 Orange Bowl, Nebraska has another class that isn't necessarily setting the analysts' pants on fire. Tom Lemming ranks Nebraska's class between 25 and 35 nationally one week before signing day but notes that they're still in on three high-profile recruits: QB Donovan McNabb, QB/WR Hines Ward and DL Grant Wistrom. Wistrom, of course, is the only one who signs and he goes on to become the only All-American in the class and the winner of the Lombardi Award in 1997. Nebraska signs zero players ranked in the Dallas Morning News' Top 100 players, including losing Lincoln Southeast ATH Ty Goode to Notre Dame.
| 1 | Tennessee |
| 2 | USC |
| 3 | Florida State |
| 4 | Michigan |
| 5 | Miami |
| 6 | Alabama |
| 7 | Notre Dame |
| 8 | Georgia |
| 9 | Ohio State |
| 10 | Boston College |
1995: Osborne thought it was a negative article about Doug DuBose that pushed future All-American DB C.J. Richardson to Miami back in 1990, but prior to the 1995 Orange Bowl Richardson tells the OWH it was the cold weather and "lack of social activities" that led him towards the Hurricanes. He also says this:
I'm not saying Nebraska didn't have a winning attitude but they never won the big game. The team that can't win the big game isn't a great team to me. It doesn't matter whether you win 10 games every year if you don't win the ones that count.
Nebraska won the one that counted that year, beating Richardson and the Hurricanes for Osborne's first national title, but it came too late to be of much help in recruiting Osborne told the OWH. The Huskers had the majority of their class committed prior to the Orange Bowl. Still, the class is relatively well-regarded producing 22 letterwinners out of 28 signees while RB Ahman Green was ranked as the top RB prospect in the country by the Dallas Morning News. (Table key: SuperPrep=SP, Dallas Morning News=DMN, Blue Chip Report=BCR)
| Rank | SP | DMN | BCR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ND | ND | ND |
| 2 | FSU | FSU | Tenn. |
| 3 | PSU | A&M | Fla. |
| 4 | A&M | Tenn. | A&M |
| 5 | Fla. | Neb. | Mich. |
| 6 | Mich. | PSU | Aub. |
| 7 | Aub. | Fla. | FSU |
| 8 | Ala. | Mich. | Neb. |
| 9 | Colo. | Aub. | PSU |
| 10 | USC | USC | USC |
| 11 | Neb. | Ala. | |
| 12 | Ill. | Mia. | |
| 13 | Wisc. | Colo. | |
| 14 | UNC | UCLA |
1996: After signing 28 players in 1995, the Huskers have a small class of 18 players (12 letterwinners) in 1996. If anything, Nebraska has been too good of late with some recruits staying away for fear that they won't get on the field right away. "You think that would never happen, but it did," Osborne tells the OWH. "They just thought we had a bunch of supermen out there. We were good, but not that good."
"They aren't all great students or great citizens, but they are great athletes." -- Colorado coach Rick Neuheisel on Nebraska's recruiting success in the Denver Post, Feb. 8 1996
| 1 | Penn State |
| 2 | Nebraska |
| 3 | Florida State |
| 4 | USC |
| 5 | Notre Dame |
| 6 | Ohio State |
| 7 | Michigan |
| 8 | Tennessee |
| 9 | Colorado |
| 10 | LSU |
1997: Expectations aren't high for Nebraska's class in 1997. Osborne tells the AP before signing day that he's not expecting a highly ranked class. "We look at film, not their lists," he says. "We don't recruit as much in densely populated areas where everyone else recruits. The more kids are recruited, the higher they go on the lists."
He's right, both on the nature of recruiting rankings and on how Nebraska's class would be perceived. SuperPrep ranked the class 19th nationally, but the class would produce 18 letterwinners out of 22 recruits, 14 of them four-year letterwinners, along with a Hesiman winner (QB Eric Crouch*) and a Rimington Trophy winner (Dominic Raiola), both All-Americans. DE Kyle Vanden Bosch is ranked as the sixth-best recruit nationally by the Miami Herald. (Table key: National Prep Report=NPR, SuperPrep=SP, National Recruiting Advisor=NRA)
| Rank | NPR | SP | NRA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tenn. | FSU | FSU |
| 2 | FSU | PSU | PSU |
| 3 | Fla. | Fla. | Tenn. |
| 4 | PSU | Mich. | Mich. |
| 5 | Mich. | Colo. | USC |
| 6 | Texas | Texas | Fla. |
| 7 | Colo. | Ala. | Colo. |
| 8 | USC | Tenn. | UNC |
| 9 | UNC | ND | The OSU |
| 10 | ND | UNC | ND |
1998: Osborne is officially retired by the time signing day rolled around, and conveniently schedules himself to speak in Kearney on signing day giving Frank Solich center stage, but he remained on the road and in contact with Nebraska's recruits throughout the process as a parting gift to Nebraska's new head coach.
It's a good, if not highly ranked, class to go out on. National Recruiting Advisor is the only service that ranks the class in the Top 10 (NPR and SP say it's Top 20) but it will produce 19 letterwinners (out of 21 recruits), including 14 four-year letterwinners and two All-Americans in DB Keyuo Craver and DB DeJuan Groce.
| Rank | NPR | SP | NRA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mich. | UCLA | Mich. |
| 2 | UCLA | Mich. | UCLA |
| 3 | ND | ND | UGA |
| 4 | Fla. | FSU | ND |
| 5 | Ala. | UGA | Fla. |
| 6 | FSU | Ala. | Ala. |
| 7 | UGA | Fla. | Tenn. |
| 8 | LSU | Tenn. | UNC |
| 9 | UNC | LSU | Fla. |
| 10 | USC | Texas | Neb. |
1999: Notice any current big swinging recruiter missing from the top of the lists for most of this decade? Notice any team that started to show up on this list frequently over the past decade? The answer to the first question is Texas and the answer to the second is North Carolina. The connection, of course, is Mack Brown. In his first full year recruiting to Austin, Brown lands the top class in the country according to all three of the services listed below. Tom Lemming says it's the first time he's had the Longhorns No. 1 since he started ranking classes in 1979. Now Texas is typically No. 1 by the time fall practice rolls around.
Solich, also in his first full year of recruiting, has a class that doesn't land in any of the top tens but National Recruiting Advisor ranks it "somewhere between 15 and 20." That's not too dissimilar from where Nebraska was for most of the decade but you do notice a difference in the individual position ranks. Whereas Nebraska's classes may never have been a perennially top 10 worthy, they were typically able to land a few big prospects. That's not quite the case this year. Josh Davis is Nebraska's highest-ranked player (12th best RB, Rivals), followed by Toniu Fonoti (15th best OL, Rivals). Fonoti becomes the only All-American in a class that has 17 letterwinners among 22 signees.
| Rank | NPR | SP | NRA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | Texas | Texas |
| 2 | UCLA | The OSU | The OSU |
| 3 | Tenn. | Mich. | UCLA |
| 4 | The OSU | UCLA | A&M |
| 5 | Fla. | A&M | LSU |
| 6 | Mich. | Ala. | Miami |
| 7 | LSU | Fla. | Ala. |
| 8 | ND | Tenn. | Tenn. |
| 9 | Miami | ND | ND |
| 10 | USC | LSU | Mich. |
Recapping the 1990s - Whereas the 1980s review provided us with hit-and-miss data, the 1990s provides a more complete picture. We have at least one Top 10 ranking from a major service for all 10 years, a specific Nebraska ranking for six years, and a ballpark Huskers' ranking for two years. At worst over this span we know only that Nebraska's class didn't rank in the Top 10 for two years. Based on that data, we can make some pretty solid inferences regarding Cornhusker recruiting through the decade.
1) A quarter of each class isn't going to contribute - This is a pretty steady rate. Throughout the 1990s a total of 166 of 219 signees lettered at least once at Nebraska. That's a "bust rate" -- if a player never letters he's a bust for our purposes -- of 24.3 percent (5.3 busts/class). From 1980 to 1989, before full-scale scholarship restrictions, the bust rate was 28.3 percent (6.6 busts/class). From 2000 to 2006 it was 23.8 percent (5.14). No matter class size or scholarship numbers over the years, the bust rate has stayed relatively steady. One-quarter of each class is likely never going to contribute.
2) Nebraska recruiting used to be slightly better - Let's start with the most solid data we have. There's a SuperPrep Top 10 ranking for every year in the decade above, making it the most reliable source across all years. Here are the concrete rankings we have for Nebraska: 28th ('91), 14th ('92), 23rd ('93), 11th ('95), 2nd ('96), and 19th ('97). Based on those rankings alone, on average Nebraska had about the 14th best recruiting class (13.857 to be exact) each year. We can use that number to at least try and fill in some gaps.
If we use 13.8 for the two years where we only know that Nebraska wasn't in the Top 10 (1990, 1998) and then use the ballpark numbers from 1994 (25-35) and 1999 (15-20) we can come up with an average 1990s class ranking that I feel pretty good about. At best (using the high end of the two ballpark numbers) Nebraska averaged about the 16th best class nationally (16.46). At worst, they were about 18th (17.96). There weren't really enough data points to come up with a reliable number for the 1980s -- I would feel comfortable that the 13.8 from the 1990s is close based on what I've read -- but we definitely have them for everthing post-Osborne.
If you want the straight decade comparison, Nebraska's classes from 2000 to 2009 ranked 22.5 on average according to Rivals, but I assume you don't really want that. What we're really after is coaches, and that leads us to...
3) Pelini is slightly off pace from his predecessors - Whether or not these recruiting numbers even mean anything is a question I'm not trying to answer here. Everyone has their own opinion on that and we know that Pelini, and most coaches I presume, put no stock in them. But the point is that they're the only means of comparison we have, so, finally, here they are:
| Coach | Years | Avg. Rank | Best | Worst | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Osborne | 1990-97 | 16.97 | 2 ('96) | 28 ('91) | .883 |
| Solich | 1998-2003 | 22.21 | 10 ('01) | 42 ('03) | .756 |
| Callahan | 2004-07 | 16.25 | 5 ('05) | 27 ('04) | .551 |
| Pelini | 2008-12 | 24.00 | 15 ('11) | 30 ('08) | .703 |
I started this research because I've never been one to accept the conventional wisdom in anything. (Honestly, it's a problem in real life but I think it was put to decent use here.) We've had a couple of folkloric ideas arise around Nebraska recruiting over the past decade. One was that Osborne could just really "coach 'em up." I wanted to get a better idea of how close that was to the truth and, based on the numbers above, I would say: Yes, Osborne maximized his talent. Between 1990 and 1997, Nebraska had the highest winning percentage in the country (.883) with, on average, the 17th best talent in the country based on what the experts say.
But, if we're to subscribe to the other line that gets uttered all the time -- the Callahan era proved that recruiting well doesn't mean anything -- you're also acknowledging that Osborne still had a pretty good level of talent to work with. His classes and Callahan's classes were essentially the same in terms of perceived strength.
Solich and Pelini have been a step behind those two in their average recruiting class rank, but both still have a winning percentage north of 70 percent. That says quite a bit about both of those coaches too and, more importantly, I think it says something good about the future of Nebraska football.
Based on geography alone, Nebraska's never going to be a perennial home to top recruiting classes. Build some buzz through winning though and history shows the Huskers can land there from time to time. After that, it's up to the guy in charge.
2/8/2012
((( APPLAUSE )))
Well done, Brandon. This level of research and analysis really helps instruct or shape the debate concerning comparisons to current and past coaches as far as recruiting results.
2/8/2012
Really informative, investigative journalism, and a good read too.
Omaha, NE
2/8/2012
Just to add a little context to some of those final numbers above:
Michigan had an average class rank of 4th between 1990-1997. Over that span the Wolverines had one undefeated season, one national championship (‘97), two Heisman winners, went 2-1 in the Rose Bowl, 5-3 in bowl games overall, and had a winning percentage of .768 (73-21-3) to rank 9th nationally.
Florida State had an average class rank of 2.75 for the same span. The Seminoles won one national title (‘93), six ACC titles, one Heisman winner, went 7-1 in bowl games, never finished ranked lower than 4th in the final AP poll, and had a winning percentage of .882 (86-11-1) to rank 2nd nationally.
Notre Dame had an average class rank of 5.375 between 1990 and 1997. The Irish won zero national titles, went 3-4 in bowl games, finished second in the AP final ranking in 1993, and had a winning percentage of .732 (70-25-2) to rank 12th nationally.
Omaha, NE
2/8/2012
Should also add that Nebraska went 87-11-1 (.883) from 1990-97, winning one more game than Florida State.
2/8/2012
This is a great article, it really quantifies some of the trends in recruiting that we as fans have been speculating on for awhile but have not really had the data to be able to compare different coaching eras. Thanks for all your research and hard work. It’s really nice to be able to look at the numbers and see for myself just how recruiting and winning percentages compare over the years.
2/8/2012
The biggest blow to recruiting for Nebraska was when the NCAA and the Big XII decided to cut Nebraska down to size with recruiting rules and reductions in scholarship numbers. This gave a real advantage to schools located in the major recruiting belts. Also, Coach Osborne had developed a system which played to the strength of homegrown athletes. This has not been done since the 90’s at Nebraska. The school that has instituted this type of system….Wisconsin.
2/8/2012
Thanks for putting this together. It’s pretty interesting to see it all laid out like you did- well done.
I do have one point I’d like to make: in the coach comparison, you use Callahan’s, Solich’s and Pelini’s full tenures at NU, but for Osborne, you use what are likely to be his best classes (and certainly are based on results) from his most experienced years as coach. As you point out, earlier data isn’t consistently available. But there have also been several evolutions in CFB during the past two decades that directly affect recruiting: increased television exposure by “lesser” schools, scholarship limits, partial qualifiers, etc.,. So I guess my point is it’s not really possible to compare Osborne to the others; it’s apples to oranges.
Omaha, NE
2/8/2012
Dave,
You are correct. Osborne, as represented above, does benefit from being measured at the pinnacle of his career based simply on the limitations of the data. That said, I’m reasonably confident that Osborne’s average class rank wouldn’t have dropped significantly based on his classes of the 1980s. I can’t prove that definitively, but that’s my feeling. I was mildly surprised Osborne’s classes weren’t slightly higher for the period I was able to measure. Anything prior to 1980 and you’re in an era where recruiting rankings were in their infancy/nonexistent.
As for the comparison, I’m of the opinion that it’s a little better than apples to oranges for one reason: While CFB changed drastically over the entire span, it was more or less the same people providing all the rankings. The rankings above mostly come from four people: Max Emfinger, Tom Lemming, Allen Wallace (SuperPrep) and Bobby Burton (NRA). All four of those guys were still ranking classes well into the 2000s. Burton helped start the Rivals100. Lemming still ranks for MaxPreps. Has their perception changed as the sport itself has? It’s impossible to say but the fact that we have some longevity there helps the comparison. It does not, however, make it a perfect.
2/9/2012
I would like to say excellent work! I can’t imagine the time and energy that went into this research.
I would like to see the median rankings more than the average rankings. This would eliminate any real highs or real lows that affect the rankings.
Again, thank you for your work.
2/9/2012
Because of the short tenure of the last 3 coaches could you not make the arguement that Solich won with Osborne recruit’s, Callahan lost because of Solich recruit’s, and Pelini won with Callahan recruit’s? I think going forward it will be interesting if Pelini can keep the pace or get better with only his classes in the system (heck I’ll even say starting with his second year class since the first year class is hard to get good players unless your name is Hoyke or Meyer).
Omaha, NE
2/9/2012
Nick,
The median for the coaches from 1990-2012 is as follows:
Osborne: 16.5
Solich: 20.7
Callahan: 16.5
Pelini: 25
Ron,
You could, and probably should, make that argument. What we’re really looking at here is how each recruiting class was perceived at the time of signing and, as we know, the relationship between that and winning is tenuous.
Particularly interesting to me is Solich. I don’t have hard numbers for Solich’s first two classes—I’m somewhat torn about even terming in the ‘98 class “his” given Osborne’s late retirement—but we know neither was in the Top 10. In 2000 and 2001, heights Nebraska has yet to reach again, he had the 10th ranked class both years but then his recruiting rankings fall off a cliff. What happened? That definitely deserves a closer look.
Omaha, NE
2/9/2012
I’d also like to take a moment to thank everyone for their comments on this and the previous post. These numbers need to be poked and prodded and I look forward to working with them more as we wade deeper into the offseason.
I guess at this point, I’m a 20th century recruiting rankings collector so if anyone comes across old SuperPrep magazines, back issues of Huskers Illustrated or dusty newspaper stories that have rankings in them feel free to send them along. I’d like to plug some of the gaps in what we already have.
2/9/2012
Great info. It will be used to support every argument. (LOL). One thing that I took from the data is that Frank couldn’t capitalize on the wave of success from the three national titles. Bo is having similar results in recruiting after BC took our program to new depths.
2/9/2012
What I don’t understand (nor is this data available) is why Pellini’s
median class ranking of 25 is so much lower than Osborne’s median
class ranking of 16.5 when Osborne has been Pelini’s AD. It stands
to reason that Osborne would continue his recruiting techniques
through Pelini. Does this mean that Osborne’s recruiting techniques
cannot be executed by Pelini’s personnel? Or does it mean that
Nebraska must win at a high percentage to get highly ranked
classes?
2/9/2012
excellent read/excellent info. thx for compiling.
Grand Island,NE
2/9/2012
We need to get back to our Winning Tradition and winning bowl
games and winning big games on TV because Winning is the only
way we will get these kids from big states/cities to come to
Lincoln,NE of and of course the education….shrug
2/9/2012
I think this comparison is pretty unfair. Your comparing Pelinis first 5 years of coaching vs a 20 year coach in the best decade of college football by (arguably) any team in any decade. Of course Osborne was able to have a top rated class after he had (arguably) the best team in college football history(95) I would like to think that Pelini would have a top 5 class if we would play for the NC let alone win it by 40 points.
The first couple of years in the 90s were exactly like Pelini is doing now, pre playing for the NC. Our classes were rated anywhere from 15-20 and we couldnt win the big game, averaging 9 wins a season. Sound pretty familiar. I would bet my house if Pelini won 3 NC championships in the next 5 years, we would have a top 10 class every year. Its not that hard to see that winning leads to more talented kids. When we win our classes will get higher ranked, if we dont well get a new coach.
2/9/2012
These are a couple of really nice, well researched articles, many thanks! I think once and for all it disproves the dbags that keep repeating ad naseum that Osborne did it with low rated classes and “coached em up”. If we could ever get top 10 rated classes consistantly for an entire decade like TO did in the 90’s, the success would follow on the field.
2/10/2012
Thank You Thank You Thank You. Great Article You are proving all of the points I have been saying when I post on these recruiting and Husker FB articles for the last year or more. I have been saying all along ( and you can go back and find my posts ) Bo is not getting enough “dfference makers”. And if you look clear back to Jack Pierces comments back in 1990, he even said back then in that specific class that they didn’t get their usual number of ‘difference makers’. Matt you were dead on correct and I have been harping on this point for the last couple years, the false belief that TO had a bunch of low rated classes and all he did was coach them up. That is simply not true. TO consistently got a few Top 100 players and he filled in around them. Again my point is that Bo has not been getting those difference makers, at least not enough of them for us to get better than 9-4 or 10-4. Did TO coach some guys up, yes of course, he did but he also was able to snag some big time guys in almost every class. And if you look even closer to what was said back in 1991, Pierce followed up TO’s comment about ” this is not an overwhelming class, but a solid class” with a comment that read and I quote “Pierce tells the OWH that Nebraska is changing it’s approach and will focus its efforts on “the nation’s top 80 players.” Osborne says he’s in favor of the switch.” Bingo… TO knew that we would never get over the top unless we started getting some big time players and more of them and build around them, and he did something about it ala Tommie Frazier and others. If you look at this class and the last 4 classes we have not been getting the Top 100 players period, none this year, 2 last year. And I know Bo tried to target more of those players this year but if he is going to be successful then he has to get more of those to commit, otherwise look out again for the Northwesterns of the world and here comes 9-4 or maybe even 8-5, 7-6. If he can’t start getting more of those then he will be gone in 2 years. Sure player development is important, it alwasy is but you still have to get that core group of big time guys. The other point that needs to be made is player development with this coaching staff. Do you really see enough of that going on. No Way. Suh was a freakish athlete that comes around one in a lifetime and yes by the way he was Top 100 player coming out of high school. Did this staff make him what he bacame, Nope, it just took a couple years to come out. Did Lavonte get to his level by coaching, Nope, within a couple weeks after he arrived, it was obvious that he was simply a great Linebacker, they didn’t devlop anything, he was a stud when he showed up. You can disagree with me if you like but I think Bo was at a big cross-raods with this recruiting class and in my opinion, it fell short. They are a couple kids in there that could become good, I mean really good, but All American type, boy I think that is a stretch and that is what it will take to get to where we want to be, better than 9-4. College FB has changed since TO took over in 73, in this day and age you don’t get 15 or 20 years to figure it out. You can become irrelvant real fast, just ask Solich who started this whole downward trend, he is the one that put the first holes in the ship and let things started to slide
2/10/2012
One thing to consider when trying to compare the 80s-90s to present day, is that back is Osborne’s day there were much fewer schools with high quality facilities/resources than there are today. Now, there are more teams to compete with for fewer scholarship slots.
Additionally, Osborne coached most of his career in the Big 8 Conference, where NU was one of the Big 2 along with OU. In the Big 12 Conference, we were no greater than playing 3rd fiddle to OU and UT. Now that we joined B1G, we’ll be in the same position behind tOSU and Michigan. AND it will be even harder to win a conference title since Michigan is in our division.
2/10/2012
To n0 on3
I respect what you are saying in trying to give a reason why we can’t become successful again, but I can tell you that Devaney would roll over in his grave if he heard an excuse like that. Sure it is tougher. When he showed up, we were in midst of having one of the worst programs in College FB and in just a few years he turned it around. Back then, coaches like Bear Bryant would recruit 150 players and most of them would sit on the bench and never play, that way no one else could use them against him. Schools back then used that excuse and eventually guys like Devaney figured a way. And ironically he handed Bear one of his worst defeats in bowl history in his last game with NU and won his 2nd national title. There is a way and it can be done again at NU. Different time, different circumstances I know but to just say now that we are in the BIG 10 that we just need to expect to play 2nd fiddle to Mich and OSU is just an excuse. Now you got all these SEC programs that have the edge again and it is time someone in Lincoln figures out how to build a giant again
2/10/2012
Who was the only team to beat Notre Dame and the 4 Horseman twice back in the 20’s. Yes it was Nebraska. It was done back then, it was done in the 60’s thru late 90’s and we can do it again. NO EXCUSES,
2/10/2012
Joe Husker,
I’m not saying we can’t be successful, although we’ll never be as dominant for 4 decades again - they’ll be some down cycles just like everyone else. However we will probably have to do some coaching up of the talent that we do get, since tOSU and UM will probably have better recruits.
One recruit that we do need is a playmaker at QB. No offense to Berringer, but if Tommy Frazier had chosen Clemson over NU, Osborne might not have been able to get over the hump and finally start winning the big ones (or at least we would not have been as dominant in the mid 90s).
2/10/2012
When was NU ever “dominant” for 4 decades? I guess it’s all relative, then. 60’s? No. 70’s? early, yes, later, no. 80’s? a few years we beat everyone except… only in the 90’s could we say NU was “dominant”. Not before, not since. Sure, NU was better than a lot of teams, but what do you really mean by “dominant?” Beating up on pansies and losing bowl games to good teams?
2/11/2012
First off Brandon would like to thankyou for two informative and thought provoking articles. Secondly would like to thank everyone on the board for your thoughts as well. Its been a pleasure and surprise to read all this without any haters or trolls. We have all have differing opinions on what we read. Here’s my two cents, and its derived from the articles and everyones post. Pelini’s classes are close. Winning is important to bring the big boys into Nebraska.So it does take some time. Yes we definately need some difference makers, but I think we have them on board. Again it takes a little time. The thing that stands out to me is looking at all the schools with the big recruiting classes with nothing to show for it. 9-3, 10-2 Hell thats where we’re at right now. Im not saying to stop worrying, Im saying stop bitching. Like someone said, National Championships dont come with a proven recipe, it takes luck skill and lightning in a bottle. It will happen if we dont destroy it ourselves. Patience is a virtue. Im happy to pay Pelini a little more than he’s worth right now, so I can underpay him in twenty years like T.O.
2/11/2012
BallField78,
Winningest program in both total wins & win percentage since ‘50 (despite 1951-1961, and Callahan)
Record 35 consecutive bowl appearances from 1969 to 2003
24 Major bowls from 1970 to 1997
No more than 4 losses in a season under Devaney (only 2 yrs)
No more than 3 losses in a season under Osborne
Nine+ wins for 33 straight years 1969-2001
Five National Championships
Two of the best college football teams of all time: ‘71 and ‘95
What more do you want? Nebraska’s only won more games than all other teams in the modern era of football: ‘50-present. No, not dominant at all.
Apparently you only consider National Championship teams to be “dominant” since you only consider the early 70s and 90s to fall into this category.
p.s. I guess you can’t even say that NU was dominant in the 1990s since Florida State actually had more wins in that decade.
Bellevue, Nebraska
2/12/2012
How can this lead someone to believe that this, well researched and informative, article helps to put Pelini behind the curve of other coaches at Nebraska? Sure if you look at the overall numbers Pelini is slightly behind the curve. However, look at that 1991 class that began it all for Dr. O. the only top 100 person signed, which escalated the number was Dwayne Harris. This guy is a trivia question. This 28th ranked class was one of the most domminant classes in CFB history (arguably). I stand firm on the fact that Dr. O coached up his players. Sure Tommie helped all of that along, quite bit in fact. However, he could not have done it without a lot of help from the guys from the ‘91 class.
n0 on3,
I couldn’t agree with you more on the decades of dominance by NU. However, keeping that in mind, we are continuing a dominant trend as we speak with 9 win seasons. Sure we all want to see the huskers win the big ones. How would you feel about bringing back the streak of winning to start thought?
2/13/2012
Between ‘75 and ‘93 NU won 6 of 19 bowl games. Zero from ‘87 to ‘93. Yes, ‘93 was for NC and it was close. So was ‘84.
The decades between 1900 and 1939 NU had a higher winning% than during the ‘60s.
NU’s winning record is admirable, but “dominant” depends on who you’re playing, and where you set the bar. NU dominated Big 6/8 (not 12), except for OU about half the time. I would hardly compare the Big 8 to the Big 10 or SEC.
Total wins is only relative to how many games were played, the % determines “dominance”.
Based on decade win%, I don’t see 4 decades - maybe 3 decades (top 5 70s, 80s, 90s) but again it’s who you play - see bowl record. NU won most of its bowls in the 70s, and half its bowls in the 90s. yet NU was the #1 win% team in the 80s at 83.7% (although 90s record was 86.4%, NU was #2).
My point? I think sometimes people overhype their teams just a tad bit. Please understand I am a Nebraska fan, always want to see them win. But I am not so bold with terms such as “dominant.”
I must say though, I’ve never seen it spelled “domminant” before, usually posters mis-spell it as “dominate”.
2/14/2012
BallField78,
If you go back to my first two posts you’ll see that essentially I say that we’re not in the Big 8 anymore, so don’t expect to see a high win percentage for such a long period of time. Sorry I upset the grammar police with the use of the term “dominant.”
NE Soldier,
I understand that NU is one of very few programs to have 9+ wins the past four seasons. I am happy with that. This season actually went about like I expected in terms of W/L. Others seemed to have much higher expectations, and are therefore disappointed in the final result. (What I want to change are some of the coach-able problems like penalties, fumbles, and lack of focus when we get behind.) I think that this program is headed in the right direction and wins will bring better recruits.