by Steve Hanway 8 comments

Nebraska may have had to alter its recruiting strategy late in the game when Lester Ward and Collins Okafor announced their intent to leave Nebraska after four years with degrees (and kudos to them for earning those degrees).  They added a big back to their recruiting class yesterday in three-star running back prospect Imani Cross from Georgia.  Continue →

by Darren K. Carlson 14 comments

Earlier this week, I outlined how things might look for the stretch run of Nebraska's 2012 recruiting class. Three names are the ones that most fans and recruiting zealots seem to be watching closely - Andrus Peat, Devin Fuller and Alonzo Moore. This week, there have been meaningful changes in the recruitment of all three.   Continue →

by Brandon Vogel 20 comments

Ryker Fyfe's decision to walk-on at Nebraska won't be the most high-profile decision in the final days before signing day, but it certainly is intriguing. More so than most walk-on QBs anyway. Why? Because, technically, he's listed as a "pro-style" QB.

You don't see many of those coming out of Nebraska. And, lately, you don't see many of those coming to Nebraska. Continue →

by Steve Hanway 5 comments

The Huskers collected a thirteenth commitment for the Class of 2012 when California offensive lineman Corey Whitaker accepted a scholarship offer from Nebraska.  Rivals.com rates Whitaker as a three-star prospect.  The commitment might be considered "soft" as Whitaker may still make a scheduled trip to Oregon this weekend.  The Ducks have not yet offered Whitaker a scholarship but might well do so on his visit.  Whitaker is not the only variable between now and signing day. Continue →

by Darren K. Carlson 2 comments

Recruiting is the life blood of most every college football program. For those who are in the running for conference titles and mythical national titles, talent is table stakes. It doesn't guarantee wins, but you can't compete without it. For months, sometimes even years, coaches cultivate relationships with prospective players. Many recruit-following fans hang on every cryptic word these young men say and tweet. After months of agonizing, verbal commits and de-commits, it really comes down to the next 9 days. National signing day is February 1st. That's when prospects can sign on the line which is dotted. Not to go too "Glengarry Glen Ross" on you all, but coffee is for closers! (warning language very NSFW) The numbers imply that Nebraska is destined to have a relatively small class this recruiting cycle. But, even with a limited number of scholarships to hand out, the makeup and overall talent quotient of that group can change dramatically with just a few key commitments. Let's examine NU's options for the home stretch. Continue →

by Brandon Vogel 6 comments

The Omaha World-Hearld posted Nebraska's 2012 coaching salaries on Friday. The brief rundown is this: John Papuchis gets a 50 percent raise to $300,000 for his promotion. Almost every other coach gets a $20,000 raise except for Ross Els, who gets a $50,000 bump in pay, and Corey Raymond, who gets no raise. Make of that what you will but Raymond was already at $200,000, the highest salary of last year's new-hires and equal to what Papuchis was making as the DL/ST coach.

Bo Pelini will also get a $100,000 raise to $2.875 million. All told, Nebraska will spend $4.975 million on its coaching staff next year, up from $4.905 million in 2011. Seems like a big number and it is. Nebraska spent the third-highest amount on football coaching salaries in the Big Ten last year according to USA Today. But that number doesn't really mean much on its own given the wide gaps in football revenue across the Big Ten.

What is interesting is the percentage of Nebraska's football money the school is spending on football coaches. Continue →

by Steve Hanway 15 comments

When it comes to recruiting, you're perpetually seeking to raise the bar on talent for your team. If the incoming class is inferior to the one you recruited 4-5 years ago, then presumably your overall talent declines. A decline in talent would presumably be evident on the field as would an improvement. The easy way to compare classes might just be to count stars or recruiting rankings. But that's an oversimplification. Rather, the true measure seems to be how many scholarships pan out to where you'd offer them again in hindsight versus how many you'd wish to have back. Continue →