Recruiting Woes or Product of the System?

We all knew it was coming: recruiting is up in the air right now. The Lincoln Journal Star and Omaha World Herald would have you believe that the Huskers are some how in trouble because their recruiting class in not suddenly number one in the country. Far from it, we’ll be trading in players who want to get to the NFL in two years for guys who want to play (and win championships) for Nebraska in four.

doombob.com    

One of the biggest concerns that I have heard high school coaches talk about is not getting wrapped up in playing for a coach. Dr. Tom Osborne is promoting tradition with Bo Pelini because they want players who go to Nebraska to be a Cornhusker. As for the players who are decommitting right now, who can tell what they were promised by the previous staff? Will Compton, Simi Kuli and Doug Rippy would have been great additions to this team, but we’ve had many 4-5 star recruits in the past few years not pan out (just look at some of Callahan’s guys this year).

Down to just 16 recruits right now, the Huskers look to bolster their numbers. Now that we’ve got a solid coaching staff with a serious offensive and defensive game plan in mind, we will see those numbers build back up. On February 6th, we will see some surprise commitments jump on the Husker bandwagon at the last minute. More important than these 4-5 star guys, are the 2-3 star players that get better every year. We want the next Adam Carriker, Dane Todd, Kurt Mann, Corey McKeon, Nate Swift, Ty Steinkuhler, Joe Ganz, Terrence Nunn, and Major Culbert.

The other part of the puzzle is the rating system itself. Certain teams can recruit a player, and his stock will jump overnight. The star’s ranking indicate a players future potential more than how good they are right now. Look at the Kansas Jayhawks this year - just a handful of four star recruits over the last few years. That’s why you see three star players go on to impact because they prove that they can better themselves every year.