Steven M. Sipple of the Lincoln Journal-Star got an interview with Bo Pelini on recruiting. One of the more interesting idea was bringing in outside research professionals to evaluate his staff. I personally had never heard of that, and it sounds like a good idea in theory. Of course, sometimes these "market research" people come back with wrong conclusions ("Legends and Leaders", "Heroes Game", etc.) due to faulty, incomplete research. This might be different because I can't believe that Bo wants a whitewashed truth, but rather an honest evaluation. It doesn't do Pelini any good to be told that his staff is doing well when they are not. The end results will speak for themselves in the end, and there's no hiding from it.
What I found refreshing is how Pelini wants to evaluate "toughness" in recruits. One of the things Pelini hopes to learn is how to better talk to potential recruits and evaluate the mental character of each potential player. Things like that seem to never be brought up when recruits are being evaluated in the public eye. But deep down, if you listen, you can get a good idea of the mental makeup of a player. I remember listening to some interviews with Harrison Beck back in 2004 when he committed to Nebraska. Recruitniks were celebrating his verbal, while I was dismayed with what I was hearing him say. I saw immaturity then...and then we all saw it during his brief Nebraska career.
Hosts Will Grubb and Jake Sorensen recap the Huskers' 2012 football signing class, going in-depth one by one through all 17 players in this recruiting class to fill you in on the things you need to know about each player and how Bo and the staff plans to develop them.
Which recruit has the chance to have the most impact right away? Will star receiver Jordan Westerkamp red shirt? What about the linebackers Michael Rose and JUCO transfer Zaire Anderson? What are quarterback Tommy Armstrong's greatest strengths? Can he unseat Taylor Martinez next season? How did the Huskers do on the offensive and defensive lines?
Is losing Andrus Peat to Stanford a big deal? Is this Bo's best recruiting class yet?
All those questions answered and more.
If you have an opinion on this year's recruiting class, give us a call on our 24/7 fanline at (571) 306-CORN, or email us at huskercorncast@gmail.com
This is what is likely to be the most exciting National Signing Day in recent memory. Check in here to see who did (or, dry heave in mouth a little, didn't) sign their letter of intent.
The big names that have everyone holding their breath are Andrus Peat (solid?), Alonzo Moore (solid?), Vincent Valentine (kinda solid?), Aaron Curry (ummm?), Devian Shelton (very shaky?).
Five for five (or even four) on these guys would be an incredible haul. Three for five is probably more likely, but if those three are Peat, Moore and Valentine, it would still be a huge day. Losing more than one of those three will result black clouds around many Husker heads. Just remember, though - if the worst should come to pass, it's still better than staring wistfully at Iowa City-area livestock, a common pastime of another certain Big 10 fanbase.
Click inside for running updates:
Honestly, I hate this week. At least I think it's this week - National Signing Day, right? Coming up in the next couple days, yes?
There's a fair amount of pressure on us here at CN to cover recruiting. According to SB Nation's head recruiting dude, Bud Elliott, National Signing Day is one of the biggest traffic days of the year, so of course we have to join in the mix and cover recruiting the Huskers.
It just seems bizarre to me that we're slobbering over young men, for crying out loud, young men who haven't yet finished high school, who haven't a clue about what they want out of life. Teenagers - you know, the beings that when you ask them to take out the trash respond with "Why Do I Have To DO EVERYTHING?" - if you're lucky, or more typically that man-boy-grunt that you learn to interpret only because you're a parent and it's your job to move them from being primates to fully functional adult human beings.
On Thursday, North Hall HS senior, Imani Cross of Gainesville, GA, gave the Cornhuskers their 14th oral commitment of the 2012 class. The one-time Tennessee Volunteers recruit, reopened his commitment after they hired a new running backs coach. It appears that the Huskers have not only gotten one of the country's top running backs, but have also gotten one of its top quality people as well. According to his coach, Bob Christmas (1), Cross is a dedicated worker and student who is also considering a career in the ministry.
Any guesses as to who Pelini assigned to close this one?
(Hint: If you didn't answer Ron Brown, I'm guessing you just figured out that you mistyped the address to your corn futures site.
A few days after adding Leroy Alexander, the Cornhusker staff appears to have plucked the commitment of another late bloomer away from big-name programs trying to make a late push for a player who bloomed in his senior season. Corey Whitaker, a senior from Vista Murietta HS in Murietta, CA, gave his oral pledge Monday to the Huskers. He is a 6'5" 270lb OL who is projecting as a guard or center in Lincoln.
Vista Murietta.
I've never heard of it, but it just SOUNDS like the kind of place where I could stand on a bluff at sunset facing the ocean appearing to be really deep in thought about something with my arm lazily draped around Kaley Cuoco who is dressed in shorts a bikini top and a sarong. I think a cute dog sits by us looking out over the water as well. What was I talking about?
Leroy Alexander wasted no time making a commitment to the Big Red after an offer was extended following his visit to Lincoln. The Whitmer HS senior from Toledo, OH, is a Rivals 3-star Athlete who did a little bit of everything on both sides of the ball. He is 6'2" 190 and is listed as having a 4.42 forty time. As always, take the forty times with a grain of salt, but in his film, he looks anything but slow.
Uneasy.
I think that's the word that best describes the faction of Husker Nation that closely follows it's university's legal pursuit of high school boys. It's not too hard to figure out why either - combine a small class (somewhere in the neighborhood of 16-19) with the fact that we have only one early JC signee and 10 verbal commitments with signing day just under two weeks away. At least one of our remaining targets is planning to wait until Feb. 1 to announce. There appears to be some positions with holes and no verbals yet. Frightening stuff, right?
Maybe not. Yes, we'd all like to have verbals lined up from a collection of four and five star specimens with maybe a couple of threes thrown in as projects. But, unfortunately, our population base more resembles Idaho or Utah instead of those which produce Cal, Texas, Florida and Georgia pipelines. We don't line up the blue-chippers because they all live within an hour of campus. In a state known for its conservatism and honesty, we have to sell a little and take few chances. And that's what Bo and company are doing.
So let's take a look at the race to the finish line:
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