Recruiting and coaching are equally important

Much has been said how college athletic recruiting and professional sports drafts are an inexact science.


After all, you never know if success at the high school level will translate to success at the college level. For that matter, there are plenty of cases where college success does not translate into professional success. In rare cases, there are youngsters that have better college careers than high school careers or better pro careers than college careers.

Much continues to be made of athlete’s measureable skills like 40 yard dash times, vertical leaps and how many times he can bench press 225 pounds just to name a few. However, ascertaining a youngster’s toughness (physical or mental) is not as quantifiable but just as important if not more so.

For all the good things Nebraska has done in head coach Bo Pelini’s four-year tenure, the team can still be maddening inconsistent. The microcosm that showed last season was how the team dominated eventual Leaders Division champ Michigan State 24-3 one week but lost 28-25 at home to a mediocre Northwestern team one week later that went 7-5.

Pelini’s recruiting has been criticized in that his first three seasons, and to a lesser extent last year, the belief was that Pelini reached the untapped potential that Bill Callahan failed to maximize in his time but now that the those recruits are out of the program, Pelini has not landed the difference makers that Callahan did.

According to Lincoln Journal Star columnist Steve Sipple, Pelini has enlisted help from an outside firm of research professionals to help his staff's efficiency in the recruiting process. It's his first go-round with such a method.
"They're working to help us to not only ask the right questions, but teach us what to listen for when we ask the questions and get more insight in the limited amount of time we're with recruits," Pelini told the LJS. "The most important part of it is knowing what key words and what reactions to assess as you're asking the questions."

Whether or not the plan works remains to be seen but I like the idea, at least initially. Pelini has been viewed as head strong by media members and segments of the Husker fan base but this approach shows that he is willing to be proactive in helping Nebraska address unique challenges related to geographical limitations. Those shortcomings can be circumvented to some degree if a coaching staff maximizes the time spent with a prospect.

The last two seasons have shown an obvious lack of mental and physical toughness within the Husker program. We all get hung up with the recruiting, which let’s not kid ourselves is damn important, but being a blue collar tough football team with a swagger that "we are tougher than anybody" is the only way Nebraska will again start winning championships. The Huskers last won a conference title in 1999. Most of all, I would be interested to know if Pelini has tweaked his process to get his players to be more consistent in their focus and toughness.
The criticism of Pelini’s recruiting has been warranted to a point. The Huskers strategy of putting most of this last year’s recruiting class together in January was a bad move to say the least. However, Pelini is addressing that problem by saying he wants half of the 2013 class in place by summer time.
The Tom Osborne zealots are famous for saying how Nebraska’s recruiting classes were seldom highly touted yet won conference titles and three National titles under Osborne and two under Bob Devaney. However, the notion that Osborne had all of his success with two and three star recruits is somewhat of a myth. Quarterbacks Tommie Frazier and Turner Gill were very highly touted. Most of the running backs in Osborne’s time were 4-5 star recruits (whatever that means).
His offensive line recruiting was a position to fit the scheme of the offense, stocky run blockers who would hit low and drive to the next level which was not the prototypical NFL lineman but very successful in college. The same could also be said of the wide receivers that blocked well downfield.
It’s funny how people have their own idea of what is more important acquiring talent or developing talent. It’s both. One is NOT more important than the others. As the saying goes, “It’s Xs and Os AND Jimmies and Joes,” not, “Xs and Os OR Jimmies and Joes.”
The truth of the matter is, you have to bring in upper level talent and have good coaching. One or the other will only get you average results. However, those who sip the 4-5 star recruiting Kool Aid fail to comprehend is that the 2-3 star recruits and walk-ons push those guys to either perform, get better or get out of the way.
Just because a kid has a few more stars does not mean they don't have to earn their spot on the field by beating out someone who wants that spot just as bad as the highly ranked youngster wants it. There is a word for that called “competition” and it pushes everyone to higher heights.