At some point, players have to lead -- not just Pelini

As Nebraska football begins spring practice Saturday in preparation for the 2012 season (Year No. 5 under head coach Bo Pelini), I can’t help but keep coming back to a column that Tom Shatel wrote about a week ago in the Omaha World Herald:

http://www.omaha.com/article/20120306/BIGRED/703069868

It was an excellent story on the scuttlebutt about what is going on in the program to hopefully get Nebraska that elusive conference title that has been missing since 1999 and BCS Bowl appearance since 2001. The Huskers have flirted with both statuses on a couple of occasions but people are hungry for a return to the glory years. While such a feat is no more likely to happen this year, the fact that the team is making changes that Shatel addresses is a good sign.

Shatel focuses on how players are being given more latitude to show leadership and take ownership of the program. The story focused on a players meeting that was held after the team returned to Lincoln following their 30-13 Capital One Bowl loss to South Carolina. You know the particulars of that game. Nebraska outplayed the Gamecocks in the first half but staggered worse than a drunken sailor when it came time to take control of the game.

In addition, the story also addressed players being given more latitude to voice those concerns to Pelini, something that reportedly was not the case in the past. It certainly makes sense for Pelini to do so because he has led the program for five years. These players are exclusively his and were recruited exclusively in his time. Translation, no more even slight remnants of the Bill Callahan era. Pelini has built this car and hired the drivers.    

Is this a sign that Pelini himself is growing more as a leader? Well, talk is cheap and March is always full of optimism but something had to change. Pelini has a persuasive personality but at some point players tune out the coach. I’m not suggesting that Nebraska players have done that to Pelini but if you have vocal leaders that are preaching the same message as the coach, then the coach’s message carries that much more weight.

You can’t help but think back to the Tom Osborne days and the constants that were the heart of the program, this gives me hope that this staff realizes what is lacking today. Osborne said himself that having that upperclassman leadership was vital when playing on the road. When keeping a team sharp after big wins. Paraphrasing, he said to Bob Costas, it was what was missing before that run in the 1990s. Having special players that took control was as big a reason as any why Nebraska went 60-3 from 1993-1997 with three National Championships.
 
Having the same offense and coaches intact back then, was a much easier proposition than the past decade’s attempts. Osborne always said it was those little things that tripped you up. Starting a freshman at quarterback and underclassmen in the lines, meant that the little things were bypassed for expediency. It showed in the penalties and missed assignments too often. Teaching the underclassman was a problem, but having to teach a young coaching staff a new system every season wasn’t a recipe for excellence.

Leadership/ownership from players is exactly what I’ve been hoping for out of this team for years. So far, running back Rex Burkhead and linebacker Will Compton appear to be leading the charge. While neither one of these guys will be mistaken for the Peter brothers (Jason and Christian) or Grant Wistrom, opening up the communication and clearing up any conflict is absolutely essential for these guys to really function as a unified team.

What was said is immaterial but I’m glad the players feel comfortable with their coaches and their teammates to step up and say the things that most likely need to be said. It could create some resentment but hopefully it will lead to unity. So maybe this will be a good step forward for Pelini and the team.

There is plenty of reason to be skeptical until the approach works but I agree with the crux of Shatel’s message. Players have to be the ones to decide how they’re going to play. If I may use an old cliché, coaches can only show players the door, but the players have to open it. The Hail Mary play from Connor Shaw to Alshon Jeffrey at the end of the first half of the Capital One Bowl is the perfect example. I know the coaches told the players, right before that play, to get behind Jeffrey and not let him behind them. What happened? Nobody gets behind him and they score a touchdown.

Mental errors, miscommunication, etc., the focus just wasn't there on a Hail Mary - the most basic of defensive schemes. It’s one thing if a players leaps in the end zone and makes an amazing catch, but to straight up not get behind a receiver and let him just fall into the end zone is unacceptable. Since college football pass interference penalties are only 15-yards as opposed to spot foul penalties, you given the receiver a subway-style mugging before you let him catch the ball.

I realize that feel good stories are nice this time of year because this team has far to go. However, at least they are trying to figure out how to get better. That cannot hurt.

Wistrom does not take his program for granted

Former Nebraska football great Grant Wistrom was known for going hard after quarterbacks whether it was as a Cornhusker, a St. Louis Ram or Seattle Seahawk.

He tackles his duties with the Grant Wistrom Foundation with equal vigor. While in Lincoln this past weekend, he shared plenty of thoughts about the current regime of head coach Bo Pelini and athletic director Tom Osborne, who was Wistrom’s coach as a Husker. Wistrom also shared plenty of thoughts on the former regime of head coach Bill Callahan and athletic director Steve Pederson. Wistrom chatted with Lincoln Journal Star reporter Brian Christopherson:

About Bo Pelini: "I'm a fan, man. I'm excited. You know what; I don't care if we win the Big 12 championship every year or a national championship. I'm just glad to see the guys playing hard again. I think that's all we can ask for, just guys out there that take pride in wearing the N on their helmets, Blackshirts out there playing every down. It's all a credit to him and this coaching staff. He was playing with the same guys last year that were there the year before pretty much, and the product was just completely different on the field. That's just all a change in attitude and mentality in the program, and that's due to him."

Playing defense is all about attitude, Wistrom said. "You've got to have a good scheme and you got to have good coaches implementing the scheme. But you can have the best defense called, but if you have guys out there that aren't playing hard, it's going to break down. If you got guys out there playing hard, you can have the wrong defense called and you can overcome that."

Wistrom said 2007 was really painful to watch for someone who played on some of the best Husker defenses around. During games that season, his wife would ask him why he was so angry.

His answer: "I and about 140 other guys spent four years of our lives building up the best business in America. At the time we were the best college football program. ... And then some other people come in and take it over and run it into the ground. What would you do? How would you feel? ... That's how I felt.

"We dedicated four years of our lives to building up the best football program in the country. And in just a matter of years, it went downhill. There's not just one reason for it. I'm sure it was one of any number of things, and everything's cyclical in college football. But just the rate of the slide was kind of astounding to me. But I also think the turnaround has been just as impressive."
I tell fellow Nebraska alums and others that Wistrom is in a select company of my favorite all-time Huskers. I absolutely adore the passion with which he played.

Yes, it is easy for us as fans to say we stunk but to hear a former player, especially one of Wistrom’s caliber say it carries a lot of weight. Husker fans have gone round-in-round about how much Frank Solick, Craig Bohl, Bill Callahan and Kevin Cosgrove brought the program down.

Well, they all played a role. Solich had his share of success but was not a whole lot better than Callahan on relating to players. Keep in mind; we had plenty of uninspired efforts in 2002 with Solich as head coach and Bohl as defensive coordinator. However, Solich had the fortitude to get rid of Bohl whereas had Callahan remained, there was no way he would have gotten rid of Cosgrove.

Callahan and Cosgrove recognized the importance of recruiting but had nary a clue on developing the talent they acquired.

Here's hoping Bo stays a long time and the Huskers return to the top soon.

Wistrom worthy of Hall-of-Fame honor

First of all, and I think all Nebraska football fans will agree to this, congratulations are definitely in order for Grant Wistrom.

Wistrom, who played defensive end at Nebraska from 1994-1997 and in the NFL from 1998-2006, is a entering the College Football Hall of Fame this year.
Wistrom, who played on three National Championship teams, holds the school record for tackles for loss with 58.5 for 260 yards and ranks second with 26.5 sacks, had his No. 98 retired during the 1998 season. His career totals include 206 total tackles, 26.5 sacks for 178 yards, one interception, four forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
Wistrom was a two-time first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American and became the 13th Husker to win the NCAA's highest honor, the NCAA Top Eight Award, in 1997. He also earned the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame Postgraduate Scholarship following his senior campaign and was the Big 12 Male Athlete of the Year for the 1997-98 season.
Wistrom was the 12th overall pick in the 1998 NFL draft by the St. Louis Rams (1998-2003) and later played for the Seattle Seahawks (2004-2006). Wistrom played in three Super Bowls, winning one in 1999.
Certainly, there are many players from Wistrom’s era that are Hall-of-Fame worthy but Wistrom is undeniably worthy.
Wistrom is one of my personal favorite Huskers of all time. There are many things I will remember about him – his intensity being the biggest – but what I remember most is he and defensive tackle Jason Peter (who was the No. 6 overall pick by the Carolina Panthers) opting to stay in school for 1997 instead entering the NFL draft. No one would have blamed either had they entered the draft because after all, both would have been Top Ten picks and already had two National Titles. They were leaders both vocally and by example in helping the Huskers get a share of the title with Michigan in 1997. Personally, I think Michigan was the second best team in the nation bu I digress.

What I remember about Wistrom was that the big money of the NFL never seemed to hange him like you see with so many others.

While I was a student at the University of Nebraska, writing for the Daily Nebraskan, I interviewed him at various times and saw him at the weekly press conferences.

In 1998, while I was working for the Napa Valley Register, I was assigned to cover a game in San Francisco between the 49ers and Rams. I was on the field during pregame warmups. Wistrom came out of the tunnell and looked at me a few times. You know, that look that says, “I know you from somewhere but can’t figure out where?” He walked over to the 30-yard line to stretch. Then he walked over to me and we started chatting. He was friendly as ever.

One year later, the Rams were in San Francisco again as I was assigned to cover the game. The Rams, who had been terrible for a decade, were on their way to a Super Bowl winning season. The 49ers, meanwhile, had been a perrenial power from 1981-1998 but were sinking to the depths that season.

I remember going into the Rams locker-room. I sought out Wistrom and asked if he had a few minutes. He could not have been more welcoming.