Nebraska...not feeling Frosty anymore

[WM Wolverine]

25-7 @ Indiana. Of course 10 of those were at the end of the game.

[iam416]

Ohio St 28 free throws, Nebraska 5

Wisky shot zero FTs against OSU. OSU actually had a 60+ minute streak where they did not concede a FT. 60+ MINUTES!

Just saying.

Amir Williams actually ended up with 8 FTs (and, miracuously, made 7) because every offensive rebound he grabbed resulted in getting raped trying to get the shot off.

And in the final 5 minutes, I think the officials went old school B10. The paint on Nebraska's end was an f'n war zone. Every UNL shot, they crashed like barbarian hordes and ended up getting gads of offensive rebounds. No complaints. That's B10 hoops -- that's MSU-Wisky FF style B10 hoops.

[iam416]

But, UNL did keep grinding. I think this was the first time in 4 tries they've scored more than 45 against Ohio State. A lot of that was because they worked their ass off on the boards.

And DeShaun was awful. If Smith wasn't unusually good, that game goes down to the wire.

[THE_WIZARD_]

STFU

[entropy]

Sipple



Braylon Heard is an excellent running back with sizable upside.

I see that. Damon Benning sees that. Maybe we will all see Heard's talent eventually materialize in full form. It likely won't occur at Nebraska, and many Husker fans are having trouble coming to grips with the junior-to-be's apparent desire to transfer.

If anyone can put Heard's situation in perspective, it's Benning. As a speedy and shifty Nebraska I-back from 1993-96, he ran for 1,562 yards (5.8 per carry) and 20 touchdowns, but essentially never became "the man." He was behind Calvin Jones. Or Lawrence Phillips. Or Ahman Green.

"I don't begrudge any young man who contemplates wanting to do something different if he feels like he doesn't have every opportunity to succeed," Benning said Friday.

One of Heard's former high school coaches said last week that the running back is leaving because Nebraska coaches asked him to move to receiver. Coach Bo Pelini said Friday he didn't want to comment on the matter. But sources told me Husker coaches wanted Heard to play only "some" snaps at receiver as a way to get him on the field more often. Sounds like a wise plan.

Other folks say Heard, a backup for two seasons, wanted to find a program where he could play more as a featured running back, and has become frustrated.

Benning can relate. Man, can he relate. He experienced days in college when he was "extremely unhappy," he said. He twice considered transferring. He stuck it out. He put team success in front of individual goals. I've long admired him for that.

Let's be real: Running back is an inherently challenging position for coaches to manage. Benning said running backs can be "high-maintenance by nature."

"The ebbs and flows and highs and lows at the position are really tough to manage," he said.

Pelini is catching flak for how he managed the Heard situation. How could he let the smooth-running Heard leave the program and thus leave Nebraska short on experienced depth at running back? It's a valid question. If Heard does indeed leave ? it seems a foregone conclusion, though it hasn't been announced officially ? the Huskers likely will count heavily on a pair of incoming freshmen in 2013.

There's a bigger-picture storyline in that Heard would become the fifth high-profile recruit to leave the program in the past year, joining defensive tackle Todd Peat, running back Aaron Green and offensive linemen Ryan Klachko and Tyler Moore.

Considered individually, the losses aren't necessarily alarming. Each kid had his own unique reasons. What's more, Klachko already has retired from football because of concussions. Meanwhile, Peat, a redshirt freshman last season, struggled with weight and back problems. He was a long, long way from living up to his four-star status.

In my discussions with Pelini, he has been matter-of-fact about the transfers. Bottom line, he has low tolerance for players who are wishy-washy about wanting to be in the program. I like that.

Don't get me wrong, Heard leaving would be significant. He could be an excellent backup to classmate Ameer Abdullah. Indeed, Heard carrying 10-12 times per game would be a wonderful scenario.

But Abdullah has a strong hold on the starting job. Abdullah is a much more physical runner; he's more effective between the tackles. Abdullah is much, much better in pass protection. He plays with a harder edge.

If Heard is leaving because he wants to be a team's "featured back," then perhaps he is making a smart move.

Benning, who co-hosts a sports-radio talk show in Omaha, watches the situation closely. He recalls how well ex-Nebraska coach Tom Osborne's staff handled running backs and personnel in general. Osborne's staff, including former running backs coach Frank Solich, retained a "real open dialogue" with backs, Benning said. Sometimes even a defensive coach ? Kevin Steele, for instance ? would pull Benning aside and offer perspective.

"There was no guesswork," Benning said. "Everyone was on the same page."

It should be noted Osborne, at that point, had been Nebraska's head coach for two decades. Pelini just completed his fifth season in charge.

"It was an exceptionally close staff," Benning said of the 1990s group. "And you have to remember, every week was an open competition (for the I-backs). The same guy wasn't always the next guy to enter the game from week-to-week.

"You competed in practice. Then on Fridays, coaches would pull the backs in after team meetings, before we had our walk-through, and (Osborne) would give us the rotation."

It requires a certain type of individual to handle such intense weekly competition.

"That type of competition wasn't for DeAngelo Evans," Benning said of the former Husker I-back (1996-98). "It was for a guy like Correll Buckhalter (1997-2000)."

Was it for a guy like Heard? I'd like to hear what he has to say, but he isn't talking.

Benning embraced the competition. He ran exceptionally well in practice during the spring before his junior season. The 5-foot-11 Omaha native weighed a lean and mean 203 pounds. He made the cover of Huskers Illustrated. He was ready to make his big move to full-time starter.

It never happened.

At least three factors that helped Benning persevere haven't necessarily been helpful for Heard: 1. Nebraska consistently was in the national-championship hunt; 2. Benning played critical roles on special teams; and 3. Benning had a father who played a major role in his life.

"It was enough to get me by," he said. "I can honestly say that winning truly superseded anything that was going on personally."

Heard would be only the latest Nebraska running back to bolt before his senior season. In the Huskers' 2002-2011 scholarship recruiting classes, 13 of the 17 running backs never made it to their senior seasons at the position. Ten were not with the program as seniors.

"I was floored," Benning said upon hearing the stat from a listener to his show. "Some of it is unique to the position."

Benning lived it. He remembers Husker coaches asking him to move to wingback. He needed about three minutes to decide ? no chance.

He kept competing. He knew when he chose Nebraska that he would have to compete every single day. He knew there would be good days and bad. Yeah, he understands Heard's plight. Boy, does he.





Post Extras:

[Wild Hoss]

Sipple gets the kneepads out for his lover once again, this time to take potshots at a 19 year old kid. If he isnt on the payroll he should be.

Toiletbug.

[iam416]

Pelini seems to have pretty much lost his Mooney connection. Good.

[entropy]

Frankfort (Ill.) Providence Catholic senior inside linebacker prospect Jack Fordon (6-foot-2, 222 pounds) had an injury slow down his senior season, yet in the end Fordon was able to catch the attention of the Nebraska Cornhuskers and on Sunday Fordon pledged to the Cornhuskers. Fordon talks about his decision here.

"I called the coaches at Nebraska and accepted the preferred walk on offer," Fordon said. "It's just too good of an opportunity for me to pass up. I feel I can play at that level and this is my chance to go out and prove it."

Fordon, who was slowed by an early 2012 season injury has been back since mid season and also had several other preferred walk on offers to consider.

"Several other schools wanted me to walk on. I talked to schools like Illinois, Minnesota, Kansas, Northwestern and a few others and they all offered me walk on spots. Nebraska just has a great program and they also have a very long history of working with walk ons and quite a few end up on the roster and then on scholarship. It's my chance to go out and prove myself."

Fordon admits that his early season injury played a big part in his recruiting process.

"No question a lot of schools backed off in the fall once I went down with the injury. It was frustrating at times but it just makes me want to go out and prove all of them wrong. I'm just really happy and excited about Nebraska and I'm just going to push myself even harder to go and be ready come this summer."

Jack Fordon accepted a preferred walk on roster spot from Nebraska.

Confirmed Walkons So Far:

OL - Dustin Glaser (6-3, 285), Flower Mound (Texas) - LINK - Video

DT - Joel Lopez (6-2, 275), Burlington (Ill.) Central - LINK - Video

TE - Connor Ketter (6-5, 220), Norfolk (Neb.) Catholic - LINK - Video

P - Jordan Bellar (6-0, 165), Norfolk (Neb.) Catholic - LINK - Video

TE - Erik Evans (6-3, 220), Waverly (Neb.) - LINK - Video

DE/TE - Jordan Ackerman (6-3, 240), Lincoln (Neb.) Southeast - LINK - Video

DB - Zach Stovall -(5-11, 185), Bellevue (Neb.) East - LINK - Video

WR - Spencer Lewis (6-2, 210), Papillion (Neb.) La Vista - LINK - Video

DT - Steven Graeber (6-1, 250), Omaha (Neb.) Millard North - LINK - Video

LB - Chris Weber (6-3, 200), Elkhorn (Neb.) - LINK - Video


WR - Desmond Robinson (5-9, 155), Lincoln (Neb.) Southeast - LINK - Video

ATH - Devin Washington (5-9, 170), Lincoln (Neb.) Southeast - LINK - Video

FB - Harrison Jordan (5-10, 230), Omaha (Neb.) Westside - LINK - Video

OL - Landon Kubicek (6-4, 290, Lincoln (Neb.) Southeast - LINK - Video

[entropy]

Sipple

Yeah, he'll hear doubters.

That's what our Darnell Dickson writes in this Sunday story about Nebraska football recruit Nathan Gerry.

Gerry is from South Dakota ? the fifth-smallest state by population in the U.S. ? so the competition level he?s faced doesn?t rival Texas or California, Dickson writes. Gerry's high school numbers don?t jump out at you, and he?s ?only? a three-star prospect.

Here's a number that jumps out at you, though: Gerry, in a Rivals.com combine camp in Lincoln last April, went 10 feet, 7 inches in the standing broad jump, according to analyst Sean Callahan. That leap would've ranked eighth in last year's NFL scouting combine. Yes, eighth. It would've ranked second among the safeties. Now that is explosion.

There's a lot to like in Nebraska's 2013 recruiting class. I think the group of safeties -- Gerry, Drake Martinez (Laguna Beach, Calif.) and D.J. Singleton (Jersey City, N.J.) -- is near the top of the list.

I watched 17-plus minutes of Martinez's highlight video Monday. He possesses eye-popping talent and athleticism. He's a sure tackler, and at times savage. He runs like his brother. Granted, the competition on the video generally is suspect. But Drake does what you'd expect against such competition -- he dominates it.

Gerry, Martinez and Singleton all could eventually play outside linebacker -- they have that sort of size, at least in my opinion. But I think their speed and athleticism will keep them at safety, where Nebraska could be strong for years to come -- if those guys pan out like I think they will.

I'll analyze the rest of the class in a Wednesday column.






Post Extras:

[Dr. Strangelove]

Nebraska-Colorado is back on

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8926735/nebraska-cornhuskers-colorado-buffaloes-renew-rivalry-2018

[entropy]

That will be nice

[entropy]

Sean Callahan @Sean_Callahan
Notre Dame is the only program even close to Nebraska is total distance traveld per recruit at 888 miles

[entropy]

forgot the first part of that fact. Average distance for Nebraska recruits: 964 miles away.

[entropy]

In comparison Michigan (269 miles), Florida (280 miles), Ohio State (518) and Alabama (537)

[DennisT]

poster child = inbreeds