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Quality v. Quantity

  • As we know, a highly rated recruiting class is a product of quantity x quality.

    By this point, it looks like we come up short in the quantity area, perhaps by several spots.

    On the other hand, the overall quality of the class is very good, and had we filled up with the same caliber of guys we already have, we would have likely had a Top Ten class. We're still Top 15 on a couple of other sites as it is.

    So, would you have rather seen us fill this class with bodies, or are you good with the fact that we have lots of scholarships to work with next year?

    The shortages for this years class are duly noted, but I'll take the "glass half full" approach and say that having the potential for a big class with the kind of season we could have in 2013 might not be the worst thing. If we can get beyond the mandatory 4 loss season and have a Top Ten team, it could be nice to have some extra spots available. We hope to have a number of quality guys signed before the season plays out, of course, but combine a solid season with available room and we might do better with the late rush.

    This post was edited by TheUnknownFan on 1/26/2013 at 9:34 AM

    TheUnknownFan

  • TheUnknownFan said...

    As we know, a highly rated recruiting class is a product of quantity x quality.

    By this point, it looks like we come up short in the quantity area, perhaps by several spots.

    On the other hand, the overall quality of the class is very good, and had we filled up with the same caliber of guys we already have, we would have likely had a Top Ten class. We're still Top 15 on a couple of other sites as it is.

    So, would you have rather seen us fill this class with bodies, or are you good with the fact that we have lots of scholarships to work with next year?

    The shortages for this years class are duly noted, but I'll take the "glass half full" approach and say that having the potential for a big class with the kind of season we could have in 2013 might not be the worst thing. If we can get beyond the mandatory 4 loss season and have a Top Ten team, it could be nice to have some extra spots available. We hope to have a number of quality guys signed before the season plays out, of course, but combine a solid season with available room and we might do better with the late rush.

    I'm not going to say what I think about two players that left for other schools as my thoughts are not family oriented, but losing Walker does not hurt in my view as I saw him as a potential cancer to the WR group based on the inability to trust his word and the "me" first attitude.

    I feel the WR that is visiting today for Junior Day is better than Walker and much faster. So we will survive.

    mfldhuskers

  • TheUnknownFan said...

    As we know, a highly rated recruiting class is a product of quantity x quality.

    By this point, it looks like we come up short in the quantity area, perhaps by several spots.

    On the other hand, the overall quality of the class is very good, and had we filled up with the same caliber of guys we already have, we would have likely had a Top Ten class. We're still Top 15 on a couple of other sites as it is.

    So, would you have rather seen us fill this class with bodies, or are you good with the fact that we have lots of scholarships to work with next year?

    The shortages for this years class are duly noted, but I'll take the "glass half full" approach and say that having the potential for a big class with the kind of season we could have in 2013 might not be the worst thing. If we can get beyond the mandatory 4 loss season and have a Top Ten team, it could be nice to have some extra spots available. We hope to have a number of quality guys signed before the season plays out, of course, but combine a solid season with available room and we might do better with the late rush.

    Good write up. This years class should be better if the coaching staff learned from past errors, so I agree with you on having extra schollies to use this year where we missed out on players this past cycle.

    Sandhiller

  • You can always turn a need unfilled into a positive with the right approach and effort. In this case, we need to concentrate on CB's, OT, DT, WR and Safety as priority for next year. We can "over sign" with a few early enrollees and bring in top-rated JUCO's in January to overcome the glaring needs. Jonathan Rose looks to be one of the best talents we've seen in a few years at CB and could easily lock down one of those spots with good work ethic, which would take some pressure off that position. It looks like we've done well last year with walk-on's and will again this year, as in years past we seem to have one or two of them step up a fill some needs.

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    Zonie87

  • Good post Unknown. Spot on as usual.

    WaterfowlJunky

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    56e478

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    alohahusker

  • TheUnknownFan said...

    As we know, a highly rated recruiting class is a product of quantity x quality.

    By this point, it looks like we come up short in the quantity area, perhaps by several spots.

    On the other hand, the overall quality of the class is very good, and had we filled up with the same caliber of guys we already have, we would have likely had a Top Ten class. We're still Top 15 on a couple of other sites as it is.

    So, would you have rather seen us fill this class with bodies, or are you good with the fact that we have lots of scholarships to work with next year?

    The shortages for this years class are duly noted, but I'll take the "glass half full" approach and say that having the potential for a big class with the kind of season we could have in 2013 might not be the worst thing. If we can get beyond the mandatory 4 loss season and have a Top Ten team, it could be nice to have some extra spots available. We hope to have a number of quality guys signed before the season plays out, of course, but combine a solid season with available room and we might do better with the late rush.

    I'd rather be short than see us give out token spots.

    That being said....the two (being short and filling the class with token players) don't have to be tied at the hip. We can and need to be better in terms of making sure our needs are filled.

    We have room for 28 in this class (and have even more room with Ash's departure) and we may well struggle to hit 25. Need to be better here.

    We can always say that it'll just leave us room for next year, but that's not a recipe for success. People said it last year when we undersigned....well...here we are again this year...short of spots. As we've seen this year (CB and JUCO DT) it's no guarantee we fill our needs next year. Using the excuse of waiting til next year just means you don't have that talent on your roster now and it means you aren't developing it. Maybe you have it next year. Maybe you don't. If you do have it, it is a year younger and year less experienced.

    This program is very close to doing big things. A player or two here or there can make a huge difference. And constantly being short of scholarships every year could very likely be costing us that player or two.

    As I said above...I'm not advocating filling the class just to fill it. That creates dead weight which is another argument down the line. What I am advocating is us doing a better job of getting where we need to be with talented players. It's unrealistic to think we will be perfect every year. But we are sitting 4-6 guys below our limits. There's a middle ground in there that needs to be found.

    nustudent ●

  • Zonie87 said...

    You can always turn a need unfilled into a positive with the right approach and effort. In this case, we need to concentrate on CB's, OT, DT, WR and Safety as priority for next year. We can "over sign" with a few early enrollees and bring in top-rated JUCO's in January to overcome the glaring needs. Jonathan Rose looks to be one of the best talents we've seen in a few years at CB and could easily lock down one of those spots with good work ethic, which would take some pressure off that position. It looks like we've done well last year with walk-on's and will again this year, as in years past we seem to have one or two of them step up a fill some needs.

    Won't need early enrollees next year. We'll have room in the class. Small senior class next year

    This post was edited by nustudent on 1/26/2013 at 11:19 AM

    nustudent ●

  • nustudent said...

    Won't need early enrollees next year. We'll have room in the class. Small senior class next year

    You may be correct, just speculating. If we can keep McWilson, sign Johnson and Drake we might still be able to bring in one or two early enrollees depending on attrition and any walk-on scholarships.

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    Zonie87

  • Zonie87 said...

    You may be correct, just speculating. If we can keep McWilson, sign Johnson and Drake we might still be able to bring in one or two early enrollees depending on attrition and any walk-on scholarships.

    Maybe...but we don't need the room. We only have about 16 seniors set to be on scholarship next year. We can bring an all the early enrollees we want to...we don't need to worry about room though.

    nustudent ●

  • nustudent said...

    I'd rather be short than see us give out token spots.

    That being said....the two (being short and filling the class with token players) don't have to be tied at the hip. We can and need to be better in terms of making sure our needs are filled.

    We have room for 28 in this class (and have even more room with Ash's departure) and we may well struggle to hit 25. Need to be better here.

    We can always say that it'll just leave us room for next year, but that's not a recipe for success. People said it last year when we undersigned....well...here we are again this year...short of spots. As we've seen this year (CB and JUCO DT) it's no guarantee we fill our needs next year. Using the excuse of waiting til next year just means you don't have that talent on your roster now and it means you aren't developing it. Maybe you have it next year. Maybe you don't. If you do have it, it is a year younger and year less experienced.

    This program is very close to doing big things. A player or two here or there can make a huge difference. And constantly being short of scholarships every year could very likely be costing us that player or two.

    As I said above...I'm not advocating filling the class just to fill it. That creates dead weight which is another argument down the line. What I am advocating is us doing a better job of getting where we need to be with talented players. It's unrealistic to think we will be perfect every year. But we are sitting 4-6 guys below our limits. There's a middle ground in there that needs to be found.

    NUstudent is really sinked up with me on this subject. I literally check to see if he has posted yet so I don't waste my time.

    Thanks NU.

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    beardown2489 ●

  • good discussing by UNK and NUS, but in football recruiting coequal with quantity and quality is filling of key gaps;

    based on the fact that we did not bring immediate help into the D line, appears to move this class from a B++ to a B or B-, depending on final shakeout.

    gbr

    eastcobbhuskerd

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    Bamboo, or else...

    Panda_Bear ●

  • Good thoughtful question TUF. I favor quality over quantity. Body filling just complicates matters, although I can see taking 2 or 3 educated chances each year. Also, while I don't discount the thought and work some of done to try to crunch the numbers, I'm not so convinced that we have 28 spots available. Such a number seems to ignore the walk on program. Some fans grossly overemphasize the importance of this facet of the program, but it is important given the geographical issues the staff has to deal with in recruiting. I would think the staff has made a preliminary decision about who it intends to offer scholarships to within that program, and if that is 3 then it has a big affect on the number of spots we can sign in February. We as fans won't know the answer to that until early next season.

    Second, I've talked several times about the change in recruiting philosophy and tactics the staff has undertaken this year, and that the fruit from it this year is impressive but should be much greater this next year as they begin to iron out some kinks. For this year's class I think that makes it all the more wiser to avoid reaches and concentrate on getting better people in next year.

    Finally, virtually every program in the country every year has positions of need it isn't able to address to the degree the staff or fans want to. It is the nature of the beast. The DL situation is a terrible failure (as it relates to next year's team only) but overall this is and will remain a top 15 class regardless of what McWilson does and assuming we get Johnson on the OL. CB, DL, WR and OT need to be major areas of focus next year with high quality kids who are ready to play soon into their careers.

    This post was edited by westoaksarthur on 1/27/2013 at 12:01 PM

    westoaksarthur

  • westoaksarthur said...

    Good thoughtful question TUF. I favor quality over quantity. Body filling just complicates matters, although I can see taking 2 or 3 educated chances each year. Also, while I don't discount the thought and work some of done to try to crunch the numbers, I'm not so convinced that we have 28 spots available. Such a number seems to ignore the walk on program. Some fans grossly overemphasize the importance of this facet of the program, but it is important given the geographical issues the staff has to deal with in recruiting. I would think the staff has made a preliminary decision about who it intends to offer scholarships to within that program, and if that is 3 then it has a big affect on the number of spots we can sign in February. We as fans won't know the answer to that until early next season.

    Second, I've talked several times about the change in recruiting philosophy and tactics the staff has undertaken this year, and that the fruit from it this year is impressive but should be much greater this next year as they begin to iron out some kinks. For this year's class I think that makes it all the more wiser to avoid reaches and concentrate on getting better people in next year.

    Finally, virtually every program in the country every year has positions of need it isn't able to address to the degree the staff or fans want to. It is the nature of the beast. The DL situation is a terrible failure (as it relates to next year's team only) but overall this is and will remain a top 15 class regardless of what McWilson does and assuming we get Johnson on the OL. CB, DL, WR and OT need to be major areas of focus next year with high quality kids who are ready to play soon into their careers.

    We have 28 spots available in this class.

    While it is true that we don't know who the coaches will award spots to in the walk-on program...it's also true that there will be attrition from now until September 1. History since Bo has been here tells us that there will be another 4-5 players that either transfer/take a medical/don't qualify between now and September 1. You add those 4-5 spots with the 4 spots we under the 85 man total (7 under the class limit) and we are set to be 8-9 guys short come fall. That is unacceptable. There are walk-ons that may be worthy of a spot. There aren't 8 or 9 of them though

    nustudent ●

  • I would rather those ships don't get filled by nobody's. honestly give them to senior Walk-ons and use them next year.

    DON'T WASTE SCHOLLYS!!!!!

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    eastcobbhuskerd

  • nustudent said...

    We have 28 spots available in this class.

    While it is true that we don't know who the coaches will award spots to in the walk-on program...it's also true that there will be attrition from now until September 1. History since Bo has been here tells us that there will be another 4-5 players that either transfer/take a medical/don't qualify between now and September 1. You add those 4-5 spots with the 4 spots we under the 85 man total (7 under the class limit) and we are set to be 8-9 guys short come fall. That is unacceptable. There are walk-ons that may be worthy of a spot. There aren't 8 or 9 of them though

    Speculation, nothing more.

    westoaksarthur

  • westoaksarthur said...

    Speculation, nothing more.

    How so?

    The number of scholarships isn't speculation. That's basic math.
    The amount of players leaving....it's based on past averages.

    nustudent ●

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    beardown2489 ●

  • nustudent said...

    How so?

    The number of scholarships isn't speculation. That's basic math. The amount of players leaving....it's based on past averages.

    So the 4-5 players. Is that from end of season to the next? camp? signing day to first game. some leave. Do your numbers include the 3 that have left in the last few weeks, so that there will only be 1-2 more. You have no info whatsoever what the coaches have in mind for awarding walk-ons THIS SEASON. You are guessing within a close range but you could easily be off by 3 or more. Speculation, and nothing more.

    westoaksarthur

  • Gotta fill your roster to get depth. Not only do we want quality, but we also need quantity.

    How has the SEC dominated? Because they have been able to bring in more players on a yearly basis. Recruiting is basically a numbers game.

    Bills2 ●

  • westoaksarthur said...

    So the 4-5 players. Is that from end of season to the next? camp? signing day to first game. some leave. Do your numbers include the 3 that have left in the last few weeks, so that there will only be 1-2 more. You have no info whatsoever what the coaches have in mind for awarding walk-ons THIS SEASON. You are guessing within a close range but you could easily be off by 3 or more. Speculation, and nothing more.

    It is from December 1 to the mid-August. We have averaged 8-9 defections a year under Bo. Those defections come from injury, transfer, non-qualifiers, disciplinary action.

    My number of 4-5 is after the 3 that have left in December-January.

    I admitted I don't know what the coaches have in store for walk-ons. But if we don't finish this class strong and if past history repeats itself, we aren't going to be looking at only a few spots awarded for walk-ons. We are going to have 8-9 available.

    nustudent ●

  • Bills2 said...

    Gotta fill your roster to get depth. Not only do we want quality, but we also need quantity.

    How has the SEC dominated? Because they have been able to bring in more players on a yearly basis. Recruiting is basically a numbers game.

    Exactly.

    Much more easy/realistic to just bring in more players than expect the coaches to have a higher success ratio than normal.

    This post was edited by nustudent on 1/28/2013 at 8:09 AM

    nustudent ●

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