Zack Carpenter • InsideNebraska
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@Zack_Carp

Nebraska WR coach Garret McGuire and TE coach Bob Wager got their first opportunity on Thursday to stand at the Memorial Stadium podium and speak with the Nebraska media.
Here are some quick hits from the press conference:

Garret McGuire​

>>> There are questions about whether or not McGuire, who turns 24 years old this month, can be as effective of a position coach as someone who's older or has more experience. McGuire believes that being around so many high-quality coaches throughout his life and young career can help alleviate some of that inexperience.

>>> Joe Brady and Ben McAdoo are two of the coaches he named, and he says Matt Rhule and his father, Joey McGuire, have been his two biggest coaching influences: "They've taught me from a young age how to coach and how to treat people. I'm a little bit ahead of the curve being younger."

>>> McGuire says that he's known since second grade that he likely would not have a significant career as a player and knew he was going to "go right into coaching" and mentioned that he was grinding through film in third and fourth grade alongside his dad.

>>> On his experience with the Carolina Panthers, where he spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons as an assistant, McGuire says it helped him prepare for this position at Nebraska.

>>> Those experiences gave him two years helping coach players who were almost all older than him: "I was around the best of the best – D.J. Moore, Baker Mayfield, Laviska Shenault Jr."

>>> McGuire's father, Joey, has decades of experience – at both the high school level in Texas and now as the Texas Tech head coach – and Garret says he talks with his dad "every day" to ask him questions, and one of the best pieces of advice he got was "talk to your players, talk to your players' parents" and get to know them better.

>>> McGuire has been putting that advice to practice, including earlier on Thursday when he had "six guys" in his office watching film with him and just hanging out and talking.

>>> McGuire says his mantra and the phrase he wants his room to live by is to get "one percent better," which he wants to emphasize "every single day."

>>> On the players in Nebraska's receivers room: "They're hard workers, and they're competitive. You can see that on tape. ... That standard's already set with how hard they wanna play."

​

Bob Wager​

>>> Nebraska's emphasis on attacking the state of Texas in recruiting took an extra big step with Wager's hire. Wager spent over 20 years as a high school head coach in the state and has a stellar reputation there.

>>> Because of that reputation and the time spent there, Wager says it has been a "homecoming" each time he goes into Texas to recruit.

>>> He feels close with those coaches because "I'm still their peer. Guys, I'm always gonna be a high school coach."

>>> Houston and Waco are two Texas areas that Wager says the Husker staff has spent an extensive amount of time recruiting. Wager's main area, so far, has been in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro.

>>> "We've made a great effort" to recruit Texas," Wager says, and "we're banking on" establishing a long-term presence in the state.

>>> Wager says he will be working in tandem with special teams coordinator Ed Foley and special teams analyst Josh Martin to establish a consistent unit.

>>> On the importance of special teams: "It's an area you can create some separation. We made a living off of that in high school."

>>> Wager said he's been good friends with McGuire's father, legendary Texas high school coach and current Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire, for years. So, Wager says, he's known McGuire since he was "a boy" and knows McGuire's potential in the coaching industry.

>>> McGuire, Wager says, "doesn't need any looking out for" despite his youth and inexperience in college coaching. "He's very well prepared."

>>> Joey McGuire and Wager have had "dozens" of conversations since Wager moved to the college level. He has gathered plenty of advice from Wager about making that jump from the high school ranks and feels prepared for what the job entails.

vailhusker said:

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he was born in 99 that is whack

It's just as hilarious as I assumed it would be haha, his voice doesn't even sound 23 yet! As long as he's a coaching prodigy I'll be happy but it's just soo strange seeing someone this young as an assistant coach haha

Don't know who asked it - "Coach Wager, do you want to get the best kids from Texas to come play at Nebraska?"

What the FUCK is that question? Do you want good football players to come play football? Uhhh...yes...

This whole time I thought it was "Wagner" not "Wager." I think a lot of people in the media had it wrong.

huskerj12 said:

It's just as hilarious as I assumed it would be haha, his voice doesn't even sound 23 yet! As long as he's a coaching prodigy I'll be happy but it's just soo strange seeing someone this young as an assistant coach haha

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So I can relate to this. I worked for Zach Duval's brother in Omaha as a Strength Coach at his facility. I only got the job because I had been an athlete there for years and knew the program like the back of my hand. I did it for almost 2 years being 21 and 22. I actually had done camps with a good portion of the athletes I was now "coaching". I knew them pretty well. Most were high school kids, some college kids depending on the year, lots of youth. Anyway, it took a while to make that mental transition from just another athlete in the group to their actual coach. I tried to gain their respect but looking back there was no reason for them to actually respect me as their coach. I actually worked out with Ben Stille in quite a few camps and "coached" him in 2 or 3 different 8 week periods. At the time, I was still trying to make a comeback from Tommy John Surgery so my athlete mindset was still there. We would play different variations of football and what was called "trash ball" if we had 15 minutes or so after sessions. You could say my competitiveness as an athlete simply too high to still be considered a coach.

I left that job for a couple reasons, but simply being too close in age and not being quite ready to separate myself from athletics at the time was certainly one of the reasons.

G Baby with the early "Let's Frickin Roll" in his time - remarkable.

djw004 said:

Don't know who asked it - "Coach Wager, do you want to get the best kids from Texas to come play at Nebraska?"

What the FUCK is that question? Do you want good football players to come play football? Uhhh...yes...

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ThE fIsH bOwL

I was concerned about his ridiculously young age at first, then I talked myself into it, and now today seeing him at a press conference it feels kinda crazy all over again haha.

I believe in Rhule's judgement, but we can still call it what it is. McGuire seems like a good dude, I'm sure he's smart, but it's unusual to hire someone so young (and SEEMS so young too, he doesn't even sound 23) and I can't help but be concerned about how players, recruits, and parents are going to connect.

Pretty huge contrast between these two coaches today, trying to trust that McGuire is a wunderkind while Wager is saying, “I’ve been a head coach for 26 years. I’ve been a high school coach for 31. With that has come all different types of human beings, different types of kids, different types of coaches, different types of schools. And so I hope that experience gives me the opportunity to bring some value to the program and bring some value to the Coach.”

Oh well! Nothing to do but root for him haha.

djw004 said:

Don't know who asked it - "Coach Wager, do you want to get the best kids from Texas to come play at Nebraska?"

What the FUCK is that question? Do you want good football players to come play football? Uhhh...yes...

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Probably Fat Panda or Shitel

Baron Winnebago said:

ThE fIsH bOwL

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fEw SuRvIvE

Just listening to how these guys do things and how they’re all in sync blows my mind over the previous staffs.
Wager would likely run circles around scrote in a HC position, in time. Even the “kid” seems more of an adult and in sync with what it takes to be a coach than those on previous staffs.

I like pretty much everything Rhule has done so far, his assistant hires, etc.

But I still am in a quandry about this Mcguire kid as our full time receivers coach. It's not just his age... it's that he acts, looks and speaks like he is 19 going on 20. I am not sure he will be able to command the respect of the players that a full time position coach should have. Seems iffy.

Hope I am way wrong on my first impressions of the kid. Just not seeing "it" with him and why Rhule hired him, yet. I'm sure there's more substance to it than first impressions from a coaches meet and greet press conference.

Of course I have NO idea how he actually coaches on the field or handles players in meetings, film sessions, etc. But he has a deer in the headlights way about him - not surprising for a 23 yr old kid where his first full time coaching job is as a major position coach at a blue blood football program. It's not like he has the cache of a star player, either.

I hope to be very wrong about the vibe I have gotten thus far seeing him.

tman87 said:

I like pretty much everything Rhule has done so far, his assistant hires, etc.

But I still am in a quandry about this Mcguire kid as our full time receivers coach. It's not just his age... it's that he acts, looks and speaks like he is 19 going on 20. I am not sure he will be able to command the respect of the players that a full time position coach should have. Seems iffy.

Hope I am way wrong on my first impressions of the kid. Just not seeing "it" with him and why Rhule hired him, yet. I'm sure there's more substance to it than first impressions from a coaches meet and greet press conference.

Of course I have NO idea how he actually coaches on the field or handles players in meetings, film sessions, etc. But he has a deer in the headlights way about him - not surprising for a 23 yr old kid where his first full time coaching job is as a major position coach at a blue blood football program. It's not like he has the cache of a star player, either.

I hope to be very wrong about the vibe I have gotten thus far seeing him.

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Those concerns are fair and they worry me a bit too. I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt because he's got great crootin connections in Tejas, his dad is a very good P5 coach, and Rhule has a track record of identifying young coaches that have great potential.