2023 Off Season Thread

[vailhusker]

Another problem figured out by Rhule&Co "No direct flights into Lincoln for recruits or recruits/players families"

 

[vailhusker]

 

[vailhusker]

 

[Huskerforlife]

 

[Huskerforlife]

 

[Huskerforlife]

 

[Huskerforlife]

 

[Huskerforlife]

 

[Huskerforlife]

 

[Huskerforlife]

 

[Huskerforlife]

 

[Huskerforlife]

 

[Juro]

Edit: it's fake. Please nothing more ever from that Twitter account.

 

[NSECTA4]

If only the world was so lucky

 

[Huskerforlife]

On3 hires Andy Staples as national college football host​

 

[NSECTA4]

Tater Island hires Andy Staples as national college football host​

 

[Huskerforlife]

Includes Prime Rib recipes and a chapter on Frost...

 

[Huskerforlife]

 

[Huskerforlife]

Steven Sipple: Husker fans should feel good about Carter Nelson’s pledge because it was far from a gimme. “He handled it well, but it was a lot of sleepless nights,” his dad says​

Steven Sipple • about 10 hours

Nebraska recruit Carter Nelson characterized it as being “the toughest decision of my life.”

His dad noticed the stress.

“He handled it all well, but it was a lot of sleepless nights,” Jake Nelson says of the decision-making process that culminated last week with the Ainsworth football standout giving Nebraska his verbal commitment to join its class of 2024.

We’re talking about essentially a full year of stress. Carter Nelson, projected as a collegiate tight end, put everything he had into this decision. He built lasting relationships with coaches from multiple schools, most notably those from Georgia, Notre Dame, Penn State, and Nebraska. Those were his final four. He made official visits in June to each of them.

For a significant period, he went back and forth as to which one he might choose.

“For ten minutes I was thinking this team, and ten minutes I would be thinking the next team,” he says.

For the past year, his mind often would race.

“Once it got down to crunch time during this last month or so, I think it got even tougher,” Jake Nelson says.

Then, on June 24 — last Saturday morning — Carter Nelson announced to a group of Nebraska coaches and fellow class of 2024 Husker recruits that he wanted to be one of them. Suddenly, the pressure was off.

Mind you, he still faced the difficult task of informing opposing coaches of his decision. But he now knew where he would spend his college days.

“He’s just been a different kid since,” Jake Nelson says.

Carter Nelson’s decision surely satisfying for NU fans​

Nebraska fans should feel good about Matt Rhule and his staff locking up Nelson’s commitment because Rhule and company had to work diligently and intelligently to get it done. This was no gimme. This would require elbow grease. That became clear to me back in February when I met Nelson for the first time.

Many Nebraska fans tracked Nelson’s recruitment closely for obvious reasons. Losing him to another school would’ve been a painful hit for the program and its passionate fan base. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Nelson — he’s grown noticeably since February — is the top-rated player in the state, hailing from a rural town (population 1,615) in north-central Nebraska that adores the Huskers.

That was evident by the roar that erupted Wednesday in the Ainsworth Community School gym when Nelson announced his college plans to about 120 residents.

“Go Big Red, I’m staying home,” he told the crowd.

Jake Nelson, Ainsworth High’s head basketball and track coach, describes an exhaustive process to reach that point. In one fell swoop in early April, the Nelsons made unofficial visits to Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Auburn and Ole Miss.

They also visited Wisconsin, Cockeye, and Virginia Tech. What’s more, they visited three schools twice — Cockeye State, Kansas State and Oklahoma.

Carter Nelson visited Colorado once, on his own.

He made multiple trips to Lincoln.

“I wanted him to make sure that he was making the right choice and finding out what was best for him,” the elder Nelson says. “As a sports fan, I did not mind it at all because seeing those places, that was fun for me.”

The 46-year-old Nelson has learned plenty about college football and the recruiting component during the past year.

“I learned that when you show up on an official visit, with all four programs we went to in June (Georgia, Notre Dame, Penn State, and Nebraska), it wasn’t just, ‘Hey, you’re another person here,’” the elder Nelson says. “They all really make you feel special. They did their homework.

“In a short amount of time, you get to know that staff well. You begin to like the staff. So, that’s one of the toughest things that I didn’t realize before we embarked on all this. I’m going to be a Georgia fan for at least one year, a Notre Dame for a while, a Penn State fan, because I really like the people that they have on staff.”

Georgia’s “swag” evident to Nelsons, and probably everyone​

Georgia, which captured national championships each of the past two seasons, gets virtually any recruit’s attention.

“They have a bit of a swag to them down there, and they’ve earned the right to have that,” says Jake Nelson, who was especially impressed with Georgia tight ends coach Todd Hartley, who’s created a veritable pipeline at his position.

“We spent most of our time with coach Hartley, and I actually sat in on a tight ends meeting,” the elder Nelson says. “Just the passion and knowledge and the way he teaches his kids — I can see why their tight ends have been so successful.

“If I were getting recruited as a tight end right then and there — and I didn’t live in Nebraska — I probably would’ve signed with them.”

Jake Nelson, though, remained neutral throughout the process.

Make no mistake, the smile he wore Wednesday told you that he was thrilled his son is staying close to home. Thrilled and perhaps relieved.

“Coming into the Nebraska (official visit) weekend, he wasn’t sure,” Jake Nelson says.

It helped Nebraska’s cause that Carter Nelson has an excellent relationship with Bellevue West quarterback Daniel Kaelin, who verbally committed to the Huskers on May 20.

Jake Nelson says it also helped that his son felt comfortable around the other players who’ve verbally committed to Nebraska’s class of 2024.

Plus, “When we were there the first day of the visit, Carter realized that this is a staff that he really likes a lot,” the elder Nelson says. “The family atmosphere is obvious, but he also knows his own family can come and visit him just about any time.

“That was a big part of it.”

Top recruit appreciates Rhule’s engaging nature​

Carter Nelson says he’s enjoyed getting to know Rhule, describing the coach as “genuine.” Nelson also notices that Rhule is engaging. It seems to come naturally to the coach. I think we’re all starting to understand that.

The elder Nelson emphasizes the closeness of Rhule’s staff.

“I think he’s got a group put together that’s used to working with each other, or they’re his ex-players, so they all know the expectations,” Jake Nelson says. “They are the essence of family, and when you have a group that’s family — rather than just trying to piece together some great coaches — I think it makes a huge difference on the kids themselves.”

It made a difference for Carter Nelson, helping Rhule reel him into the fray.

Nebraska had to wrestle hard with Georgia, and other prestigious programs, to land arguably the state’s brightest gem. The Bulldogs already have two tight ends in their class of 2024, but told Carter they were still holding a spot for him. Yes, it was that serious.

For Rhule and his staff — not to mention the Nebraska fan base — it should make the victory all the more satisfying.

 

[Bootleg11]

Tater Island hires Andy Staples as national college football host​

I am not a huge fan of him in podcasts. Comes off as snobby and a know it all when paired with others.