Nebraska's approach to their roster build..

[Bootleg11]

I was going to post this in the portal thread but probably don't need hijack that thread anymore than I already have.

What we heard going into the 2025 season was Nebraska was going light on 2026 HS recruiting because of a young roster (having a "young roster" in year 4 of your stint is something by the way) and go heavy on portal to get older guys to go with that youth. And then go all in on high school 2027 recruiting.

Obviously NSD is 11 months away for that 2027 class. What do you think of this approach so far and do you think they've executed this plan well enough to be competitive in 2026?

I do think you have to consider that they thought Raiola would be be back in 2026 when they decided to go this route.

 

[lee_carvallo_12]

It seems like you have to be old and experienced on both sides of the lines. I'm excited for Tyson Terry and Malcolm Simpson. I just don't think it serves them or us to throw them to the fire against 22-24 year old OL's in the B1G.

Like both the new DT transfers in the IWCC and Pitt dudes. They are grown, tough ass dudes.

I like the ISU and SC transfer OL's. They are grown, experienced, big bodies.

That said, hope we aren't done adding older, bigger, experienced dudes on both lines.

By 2027, we should have the recruited HS kids in that 22+ category that should be ready to play (Terry, Simpson on DL and Brix, Taumua, Pyle on OL).

 

[BIG TONE SOPRANO]

Wonder if the next coach will keep any of our players

 

[Scarlet ObsessioN]

It seems like you have to be old and experienced on both sides of the lines. I'm excited for Tyson Terry and Malcolm Simpson. I just don't think it serves them or us to throw them to the fire against 22-24 year old OL's in the B1G.

Like both the new DT transfers in the IWCC and Pitt dudes. They are grown, tough ass dudes.

I like the ISU and SC transfer OL's. They are grown, experienced, big bodies.

That said, hope we aren't done adding older, bigger, experienced dudes on both lines.

By 2027, we should have the recruited HS kids in that 22+ category that should be ready to play (Terry, Simpson on DL and Brix, Taumua, Pyle on OL).

We got the Pitt DT?

Is this inside info... I hadn't seen that.

 

[Scarlet ObsessioN]

Wonder if the next coach will keep any of our players

 

[BIGSTICK67]

We got the Pitt DT?

Is this inside info... I hadn't seen that.

@Fargo Husker started a thread on it. Although he's not signed yet according to Mongo.

 

[Kaladin]

We will have a mobile senior QB.

We still need an experienced RB.

WR positions are upperclassman and solid.

TE is an upperclassman and solid with Nelson at the second spot.

Assuming we can get a LG out of the portal, our offensive line will be big and old and experienced.

Our defensive line is still young and on the smaller side. The IWCC and Pittsburg transfers are both sophomores. But we have a lot of talent on the DL and they all seem athletic. It would have been nice to get a talented upperclassman DT/NT to anchor our line but that's probably not going to happen at this point. Davis coming back would be beneficial for us.

LB rotation is mostly upperclassman and should be solid and there's young talent behind them.

DBs we have 2 returning starters at CB, plus McDougle coming in at FS as a senior and he knows Aurich's scheme. The SS and Nickel are up for grabs but we have experienced players in place to take those spots, it's just a question of whether we have developed them well enough. I imagine our 5* DB recruit will fight for one of those spots and will play a lot.

Overall, we will have a good roster, we just don't have the difference makers we need to win games in November or beat teams like Oregon/Ohio State/Indiana.

 

[BIGSTICK67]

I was going to post this in the portal thread but probably don't need hijack that thread anymore than I already have.

What we heard going into the 2025 season was Nebraska was going light on 2026 HS recruiting because of a young roster (having a "young roster" in year 4 of your stint is something by the way) and go heavy on portal to get older guys to go with that youth. And then go all in on high school 2027 recruiting.

Obviously NSD is 11 months away for that 2027 class. What do you think of this approach so far and do you think they've executed this plan well enough to be competitive in 2026?

I do think you have to consider that they thought Raiola would be be back in 2026 when they decided to go this route.

Competitive in 2026? I guess it depends on how you define competitive. Frost was competitive as he was the king of 1 score games.

Competitive to win 8 or 9 games or more - no chance IMO. Although I happen to believe that Rhule will be kept unless he goes 3-9 or something ridiculous like that.

 

[Bootleg11]

But we have a lot of talent on the DL and they all seem athletic

Talented relative to who?

 

[Baron Winnebago]

I think I would say my 3 areas of focus coming into the portal were:
1. What are they going to do to stop the run next year?
2. What are they going to do to rush the passer next year?
3. What are they going to do to run the ball?

If I were to grade what they've done so far, it would be a C-, F, and B.

And barring a run here in the next 2 weeks, I don't think that's enough to compete for anything in 2026 other than bowl eligiblity, which I would not say is guaranteed

 

[Frogsker30]

My brief unsolicited dumbass opinion on position group improvement grades from 25 to now

QB. + short and sweet Dylan’s good. Colandrea imo fits Dana’s mo better. Plus serviceable backups.
RB - really need a pick up here imo. I don’t know if mozee and Nelson can handle Emmitt’s load
WR = would have loved an over the top player but not complaining here
OL + geep instantly improves the room plus added transfers would still like to get more experience
TE = see Wr

DL - need more experience and depth
DE + Roy manning will be a difference here
LB + added some decent players
DB = tbd

K/P = cunnanan was our most reliable kicker in recent history but after watching CFP wish we had legs

 

[Herbie]

My brief unsolicited dumbass opinion on position group improvement grades from 25 to now

QB. + short and sweet Dylan’s good. Colandrea imo fits Dana’s mo better. Plus serviceable backups.
RB - really need a pick up here imo. I don’t know if mozee and Nelson can handle Emmitt’s load
WR = would have loved an over the top player but not complaining here
OL + geep instantly improves the room plus added transfers would still like to get more experience
TE = see Wr

DL - need more experience and depth
DE + Roy manning will be a difference here
LB + added some decent players
DB = tbd

K/P = cunnanan was our most reliable kicker in recent history but after watching CFP wish we had legs

I think a big reason for Emmitt’s workload was where the team was at.
Look at the work load before and after Minnesota.
Emmett wasn’t really topping 20 touches a game. Mozzee and Williams were getting around 6-10 touches a game.

Blasted by minny thing next thing you know it’s the EJ show.
Northwestern they got heat after the minny game for not using EJ enough.
USC game Raiola breaks his leg
UCLA game ucla sucks

EJ turned into the only bright spot on the team and they wanted to kill every ounce of good news they can out of it.

They(rhule) got desperate, adjusted and EJ benefited

 

[whoboppin]

Seems solid to me. I think people have the false impression that the portal is a place to pick up an All American. Sure it can happen, but for the most part its to shore up your roster and rooms.

Starters - 7
QB - Colandrea
WR - Gilmer
OL - Black
OL - Tree
LB - Chambliss
S- McDougie
LS - Willis

Contributors/Potential Starters - 4
Edge - Jones
LB - Foster
CB - Evans
S - Shiggs

Backup/Depth/TBD - 2
QB - Kaelin
LB - Hawthorne

I would like for Nebraska to get a RB, DL or 2, (Pitt guy would be nice), and maybe another OL. If they do that I think it will be a pretty productive portal. A lot of guys who just seem like they are plug and play players. All the guys except Kaelin and Hawthorne are proven to some degree or another.

 

[Toe]

I went into this season with tempered expectations, not chugging as much kool-aid as some, because I knew we were too young at too many positions to expect a big leap. And ultimately, the way the season played out wasn't too far from what I expected.

But if the way to win is to get old and stay old, and there's a really strong chance that your younger guys are gonna end up transferring before you've gotten much production out of them, then is it even worth bothering with high school guys and 'development' anymore? I hate that this is what college football has become, but I think you have to be honest with yourself, here.

As for the way this portal class is shaping up... on the whole it looks like the guys we're bringing in are a modest upgrade over the guys we're losing. But frankly, it's not enough. We're still looking at a roster that's 'middle of the pack B1G team' level, not 'B1G championship/playoff contender' level.