Scott Frost's celebrated Nebraska homecoming isn't going as planned — can an attempted reboot deliver Big Ten relevance?
Frost appeared comfortable as the returning hero in late 2017, but near misses and missteps call for replacing zeal with a reimagined plan.
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Scott Frost's Celebrated Nebraska Homecoming Isn't Going as Planned -- Can an Attempted Reboot Deliver Big Ten Relevance?
by Mitch Sherman, The Athletic
LINCOLN - The road to prosperity in college football is filled with twists and setbacks and often sacrifice. But at Nebraska in the late fall of 2017, the promise of a brighter tomorrow seduced the Huskers and their fans into believing right away.
It seemed so real, all within reach. As the Huskers stumbled to a second losing season in three years, unprecedented in the previous half-century, Scott Frost turned UCF into a national headliner during an unbeaten 13-game run.
His ascension as a second-year head coach coincided with Nebraska's need for a savior. And Frost, despite warning that he did not plan an overnight fix, appeared comfortable in the role of returning hero, the homegrown former quarterback who sent Tom Osborne out on top 20 years before the much awaited reunion.
At the dawn of his fourth season, Frost has won 12 of 32 games, never three consecutively and none against an opponent that finished with more than seven victories. The losses started painfully against Colorado in 2018 and have included three against Cockeye by a total of 12 points, two against Purdoodoo, two against Minnesota in gutting fashion and one especially dreadful performance at home last year against Illinois -- the foe Saturday (noon CT, FOX) to kick off 2021 on the road.
The revelation last week that Nebraska and Frost face an active investigation by the NCAA over possible infractions related to the use of analysts in coaching roles darkens the clouds above Lincoln. Frost's time at Nebraska has been marked by near misses and missteps, self-inflicted wounds and the absence of a postseason appearance.
No, it's not gone as Nebraskans expected 44 months ago, when they illuminated Frost's name in Christmas lights around the state.
"It's been an interesting few years," Frost said before the open of preseason camp, "even back to my first game that got canceled. In some ways, I think we've done a lot of things right. In other ways, there were some things that we needed to get into the league to learn."
At two June speaking engagements during the traditional Big Red Blitz, Frost seemed to enjoy the interaction with fans, but he noted the crowd size had diminished in comparison to his first tour of the state in 2018.
"It tells me I better start winning," he said in Kearney, smiling. "I'm starting to feel like the Charlie Daniels Band -- used to be really big and now just plays county fairs and stuff like that."
This is not a death notice for the Frost era. Rather, it's a recognition that on the search for that road to prosperity, the Huskers again steered off-course. The path is well-worn at Nebraska, which has endured the end of four coaching regimes since its most recent conference title in 1999.
But Frost, his staff, players and the new leadership in athletics at Nebraska continue to push forward, buoyed by ever-fervent fans and plentiful resources. Entering his sixth season as a head coach with a record of 31-27, Frost is signed through 2026 at $5 million per year.
Apparent confidence on the inside is unwavering. With the zeal of his first year long gone, the shift to reimagine a route to compete for a championship in the Big Ten West is underway.
The plan for a Frost reboot, to start Year 4 in Lincoln, features a renewed focus on the details of the game, he said, such as special teams and disciplined play and an emphasis on reducing penalties. Frost has altered his recruiting philosophy to seek size and strength in comparison to the style he coached at UCF and Oregon and tried to bring to the Big Ten in 2018.
His offense has slowed a few beats in accordance with Big Ten style. Quarterback Adrian Martinez, targeted within the hour when Frost accepted the job, has regressed by several statistical measures since taking the reins as a true freshman.
Hopes are high in 2021, though, after Martinez reshaped his body and Nebraska added weapons at receiver.
Frost is finally at ease with the level of player-driven leadership in the program, something that ranked among the most significant problems when he arrived. "That's been a piece that hasn't been complete for us," he said.
With the return of five sixth-year seniors on defense whose careers were extended by the pandemic, Nebraska is suddenly old and flush with leaders.
"This is the year we finally understood that Coach Frost can't just say it and speak it into existence," fifth-year junior tight end Austin Allen said. "It takes him speaking it and us trusting it and following through with what needs to happen."
Notably, Frost himself is in a different place than in 2017. At 46, he's experienced impactful change personally and professionally. When he landed here hours after his UCF squad beat Memphis 62-55 to win the AAC championship, Frost's son, RJ, was 3 weeks old. He and his wife Ashley welcomed a daughter, Alli, in 2019.
Frost's father, Larry, a longtime high school coach, died last September.
This month, Frost separated professionally with his longtime friend and chief of staff, Gerrod Lambrecht, who moved to a marketing position focused on name, image and likeness outside of Nebraska athletics.
And of course, the losing has taken a toll.
"It's been really, really hard on him," said Matt Hoskinson, a confidante of the coach since his return and a senior center and offensive guard with Frost on the 1997 championship team. "I've been around very few people in my life who are as competitive, as intelligent, and knowledgeable of the game."
"The guy has won at every level. So to have gone through this, it will make him a better coach, but it's been really hard. And that adds to his level of excitement about this team. He has a clear picture of not only this year but what's to come beyond."
In his playing days and as a coach, Frost has long been characterized by his guarded persona.
He has his close friends, like Matt Davison, the Huskers associate athletic director for football who was instrumental in pitching Nebraska to Frost four years ago, and Hoskinson, an old Frost rival in football and track and field when he attended Battle Creek High School, about 100 miles northeast of Frost's central Nebraska home base in Wood River.
Aside from his relationships with a small inner circle, the coach doesn't offer much of a look behind the curtain. But ask the people who spend time around Frost what's different about him this month and a common theme emerges.
He likes coaching this team. He didn't dislike coaching his first three teams at Nebraska. But at times, secondary coach Travis Fisher said, "he had to show them how to practice."
"He was trying to get the right guys here and the right guys there," Fisher said. "You can spend a lot of time doing that. Right now, he's having fun, being able to teach scheme and teach details. He's like a position coach. He's right in the thick of things. Players see it."
"He doesn't have to police the culture like he did in 2018."
Frost took a step back last year in calling plays, sharing responsibilities with offensive coordinator Matt Lubick in a collaborative effort similar to Frost's work with head coach Mark Helfrich at Oregon from 2013 to 2015. It represents a considerable concession for Frost, whose own college coaches, Osborne and Bill Walsh, rank among the all-time greats at play calling and have served as models for Frost on his coaching track.
The change has allowed Frost to spend more time in individual and group work with his players.
"It's great to see them understand how to make adjustments on the fly," defensive coordinator Erik Chinander said. "I see them all having a lot of fun out there. (Frost) is running around again. He doesn't have to sit there and yell all the time to get things rolling. He's more comfortable. It's reflected in the way he's coaching."
Nebraska too often since 2018 has stood in its own way.
"We've made mistakes where we can't make mistakes," Frost said.
Nebraska mistakes, such as untimely turnovers in the second half at Cockeye and Northwestern last year and a mishap on the first play from scrimmage against Illinois are burned into the minds of many Huskers.
Frost, from his first conversations with this team last winter, has stressed the same three principles. Play physical. Win the turnover battle. Succeed on special teams.
That can be a difficult request of a young team. But this group, more so than a year ago, can handle it, Frost said.
"The one thing we need is momentum right now," he said. "There's so many good things that are happening in our program. The team's improved so much. The talent's improved so much. The culture and attitude's improved so much. These kids deserve a little wind under their wings."
Frost's new boss, athletic director Turd Alberts, hired in July, has seen that "enjoyment in his step."
"I think it's real," Alberts said of Frost's fondness for his fourth Nebraska team. "His response to them is authentic. I like to watch body language. His body language at practice is high energy. There's a grind to fall camp. It's hard to say everybody is having a ball out there."
"But I really do think -- and he's said it to me multiple times -- he feels good about this team. He feels good about the talent level, especially on the offensive and defensive lines. He appreciates the way they want and are willing to be coached."
Where do the Huskers go from here under Frost?
"We need to get to where it's not just talk," said Nebraska defensive end Ben Stille, among four sixth-year senior defenders set to start Saturday in Champaign. "It's a reality."
The talk that helped define Frost's first three years at Nebraska has slowed considerably. Frost and former AD Bill Moos formed a duo that occasionally came across as brash, even out of touch in their first months together with the Huskers' status among the Big Ten hierarchy.
Since Nebraska announced Moos' departure in late June, Frost has seemed to make an effort -- more than in past years -- to stay in his lane.
"I see grind mode more than I see rah, rah," said Fisher, the secondary coach.
The Huskers must continue to grind.
Even as a huge football complex rises from the ground northeast of Memorial Stadium, approximately $20 million of the $155 million needed to complete it remains unraised.
The Huskers' recruiting class for 2022, with nine pledges, ranks last in the Big Ten, according to 247Sports Composite. It figures to remain a small group, and the pandemic slowed Nebraska more than most Power 5 schools because of its distance from elite talent. But a quartet of four-star prospects from the Omaha area is set to sign elsewhere in a few months.
Culture issues have burdened Frost, from his calling out of Huskers who wore hoodies on the sideline before a cold game at Minnesota in 2019 to a publicized disagreement among players over the decision to pass on a bowl opportunity after a 3-5 finish last December.
Off the field, Nebraska has been beset harder than many programs by transfers. Eighteen scholarship players left in a one-year period that began in December 2019; the program has lost 14 more since the end of last season. And, of course, there was the Oklahoma debacle last March as Nebraska explored options to replace the long-scheduled September game with the Sooners with a lesser foe.
The NCAA investigation, acknowledged Wednesday by Alberts and Frost, looms, though the potential infractions appear minor and a resolution is not likely in the short term. In addition to the allegation of on-field coaching by analysts -- prohibited by NCAA rules -- the Action Network reported that Nebraska staged impermissible workouts during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
"We're always going to do things right around here," Frost said last week on his radio show. "This is something we will work through and get past and move on."
Hoskinson, sending his son Sam, a freshman walk-on offensive lineman out of Elkhorn South, to play for Frost, said he believes the faith at home in Frost remains strong.
"I've known the man a long time," Matt Hoskinson said. "I know what he's trying to accomplish here. And most Nebraskans understand the challenges that he's faced since coming here. But you have a vocal minority that's been pretty loud, so it seems like the fan base is in disarray. I think that's a complete misinterpretation of what's happening here."
The losses, though difficult, have redemptive value, said sixth-year senior safety Deontai Williams.
"Growth comes from losing football games," he said. "It's how you become successful as a team."
Williams, 24, received his first scholarship offers in 2013 out of high school in Jacksonville, Florida. He's seen Nebraska lose respect and some relevance nationally. It didn't receive a vote this year in the Associated Press or Coaches preseason polls.
But in taking a page from the playbook of his coach, Williams said he's confident in the Huskers' talent.
"We can change the narrative," he said.
No matter, an urgency exists to open with a win Saturday. For the sake of the needed momentum of which Frost speaks, Nebraska can't afford another loss against the Illini and new coach Bret Bielema.
"I think we're better almost everywhere," Frost said. "But we've got to go out and show it. And earn it."
The story of Nebraska's push to regain relevance and the story of Frost are interwoven at this pivotal stage. Are they ready to drive out of the shadows toward that place the Huskers thought they were headed in December 2017?
"Adversity shows your true character," Chinander said. "He's fought through adversity and come out better on the other side. I think he's at peace with things right now, and he's in a good place."
The next turn on Frost's winding road with the Huskers is here. Around the corner awaits an answer, four years in the making.
