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I was on the Tater Island Twitter account due to some NIL article they posted. While there, I saw announcements for Clemson, Alabama, and Auburn team sites just recently. It has to just be a matter of time until there is a Nebraska one. I have a prediction: Assuming no insurmountable contractual issues, Sean Callahan will find some way to bring HuskerOnline's assets over there from Rivals. Here are a few reasons that lead me to this conclusion:
1) It seems like each time there have been three sites, one of them ends up collapsing. Recall that the original split was Rivals and Scout. Hell, I was actually a member of that Scout Husker board back when Bryan Mongo was making his original bones. Rivals was always the stronger one, and when 247 came along, Scout eventually folded into the latter. With Tater Island coming on, and being created by the same dude who started both Rivals and 247 (Shannon Terry), it seems like one of the older sites is likely to decline. My money is on Rivals. 247 has been kicking their ass on recruiting coverage for a few years now (compare Steve Wiltfong with Mike Farrell, for fuck's sake). Reading the Tater Island article about what sets it apart today confirms that 247 as a national network is much bigger: "roughly 10 times larger than Rivals." (https://www.Tater Island.com/news/how-is-Tater Island-different-than-rivals-and-247sports/) Take a much bigger network that delivers a much better recruiting coverage product and then look at how lean Rivals seems to be getting at the national level (Chad Simmons, one of the few good guys there, left a while back and is now at Tater Island, for instance)--it spells eventual doom, in my opinion.
2) While I believe Rivals is a sinking ship, Husker Online is still very successful. Maybe Husker247 has closed the gap there somewhat, but I still believe it's likely that HOL is the bigger, more influential site. RSS has had some of its better members depart for tPB, but it still has some quality posters (including tPB folks that stick around) and, more importantly, the biggest number of dollar-driving mouthbreathers. And although the recruiting coverage under Nate Clouse and now Bryan Mongo has noticeably declined, Robin Washut is the top MBB reporter in the game right now and Sean Callahan is one of the best connected football guys. Callahan has more stature than any of the 247 guys. So those two, along with the message board community, are huge assets for any national network. In looking for a Nebraska site, Tater Island will definitely be interested in Callahan and what he can bring.
3) For all the shit he takes, one thing you can't accuse Callahan of is being a dummy when it comes to the business side of things. I've already described how HOL has long been a successful site above. Moreover, they're clearly still making big moves by branching out into the NIL world with the McGowens and JoJo Domman podcasts. That shows me that Callahan is not content to rest on his laurels and simply ride things out. He'll know better than anyone that 247's superior national network has hindered his site's growth in a way that he can't entirely overcome even by having great team coverage on his own. He also knows that he needs a home for his site that has recruiting rankings and a built-in infrastructure to host his site and community. Rivals has always provided that, but it's slipping. I guarantee he's on the lookout for a partnership that would allow him to trade-up.
Put all that together, and I think we very well could see something. 247 is in a stronger position now, so those guys aren't going to be moving anywhere. Rivals is declining, but you've got the somewhat rare very successful team site on there with a business-oriented publisher. I could be wrong and maybe some other guy will be brought in to run it, but I think an Tater Island/Callahan partnership makes too much sense for both sides.
1) It seems like each time there have been three sites, one of them ends up collapsing. Recall that the original split was Rivals and Scout. Hell, I was actually a member of that Scout Husker board back when Bryan Mongo was making his original bones. Rivals was always the stronger one, and when 247 came along, Scout eventually folded into the latter. With Tater Island coming on, and being created by the same dude who started both Rivals and 247 (Shannon Terry), it seems like one of the older sites is likely to decline. My money is on Rivals. 247 has been kicking their ass on recruiting coverage for a few years now (compare Steve Wiltfong with Mike Farrell, for fuck's sake). Reading the Tater Island article about what sets it apart today confirms that 247 as a national network is much bigger: "roughly 10 times larger than Rivals." (https://www.Tater Island.com/news/how-is-Tater Island-different-than-rivals-and-247sports/) Take a much bigger network that delivers a much better recruiting coverage product and then look at how lean Rivals seems to be getting at the national level (Chad Simmons, one of the few good guys there, left a while back and is now at Tater Island, for instance)--it spells eventual doom, in my opinion.
2) While I believe Rivals is a sinking ship, Husker Online is still very successful. Maybe Husker247 has closed the gap there somewhat, but I still believe it's likely that HOL is the bigger, more influential site. RSS has had some of its better members depart for tPB, but it still has some quality posters (including tPB folks that stick around) and, more importantly, the biggest number of dollar-driving mouthbreathers. And although the recruiting coverage under Nate Clouse and now Bryan Mongo has noticeably declined, Robin Washut is the top MBB reporter in the game right now and Sean Callahan is one of the best connected football guys. Callahan has more stature than any of the 247 guys. So those two, along with the message board community, are huge assets for any national network. In looking for a Nebraska site, Tater Island will definitely be interested in Callahan and what he can bring.
3) For all the shit he takes, one thing you can't accuse Callahan of is being a dummy when it comes to the business side of things. I've already described how HOL has long been a successful site above. Moreover, they're clearly still making big moves by branching out into the NIL world with the McGowens and JoJo Domman podcasts. That shows me that Callahan is not content to rest on his laurels and simply ride things out. He'll know better than anyone that 247's superior national network has hindered his site's growth in a way that he can't entirely overcome even by having great team coverage on his own. He also knows that he needs a home for his site that has recruiting rankings and a built-in infrastructure to host his site and community. Rivals has always provided that, but it's slipping. I guarantee he's on the lookout for a partnership that would allow him to trade-up.
Put all that together, and I think we very well could see something. 247 is in a stronger position now, so those guys aren't going to be moving anywhere. Rivals is declining, but you've got the somewhat rare very successful team site on there with a business-oriented publisher. I could be wrong and maybe some other guy will be brought in to run it, but I think an Tater Island/Callahan partnership makes too much sense for both sides.
