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Pelini Distances Himself from Junior College Recruiting

One of the major shifts that we Husker football faithful have seen in the Bo Pelini coaching era is in the recruiting.  We have not had a full recruiting period to really look at new Husker coach Bo Pelini's recruiting strategy, but we have gotten a little peek in the last few weeks at what is to come.

One thing that will change according to a great article by the Omaha World Herald, is the Junior College recruiting practices.  Former Nebraska coach Bill Callahan was famous for recruiting a ton of JuCo talent and led the nation in Junior College recruiting for the four years he was here.  29 Junior College players were recruited in that time frame.

Bo Pelini's strategy is different.  He wants to first concentrate on Nebraska High School football players and then focus on out of state high schoolers.  Only if there is a specific need in the recruiting class will the coaches recruit at the Junior College level.

I like that, I would much rather watch the High School  players grow and get better for four or five years than watch JuCo players for two years before they attempt the NFL with NU on their jersey.

Nebraska Gains a Walk On QB from UNO

Wow!  I definitely did not see this one coming.  One of the top prospects of the University of Nebraska-Omaha football team, QB Steve Heiman, will leave his UNO scholarship and walk on for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln 45 minutes down the road.  According to Husker Extra, Heiman was set to take the starting quarterback position in 2008 for the Mavs but will transfer schools to fulfill his dream of playing for the Huskers.

Heiman will join a pretty shallow group of talented QBs in 2009 (first year of Heiman's eligibility).  Zac Lee and Patrick Witt lead the race for the top QB spot after Joe Ganz leaves this season.  Heiman's story reminds me a little of Zac Taylor from a couple of years ago.  Taylor came in as the underdog in the QB race and ended up the Big 12 offensive player of the year.

This commitment shows the recruiting skills of the Husker football staff.  I haven't seen this much interest in walking on for the Husker football program since Tom Osborne was winning back to back Championships!  Keep them coming Bo, I know you've got some recruiting commitments in you before the February 8 national signing day.

Bo Pelini's Contract Includes Educational Incentives

The Husker football program is joining the other 60 Division 1 schools that offer incentives to coaches for academic success.  Bo Pelini can earn up to $250,000 if his Huskers can do well off the field as well as on.  Sports Illustrated reported the story about the incentives to Bo Pelini's five year contract.

This is good news for newly hired Husker football coach Bo Pelini because he walked into an University of Nebraska athletic system that ranked first in the nation the number of Academic All-Americans (252).

It looks like Pelini is already on his way to making that sweet money.  He reportedly walked around Nebraska's campus a couple of weeks ago to make sure the Husker football players went to class on the first day of classes this semester.

All seriousness aside though, the best part of the article is when the SI writer quoted Nebraska Chancellor Harvey Perlman saying "you want a contract that fairly compensates the coach, and signals what's important to the university."  I love it because the coach gets a maximum of $250,000 for academic success and...what for it...$800,000 for winning a National Championship with the Huskers.

As long as we all have our priorities straight.

Watson, Compton Decide to Stay With Huskers

Two people that could make a big difference in the Husker football program in the future have re-committed to the Nebraska football program.

First is Shawn Watson, the Huskers offensive coordinator for the past three years.  Watson was considered for the same job at Alabama under head coach Nick Saban.  Watson has had a great run here at Nebraska coaching the offense and is one of only two coaches that were kept on board for the Bo Pelini era after the firing of former Husker coach Bill Callahan.

Don't get too excited about the Watson story, some think that the whole thing was a big rumor.

The second person to re-commit is Missouri linebacker recruit Will Compton.  Compton has been the talk of Missouri newspapers lately and is considered one of the top three football recruits in the state of Missouri.  After the Husker coaching change, Compton, who had a strong oral commitment with Nebraska, went shopping around to other football programs.  Compton visited Missouri and Illinois and liked both of them. 

I honestly thought that Compton would leave for Mizzou because Blaine Gabbert sign there and the two men signed with Nebraska early on in the recruiting process.  But it looks like the Big Red tradition and new Husker head coach Bo Pelini had more to do with it.

Shawn Watson Leaving for Alabama Job?

There is no official word yet on Husker football offensive coordinator Shawn Watson's status with the Alabama football team except that he has been asked to have an interview with Alabama head coach Nick Saban about the same job with the Crimson Tide.

Alabama offensive coordinator Major Applewhite just recently left for the University of Texas where he will coach the running backs according to the Birmingham News.

So is Shawn Watson going to leave the Nebraska football program for the offensive coordinating job with Alabama?  I personally don't see it happening this season.  He expressed interest in staying with the Huskers after former Husker coach Bill Callahan and most of his staff were fired and has never interviewed anywhere else.

But, Watson is a hot commodity after leading the Nebraska offense to 11th in the nation last year.  And he has only been with the Huskers for three seasons (he coached at Colorado from 2000-2005 before coming to Nebraska).  There is also a comfort risk for Watson.  He has been forced into a brand new coaching situation and might want to fit into the Alabama system instead of new Husker coach Bo Pelini's new system.

Former Coach Bill Callahan Joins Jets Staff

It looks like former Husker football coach Bill Callahan will never leave the news.  But this time it's not about Cornhusker football and the ever-growing number of people in the Husker nation that don't like him as a coach.  This time it's about his new job with the New York Jets.  According to ESPN, Bill Callahan accepted an offer to assistant coach for Jets coach Eric Mangini's offensive line and running game.

Maybe coach Callahan was just meant for the NFL.  As soft-spoken and light hearted as he was, he likely deals with professionals a lot better than he does amateur college football players.

Let's hope that new Husker football coach Bo Pelini works better with college players.  Pelini has only coached on college teams and looks like he has done his fair share of disciplining young players that need it more than the pros.

I just wish that coach Callahan was out of the news, because what's next, news stories about Kevin Cosgrove!

A Number of Huskers Announce They'll Stay

Bo Pelini's first official Husker football recruiting weekend came and went and I couldn't be more satisfied.  The Huskers re-confirmed two early commitments that appeared as though they would de-commit like a number of other players (Blaine Gabbert and Jonas Gray).  Omaha Westside's star running back Collins Okafor and Texas defensive end Josh Williams both "re-committed" to the Husker football program.

Recruiting was not seen as Bo Pelini's strong point, but the new Nebraska coach must have impressed the young players with his on the field coaching skills.

One other player that must have been impressed with Pelini's coaching skills is Marlon Lucky.  Lucky was seriously considering entering the NFL draft this year and skipping his Senior season, but has decided to stay with the Huskers for one more year.

Lucky's announcement to stay is no surprise to me.  It's not that I don't think that Lucky is a bad running back, in fact I think he is one of Nebraska's most underrated running backs in history.  I just believe that he is not ready for the draft this year.  In my opinion, only players like Darren McFadden should leave early from college football.  McFadden dominates every play he is in, Lucky does not.

Pelini's First Big Recruiting Weekend

Fresh off coaching the LSU Tigers to a National Championship, new Husker football head coach Bo Pelini will have his hands full with ten potential recruits from all over the country visiting the UNL campus this weekend.

Two of the recruits are gaining special attention from the media and for good reason.  Will Compton, a linebacker from Missouri, and Collins Okafor, a running back from Omaha Westside.

Compton is one of the top defensive high school recruits out of Missouri and has had a close eye on him from the media after he took a few visits to rival Missouri during the 2007 season.  Compton is one of only a few high profile recruits not to de-commit from the Huskers early on.  It makes sense that Compton would be impressed by all of Pelini's defensive coaching skills, but you just never know.

Collins Okafor is causing quite a stir as well.  The Omaha World Herald reports that Okafor looked at Stanford and Iowa after it was apparent that the Callahan era was coming to an end.  Okafor is the only running back that currently has a scholarship offer from the Huskers after Jonas Gray left early in the 2007 season.  Okafor will meet with new Nebraska running backs coach Tim Beck this weekend and will likely base much of his decision on that meeting.

LSU Win Helps Husker Football Recruiting

The LSU Tiger's win over the Ohio State Buckeyes on Monday night was crucial for the new Husker football staff.  Bo Pelini had more air time on TV than any other assistant coach at the game and it was important that his Tiger defense perform well.  Well, Bo Pelini's defense did perform well, and the University of Nebraska should reap the benefits of the win.

Tom Osborne himself spoke to KETV about the importance of newly hired Nebraska football coach Bo Pelini's performance on Monday in the BCS Championship game.  He said that he was excited to see Pelini do so well, and that recruits across the country will see that and get excited themselves about coming to Nebraska to play football.

And what recruit wouldn't be excited about playing for a coach that produced a defense like LSUs during the game.  After seeing Glenn Dorsey sack the quarterback so many times for LSU, even I want to walk on to play defense for Bo!

Pelini In The Spotlight Tonight

With the new Husker football coaching staff complete with the hire of Tim Beck from Kansas, the spotlight turns to new Nebraska coach Bo Pelini in tonight's BCS Championship game where he will coach the LSU defense for the last time.

There is a lot riding on this game for Bo Pelini.  For starters, this is the first time that Pelini will be coaching in a championship game.  It will also be his last game coaching for the LSU Tigers, he coached the defense for three years.

But more importantly for Husker football fans, Bo Pelini will be in front of millions of television viewers tonight representing the future of the Husker nation and the hope of all Nebraska fans to turn the program around.  It will be up to Bo to prove tonight that he was fit for the job and that he is a defensive guru.  The Ohio State offense is no joke, and Pelini will have his hands full on trying to stop his alma mater's team in New Orleans tonight.

Having Pelini on camera all night will benefit the Husker nation greatly.  It will be great coverage for potential recruits to see Bo in action.  It will also give Bo Pelini the chance to gain the respect of naysayers that think the Husker football team needed a more experienced head coach.