Getting Back on Track, Osborne To Be Honored

It seems as if it’s full steam ahead for the Nebraska football program. Sure, there are a lot of questions about recruiting, but there are every year at this time.

How about newly christened head coach Bo Pelini going back to LSU for the BCS title game? Not too big of a deal if you ask me, I think it says a lot about the integrity of not only Pelini, but of interim athletic director Tom Osborne. He understands Pelini made a commitment and he’s letting him follow through on it. How well do you think it would do for recruiting if Pelini comes off as a national champion coach? Plus, by the time the game rolls around pre-signing duties for recruiting will be complete along with the winter program for existing players.

Yesterday I learned that Osborne will win ESPN’s Greatest College Coach of All-Time during the Rose Bowl on January 1^st. It’s just a fan poll that is basically a sort of meaningless award in the parlance of meaningful awards, but it’s still awesome to see the coach win 55% of the vote. Paul "Bear" Bryant was second place with 35% of the vote. The rest of the candidates won 5% or less.

It also looks like Pelini’s staff is starting to come together. Not only that, the offense looks like it is going to change a little bit as well. Remember the Kansas State and Colorado games being run mostly out of the spread and zone-read type formations? Get used to it. It seems Pelini is fairly sold on the theory of a wide-open offense. So the days of quarterbacks like Zac Taylor and Sam Keller will be short lived in favor of the style of a Joe Ganz. It probably won’t surprise you, but the junior Ganz is the favorite to start in his final season at Nebraska next season.

Back to Pelini’s staff, Barney Cotton will return as a coach at Nebraska, Shawn Watson will stay on as offensive coordinator and Ron Brown, who was a coach in Lincoln for 17 years until he left after the 2003 season, was rehired by Pelini on Tuesday. Cotton’s son, Ben Cotton, is one of the nations top prospects at tight end and when his father signed on with the Huskers, the junior Cotton followed his lead.

The recruits seem to be falling in line after Pelini and or Osborne has had the opportunity to meet with them. A lot of questions started swirling amid the five game losing streak and eventual firing of Bill Callahan, but it seems Pelini and Osborne are answering all the questions and are out pounding the pavement rounding up players for the school’s future.

Speaking of what’s in store for the school’s future, yours truly is in the Husker’s future. It’s official, I’m now throwing money into the machine and officially a booster. Hopefully I can get my tickets for next year. I won’t talk about how much my partner in crime and I are donating, but according to a helpful fellow in the athletic department, the prognosis for 2008 season tickets are better than good. At least I know I’ll truck up to Lincoln in April for the Spring Game to see the team under Pelini.