Almost August

It’s the last week of July and as the days grow shorter and NFL teams are already in training camp it can mean only one thing. College football programs around the country will start their own fall camps within the next week. Nebraska will start practice August 4th in preparation for their 2008 season that starts with Western Michigan in Lincoln on August 30th.

In roughly four and a half weeks we’ll have the opportunity to see the new version of Nebraska Football. However, the offense may look a little familiar. As most of you probably know Offensive Coordinator Shawn Watson and Wide Receivers coach (and Recruiting Coordinator) Ted Gilmore have been retained by Bo Pelini from Bill Callahan’s staff.

The big change that everyone is looking for is on the other side of the ball. A few weeks ago, before the Big XII Media Days down here in Kansas City took place, Pelini stated that there are no Blackshirts on the team as of yet. I like the attitude and mentality that these things are not just handed out because you start for Nebraska on defense, because as last year clearly showed, the starting unit was in no way deserving of the notoriety of having a Blackshirt.

I’m personally not expecting the jump the defensive unit made from 2002 to 2003 when Pelini thrust the Huskers from a middle of the pack squad to nearly tops in the nation defensively. I’m hoping for it, but it’s a big hill to climb. The main thing I want to see is a team that doesn’t look like they have cement in their cleats and doesn’t die. It’s hard to imagine things staying status quo, or God forbid, get worse.

The team is leaner. Offensive Guard Matt Slauson has lost weight as has MIKE Linebacker Phillip Dillard. How will this translate into success on the field? Remember in Rocky III when Rocky got all inflated and soft fighting “suckas” as Clubber Lang put it? It wasn’t until he trimmed down after finding the eye of the tiger (not a not to Missouri, mind you) that he knocked out Lang. This is probably a really dumb analogy, but I really love that movie. I’m not saying that the defense will be able to knock everyone out, I’m just saying and hoping it’s not a repeat of last year on the field.

When you have as much time as the fans of Nebraska to ponder last year and look for any sign of progress that points towards any improvement this season, you look under just about every stone you can find. As of today there are 33 days between now and August 30th. Let the countdown begin.

In the Door

The Nebraska Athletic Department Development office made the information available for new season ticket holders today and I was able to get my foot in the door as a season ticket holder in our first year of donating. I will be able to look down upon all the Husker faithful as I am in section 39, row 99 and seats 15 and 16. So we are basically in the northeast corner of the stadium, but at least we have a backrest. Hopefully as the years go on, the donations go up and the "priority points" accumulate, I'll get a little closer.

GO BIG RED!!

A Return to Form

Now that the calendar has gone from May to June and now into July, the Husker blog here will be heating up again. Recruiting is about to start taking a turn for the more exciting with a prospect by the name of Cody Green making a decision between either a stint in Lincoln or down in Texas for the Aggies. Green is one of the higher rated dual-threat quarterbacks in the country and could make a sizable impact for this team in the next few years provided he commits to Nebraska and then signs in February of 2009.

According to my calculations the season will begin in no less than 53 days, which can put a smile on anyone's face considering if you aren't a die hard baseball fan, this time of the year can prove to be very boring on the sports front. Although watching my Red Sox and following Formula 1, once we move past the 4th of July, my focus tends to return to my beloved Huskers. So in the coming days and weeks I'll be back on with some insight into the team and some opinions on the Big XII and the college football landscape at large.

One thing that will be spun into the mix this year will be a considerable amount of information regarding a rising North power in the Missouri Tigers. Since my last post, I've been hired by an individual who has close, very close ties, to the University of Missouri. I'll actually be behind enemy lines September 20th (a Nebraska bye week mind you) to help work the sidelines while the Tigers take on a team led by former Nebraska QB and current Husker legend Turner Gil. Will I secretly be cheering for Buffalo? Probably. But as the scoreboard will probably read 87-10 at the end of the game, I may keep that to myself. I'll be sure to wear some sort of parphenilia to keep me honest. It's an experience I can't pass up, even if it is the Tigers.

Great Expectations

You may or may not have noticed as a Husker fan that your program is in good hands. Tom Osborne is at the helm as Athletic Director, and Bo Pelini has returned from the South to save our program and restore Nebraska as a national power again. Just like in the 90's when we won the Big 8 and Big XII on a consistent basis. Dreams of Blackshirts and Sears Trophies dance in the heads of many Husker faithful. Ah, to once again go toe to toe with Oklahoma again. Hopefully every year in the Big XII Championship Game. Right?

Not so fast. I know the buzz across the Cornhusker State is ecstatic, and the positive vibes aren't a bad thing, however these lofty expectations should be tempered a bit. Most realistic fans that I converse with are looking at us going 7-5 or even 8-4 next season at best. Teams like Virginia Tech, Missouri and Oklahoma may be too much for Pelini and company to handle. Sounds reasonable right?

There are a few (and I put that label on them because I would like to think they are the minority) that the Huskers have a shot at numbers like 9-3 and 10-2. While I appreciate people that set high goals for themselves, I'm not a big fan of people placing unrealistic ambitions for things that are out of their control. It's one thing to have faith, it's another to be blinded by it.

Some would be content to rub the two sticks of tradition and history together and hope that it sparks a fire that ignites the Husker program as it was during Devaney and Osborne. There are a few things wrong with this. While it may make for a renewed enthusiasm to tell bedtime stories to your young Husker fans while tucking them into bed, it doesn't automatically restore the balance of power in the Big XII North, let alone the entire conference.

While we were wallowing through the Bill Callahan experiment, teams caught up and passed us by. Annual punching bags Missouri and Kansas each pummeled Nebraska last year by a combined score of 117-45. In case you weren't taking notes because you were too stunned that your worst nightmares have come true, those two games should have shown as an example of a team with no identity and a team that was lost. Despite all the great offensive scheming and recruiting under Callahan, Nebraska had lost it's way. All under the patient guise of the good natured, down-home attitude of the Nebraska people and it's fans. Do you still feel robbed? Or have you moved on?

The presence of Pelini and Osborne alone won't be enough to start anew and rebuild what was lost. To regain what we once had, if it can ever be obtained again, is going to take great effort and perseverance from not only the people within the walls of Memorial Stadium, but the fans that fill it every Saturday. What are you going to do if 2008 yields another 5-7 bowless team? Are you going to leave at halftime? Are you going to boo? Or, are you going to partake in the unthinkable and not buy a ticket? It seems harsh and unrealistic to even speak of the beloved sell-out streak ending, but the present state of affairs warrants the question being posed.

So it all boils down to this I suppose. What do you expect? Where do you realistically see our team? If you still see us presently with the Texas's and USC's of the world, I'm sorry. Of course traditionally with our forth ranked overall record, our nearly four dozen conference championships and five national championships we belong. Right now we are on life support. Right now I'm engaged in a thread on a Nebraska message board that asked the question of "which of Texas's recruits would you most like to have?" I remember when a kid would have been labeled certifiable if he chose Texas over Nebraska. Now we fantasize about which one of their players we covet and wish upon a star we could have.

How far we seem to have fallen. But I have faith that the program, just like the people in the area, have the ability to pick themselves up off the floor and dust themselves off and return to striving for excellence. The only question is how much patience will you have? Are you willing to let Osborne drag his legendary name into the muck that could be created from unmet expectations? How about this, do you even remember when Osborne was under criticism from his own fans because he couldn't beat Oklahoma? Or schools in the South? Just keep in mind over the next few seasons that even legends had their time facing the firing squad. Pelini will be no different.

Nebraska Highlights

Ok, so I took a little heat for my last post regarding the return of Richie Incognito the week prior to the Spring Game. Well, I did attend the game and did happen to get a photo snapped with Heisman Trophy winner and Nebraska legend Johnny Rogers. I'm also including the highlights from the 1996 Fiesta Bowl, just to show you all how much I love you. Things will probably be slow for the next several months. I'll try to post what I can regarding 2009 commits but won't give too much detail considering how I was burned by posting about some 2008 decommits. I'll try to keep things interesting and do what I can to update on the regular now.

Cheers.