Footy fun on the South Platte River in DENVER — A short break is drawing to a close, and with this week’s College World Series, so too will the 2023-24 college sports calendar.
University of Nebraska Athletics finished with the NCAA Track & Field Championships on June 8 and had a strong year on the field, with more peaks than valleys. Off the field, the blockbuster hits continued with the departure of athletic director Trev Alberts to Texas A&M University and NU turning to Troy Dannen, a friend of Matt Lue’s and also a major league AD.
Alberts and several other factors make the university a great opportunity for Dannen, who will likely receive a bonus later this year for the Huskers’ performance in the Director’s Cup. Nebraska may be in the top 10, but that’s an unusual feat for a university in a landlocked state with a population of 1.98 million. NU has struggled mightily in football over the past decade, but it has been dominant in other areas and has become a national brand worthy of a place in the Big Ten.
Anyone else reading this…
Nebraska is looking to change the football conversation.
Dannen, the university and the fan base are united in their support of Lue, who oversees the largest staff in the team’s history and owns a new $165 million football facility for player recruiting and development.
NU has its first bona fide five-star QB on the team in Dylan Raiola since Tommy Frazier.
The Huskers boast two coordinators making more than $1 million a year, a well-organized and well-funded football team and zero debt, the envy of many football programs.
For Rhule and others, this is an opportunity to put more money into football.
“We can’t take a step back,” Rhule said boldly in the week in March between Alberts’ departure and Dannen’s arrival. “We have to take a step forward. We can’t be ashamed of our desire to be the best. We can’t care about what the public thinks. We can’t care about what people say. The way you win in college sports today is by investing.”
“You don’t get a return until you invest. In agriculture across the state, you don’t get a harvest until you plant a seed.”
Ruhle is an East Coaster at heart, but he will also speak a language Midwesters can understand to make his point.
And in Lue’s eyes, the goal is to rival, say, the University of Georgia, a top-ranked program in college football that employs a pro-style offense and aggressive defense, routinely selects six or seven players in the NFL Draft, adds few transfers and only loses transfers who fail to break into the starting lineup.
UGA and NU are separated in many ways right now, elite skill players on the offensive side of the ball being one, but when it comes to infrastructure and support, Nebraska has a run for its money.
Some would argue that Nebraska matches or exceeds any FBS program within a 500-mile radius, at least when it comes to the materials required to build an elite program.
A new feature coming to Husker Extra this June will begin to evaluate how NU ranks within its region in terms of performance and potential.
Fewer than 20 teams are within 500 miles of Omaha and Lincoln, Notre Dame didn’t make the cut, Arkansas surprisingly did, and Nebraska has fallen behind more than half the teams in the past decade.
There are many reasons for this, but the first is a lack of consistency.
Another executive change in March prompted a coaching change which led to a player change. The end result is sloppy play, which manifests itself in numbers (a -54 turnover margin over the past decade) and anecdotes (shoddy special teams). There’s no need to recount the low moments; they’re burned into my brain.
How influential is the past? Our rankings consider that.
College football is changing beneath our feet with court settlements, collective bargaining, and the introduction of revenue sharing with college athletes. Budget size and revenue will matter. Stadium size will matter as well – every penny the division can get.
How much of an impact does league affiliation have? We’ll take a look at this as well.
Do 500-mile teams within the SEC and Big Ten have inherent strengths (and perhaps challenges) over Big 12 or Group of Five programs that have the potential to win more games? There’s a slim chance that Nebraska and Kansas will play on the field. KU has won more recent games and could be on its way to a Big 12 title. Does this automatically mean the Jayhawks could go the Huskers’ way in the Big Ten?
What about premium positions? More specifically, a quarterback, a pass rusher, a red zone receiving threat, a good center, a game-changing linebacker, and a punter.
These positions are very important in college football. A smart, experienced center can command an entire offensive line. The difference between an elite punter (Iowa’s Tory Taylor) and a mediocre punter is 5-7 yards per punt. Let’s say Taylor and the opponent each punt 7 times, which is half a football field. Let’s take that into account.
The rankings were released this week and are updated once each summer and weekly throughout the season. Not surprisingly, the University of Nebraska doesn’t start off at No. 1 in the rankings, but NU might be higher than you think.
The future is here, and the past has helped the Huskers prepare for the future.
The rankings will be available on Husker Extra later this week.
Huskers quarterback scheme
The Huskers have a quarterback committee with a four-year contract.
The team starts with TJ Lateef, who will compete in the Elite 11 final event in 2025, and is joined by two current high school freshmen, Amina, the Bishop Gorman star, and Brady Quinn of Naples (Fla.) First Baptist Academy.
While neither will likely be a starter for their respective varsity teams this fall, both attended camp at the University of Nebraska, earned offers and have the school in their direct mail going forward.
Quarterbacks coach Glenn Thomas plans to narrow his field to a wide range of candidates because Nebraska can’t necessarily land a top-tier player every year — or even a top-three player.
Hoiberg builds team for Big Ten
Fred Hoiberg developed a Nebraska basketball team that fought for rebounds every night.
That’s among six players acquired through the transfer portal, all of whom are 6-foot-4 or taller. NU signed three players weighing 245 pounds or more — Braxton Mee, Andrew Morgan and recent addition Berk Buyuktunsel — and added point guard Rory Worster, who is 6-foot-4 and weighs 204 pounds.
This would be a perfect fit for the Big Ten and should help the Huskers dominate most of their non-conference opponents.
Hoiberg has addressed weaknesses in last year’s NCAA Tournament squad and will try to maintain his team’s strength — the 3-point shot — by developing Worster, Aaron Ulis and Gavin Griffith into better long-range shooters than they were in college.
Why Nebraska Athletics is Successful
The Nebraska track and field team had two top-13 finishes at the NCAA Championships despite the outdoor track not being fully completed.
NU has an incredible indoor facility capable of hosting multiple tournaments, but be careful not to equate top-notch facilities too closely with elite performance.
A grass infield is a grass infield.
It is the tenacity of the players and the quality of coaching that produces superior results.
