for Blackshirt purists

newAD

All-American
Oct 14, 2007
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I have no problem with it. New staff with a new team. I could see them not doing it this way next season once the staff and players have some experience with each other besides a spring.
 

Wyldcard

All-Conference
Feb 12, 2018
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We’ve had guys wearing black jerseys but haven’t had a blackshirt since David and Suh.
Jared Crick, Meliek Collins, Vincent Valentine, Randy Gregory, Prince Amakumura, I can keep going. You could also say, the entire 09 Blackshirt D were all Blackshirts. As it sit's, that 09 D was probably the best we ever had statistically speaking outside of the 71 Blackshirts. That D was a National Champion caliber Defense, not a National Championship caliber D which is only good enough on the surface to get the Championship game. It was our Offense that the Blackshirts had to cover all year long because of extremely limited QB play in Zac Lee. Lee never recovered from the injury he suffered the year before as well. I just wish we would've had Joey Ganz or a ready Freshman in Taylor Martinez as 09 was his freshman year.. If we would've had either one of those 2 in 09 especially Ganz, we play for the National Championship and more than likely win it. The only real thing we were missing that year was the QB as we had everything esle on Offense covered. Pete Carroll and Nick Saban both publicly stated that they didn't want any part of Nebraska before the bowl games and the Championship game because of The Blackshirts. GBR!!
 
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Mar 4, 2009
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Jared Crick, Meliek Collins, Vincent Valentine, Randy Gregory, Prince Amakumura, I can keep going. You could also say, the entire 09 Blackshirt D were all Blackshirts. As it sit's, that 09 D was probably the best we ever had statistically speaking outside of the 71 Blackshirts. That D was a National Champion caliber Defense, not a National Championship caliber D which is only good enough on the surface to get the Championship game. It was our Offense that the Blackshirts had to cover all year long because of extremely limited QB play in Zac Lee. Lee never recovered from the injury he suffered the year before as well. I just wish we would've had Joey Ganz or a ready Freshman in Taylor Martinez as 09 was his freshman year.. If we would've had either one of those 2 in 09 especially Ganz, we play for the National Championship and more than likely win it. The only real thing we were missing that year was the QB as we had everything esle on Offense covered. Pete Carroll and Nick Saban both publicly stated that they didn't want any part of Nebraska before the bowl games and the Championship game because of The Blackshirts. GBR!!
The 2010 Blackshirts were a great squad as well... almost everybody except Suh was back. The secondary was great that year, Prince, Dennard, Gomes, Hagg, ect. We just couldn't stay healthy with a freshman T-Magic.

Don't forget in 2009, we didn't just have poor QB play but we had some untimely injuries to our running backs. Helu looked great early in the season but he had a bad shoulder in the middle of the season that never healed. A then-freshman Burkhead broke his foot after playing well in the Mizzou game. Against Texas Tech and Iowa State we really didn't have any serviceable running backs. Martinez has said they were going to pull his redshirt that year against Tech and have him run a wildcat type system... but we got down early in the game after Niles Paul didn't jump on a backwards pass that was then returned for a TD and they never put Martinez in.
 
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Aug 6, 2009
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This issue has been endlessly debated on here. But count me among the traditionalists. I think you give the black jerseys out to your starters at the end of Fall camp. That is the tradition and I think we should stick to it. Just my two cents

I criticized Bo when he did this "you have to earn it" stuff so, to be consistent, I will also criticize Frost for doing the same.
 

Larry Hagman's Liver

All-Conference
Nov 18, 2004
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The 2010 Blackshirts were a great squad as well... almost everybody except Suh was back. The secondary was great that year, Prince, Dennard, Gomes, Hagg, ect. We just couldn't stay healthy with a freshman T-Magic.

Don't forget in 2009, we didn't just have poor QB play but we had some untimely injuries to our running backs. Helu looked great early in the season but he had a bad shoulder in the middle of the season that never healed. A then-freshman Burkhead broke his foot after playing well in the Mizzou game. Against Texas Tech and Iowa State we really didn't have any serviceable running backs. Martinez has said they were going to pull his redshirt that year against Tech and have him run a wildcat type system... but we got down early in the game after Niles Paul didn't jump on a backwards pass that was then returned for a TD and they never put Martinez in.

The backwards pass that Niles didn't cover against TT and the phantom fumble on his way into the end zone against ISU. *sigh*
 

Truehuskerfan

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May 1, 2003
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This issue has been endlessly debated on here. But count me among the traditionalists. I think you give the black jerseys out to your starters at the end of Fall camp. That is the tradition and I think we should stick to it. Just my two cents

I criticized Bo when he did this "you have to earn it" stuff so, to be consistent, I will also criticize Frost for doing the same.
Agreed. Not only is it the original tradition to hand them out after fall camp, but you put to rest the endless "when are the Blackshirts going to be handed out?" questions. By waiting to hand them out during the season, you make it into an unnecessary distraction.
 
May 29, 2001
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If they hand them out based on play, I guess I would prefer that they go all or none. Defense is played as a unit and I think you are only as good as your weakest link. If they want to promote teamwork and have the players hold each other accountable, perhaps the should award the jerseys to the first unit as a whole, based on team performance, rather than individual performances.
 

TFrazier_rivals269992

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Jun 8, 2001
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I just want the team to win regardless how the coaches decide to hand out the blackshirts!! Winking

 
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Nebraska Fan

Senior
Sep 1, 2004
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Put in the Blackshirts

If coach says put in the blackshirts it means the number one unit.

If it were me I would hang 11 blackshirts in lockers when scrimmaging starts. At the end of practice everyone would hand in their blackshirts and see what tomorrow brings.

If you play as you practice then bring it every day and the season is much easier.

Seems traditional to me.
 

Redscarlet

Heisman
Jun 17, 2001
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We’ve broken plenty of traditions around here since 2002 and I won’t get into all of them...

If Frost staff wants to wait till after play a game or 2 I’m fine with that even though I prefer handing them out before the first a game. They have a better pulse on what they want to accomplish this first year than the rest of us.
 

Shermski77

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Dec 10, 2009
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I feel like this tradition has really put us in bind, I don't ever want it to go away but it's caused each staff that's been here issues, and it's become a contentious topic among fans. I understand following tradition and giving it to the 11 starters, and with modern football that number is now usually 12-15 guys. But, I also understand the benefits of using it as a motivational tool, a prize to show off to everyone, earning it in the first third of the season. Maybe this year it's different as it's the first year under HCSF, and after year one he hands them out at the start of the season. I think the best approach on handing them out is a season to season one, but breaks with true blackshirt tradition of handing them out to the first unit before the first game. I'm split, if you can't tell.
 
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red scowl

Heisman
May 19, 2018
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We've had black shirt worthy players the last seventeen years. The Suh defenses were the last worthy black shirt defenses.

I have no problem with starters not receiving shirts. That tells the position group they are viewed as not worthy. Rise up or transfer out. The tradition needs to be reset.
 

timnsun

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Jan 25, 2008
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And our AD continues to run his mouth about how we have the big ten running scared

This is just a publicity tour. Other teams aren’t quaking in their boots at having to play Nebraska. They remember what Nebraska looked like last year when they whooped us.

Moos is telling the people what they want to hear. I don’t think this is a big deal.
 
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This is just a publicity tour. Other teams aren’t quaking in their boots at having to play Nebraska. They remember what Nebraska looked like last year when they whooped us.

Moos is telling the people what they want to hear. I don’t think this is a big deal.

I probably agree, but if Gary Barta was running around telling everyone that the B1G was running scared of Iowa, we would all be laughing at him. That's my $.10 by $.02 is free
 

jlb321_rivals110621

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Aug 8, 2014
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This is just a publicity tour. Other teams aren’t quaking in their boots at having to play Nebraska. They remember what Nebraska looked like last year when they whooped us.

Moos is telling the people what they want to hear. I don’t think this is a big deal.


Yes I agree with the caveat that with the advent of social media you need to understand that these comments are going to be widely dispersed. 10 years ago you could say all kinds of outlandish things in a place like Schuyler Nebraska and no one in Columbus Ohio or Madison Wisconsin would ever hear of it.

I have no problem with those comments as long as people wont have a problem if those quotes resurface if an ***-kicking should happen to occur
 
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Redscarlet

Heisman
Jun 17, 2001
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This is just a publicity tour. Other teams aren’t quaking in their boots at having to play Nebraska. They remember what Nebraska looked like last year when they whooped us.

Moos is telling the people what they want to hear. I don’t think this is a big deal.

Times have changed but after Nebraska won the National title going into the 1971 season Devaney said we maybe National champs but we can’t get past our cheerleaders right now...
Taken with a grain of salt that’s how you handle it.

Best to say something in that direction instead of popping off what Moos has been saying.
 
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timnsun

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Jan 25, 2008
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Yes I agree with the caveat that with the advent of social media you need to understand that these comments are going to be widely dispersed. 10 years ago you could so all kinds of outlandish things in a place like Schuyler Nebraska and no one in Columbus Ohio or Madison Wisconsin would ever hear of it.

I have no problem with those comments as long as people wont have a problem if those quotes resurface if an ***-kicking should happen to occur
Totally get it. Moos may be saying these things, but he will have to answer for them if and when we get boat raced this year.
 
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red scowl

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May 19, 2018
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This is just a publicity tour. Other teams aren’t quaking in their boots at having to play Nebraska. They remember what Nebraska looked like last year when they whooped us.

Moos is telling the people what they want to hear. I don’t think this is a big deal.

Yeah, it's hyperbole, but they have the talent to beat all but a few teams. I don't expect nine wins though.
 

red scowl

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reminds me of Peyton Manning and his comments on Mike Vanderjagt. Our idiot kicker gets all liquored up and runs his mouth and now we all have to answer to that. hahahaha

I like it. The program has fallen. He is injecting confidence into it. It's probably good for recruiting too. Swag and all that.

He's put Frost's Huskers out there. They will have to beat somebody they shouldn't. We'll see in the fall, if Moos plays chess or checkers.
 

huskerj12

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Oct 3, 2007
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I probably agree, but if Gary Barta was running around telling everyone that the B1G was running scared of Iowa, we would all be laughing at him. That's my $.10 by $.02 is free

I get that, also keep in mind the difference is that Iowa didn't just hire a guy who ran possibly the best offense in the nation last year. We don't know if he added any caveats to that quote, but I would agree that Frost's offense is probably scaring the hell out of the Big Ten. The big question is how quickly he can get the Huskers to run it well haha
 

Row80

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Dec 11, 2008
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Not ideal. Hope it’s motivation speak.

Did you guys read the article? https://nebraska.rivals.com/news/chinander-aims-to-restore-meaning-of-blackshirt-tradition

You're arguing with Charlie McBride about the tradition. He says that you give Blackshirts only to those who earn them and if that means that you give out only four, then so be it. I'm pretty sure that in the article that McBride said that the tradition "started" as 11 starters = 11 blackshirts, but it evolved to "you gotta earn it".
 

TheBeav815

All-American
Feb 19, 2007
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I've been over it with whether they're actually wearing black jerseys in practice for about 15 years now. Every preseason, "CAN'T BELIEVE THEY DIDN'T PASS OUT THE BLACKSHIRTS!!!"

Every time they get gashed in a game, "AGHGHGHGH TAKE AWAY THE BLACKSHIRTS!!!"

Like a jersey is what makes the difference in whether or not you're good at football. No coach worth a **** has ever been like, "Yeah this kid is an animal in the weight room, unblockable, smart, relentless pursuit, could be an All-American...except he has to practice in a white jersey. Ruining his career. What a waste..."
 
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inWV

All-Conference
Sep 22, 2007
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The announcers always refer to the D as "the Blackshirts", regardless of the in-house drama that surrounds how practice jerseys are given out. I say make the kids earn the shirt.
 
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oldjar07

All-Conference
Oct 25, 2009
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If Devaney had seen what the Blackshirt tradition had become and the meaning behind it, if he had a unit that performed as badly as last year's defense, he would have taken away all the jerseys too. With as bad as our defense was last year, none of them deserve to wear it yet. Give them the black shirts when they earn it.