I think the recruiting rankings are a crap shoot this year due to how COVID affected camps and in person evaluations. Hell OU's QB didn't even play high school ball last year. Once the high school seasons are over, there's going to be a bunch of re-evaluation of high school prospect rankings and they will change. I have no doubt about that. I think we have to trust that our coaches know what they're looking at when they scout a kid and are maybe better judges of a recruit's ability to play P5 football than recruiting service analysts.
Gage Stenger Update
- Thread starter Newbomb_Turk1
- Start date
Key words when you've had 4 losing seasons in a row isn't just getting the best. It's getting the "best that will sign with you".
Have you seen the kid play this fall? Heaven forbid we trust our coaching staff's judgement on a kid versus the "never coached a game recruiting analysts". There are going to be a bunch of kids who get re-ranked as their seasons progress and finish.
I have not seen him play, but if read this correctly, Nebraska just offered him? His other offer was K-State? Antirow says he is better than the kids who are highly recruited and leaving the state. He needs to be a recruiting coordinator, oh wait, he can't be coming up with names for the new boss if he is doing that.
Sitting here watching Nebraska volleyball and wondering what Cook is thinking going out and getting the #1 ranked class last year. Doesn't he know what to look for in an athlete?
There is a difference in how you can recruit to one of the premier volleyball schools in the nation versus what you're going to get if you've had 4 losing football seasons in a row.
And they're only a little over half way through their senior season. It is possible that his senior tape is much better than his junior tape. Perhaps they've seen him play in person, unlike yourself, so maybe they're better qualified to pass judgement on his talent?
How about you just quit while you're behind. The majority of this board and the coaching staff believe Stenger has the talent to play for us, regardless of his star rating.
And Reimer wasn't playing the same level of talent in high school as this kid. Reimer got on the practice field with scholarship recruits and was put on scholarship shortly after they saw him compete.
Anti is the unofficial recruiting evaluator/head coach unofficial search committee and he is responsible for reporting to HuskersOnline. Very prestigious title.
Couple scrollers implied he was a walk on with some NIL $ to offset college expenses. Not the case. He is on scholarship and should be.
Well, certainly they are better qualified, that's a duh. You are spinning it though and missing the big picture. But, it does make people feel better if they can find a way to justify it.
I never said the kid didn't have the ability to "play for us." That is a loaded term BTW. Do you think, for a single second, if Nebraska was recruiting a high level and only had 13 spots, they would have bumped the other Nebraska kids who looked elsewhere in favor of a kid they had not previously offered? It has nothing to do with this kid, I hope he does well at Nebraska. I will ask again if this is championship caliber recruiting class?
I will answer again, after 3 losing seasons and a fourth on the cusp of that, are you surprised that this might not be a championship caliber recruiting class?
Start winning and recruiting will improve. They are close. Need to finish this season strong on the field and 2023 will look better.
EVERY coaching staff has misses. Signing a higher ranked class usually translates to wins but not always. Michigan has recruited with the best and have struggled until they got their QB this year. As far as development goes, you better look at the list of guys who were 3 star and below on the defense especially and who are playing at a high level. We could miss on every guy in this class and it won't matter other than maybe QB. We're extremely young due to the extra year granted due to COVID. Just like every other year not following a coaching change, there will be a third to a half of these kids who play at a high level. QB QB QB. THAT is what we need to worry about most.
Yes, this kid isn't gonna help us in the recruiting rankings like Keyshaun Greene, Henry Gray and Marcus Fleming did. Instead he's gonna hurt in the rankings like Garrett Nelson and Isaac Gifford.
Gage is a good athlete. Very intelligent football IQ. He doesn’t do anything great, but he is good at everything. He will play defense IMO.
Judgement of coaches and rankings aside, I’ve made note during games many times this year how many kids from Nebraska on this year’s team are high performers. On the defense alone, which most would argue is the team’s strongest unit, we start Nelson, Stille, Henrich, and Reimer. I’d argue that they all play at a fairly high level. Henrich and Reimer in particular, but I love Nelson’s attitude. We need more kids like him who visibly love the program but compete at a high enough level for it to really make a difference.
In any case, except for Henrich, I don’t recall much buzz for the other guys listed above. I think the discussion about finding the “right” kids is too often glossed over. It’s not easy to do because it’s not just a matter signing only the most talented players or only Nebraska kids. Time will tell for this new kid, but count me as one who is willing to see what he can do.