The Minnesota Model

[timnsun]

I don't know if Mills is a lock to be here next year either. When he was transferring in, he had 2 to play 2, but word was he was looking for 1 year to make the jump to the next level. If he can get there after this year, he may not be back.

Also, if it's true that JD graduates this spring, then he can transfer without sitting a year.

Do you believe Mills has had a season worthy of jumping to the NFL? I sure don’t...

 

[uberism1111]

Mills will be back. No point in putting your brain cells into a worry state over nothing.

 

[jeans15]

What are we losing it Spielman leaves.

Yeah that's what I thought.

 

[uberism1111]

What are we losing it Spielman leaves.

Yeah that's what I thought.

He doesn't graduate until the spring semester. He could end up deciding to stay and breaking a lot of records. He isn't that far off from holding a lot of records.

 

[jeans15]

A senior leader and playmaker.. granted this year he has been outshined by Wandale, but he hasn't had as many opportunities either.

I don't know what the details are on each side, but I am not super quick to just take Scott's side.

It's possible to get addition by subtraction, but Spielman is well thought of and a great player.

What plays has he made?
How does he have leadership.if he is considered a cancer.


We lose nothing if he leaves.

Absolutely nothing.

Kick rocks

 

[Suhrreal]

You guys are crazy talking down on JD. He is a legit playmaker. Assuming the rumors in this thread are true, it will be another coaching task for Frost to get JD on board in the next few months.

 

[NikkiSixx_rivals269993]

What plays has he made?
How does he have leadership.if he is considered a cancer.


We lose nothing if he leaves.

Absolutely nothing.

Kick rocks

I don't consider him a cancer at all. He's always been a big playmaker and came up with it when he needed to in the past.

From where I sit, Martinez is the one who can't come through when he needs too, and much like his coach, he can only talk a big game, but can't actually deliver.

Kind of sick of people who talk a lot of ****, but can't back it up.

Spielman will play on Sundays. Martinez won't.

 

[elfagel1]

I’ve seen the Spielman thing repeatedly on this board and I have zero idea if there’s any truth to it. But I have seen it a number of times and I wonder what the source of this is?

So no credible or reasonable source. Gotcha

 

[The_Glove_Man_rivals300278]

I thought our unifying message was "let 'er rip!"

 

[timnsun]

I don't consider him a cancer at all. He's always been a big playmaker and came up with it when he needed to in the past.

From where I sit, Martinez is the one who can't come through when he needs too, and much like his coach, he can only talk a big game, but can't actually deliver.

Kind of sick of people who talk a lot of ****, but can't back it up.

Spielman will play on Sundays. Martinez won't.

Well, wonders never cease! You’ve found a way to throw Martinez under the bus yet again in another thread that has nothing to do with him.

I’m impressed at how well you do that!

 

[Ewooc]

I don't know if Mills is a lock to be here next year either. When he was transferring in, he had 2 to play 2, but word was he was looking for 1 year to make the jump to the next level. If he can get there after this year, he may not be back.

Also, if it's true that JD graduates this spring, then he can transfer without sitting a year.

BigRed Cob cast guys were saying there are rumors that JD, JoJo, and one other (can't remember who, D line guy I think) may grad transfer

 

[ridge222]

What ever happened with the Minnesota sexual assault "gang rape" case the led to the player boycott and Claeys firing?

 

[Ewooc]

So what did Minnesota have in place at the beginning of 2019 that Nebraska might hope to replicate if it wants to have a successful season — maybe not a 9-0 start successful, but one in which the Huskers contend for the division — in 2020:

Momentum

• Last year, Minnesota finished the season with a rivalry-game victory at Wisconsin, owning the injured Badgers in Madison and securing a berth in the Detroit Bowl.
• Can we beat both Maryland and Iowa? The odds are long, especially against a more stable and talented Iowa team, but I think yesterday showed that we can move the ball against good defenses. If the Huskers can finish drives (especially against Iowa) and put together a healthy D-Line, we at least have a puncher's chance.

An efficient, experienced quarterback

• 2019 is redshirt sophomore Tanner Morgan's third year in the Minnesota system. He has been smart and efficient in getting the ball to his playmakers.
• 2020 will be Adrian Martinez's third year in Frost's system. At 19 years old, he hasn't quite yet shown the on-field maturity (off the field, I swear he's 35) you would expect from a top-notch QB. Can he get to that point next year?

Multiple experienced running backs

• Minnesota's backfield has two fifth-year seniors — Shannon Brooks and Rodney Smith — as well as third-year sophomore Mohamed Ibrahim. Both Smith and Ibrahim have had 1,000-yard seasons, and Brooks had run for nearly 2,000 yards in his first three seasons. Injuries kept them all off the field at one point or another the last few years. This year, they're healthy.
• We will have Mills back for his senior year, and his fifth year in college. He looked surprisingly good yesterday, showing flashes that he may well have an Ozigbo-like senior season. Beyond that, we're not as experienced, but having some players such as Thompkins and Johnson step up to create a three-headed monster can happen, though we won't likely be as rich at RB as Minnesota is this year.

Top-notch wide receivers

• Tyler Johnson is a senior who entered the year with nearly 2,000 yards receiving. Chris Autman-Bell is a third-year sophomore who recorded nearly 500 yards receiving as a redshirt freshman. Rashod Bateman is a true sophomore who had 704 yards as a freshman. Tight ends have caught just 17 passes for the Gophers this year.
• We'll likely have J.D. Spielman as a senior and Wandale Robinson as a true sophomore to mirror Johnson and Bateman, respectively. But who emerges from a redshirt year or in the recruiting cycle to add more threats outside will tell if we can match Minnesota. We actually should have more tight end productivity than we do now and than Minnesota currently has.

A massive offensive line

• Minnesota runs 325, 325, 305, 345 and 400 pounds out to start the game. They're not especially experienced — no seniors, but two fourth-year players — but they do a good job pushing around lines such as ours.
• We will finally have some experience on the line next year, even if it's provided by the same group that has been disappointing through most of the season. If yesterday is a sign, those disappointments may be fewer in the near future. This year's line averages 34 pounds less per man than Minnesota's and that might not change immediately, but experience and agility should help Nebraska perform better.

A senior-dominated defense

• Minnesota starts six seniors on defense, but it also features two graduate transfers who have multiple years left to play for the Gophers — Micah Dew-Treadway came from Notre Dame and has two years to play, while Benjamin St-Juste came from Michigan and has three full years to play.
• Without any depth chart changes, Nebraska is likely to start about six seniors next year. The key will be finding breakout players in the current redshirt list or finding some game-changers in the transfer portal.

A unifying message

• "Row the Boat," baby. It may sound corny, but it appears everybody has bought in. Kids like that kind of stuff.
• I'm not sure what our unifying message is yet. I'm hoping it's more than the "We're Nebraska, and You're Not" that seems to carry absolutely no weight these days, and may do more psychic harm than good.

A perfect momentum-building schedule

• Minnesota started with a good FCS team (South Dakota State) and two Group of 5 teams before hitting the Big Ten. They didn't look good, but they won. Then they hit the Big Ten, playing their first four conference games against three losing teams (Purdue, Nebraska and Rutgers) and an Illinois team still finding itself. It was the perfect runway to beating Penn State at home and giving Iowa all it could handle on the road before running out of gas.
• Unfortunately, Nebraska has no runway as we open against Purdue, a team that Scott Frost is 0-2 against. After that, we get South Dakota State and two Group of 5 teams, though Central Michigan is better than Georgia Southern, and Cincinnati is much better than Fresno. We get all four of those teams in Lincoln, where hope will be high as it always is. Nebraska re-enters the Big Ten with three winnable games against Northwestern, Illinois and Rutgers. After that our schedule toughens considerably with a five-week finish against Ohio State, Penn State, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

I'm not predicting that we'll replicate Minnesota's success — in fact, I'll be happy with a 6-1 or maybe even a 5-2 start. But if we can fill the holes noted above, we can at least put ourselves in position to at least be in contention for the division title the last three weeks of November.

Good post. Here is my opinion on MN, I think their season could have just as easily turned the other way. I know some in MN were saying crap like, "Fleck was saving all his good offensive plays for BIG10, thats why they struggled against crap teams." I think one of those 4 games goes against them and they are probably a 4 or 5 loss team. Similar to us with the CU game. I think we get that win and we are probably a 8 or 9 win team. Timing, momentum, mindset and a little luck are huge factors that many forget about. MN was lucky enough to end up on the + side of momentum, Nebraska ended up on the other.
MN is not going to be every year contender for the West like Wisc, mainly because they are a stepping stone school. Any good coach that has them running good will bolt for a top program asap. I would be shocked if Fleck is there in another year or 2.

 

[NikkiSixx_rivals269993]

BigRed Cob cast guys were saying there are rumors that JD, JoJo, and one other (can't remember who, D line guy I think) may grad transfer

It means there are others who are thinking about it as well who are not yet known.

I can see the narrative from one side saying they didn't buy in completely and need to go.

I can also see a different narrative where they bought in, and saw that it wasn't working and as a result, no longer believe.

I'm not sure it really matters which scenario is true or not, but from my vantage point, he has to reboot the system with some new players and see if it takes off like he originally expected it to.

I personally have little confidence this will get fixed without a change at the QB position, but doubt that is happening per Scott's recent statements implying that Adrian is going through the same processes that he also once did as a starter.

If the second reboot fails, then it's hard to say what happens next.

Regardless of the reason(s), if a player doesn't have faith in the staff or the system, they would do themselves and the program best by moving on. At the end of it all, Scott will be judged on his success or lack there of, and players need to do what is in their best interest too.

 

[Ewooc]

It means there are others who are thinking about it as well who are not yet known.

I can see the narrative from one side saying they didn't buy in completely and need to go.

I can also see a different narrative where they bought in, and saw that it wasn't working and as a result, no longer believe.

I'm not sure it really matters which scenario is true or not, but from my vantage point, he has to reboot the system with some new players and see if it takes off like he originally expected it to.

I personally have little confidence this will get fixed without a change at the QB position, but doubt that is happening per Scott's recent statements implying that Adrian is going through the same processes that he also once did as a starter.

If the second reboot fails, then it's hard to say what happens next.

Regardless of the reason(s), if a player doesn't have faith in the staff or the system, they would do themselves and the program best by moving on. At the end of it all, Scott will be judged on his success or lack there of, and players need to do what is in their best interest too.

Guys like Jo Jo and JD seemed to be some of the upper class guys that had bought in. If they do indeed transfer, I would assume it is because they aren't seeing progress and have stopping believing in Frost and the system. Talk only goes so far, we are in a world where people want immediate results, not just us fans but players as well. 2 years in with little to no progress, I don't necessarily blame some who want to look elsewhere. Although I also don't see many top schools being very interested in players from a team who had b2b losing seasons. Like others have mentioned, we need players who are committed 100% no matter what. If they are in doubt about Frost or Nebraska, it is probably for the best for them and us to move on.

 

[Charlie Marlow_rivals363743]

So no credible or reasonable source. Gotcha

yeah