The Walk-on program

[TruHusker]

This was a subject in another thread, thought it might need its own discussion.

First, I am NOT against the walk-on program. As I said in the other thread, years ago, I knew several people who walked on under Tom's tenure. But what will be accomplished with a roster of 150 and a scholarship limit of 85?

Anyone who has coached will tell you numbers are important to a team but there is a limit. You do not get more coaches for higher numbers of players so your player to coach ratio naturally goes up and reps have to go down. I know I sound like a broken record here as I have said this before.

There will always be that kid who develops and becomes a contributor to the program but what is the sweet spot of walk-on's to make the best use of resources? And regardless of what people think, there is a limit to the Husker resources.

High schools are much better at developing players now than they were many years ago. Shoot, Husker Power was way ahead of its time in colleges in the past, now many HS's have some of the same the programs. Kids are much more developed now than they once were.

Currently, there are questions about "player development" in the program. So, my question is do you spread out your coaches over more players and expect to get a higher level of player development? More players could help in the reps category for scrimmages and drills but what is that number?.

Scott is the boss of it all and they are obviously putting a ton of resources into that area of the overall program. What is the ROI on that?

Ask yourself what the overall goal of the walk-on program is? If it is to get more players? Fine, it can't be to get better players - that is a product of excellent recruiting. Is the walk-on program designed to plug holes in recruiting or development? Better recruiting will naturally make the walk-on program in less demand. If you have a limited amount of resources - where do you put it?

Fire away.

Edit: And I do understand the desire/goal to increase connections between the program and the state with getting more Nebraska HS players on the team. How do you measure that investment?

 

[Bleed Husker Red]

I think you can reach a point of diminishing returns, but it depends on how you structure practice.

My understanding is that Frost runs 4 stations, that would be 88 kids running your stuff. You then have a scout team running offense and defense of your opponents so another 22 kids.

That's 110, not sure what happens with the remaining 40 kids Frost wants.

But of any coach since Solich he would have seen how to structure practices to add value.

A great walkon program is an insurance policy for recruiting misses, injuries, transfers, etc. However it is best if those kids are seasoned vets in your program as their experience and maturity make up for talent differences.

It also helps fill special teams and adds players that typically bleed for the program because they are local kids. Also they have to bust their *** to get noticed. Puts a little pressure on the scholarship guy to up his effort, and their love for Nebraska can be infectious. They can be your culture builders and keepers.

 

[schuele]

I always felt one of the pillars on which the walk-on program was built was the Freshman Team. Players who walked on knew they were going to get a chance to practice against other first and second-year players, and have a few opportunities to prove themselves against outside competition. NU still got some excellent walk-ons after the Freshman Team went away, but I'll bet it was more difficult.

 

[TheBeav815]

I think you can reach a point of diminishing returns, but it depends on how you structure practice.

My understanding is that Frost runs 4 stations, that would be 88 kids running your stuff. You then have a scout team running offense and defense of your opponents so another 22 kids.

That's 110, not sure what happens with the remaining 40 kids Frost wants.

But of any coach since Solich he would have seen how to structure practices to add value.

A great walkon program is an insurance policy for recruiting misses, injuries, transfers, etc. However it is best if those kids are seasoned vets in your program as their experience and maturity make up for talent differences.

It also helps fill special teams and adds players that typically bleed for the program because they are local kids. Also they have to bust their *** to get noticed. Puts a little pressure on the scholarship guy to up his effort, and their love for Nebraska can be infectious. They can be your culture builders and keepers.

It's a way to get more chances to roll the dice on finding those "diamond in the rough" kids who are late bloomers. Probably a solid strategy knowing that Nebraska high school football is not exactly known for being the richest source of elite football talent and development.

It's also a relatively risk-free way to try to find guys who are legit P5 players. 150 feels like an awful lot but I don't know what kind of a roster they had in the "glory days." They've already hit on a couple kids they think are going to make an impact. Reimer is top of mind.

Kade Warner obviously wasn't a Frost recruit but his value is evident.

 

[CheeseRunza_rivals]

I'm not big on walk-ons and think that if you have a number of walk-on starters then you probably have a problem, but if you believe the testimonies of those who lived it back in the day, then maybe the walk-ons and instate players served a purpose that Frost wants to get back to. Particularly interesting are the comments by the the out of state scholarship players about providing motivation, Christian Peter's comment in particular.

Anatomy of an Era: Walk-ons

 

[John_J_Rambo]

 

[HUSKERFAN66]

This was a subject in another thread, thought it might need its own discussion.

First, I am NOT against the walk-on program. As I said in the other thread, years ago, I knew several people who walked on under Tom's tenure. But what will be accomplished with a roster of 150 and a scholarship limit of 85?

Anyone who has coached will tell you numbers are important to a team but there is a limit. You do not get more coaches for higher numbers of players so your player to coach ratio naturally goes up and reps have to go down. I know I sound like a broken record here as I have said this before.

There will always be that kid who develops and becomes a contributor to the program but what is the sweet spot of walk-on's to make the best use of resources? And regardless of what people think, there is a limit to the Husker resources.

High schools are much better at developing players now than they were many years ago. Shoot, Husker Power was way ahead of its time in colleges in the past, now many HS's have some of the same the programs. Kids are much more developed now than they once were.

Currently, there are questions about "player development" in the program. So, my question is do you spread out your coaches over more players and expect to get a higher level of player development? More players could help in the reps category for scrimmages and drills but what is that number?.

Scott is the boss of it all and they are obviously putting a ton of resources into that area of the overall program. What is the ROI on that?

Ask yourself what the overall goal of the walk-on program is? If it is to get more players? Fine, it can't be to get better players - that is a product of excellent recruiting. Is the walk-on program designed to plug holes in recruiting or development? Better recruiting will naturally make the walk-on program in less demand. If you have a limited amount of resources - where do you put it?

Fire away.

Edit: And I do understand the desire/goal to increase connections between the program and the state with getting more Nebraska HS players on the team. How do you measure that investment?

I was happy when I heard they were wanting to expand the walk-on program and get back to numbers like years ago and then some.

But right now I am not convinced these coaches as a staff can handle coaching the numbers that they have. Until I see better results on the field, what's the use of expanding.

You're not going to get a lot of walk-ons beating down the door of a non winning, non bowl game team. Maybe I'm wrong.

Again, I am pro walk-on. Just think we're a year away from success there. Out of 65 walk-ons, you will find some blooming gems and push those on a full ride

 

[RealTucoSalamanca]

If Nelson had gone to Wisconsin or Oklahoma or Alabama he would be the same player with the same intensity. Tommie Frazier wouldn’t have been more intense if he played at Florida St, Miami or Florida.

I wish we had more players like Nelson who had that heart, talent and intensity, but because of his attitude not because he was born and raised in western Nebraska.

 

[Waitfourit]

Generally those kids come in with a chip on their shoulders. They are weight room warriors and 100% heart guys. They aren't the natural athletes that can just step on a field and do things others can't so they've had to work at it. Small town kid mentality. It hopefully will be infectious to the blue chip players to see how hard these other kids are working. Look at Ryan Held, is there another person out there that works as hard as that guy? Those are the guys you want in the weight room pushing people. Damion Jackson is one, Chris Walker (though not a walk on) is another.....

 

[HUSKERFAN66]

If Nelson had gone to Wisconsin or Oklahoma or Alabama he would be the same player with the same intensity. Tommie Frazier wouldn’t have been more intense if he played at Florida St, Miami or Florida.

I wish we had more players like Nelson who had that heart, talent and intensity, but because of his attitude not because he was born and raised in western Nebraska.

While I TOTALLY appreciate Garrett Nelson's intensity and drive. The guys a loose cannon. Could be a great one though

 

[leodisflowers]

While I TOTALLY appreciate Garrett Nelson's intensity and drive. The guys a loose cannon. Could be a great one though

You know him personally?

 

[HUSKERFAN66]

You know him personally?

No. Just what I see on the field. Has growing and learning to do.

 

[Dean Pope]

I wish we had more players like Nelson who had that heart, talent and intensity, but because of his attitude not because he was born and raised in western Nebraska.

Well said. And we haven't been getting that. Not even close. If you're looking for that heart, talent, and intensity in a four star player, EVERYONE will be going after him. And we haven't brought many of those guys in.