Willie Hampton gone
- Thread starter cubsker_rivals142943
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This one caught me by surprise.
Good luck in his future.
Just when we had the momentum to get kids from Florida to follow Coach Frost and his staff to Nebraska, we lose a Florida kid!
Good luck in his future.
Just when we had the momentum to get kids from Florida to follow Coach Frost and his staff to Nebraska, we lose a Florida kid!
With any luck we’ll be below the 60 man scholarship limit by wheat harvest.
It was said we would lose more by attrition.
I do have confidence in this coaching staff. First no bs group in years I believe.
I do have confidence in this coaching staff. First no bs group in years I believe.
So that leaves the top 4 ILBers on the team and Jefferson and no one behind them besides walk-ons (like Weinmaster).
At first it looked like we had too many LBs, now we seem pretty thin! (inside that is)
Tyrin Ferguson. Imo
Frost continues to transform the roster. I am sure he is being blunt and straightforward with these young guys about their chances for playing time, both for their sakes and the team's. It shows us that he is serious about filling the roster with playmakers sooner rather than later. This is going to be a big recruiting year.
Yeah, he's dead serious about loading up on play-makers ASAP. Love it!!
This isn't processing because Hampton wasn't a playmaker. This dude had one of the top SPARQ scores in the country. This dude just wasn't happy here. He also had some trouble with learning the playbook and fitting in the 3-4.
Being athletic and testing out well on various training metrics is not the same thing as being a playmaker. That requires athletic ability and football IQ. If you are correct that he had trouble with the playbook I doubt he would have been a regular playmaker and a real presence. Reminds me of Eric Martin. A total stud. But never had good football IQ.
That said ... you are correct to point out that none of us really knows what is going on. As you point out, he may be leaving just because he is a Florida kid who learned the hard way that he doesn't like living in Lincoln.
All I know is he had a meeting with Frost and it appears to be a mutual amicable decision.
Frost is flipping this roster letting players go who don’t fit the he scheme or who are not buying in. Expect a full class of 25 for 2019 recruiting cycle.
Great SPARQ score = having the tools. Lots of carpenters have great tools, but don't know how to use them. Trouble with the playbook means that unless the kid's skills are really high level, he'll have trouble seeing the field.
Interesting that Frost offered him at UCF, then doesn't retain him at NU.
Yes Frost recruited Hampton to UCF. So it's not like he was one of Riley's guys that Frost valuated way differently. But Frost is a big on kids with great football IQ and if football IQ was something Hampton struggled with, then he needed to move on. Remember offers go out a lot with out really knowing the kid. So the UCF offer was probably based on film. Sometimes you don't see a kids football IQ until he enrolls
Reminds me of AJ Bush. Visible athleticism and potential, low floor/high upside, but when do they actually realize that potential? Kids like this seem to work out best when you put them on the field and just let them play. That type of this is easier to do at a smaller school than at a Nebraska. And sometimes it works out as evidenced by FCS and D-II kids who get drafted every year.
So that leaves the top 4 ILBers on the team and Jefferson and no one behind them besides walk-ons (like Weinmaster).
At first it looked like we had too many LBs, now we seem pretty thin! (inside that is)
Historically, inside linebacker has been a good spot for walkons to contribute. I'm not too concerned about it. There was an inside linebacker and a corner that we passed up a couple years ago to get a long snapper.
It is what it is, I was just commenting on the post about cycling this guy out because he wasn't a "playmaker" and somehow he is going to be replaced by a guaranteed playmaker, you know a guy, who's high school film shows him to be a playmaker, (like Hampton), a guy who blows away the athletic tests (like Hampton) and a guy who looks the part (like Hampton).
All of those things you mention about Hampton are true. That is why we were all excited, myself included, when we got him. However, according to rrt above, the decision for him to transfer was mutual. Frost and staff have been watching him in practice. I trust that they know better than anyone on here what Hampton's potential is. Now maybe rrt is wrong and this decision was not mutual, but all Hampton. Who knows?
My comments about playmakers should have been more nuanced given that I don't know the facts of the situation. My comments should have been more general about Frost's roster turnover efforts. I really do think he is being honest with kids about their potential for playing time here. Whether that applies to Hampton I have no idea and should have made that clear.
I didn't ever insinuate that it wasn't mutual, nor was I referring to you or RRT as the poster I replied to. I also didn't say that Frost was wrong on Hampton nor that he was reaching his potential at Nebraska.
I simply said, he wasn't happy here and was having trouble picking up the 3-4.
Well I was the first one in the thread to mention the word "playmaker" and in your response to another poster who picked up on that word, you implied that that may not be the reason for his departure. So I responded.
And sorry, but you did not just "simply say" he wasn't happy here or had issues with the 3-4. You also said: "This isn't processing because Hampton wasn't a playmaker". You then cited his test scores to support that assertion. I think an objective reader of your words could rightly infer that you were criticizing the idea that Hampton was leaving because the coaches questioned his ability to be a playmaker someday.
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No. I questioned the dude who said he was was being processed and stated that Frost was serious about getting playmakers in here. I responded by saying that he wasn’t leaving because he lacked playmaking ability, and referenced his athleticism, he was having difficulty playing in a 3-4. He didn’t come here to play inside LB and was having difficulty doing the things required to play inside and referenced that he wasn’t necessarily happy playing in the D.
By saying he was “processed” aren’t you then stating it wasn’t mutual? That he was asked to leave? So which is it? Was he processed or was it mutual?
If this is indeed the case, his departure is best for him and for the team.
Ok. That makes it clearer. Thanks.
And I think it was a mutual parting of the ways.