Source
r/Huskers•
garthzilla

A thought on the biggest improvement the Huskers could make to fix the program **Immediately**

One of the things that jumped out to me in this last game, is how undersized Nebraska looked against Minnesota's bacIups. They only had a single starting offensive linemen left (due to injuries and Covid quarantines). Nebraska has looked undersized all year, but it especially is bad when you realize that's not even a teams best and biggest guys.

I always love the Urban Meyer quote (that I think he took from someone else), about the things they measured in their program.

Recruiting and Development. If you're bringing in great recruiting classes, and those guys aren't getting drafted into the NFL, then you have to examine your player development. Nebraska has had top 25 recruiting classes (and again even this season is on pace to be the top recruiting class in the B1G West), but those guys aren't converting into NFL draft picks. Urban made sure that wherever he went, that he also brought in his strength and conditioning coach. It was a requirement in his contract negotiations. Saban has said the strength and conditioning coach might be the most underrated position in all of college football. NCAA limits practice time, so these guys literally end up spending more time with the athletes than the coaches do.

Nebraska is recruiting well, but not developing guys well. Not just that, but we can see it with the drop off in second half performance and missed tackles in the second half (again, a sign of conditioning).

Even better, is we have actual stats showing recently how important the position is today. Brian Kelly hired Balis from UConn on the heels of a 4-8 season in 2016. While wins and losses are far from an ideal metric for judging strength and conditioning coaches, it’s probably worth noting the Fighting Irish are 43-6 since Balis arrived in South Bend

This article uses metrics from the combine to examine who the best strength and conditioning guys in NCAA are (Urban's guy from Ohio St is on the list). Even better though, is that one of the guys from that article is jobless right now. One of the best strength and conditioning coaches in the nation is jobless right now and a car ride away from Lincoln. The best stat from that article is that Iowa didn't recruit well, but was able to convert these guys into top performers at the combine. Only one of their top NFL draftees was a four star recruit, the rest were three star, two star, and WALK ONS. He was just fired from Iowa, which means one of the best Strength and Conditioning coaches is available. He wasn't fired for performance reasons, but for behavioral reasons, which means that can be negotiated into his contract as a safety net.

I would love to hear other people's thoughts on this. Brian Kelly has turned around his tenure at Notre Dame when they hired their new strength and conditioning coach. He was another good coach on the hot seat because his team was underperforming. I know there are a lot of issues with the husker team, but the strength and conditioning coach is one of the most important rolls in college football and probably the best bang-for-buck that a program can spend.

Posted Dec 15, 2020, 5:49 AM UTC

752
Silentwarfare13•

I don't think it's fair to judge Duval based on our young inexperienced players facing off against majority upperclassmen. He's only been here for 3 years and has experienced a large amount of roster turnover within that time. When you look at the 1-2 year leaps that guys like Ozigbo, Ty Robinson, Rogers, Farmer, etc have made under his regimen, it makes you wonder what he would be able to do with some of these guys after 4-5 years of his development.

29
somehype•

Hard agree. I think the lackadaisical second half play is more related to coaching and lack of depth.

15
garthzillaOP•

I honestly hope everyone disagreeing with me is correct. We all can agree the second half performance is completely dropping off. I don't know how missed tackles are a sign of coaching though, that's why I think it's related to strength and conditioning. But I hope if it's a lack of depth, that these coaches get enough time to put depth back there and see how guys perform at the combine after having 5 years under this Strength and Conditioning coach.

2
somehype•

When I say depth it’s meant that yes the players are getting gassed, we just don’t have enough guys rotating in. Our starters on defense play wayyyy too many snaps so it’s not that surprising that eventually they are worn out. Our offense is also to blame here since they don’t do them any favors in the second half.

5
Silentwarfare13•

Just for comparison I compiled all of Minnesota's (backup) starters on Oline that played against us.

LT: Sam Schlueter- RS Senior

LG: Conner Olson- RS Senior

Center: Nathan Boe- RS Sophomore

RG: Blaise Andries- RS Junior

RT: Aireontae Ersery- FR. / JJ Guedet- RS FR

Nebraska will start against Rutgers this week

Benhart- RS FR

Farniok- SR

Jurgens- RS Soph

Ethan Piper- RS FR

Corcoran- FR

8
Giannid77•

Did Jaimes opt out?

2
Giannid77•

He did.

https://www.3newsnow.com/sports/nebraska-offensive-lineman-jaimes-opts-out-of-rutgers-game-will-prepare-for-nfl

6
HeyitsyaboyJesus•

Casey Rogers essentially closes the argument. Guy looked like he would barely get to the size of a 4-3 DL and now has the size to play 3-4 DL at a pretty high level. I believe he was only like 240lbs when he got here.

4
KingBlank•

We start 16 upperclassmen

2
Silentwarfare13•

Yes, but who subs in for them when they get tired? What about injuries? What do we do if those few upperclassmen aren't as talented as our freshmen?

I'm really talking about the roster as a whole. If we dropped 33 players like Minnesota did we'd be ridiculously green in every area. The fact that other programs like Minnesota can drop that many players and still have the majority of their starters be RS upperclassmen is pretty telling about where we are in comparison.

4
KingBlank•

It's pretty telling that the coach hasn't developed any depth in 3 years if that's how you want to take it. Most of our starters do play the entire game. I think it's more telling in year 3 you are losing to a team with 33 less players, because you aren't good. You realize Minnesota was awful even at full strength?

2
Silentwarfare13•

I'm not making excuses for anybody. The roster management, roster turnover, and development is the responsibility of this coaching staff. I'm just making comparisons about where our roster is at because the OP was concerned with our strength and conditioning. I picked a random position group (oline) and looked at the depth because that's notably where you would see the largest men on the team (because we were talking about strength and conditioning).

We should have beaten Minnesota. I didn't say anything about that whatsoever. We were comparing player fitness and nothing more. I brought up seniority because I noticed that Minnesotas backups had more upperclassmen and presumably more years in a B1G strength and conditioning program than our young guys on Oline.

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garthzillaOP•

The saddest part of that though is that these coaches might not even get that 5 year time frame to find out. I think Frost is the right guy, you don't turn a team around from 0 wins to undefeated in 2 years without insanely good coaching. And Brian Kelly was another great coach who was 4-8 under one strength coach, to 43-6 under another.

If Duval is one of the best in the nation, I'm all for keeping him, but I think it's fair to question the strength and conditioning when you see such a drop off in second half performance. With the info we have, that's the best guess I could make. We're recruiting well, so it shouldn't be about the talent available, so the next step is the talent development. I guess we'll find out for sure in the next two years and I absolutely hope these coaches get enough time to do that.

1
Silentwarfare13•

If Duval is one of the best in the nation, I'm all for keeping him, but I think it's fair to question the strength and conditioning when you see such a drop off in second half performance.

I truly believe this is a depth/roster issue more than anything. Minnesota had 33 players out with covid and still managed to have more upperclassmen than us in almost every position. If we lost even 10 players you would see more walkons playing than any other team in the nation.

If we assume that it takes 3-4 years of strength development to make B1G stout upperclassmen it's easy to understand why things haven't gone our way this far in. I know this is probably played out, but our roster needs to grow and develop as a whole right now. We might have some walkons and RS Freshmen that are serviceable... but we'll see a major positive change when serviceable shifts to sturdy and we round out that roster with fully conditioned upperclassmen after a few years.

5
garthzillaOP•

I absolutely hope you're right! I hope they get the time to do it. It will be fun to see the results for how these guys perform at the combine and see how our program is stacking up against others in the nation when these guys have had time to be in the program.

3
Silentwarfare13•

I absolutely hope you're right!

You and me both, Husker Bro.

2
HentaiHerbie•

The saddest part of that though is that these coaches might not even get that 5 year time frame to find out.

Where has it ever been stated a coach gets 5 years? Very few do around the country and two coaches with better records here didn’t.

you don't turn a team around from 0 wins to undefeated in 2 years without insanely good coaching.

This narrative is so fucking tired and annoying. That winless team was undefeated the year before. And their long time coach quit in the middle of the winless season. All of frost’s undefeated Seniors, Juniors, RS sophomores were the other guy’s recruits.

4
benkhusker•

What would make this likely an unrealistic hire is the backlash/consequences we would receive if we hired coach who was terminated for racially insensitive comments, especially in the current climate we are in.

I'm all for giving people second chances in life and I'm sure Doyle would do well in his role, but a team that's predominantly black may not take this hiring too well.

18
garthzillaOP•

That's absolutely fair. We could hire someone off of his old staff that helped run the program and knew the secret sauce without the behavior issues. I know too that he denied all allegations and it's being investigated, but they still let him go. What's even better though is that other coaches can be paid from other programs and brought in, we definitely don't want the guy if he's racist. His program stood out for the fact that it was developing some of the best talent at the combine, while starting with lower recruits.

I'm simply pointing out that it's clearly a problem for Nebraska, and it's clear that it was a big part of Notre Dame turning their program around for a good coach who was recruiting well but was still losing a lot of games.

4
royalBlueCamaro•

Duval is doing a great job. Our players are significantly larger physically than they were even a year ago. Everyone was saying that after the Ohio attack game. Kinda weird to hear the opposite after the last game. I think your tv might be a bit warped.

I want nothing to do with anyone from Iowa let alone that loser.

11
garthzillaOP•

The second half performances of the year are the reason I thought it was strength and conditioning. Missed tackles especially are a bad sign, although it could be a sign of depth?
If Duval is doing a great job, I'm all for keeping him and seeing what happens. I hope they get enough time, because the results will show. We're recruiting well, so that's not the issue. So the next step for assessment is player development. That's why it jumped out to me that Brian Kelly went from .33 to .88 win percentage simply by changing his strength and conditioning coach. Frost right now has a win percentage of .35. I don't think Frost is the problem...you can't turn a winless team into an undefeated team in just 2 years without insanely good coaching. So if it isn't frost, then what's the problem?

1
royalBlueCamaro•

It’s definitely frost. He has to evolve his offense and play calling. Maybe let playcalling go to the OC. He can still chime in on suggestions but he doesn’t seem to be putting the offense in good situations.

You really need to give the defense some slack. Giving up less than 30 points in nearly all games should be enough to win. Offense needs to score more than 30 every week. As for tackling that’s on the position coaches. Dbs have not been taught well but ALL of the really bad tacklers are seniors so maybe hopefully the next batch will be better?

2
Darth_MiguelHerbie•

Maybe... just maybe... pure size isn’t the only metric we should be striving to optimize if we are going for more wins. Like it’s cool and all when the husker Twitter shows us placekickers deadlifting a truck but I dunno if it’s actually translating to on-field success yet.

1
royalBlueCamaro•

Agreed but that’s what OP is focusing on. I’m saying size and strength is not the problem. Gotta coach them up better on technique and gotta put them in better situations with play calling

1
KingBlank•

He is not doing a great job

-1
royalBlueCamaro•

Ok? How do u figure?

2
KingBlank•

Because we still aren't bigger faster or stronger then anyone. Your example being we got boat raced by Ohio State but we had a couple good plays? You got pushed around by a Fleck coached team, a Smith team, and a Northwestern team who doesn't have a single lineman that is supposed to be better then ours.

If these what you are seeing are the metrics of what you consider good. We should win 6 games in year 5 because we are finally strong enough to go .500?

Who is explosive on the team, one safety and one corner? Like really?

1
royalBlueCamaro•

See silent warfare’s post. It’s pretty spot on. We are definitely bigger and stronger than last year. We just need the coaches to put them in better plays/schemes and the players gotta make the plays. We do need a couple more playmakers at WR and gotta get a qb who can hit a wr in stride and need all 4 LB and we would be able to compete for a conference championship.

3
Silentwarfare13•

Who is explosive on the team, one safety and one corner? Like really?

Wandale Robinson

Xavier Betts

Luke McCaffrey

Adrian Martinez

Brendan Jaimes

Cam Jurgens (despite the flaws)

Austin Allen

Dedrick Mills (when healthy)

Ty Robinson

Casey Rogers

Damion Daniels

Luke Reimers

Jojo Doman

CTB

Have all shown to be explosive playmakers at times (along with others). The athleticism is there... We just haven't been able to turn the corner with it yet. Whether we will remains to be seen, but let's stop acting like absolutely everything is bad.

2
garthzillaOP•

That's kinda what I'm seeing too. I wanted to simply look at the facts. Second half performance is dropping off a cliff, and part of that is missed tackles and lack of big plays. To me, those facts would imply our strength and conditioning, not coaching since missed tackles are part of it. I don't have any ill feelings towards Duval, but the implications are that the team is gassed. Maybe they aren't, and it's a depth issue.

The other things that was exciting is that a good strength and conditioning coach can make or break your team. If people like Duval and want to keep him that's fine, but I think it would be the best place to start if you wanted to hire a new assistant coach. The guy already owns his own gyms, so it's not like he will be jobless. And I think hiring the absolute best guy in the nation based off of metrics could be huge for the entire program and the best money spent.

1
Ted_BucklandNebraska•

It's too late to keep using "Riley players" as an excuse for losing games, but it's still a valid reason for low draft numbers. Frost and Duval haven't had any players go through a full four or five years with them yet. We've seen improvements in the trenches and we're not getting bullied all game long, even with a young O line. Duval is not the reason we are losing.

7
garthzillaOP•

I'm all for watching and being patient. But sadly I think other fans aren't. I think Frost is the right guy, you don't see a team go winless to undefeated in 2 years without great coaching, but it's crazy to hear so many fans talk about getting rid of him.

Brian Kelly was a great coach on the hot seat and the Notre Dame program literally turned around the entire team with a new strength and conditioning coach (from 4-8 under one strength coach to 43-6 under the next is insane).

I'm down for watching guys make it through the entire 5 years of training under him, but I don't know if the coaches are going to have enough time to prove that. I'm all for being patient, but among Nebraska fans, I'm in a minority in that conversation it feels like, so I'm simply pointing out information I can find. Stats show the position is probably the most important assistant coach to the program. If Duval is one of the best in the nation, then I'm all for keeping him.

The stats that jump out to me though is the lack of production in the second half and the missed tackles in the second half (which usually is a sign of conditioning). We come out strong in the first half and fall off in the second. I would love to wish that meant half time preparations, but I think it's fair to question the conditioning with the info we have.

2
riotfiveoh•

The real test will be to see what happens with Nash Hutmacher.

His father and a bunch of his friends are accomplished power lifters and have without a doubt been helping him pack on muscle the right way.

If Duval can stack muscle on top of what that kid is already working with, we'll truly know he's legit.

5
HentaiHerbie•

Not saying what will happen with Nash. But there is a difference between weight room warriors and good players. Fuck all really matters in the weight room or packing more muscle on him if it doesn’t translate on the field (and I don’t think it will because he should be on the OL not DL)

2
riotfiveoh•

My point is we have a control. We have a player that is going to be at an already super high level of development when he walks in the door. And we'll get to see how much further Duval can take him.

If he just turns him into a slow behemoth, then we know for sure Duval ain't it.

5
HentaiHerbie•

I just think one player makes for a horrible case study

5
riotfiveoh•

Well fuck, now what am I supposed to do for my master's thesis in sports science?

0
SnooMemesjellies8704•

Or Hutmacher might be tapped out in terms of potential which is always a worry for high school guys who've lifted from a young age. Most lifting gains are gained within the first 3-5 years and with each year you lift the gains slow down tremendoussly which is why you don't just see guys get infinitely bigger.

1
Thanks_ButNoThanks•

He may not get bigger, but with a training regimen focused on explosive lifts rather than pure weight there’s a much better chance of that translating to the field.

3
kingbrasky•

Lol no fucking way we're taking that guy with that baggage. I'm all about trying to upgrade staff but I don't think that would pan out.

4
garthzillaOP•

I'm down for anyone else who is the best in the nation, I was just pointing out his results as being among the best statistically with player performance at the combine. The article goes into a ton of depth. And I thought it was even more interesting that Brian Kelly (who is a great coach, but was on the hot seat similar to Frost right now) went from a winning percentage of .33 under one strength and conditioning coach to a winnin get percentage of .87 under another. Right now frost is sitting at a win percentage of .35...

We all see the drop off in the second half. Nebraska has the second most one possession losses in the nation since Frost took over. They're so close, but losing games in the second half so I think it's fair to question the strength and conditioning (but it could also be a matter of depth, which hopefully it is).

-2
HentaiHerbie•

You do know why that guy was fired right? He should have been fired after the rhabdo incident but he was protected by Kirk. And then he was only fired once it came out he was a complete piece of shit and quite arguably a racist.

4
[deleted]•

Bring in players from when we were good to be coaches/speakers/ role models

2
SnooMemesjellies8704•

Us being undersized is in your head. Like seriously I remember a stat being posted and r/cfb last year and we are the heaviest team in the B1G, on top of that Duval has actually gotten flak for trying to make our guys too big and lifting like powerlifters rather than doing more dynamic stuff, keeping our guys lean, and injury prevention. Besides that I don't think a lot of fans understand theres only so much S&C can do, its not magic and most programs are doing pretty similar stuff now a days, I remember when our fan base acted like Duval was going to make our guys all break world records in lifting, there's only so much he can do and its really up to genetics to do the rest.

2
Giannid77•

I think there is some truth to this, but I wouldn't blame Duval. It's probably that some of them are not getting enough juice.

1
flatfanny45•

So coaching - yes I agree a better could would make us better

1
Renfah87•

Scott could lose the fucking ego.

1