Nebraska Football: More Than Cats, Mike Riley’s Social Media

Nebraska football over the years has evolved. This goes for both on the field and off of it. Perhaps one of the biggest evolutions is the use of social media.

Social media can be both great and a hindrance. Take, for example, the issues of “boosters” tweeting potential recruits. It’s an NCAA violation. Don’t believe me, take a look at what Maryland’s compliance office said on the subject.

But on to the good side of social media. While I don’t believe that an uncontrollable urge to gain all the knowledge they can about their team is exclusive to Nebraska football fans, I’d say they’re near the top of that list of fan bases that thirst for knowledge. I think new head Coach Mike Riley realizes this.

This is brilliant use of social media for a knowledge-starved fan base. By the simple image (they’ve since tweeted another one showing the movement across the country) the coaching staff has brought the fans into the recruiting process in a way that truly doesn’t harm anything. The ‘peek behind the curtain’ is a smart way for Coach Riley to connect everyone.

Another special thing that Coach Riley has done is to use Twitter to show the fans that he has connected with past members of the Nebraska football family. At the Outland Trophy dinner coach Riley tweeted pictures of meetings with former Coach Dr. Tom Osborne as well as former Heisman winning quarterback Eric Crouch. There was concern that Mike Riley hadn’t met with Osborne yet, but that narrative should end now.

The use of social media by Coach Riley is just the start to what hopefully will be a successful tenure for him. It’s obvious that he understands the need to use all avenues available to continue to build a unified “Husker Nation.”

With all due respect to former coach Bo Pelini, as funny as they were, it’s nice to see something more than just cat pictures from the head man’s twitter account. In the meantime, GO BIG RED!!!