It all happened rather quickly. I guess that’s the execution of a good plan. Husker recruiting opened up at 7 am CDT and it was pretty fast and furious. All but 1 of the 20 new recruits were on board, signed and sealed by noon. Adrienne Talan was the late signee at around 12:30. Some schools are having kids announce as late as 4pm. I’m personally glad it’s done!
Coach Mike Riley took to the microphone at 2 pm to discuss the happenings of the day. He approached the presser with his usual smile and “nice guy” demeanor. I’m a big fan of that by the way. He was comfortably clad in his Husker pullover he addressed the media. He started it off by saying, “There’s a lot of good that came out of this 60 day period.”
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
He was asked how he did what he did in the 2015 recruiting efforts. He said he looked at “I looked at what’s going to be the primary focus and the other parts that go around with that? We are already 3 days into that discussion going forward.” He went on to say, “I’m personally excited about today to get back with the team. To learn the names of 120 guys out there already on the team.” He just seems to really know how to be glad about today’s guys, and yet remember there is a whole team already in place. Well done Coach.
Coach Riley didn’t forget that a lot of things were in place when he got here and he did give Pelini’s staff their due. “I was impressed with the work that both staffs did with this class….Neat thing about it is the kids came to Nebraska, and all we had to do was introduce ourselves into the mix to see if it was right for the kids.”
He was asked how he selected his new HUSKERS. “Hank Hughes had some ideas. Keith Williams had some ideas as to who to add to the class. It will be more organized in the 2016 class but it rounded out real well.”
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
When asked about his plan and approach toward the Husker recruits he stated, “Anderson, Williams, and Lee were the first on the list because they were early enrollees… Then went on to see the Davis twins and that was a really good start.” When asked about selling Nebraska to a recruit, he responded, “We provide great resources for young men, academics, life skills, nutrition. Nebraska is off the chart.” We’re in charge about developing all the parts of the players. That has to set well with the parents and he acknowledged that the parents are a big part of the recruiting process.
“I’m really into the social media end of it personally. (haha) You don’t know me very well.” Riley was being a little sarcastic there. “There are some great thinkers in the program that help me with it. The response I get from all these is very good. It’s good for the players and the families you’re recruiting. But it’s also good for the fans. I like the idea we’re fairly transparent. Our guys had fun putting it together.”
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I like that Riley reiterated that he wanted to recruit in “this area” and getting the local guys like Decker and Neal was a good step toward that goal. Other notable quotes: “Charlton was a great resource.” “Linemen are Gold.” “Other thing that is Gold is corners.” “Evaluation is where you have to start and you have to be right.”
Even though he has a nasty cold, Coach Riley gave a couple of anecdotes about players. He’s a joy to listen to and you don’t feel like it’s forced. Even with his cold he still made some jokes. “As I understand it there will be a few people watching the [Spring] game.” I guess he’s starting to understand the fan base rather quickly. Looking forward to watching it!
Spring game tickets are on sale for April 11th and they are going to be close to selling out I predict. We will continue to provide updates on the various positions through tomorrow so stay tuned and as always, GO BIG RED!!!