Nebraska Football: Frost getting crash course in modern-day recruiting

The Nebraska football coach is getting a crash course in modern-day recruiting.

Nebraska football made the departure of wide receiver Marcus Fleming official on Monday. Scott Frost made the announcement in a press conference, marking the latest Florida departure for the program.

Fleming was a four-star recruit of Miami Northwestern. I remember being really excited about him when the Nebraska football program landed him. Nevertheless, it appears that the relationship between the football program and Fleming is coming to an end.

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In discussing Fleming’s departure, Frost said some interesting things in regards to the culture of today’s recruit. Honestly, his words are applicable to all of the Florida kids that have transferred. Unfortunately, the list is rather long, as Keyshawn Greene, Henry Gray, Ronald Delancy III, and Jaiden Francois have all managed to leave Lincoln.

I’m not going to bash Fleming for leaving. Like it was for the others listed above, Lincoln is a long way from Florida. However, I do think there is something to the notion that these players were probably not going to get instant playing time like they maybe thought they would. Transferring because of this is obviously their choice, and I hope they have success elsewhere. In the case of Fleming, he probably was going to receive a fair amount of playing time in the future.

Nevertheless, Frost pointed to the fact that they, players want instant gratification. That is certainly different from back when Frost was playing, and he kind of alluded to that on Monday. Overall, he is not wrong and his statement makes a ton of sense. Instant gratification and playing right away are two the biggest things that recruits want nowadays. They want their chance to prove themselves and show what they are made of.

"“We have to make sure we’re going to recruit the type of kid that is going to flourish at Nebraska. And I think certain kids are going to come here and assimilate and love it. Maybe there are a few others that wouldn’t. I went somewhere else (as a player) and it didn’t fit me, so that’s not unusual. But this has been a tough year too. …“But it starts with us make sure we get the right kids. I also think in this day and age there’s a little more impatience. I was a fairly highly-ranked guy coming out of high school, and I didn’t play until my fourth year in college. That’s not unusual. Still worked out pretty well. But a lot of kids now if it’s not working immediately, get impatient. So we try to teach our guys patience, and resilience, as far as that goes too.”"

It will be interesting to see if the multiple Florida departures influence how Nebraska football recruits the state. There are definitely some talented athletes down there. However, getting them to stay is apparently going to be a big priority when it comes to recruiting in the state.

As Nebraska continues to build for future classes, here’s to hoping there is more player retention. Also, here’s to hoping their preaching of patience pays off. Getting the right kids is extremely crucial, especially with how the Big Ten is so competitive. This is something Nebraska football has to work on immediately. As for right now, Scott Frost is getting a crash course in modern-day recruiting.

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