OLSON: Husker Nation needs to have faith in Pelini recruits

Nebraska's latest recruiting class has zero five-star prospects. The class is ranked 28th in the nation and fourth-best in the Big 12.


That might be a good thing.


A coach's ability to recruit talent is one of the most fundamental responsibilities of the position. One of the primary reasons for canning Frank Solich was that Nebraska just wasn't able to bring in the big recruits and top-ranked classes that his famous predecessor could.


Bill Callahan was able to quench the Husker fans' thirst for five-star, top-flight recruits. In his first full year of recruiting he reeled in five-star studs, highlighted by running back Marlon Lucky along with a slew of four-stars like Harrison Beck, Rodney Picou and Leon Jackson.

Husker Nation ate it up. Surely, the No. 5 recruiting class in the nation would pave a clear path to national championships and a return to glory.


But Lucky was never able to fulfill fans' astronomical expectations. He was a good player but never near the best in the nation.

Beck, of course, transferred to North Carolina State at the beginning of his sophomore season.

Picou was kicked off the team after becoming academically ineligible as a redshirt freshman.

Jackson transferred to Hawaii after his freshman season.


And while that touted 2005 class did include a number of players who made an impact for NU, including Ndamukong Suh, Zac Taylor and Zach Potter, most of the top players in the class either left school or were beaten out for starting spots by less-touted players.


What's often lost in the constant hype and speculation is that once they get into the program and onto the practice field, they're often no better than the three-star or walk-on lining up next to them.


Roy Helu and Nate Swift were three-star recruits. Joe Ganz earned two stars out of high school.


Yesterday, coach Bo Pelini wrapped up his first full season of recruiting as Nebraska's coach by signing 21 prospects. Five of them are four-star recruits; the rest are three-stars.


Pelini said at his press conference that rankings mean nothing to him. What really matters are his coaching staff's evaluations and assessments of the players they go after. They want competitiveness, coachability, and heart - not little gold stars.


Pelini is also trying to break from the heavy emphasis on bringing in junior college recruits - a common practice throughout the Callahan era.

During his three full seasons of recruiting, Callahan and his staff brought in 26 JUCO prospects.


The benefit of a JUCO player is that he's more likely to help you immediately and can be a quick fix to fill vacancies in the starting lineup. But since most JUCO players have two years of eligibility, bringing in too many can hurt a program's ability to build depth.


Pelini picked up two for his 2009 class in receiver Brandon Kinnie and defensive back Dejon Gomes, but both will have three years of eligibility. NU's coach maintains that leaning on JUCO's is not a smart move.


"Obviously, we'd rather move toward high school athletes because you get a chance to get them in your program and in your culture right from the start and develop them right from the beginning," Pelini said.


"When we do take junior college kids, we're going to look into it and specifically know what we're getting. I thought these were two young men who could come in and have an impact on us and are the right kids for our program. Not everybody is."


In its first season, Pelini's staff showed they are capable of doing what Callahan could not: turning touted prospects into the players we expect them to be.

Take Suh for example. The four-star prospect finally played up to his potential in 2008, becoming one of the best defensive tackles in the nation and a likely first-round pick when he graduates.


Pelini's recruiting class might not be the sexiest in the eyes of the Internet hype machines, but trust that this staff knows what it's looking for. Pelini is confident that his coaching staff fulfilled all its needs and landed the right players for his system.

"You can't fix all your problems in one recruiting class, and we didn't do that," Pelini said. "It's a process and it's one that's well underway, but we like where we are right now."


Max Olson is a freshman news-editorial major. Reach him at maxolson@dailynebraskan.com.