The Walk-on program is great for the psychology of the team and fans. Much like the Twelfth man at A&M, and yes heart is important, but there was reason Rudy only got in for one game. Size and speed.

Keep the program. The point was that if you have that many walk-ons playing it could indicate that you are not recruiting enough talent.

Not so sure Callahan did such a bang up job of recruiting talent. if so where is it?

2 of Callahans recruiting classes were ranked in the top 5 across the country. You tell me where they are? Good question.

As a matter of fact, Osborne was never rated in the top 25, rarely. What does that say??
Callahan had ranking classes of 17,25,30,5,10 and then 43. We were only in the rankings once and that was 20th in 2003. We never ended another season after that ranked in the top 25. Clearly, that was the point I was trying to make. You recruit the kids that work for your program. I refuse to believe that the day of playing football the way it was intended is over. Its a physical game, it should be played that way. It just isn’t as fun as it used to be with quarterbacks whining about getting hit and too wimpy to run and receivers complaining about interference or blaming someone else for not catching the ball. I sure wish we could have stayed the kind of team we were and not succumbed to the rest of the ways of college football. We were good and respected. I think that Bo Pelini, with time, will bring back the Nebraska team of prominence and kick *ss football that we all grew up loving. I’m not against change, but this change has not been good for us. The facts speak for that.

My point was, and I should have made it differently, I realize that now. My intentions were to point out and I thought I did, that most of Nebraska boys live in rural areas. They are not going to get the recognition that Omaha and Lincoln boys are. I understand that, and I don’t find fault in that at all. I do believe that just because they are not recruited or are not on rivals doesn’t mean they don’t have the speed and quickness needed at NU. I simply think they are looked over or brushed off because of where they come from. I have proof that this has happened several times.
However, I do understand your take on the walk-on program. My son turned down 2 full ride scholarships to come and walk-on at Nebraska and they haven’t kept any of the promises they made to the walk-ons. The longer the season goes, the more I believe what you are saying, and I am very disgruntled. Integrity would have made these coaches be truthful about what was going to happen to these young boys. Alot of them would have made different choices. I guess I thought that they would be treated like they were in Osborne times and that was a mistake I made.

Unfortunately I have to agree with ABC, and I have bled Husker Red since I came out of the womb! As someone that grew up in Nebraska late 80’s early 90’s and was heavily involved in athletics as well as from a smaller town. I saw guys from my small school not passed over because of where they were from. They weren’t walk ons, they had the talent and the stats to play big time college football, and than when they got there they did not only play but won national championships and went on to the NFL.

Guys with talent will get recruited, by someone, and with today’s economy how can the majority of these guys with the talent to write their own ticket afford to just “walk on” somewhere? So the talent level of the walkon has gone down. And Nebraska isn’t even getting all of the top recruits out of their own state! Watching other games I am hearing players called out of Omaha, Lincoln, Grand Island, Kearney etc. starting with scholarships at other Division 1 successful programs.

In college football champions are the teams that have the heart, talent and good coaching. If you are missing even one piece of the puzzle it just won’t work. The Huskers will get there, and they will continue their walkon program but they will not win a national championship starting the number of walkons that they currently do.

I beg to differ.

Lance Thorell, 2nd yr freshman from LOOMIS NEBRASKA (Town of less than 300) has 19 total tackles this season, 12 unassisted. And he came from eight man football in high school.

Another walk on – Dreu Young – From Cozad, Nebraska (Class C School) had a touchdown reception against tech.

There have been plenty of walk ons that have done alot for Nebraska Football.

I wouldn’t put any information down that was hearsay or from the media. We all know how distorted their opinions can be. My information comes from the walk-ons this year. The out of state walk-ons and the in-state walk-ons. I am a huge NEBRASKA FAN and have been my whole life. I know TO personally and I know how he treated his players, specifically the walk-ons, ask them, they’ll tell you. I’m not downgrading Pelini and his staff I was just calling a spade a spade. From my side of the fence, politics has taken over the football program, and I just think that sucks and its sad. These are young men, and I was used to a coach in TO that cared more about the young kids, then winning. He didn’t sway from his principles. I just was wishing it could be that way again, but I don’t see it happening if things continue the way they are. We will see how many of the walk-ons remain and how many leave, including some scholarship freshman. I may be all wrong, but I know what’s going on with these players and how their daily lives are. I was under the impression that all walk-ons would be treated the same as incoming scholarship players. That for sure is not true. They were made a promise that has not been kept. Very hard to take from a Nebraska boy that wants nothing more than to play for the big red. I remember TO having 150 players and more. I remember him having 4 – 6 fields playing at one time. Everyone learned and everyone was playing in practice. That is not going on. Believe it or not, most of the coaches, don’t even know half of the walk-ons names. I’m sorry, I just call it as I see it and it doesn’t diminish my love for my team or the hope for their rise to success again. We have sunken to the levels of other programs when character, morals, values, and work ethic don’t account for anything and that is what I see happening in this program right now. We must win, at all costs.

Too bad isn’t it?