Chris Schmidt, Elijah Herbel, and Connor Clark join you for this Tuesday edition of Hail Varsity Radio as they open the show by hitting on some Husker Football news and notes before they spend much of the rest of the show updating Husker Football’s recruiting efforts. Mitch Sherman checks in to give his thoughts on Dylan Raiola’s late fall down some recruiting rankings before Greg Smith joins the show to continue that conversation and to discuss the state of Nebraska’s increased stature in the national recruiting scene. Later, Jeremiah Sirles joins the show to give his thoughts on the importance of winter conditioning and which areas of the team have the most to improve upon before spring football.
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00:00 – Husker Football news and notes
16:27 – Mitch Sherman
29:21 – Increased attention on Nebraska HS Football
38:12 – Nebrasketball’s bubble status
42:24 – Greg Smith
58:53 – Jeremiah Sirles
1:11:45 – Discussing On3’s interview with Matt Rhule
1:20:38 – More on Nebrasketball
The voice of husker nation is on the air this is hail Varsity radio Insight opinion expertise along with the biggest names talking Nebraska sports join in with the show at 402 4891 1240 or 1 1800 825 5865 now here are your hosts Chris Schmidt and Elijah herble welcome to it’s Tuesday it’s hail
Varsity we’re powered by corn head logger Chris Schmid alij herble Connor Clark and you hope you’re doing all right busy show we’ll talk some ball with Mitch Sherman from the athletic Mitch will be with us in about 15 minutes as get his take as we Loom towards Spring football Mitch will have
A thought or two on all things Nebraska in hour two we’ll drill down on some recruiting a little less than a week away hold on check that car carry the one a week away uh starting tomorrow from uh Signing Day part D and Greg Smith going to be with us from Rivals so
Uh friend of the show Greg Smith checks in at five and then our favorite Husker neller agent Jeremiah Sirles say Sirles checks in we’ll get a little bit of a a spring primer from him 48924 4891 1240 to get in 800 82558 65 wherever you hear us across the
Halil of our city Radio Network watch the show contribute on the stream the halil of our city YouTube channel watch there subscribe there can also find and follow us on the halvar city Radio Twitter feed H Varsity radio ESPN 590 Omaha KF in Lincoln and our friends out in
Central Nebraska Carney Hastings Grand Island Columbus We Salute all of you who take the time to check us out and uh we will without further Ado dive into roll call our starting five her Dizzle checks in first as he’s across the Finish Line uh we do our starting five shout out to the
First five in the Stream uh okay this is funny though herdle says for coming in first I’d like to pull a John laway and thank myself sure see I always heard that pulling a John lway was heating up pennies with a lighter and throwing them at strippers
But yeah well the the the and there’s corroboration you’ve heard that story from family everyone’s heard that story well I may have a a co-pilot with him back in the day that would that may have that may have been to the that may have been the lighter guy I I don’t know I
Don’t know I don’t know if he had the props okay but let’s just say U our Infamous friend and I mean that lovingly jbird not jird J Moore but but jbird uh the other mayor of Lincoln and is he worked his way and I’ve told this story a few times but but
Jbird uh is a is a dear friend but he also found his way onto the sideline of the 95 Colorado Nebraska game okay and he just said hey Elway you know because Elway was on the sideline and they were I think drinking beers before and then they were drinking beers after and lway
Is like hey all my friends call me Woody that was Elway’s nickname to his to his that’s that’s how you got his attention you called him Woody and long and short jaybird’s on the sideline watching Nebraska stomp Colorado and and I think the the lasting quote was you’re drinking I’m buying ah
So lway was a a hell of a good time to hang out with I don’t know if they made it to a uh a vitamin C place of choice in Denver afterwards or not I don’t know that but is crazy as the story may get I I
There are some parts we need to Omit to protect the [Laughter] innocent the the the petty the petty shots uh because you can just kind of flick those right oh yeah yeah right so that’s funny so we went from not that I’ve ever tried for neither of us yeah Elijah’s very respectful start
Interrogating both of you what happened last night Elijah bouncer threw me out ah we got off track there okay uh so her Dizzle is in number one Chuck her Dizzle is not lighting or not heating up any pennies as far as no no no no uh
Penny tips all right Chuck is H it to Mr snle Brian is in at three uh Black Hills Brennan four Brandon five uh Weston checks in and then Matthews in and uh beard watch 2024 he is all about it Elijah if you’re going to do the
Beard thing uh Dion good to hear from you and uh so yeah that’s our our we ending out our our starting five plus tuck checks in as well so The Artist Formerly Known is kg Kids for Life um is is less there’s there’s more room for you we’ll get into some
Football all thoughts we’ll dive into uh some some Fred seeing red he’ll have a media session tomorrow he was on the network last night I didn’t hear it I just read some of the quotes and he’s right on his team’s got to toughen up we’ve got Bubble Watch and uh as we
Suspected the Athletics Bubble Watch has come out Nebraska back on the bubble along wearing bubble wrap too right along with most of the Big 10 uh not named Illinois Purdue or Wisconsin the Badgers come in at number six in the country so that’s going to be a monster game Thursday recruiting wise Nebraska
And Kiona white are heating up Nebraska’s also offered another quarterback for 2025 so we’ll get all those details from uh Greg Smith big night bowling you’ve got your gear on explain to the folks what tonight means tonight is our turn in the Lincoln City bowling tournament it’s a big deal teams
Of five so my team of three of my dad my brother and I have combined with the the I I won’t expose them actually another team in our our bowling league I’m really excited to have them along for the the ride tonight at nine we go and
It’s uh being teams of five are going head to-head and you really Bowl against everybody but it gives you some competition to Bowl against uh means it’s going to be a lot a late night at the bowling alley for one Elijah herbal but uh the reward is worth it we’re
Playing for the prize money 2 years ago we finished tied for second technically third place is where we end up what’s the prize money at I think a g I think it’s a g for the winners I could be off on that but I don’t think I am I feel
Like you could sell that shirt for a G this yeah this is a a hand me- down from my grandfather rest of Soul so we’re channeling him tonight in the bowling alley he was the he was the best in the family way back win the only person in
The herble family to bowl a 300 was my grandpa uh so we’re we’re wearing the shirt he did not Bowl the 300 in this unfortunately but it’s still hopefully got some good Juju and yeah we’re going to get that rock in at 9 again as I said third place
Finished two years ago last year not up to our standard we’re going to forget about that short-term memory you know uh goldfish if you will and we’re back at it tonight so we’re we’re going for the championship we’re we’re going to see whole report tomorrow it’s going to be a
Late night you better you better be a little foggy going to beate you better be a little foggy at 4:00 tomorrow because it was such a good night well we’ll see we’ll see well all I know is that we start at 9:00 we’re not going to
Be out of the bowling alley till well after midnight most likely tonight so it’s uh it’s it’s going to be a late night but late nights sometimes are the best nights and that’s what we’re hoping for tonight and celebration will ensue after yeah I I need uh I need uh Bush
Heavies or Budweiser Heavies and Bush lights pop one of the problems is is the the city tournament itself lasts an entire week it goes from Monday through Friday we bowling on Tuesday mean we lock in our score tonight and then we play the waiting game the rest of night
So we we could be top of the leaderboard after tonight and not finish in the top five not it’s like you’re in the clubhouse early exactly you are buying drinks for the competition I pray so Eric wants us to dive into how the NFL is rigged in the AFC Championship and
Take advantage of the Taylor Swift hyped for the Super Bowl you know the the script sometimes is funny but I can’t bring myself to go there can you it was funnier than it is now because I feel like some people are really starting to believe it you know yeah it’s not
WWE script no no like it’s uh it’s one of those things that it used to be oh your team sucks so you’re going to say oh it was just in the script like a funny we got by the officials yeah it’s it’s part of the script now some people
Stupid penalties now I feel like some people are actually taking it seriously U Baltimore would have won that game most likely I think based on how they were playing late if Z flowers wasn’t idiot and didn’t fumble at the one yard line or conversely uh get that penalty
Within the 10 yard line if Lamar Jackson didn’t throw an interception I didn’t think the NFL called down to to Lamar Jackson in the Huddle before that snap and said hey buddy we need you to throw into triple coverage here uh Patrick I we just told him about Santa Claus
Apparently Patrick Chimes into the stream what hold up WWE script huh what so yeah that’s that’s pretty good let’s dive into just quick news and notes with Nebraska football specifically the roster it’s been released uh Ethan Piper uh retiring he has not announced that but he’s not
On the roster he’s got a long road ahead of recovery uh with that injury so we love pipe and good to see pipe uh I believe he’s doing his student teaching at Northstar I saw him a couple Saturdays ago and he was walking around looking decent still the KNE brace on
But you just hope after an injury like that that a guy is able to have if it’s not football just a a high quality quality of be able to to be mobile it was good to see him walking around looking good in that way so all the best to Ethan Piper
Whether or not football’s in the cards for him in the future sure well and and you know what he’ll be a heck of a coach and if that’s something he wants to pursue so heck of a high school science teacher yeah I think so yeah science so
Yeah let’s let’s hope he doesn’t get into that kind of sence I’m not saying he’s not walking the path Ethan Piper Walter White if he’s got a black Fedor and a Dodge Charger look out I don’t think anyone mess with Ethan Piper Down in the the desert of Arizona I tell you
Why no I don’t think so either uh you have um Kan Williams also off the roster rukan Buckley has made the shift over to offensive line you have Jeremiah Charles and Bryce Turner now playing defensive back and igc is yep back on the roster good for him and you have machek from
Dline to o line Goldman is on the defensive line and roster sits at 149 right now so that’s kind of the news and notes of where things are at no mention of the running back room the the wide receiver room is pretty uh pretty well set there and of course your
Quarterback room is going to be the the eyes of of a lot of this spring and Bryce Turner I think to the the defensive back room I mean there’s some there’s some interesting notes here that might be the most interesting of all we remember him he was from uh Bay City
Down in Texas and if you remember was a a fantastic Sprinter tracking the field athlete the Husker coaches were really really excited with what they could have with him maybe playing slot receiver taking the top off a defense you wonder why defensive back is the move for him
But you still have a world of athleticism there and you yeah you wonder what he can do in the defensive back or maybe more of a developmental project there moving to defensive back I’m not quite sure um but whenever you see his speed and his athleticism like
You wonder about his potential to be a return man what he can do in that defensive back excited to see what he could do at wide receiver that’s an interesting move to see him moving the defensive side of the ball especially with what seems to be a team need at
Wide receiver no for sure so Jackson checks in we batted this around a little bit after the show last night we were going to touch on it today and Jackson asked the questions did asked the question did we talk about Dylan riola being dropped to number 71 with the on three
Rankings and that is a bit surprising there’s some theories out there as to why uh and I guess my reasoning and answer as as for the drop the guy looked pretty good in the Polynesian bull he went to Nebraska not Georgia I don’t know if there’s any Crossover with Georgia alums and their
Influence on rankings Maybe there is maybe there isn’t I don’t know I don’t know the uh the process other than the kid was top three top four on about everyone’s recruiting rankings and then he drops all I can say is this that the kid will use it as motivation possibly but so
What he’s signed he’s in Lincoln and the job in front of him right now is to go earn a job and uh be that leader you need to quarterback and and be the difference at a position where you were responsible for being minus 17 in turnovers with a handful of losses by a
Field goaler an overtime yeah I’m in the I’m in the so what boat I think with this because at the end of the day I mean when you’re recruiting them initially the numbers hold value obviously when you’re you know ranking players it depends on how good they are
It’s all based on like a whole metric system and everything but at the end of the day that really matters when he steps out on the field in a Nebraska uniform I mean what all that matters is how he plays in a Nebraska uniform at
The end of the day so I don’t really think that seeing somebody drop especially riola I I know it’s maybe shocking at first because he’s been at the top for so long and so many schools have been going after him for number of years now and it was a huge deal when he
Flipped over to Nebraska finally but at the same time as you said Schmitty I mean you signed him you have him he’s probably going to be your quarterback that’s really all that matters now and you know the talent that He possesses the number really can’t you know put a a
A gauge on that at this point in my opinion I’ll I’ll just say this look at the people that Nebraska brought in last year in their 2023 class did Jaylen Lloyd play like a three star no no he tied he tied uh you know uh Marvin Harrison Jr for 50 yard touchdown
Reception did did Riley van poppo play like a three star did Prince will mamalin play like there was two 150 players in the country that were better freshman than him last season I think the answer to all those things is no I’m I’m with Connor on this once you step
Foot on campus it doesn’t matter everyone sees the talent with Dylan Rola why is he dropping down to 71 in the on three rankings well on Three’s probably got it wrong I’ll just simply say that we all see the talent coming off the page Why have they done that I don’t
Know do I really care no we’ll ask recruiting Insider and National recruiting analyst Greg Smith uh in about 45 minutes or so Smith with Rivals Rivals they have Dylan RI still as the number two overall player in the country does it really matter I’m we’re going to grill Greg why do you
Have Dylan Rola number two overall tell us uh and uh there you go Anonymous does check in and ask or or throw this in Dylan’s Mobility is a huge question we’ll wind down this segment we’re running out of time we’ll get back to it we’ll talk some more with M Sherman a
Tail Varsity powered by corn head logger it’s that time hey Mitch Mitchie Mitch Mitchy Mitchy we’re looking for you pal Mitch Sherman from the athletic talking big red unleash the fury Mitch unleash the fury on hail Varsity radio back with the taale varsity we’re powered by cornhead logger Chris mid
Elijah herbal Conor Clark we welcome in MIT Sherman with the athletic at Mid Sherman on Twitter is where you follow him Mitch Howe doing are you out uh chipping away with uh the weather out there are you hunkered down doing some uh some work oh some of both I’m not I’m not
Chipping away like chipping away with the the pitching wedge is I mean or like the ice yeah at the bottom of my driveway which specific you I do need to be specific in this time of year uh not the ice chipper but the uh the wedge is what I was
Asking no I that’s that’s there’s there’s still plenty of white stuff on the course as I can view it um out my back window so no I’m I’m a not doing that right now that would be that would be pretty hardcore though if you if you
Hit the ball into a snow drift uh good luck you just drop one you play OJ golf you carry an extra ball and you right you don’t keep a snow wedge with you in your golf bag I’m just not I’m not that I’m Not That Into Golf I’m
Actually I’m actually really not that into golf period but certainly not so much that I would I would have a snow a snow wedge no well we were discussing before we uh we went to break uh Dylan riola and uh his task in Lincoln and and
Just some of the excitement but we had a a question come into the stream about his ranking drop in on three and Mitch maybe you know a little bit better than than we do uh when it comes to the the ranking setup and system and listen you
Have three main services that that do recruiting you have ESPN you have on three you have Rivals for 24/7 so they all put time and effort in when it comes to to to ranking these guys but a lot of the other places have you know Dylan top
Three top four and you saw a drop and we’re trying to answer that our our response was you know he’s in Lincoln it doesn’t matter anymore it definitely doesn’t matter when uh the ranking goes down after the letter of intent is signed and I mean he’s a he’s a college he’s a college
Student as of as of last week so whatever his high school Prospect were he don’t unless unless I’m mistaken he didn’t play any high school games last week he did not you know maybe he maybe his ranking dropped uh based on his performance in the Polynesian Bowl but I
Didn’t see anything in that game that would have precipitated a um a ranking drop I I don’t you know I don’t know um I don’t mean to uh to discount it because the the analysts who rank prospects they do a lot of work and you know someone at on three thought that
That he deserved to take a dip for whatever reason and and that’s fine it’s not the majority opinion uh the majority opinion is that he’s a five-star player and he’s he’s a top you know a top two to three quarterback in the country in this class if not higher I mean
Certainly there have been opinions that are more prevalent and more widespread that he’s not just a top two to three quarterback in this class that that he has the potential to be a generational kind of Talent with with his arm and and his physicality and size and and
Maturity um and attitude that he’s bringing into college so there’s going to be varying opinions on anybody I mean you could look at CJ strad after his rookie year and and and someone could come up with the opinion that that he’s a flash in the pan probably I don’t know
That the majority of people would agree with that and we’ll see what time what what plays out over time that’s no different than it is with Rola and and there is you know a lot of uncertainty with anyone who comes into college you know very few players and I’d say even
Especially at the quarterback position come in as a certainty like you know what you’re going to get out of that guy and um you know it’s I think it’s it’s it’s fine to think whatever you want to think as an analyst you can find reasons to proper players is ranking up or you
Can find reasons if you want to downgrade someone you know based off of a few throws so I don’t know what the situation is with on threes analysts and why they’re outliers in um in the Dylan Rola assessment but I I don’t I honestly don’t think it matters so so from what I
Hear from you you don’t believe this is anything nefarious this is not on three has a vendetta against Nebraska which I’ve heard from some Husker fans on social media as of late I mean we’re always going to be quick to jump to consp the conspiracy
Theories are going to come out in in any kind of a any kind of a situation I mean this is I I I have no idea um I I I would check with the with on three on that one I I I don’t I don’t uh I don’t
Know of any uh Vendetta that the company has Nebraska I’m not I’m not aware of it but um you know if it exists they would have to be the ones to to uh reveal that Mitch Sherman’s with us here on hail VAR City radio Mitch a story you put out on
The athletic you’ve got more more and more uh kids and uh high level talent in the Metro uh seeing uh BigTime programs come in that’s Auburn that’s Florida that’s that’s Penn State uh you know Big 10 and it’s it’s uh another spring and it’s another uh destination spot Omaha right
For uh some of the the Metro talent for programs not named Nebraska yeah there’s two you know a four-star Talent well three you can include Tyson Terry in that group but he’s been committed long for a long time to Nebraska so he’s not going to bring in the same kind of
Attention from programs all over the country the defensive lineman out of Omaha North but I think if Tyson Terry was uncommitted he would be getting the same kind of of recruiting attention that you’re seeing with Christian Jones the linebacker at Omaha Westside and and then the latest to really rise is Chase
Lofton the tight end formerly of elorn North who’s landed at Millard South he wants the opportunity to be able to play in class as a senior which is understandable and and play you know measure himself against the Omaha Westsides and bie wests um of the of
This state and you know not just that but but at Millard South where you have um a standout quarterback in the class of 2026 jet Tamala um and then a couple other pass cches and amarian Jackson and Isaac Jensen Jensen um another tight end just picked up an offer from Nebraska he
Has an offer from Iowa State um so there’s four of them in that class they’re going to open the season in in in the fall um at basa High School in in Chandler Arizona which is the school uh we were just talking about Dylan Rola the school that beat Dylan rola’s
Chandler High two times in um in Dylan’s Junior season so it’s a nationally respected program was ranked in the top 50 in in Max Preps last season uh and and consistently ranks among the best in Arizona so Ty wisdom the coach at Millard South is taking his guys down to
Phoenix to start the season and they’re going to get a return trip in the senior year for Tamala Jensen uh and Jackson when when lofton’s off at school um from Basia to come up and play at at Beal stadium in in 2025 which will be a pretty cool thing for for high school
Football in the state of Nebraska yeah what does that say to you about just the national opinion about high school football in state of Nebraska we’ve seen it with basketball in recent years with some national Powers coming into the state and taking on some of Nebraska’s top programs starting to see that now
With football too what does that tell you about the the national perception of the players that Nebraska high school football has I think the national perception is behind what the what they what the reality of it is you can look at the past couple of classes and you
Know per capita Nebraska state with 1.8 million people is putting out 12 to 15 power five prospects a year you know if you if if you go up to 20 million people like you have in in Texas or Florida or or or even beyond that you’re talking
You know in obviously uh 10 to 15 times more prospects per capita Nebraska’s doing pretty well and I don’t think that the that the um the state has received the kind of the respect that it deserves for the high school football that it’s playing right now I I think there’s
There are observers of high school football and recruiting nationally who still look at Nebraska um High School football and the prospects in the state like it’s 2013 or 2014 when you might have one two three power five prospects come out of the state in a year that’s that’s no longer happening I mean
There’s quarterbacks um that are coming out almost every year and this is a result of of the work that Steve Warren is doing at the Warren Academy and that others are doing in their training but the Warren Academy is is just is is essential is huge in the development of
These players as college prospects all four of the guys at Millard South um who are being looked at here this month and and receiving offers were products of the of the Warren Academy you know along with guys like Danny kin Zay Flores and Thomas fedon and and the list can can
Just go on um you know this this game that Miller South plays at at Basia um next fall um is not necessarily a result of rising respect for for high school football in the state of Nebraska it’s because Tai wisdom the coach at Millard South um spent several years in the
Phoenix area and was a head coach at two high schools and and befriended the the the coach at at Basia and and has traveled down there to watch his team play when when you know when he’s had off weekends uh in the Metro and and so they have a relationship and that’s
That’s why this thing was struck I hope that because of it there’s more awareness about the level of play in Nebraska and that other things you know other series like that can can happen it’s it’s only good for the exposure of of the players in the programs in the
State and can and can you know can help land land guys uh at spots like were’re seeing come into the metro and and recruit a player like Chase Lofton here this month Mitch Lofton was at SC last weekend he’s visiting Alabama so I mean those are some heavyweight names
Christan Jones of course the the linebacker from Westside not only Nebraska but the who who of the SEC and well the Big 10 are after him two BigTime prospects I got about a minute and a half you know how do you as you look at it where’s Nebraska in the race for these
Two I think Nebraska’s in the position that it wants to be for both of them right now I mean you’d like to have these guys committed but it’s not realistic to expect that players with that many options are going to commit this early unless you’ve just got a slam
Dunk situation you know with Christian Jones um he has a bunch of teammates from Westside um in in the last few classes who’ve ended up at Nebraska I mean you’re looking at Jaylen Lloyd and Tristan Alano and Caleb Benning um those guys are going to help Nebraska recruit
Christian Jones to uh to to Lincoln but he has he has all kinds of options as you mentioned and you his dad played uh at Nebraska so that’s a that’s a factor too I think with the with the the family um and with Lofton um we’ll see it’s
It’s a little early his brother’s at Kansas State as a tight end Braden Lofton and the Wildcats are a factor in addition to all the other teams that you mentioned so when you’ve got SC and and Bama knocking on your door and we’ll see those programs have not offered um but
The but Penn State Florida State um Missouri uh many others have have offered Auburn offered him last week um you know I think more offers are going to come for Chase Lofton um he was at Nebraska for a junior day with those South teammates just a couple of weeks
Ago and you know I think what Nebraska’s doing is impressing all of these kids but they’re going to have to continue to recruit those guys especially those two really hard to uh to again win the uh the recruiting battles for the top players in their own State Mitch about
10 seconds what’s coming up from you on the athletic Bud uh we’ll see you know still working through this week it’s a busy time in recruiting so I’m sure I’ll have some more content in the in that area but um you know as um as we know this is not
The uh the busiest time of year for for what’s going on uh on the on the um on the practice field or anything like that so we’ll see what stories pop up here over the next few days sounds good Mitch thanks for the time appreciate you
Jumping in all right thanks a lot guys there he is Mitch Sherman with us from the athletic at mitt Sherman on Twitter open phones here till 5 with hail varsity and now and now back to hail Varsity radio thanks for spending con of tale Varsity were powered by cornhead logger
Chris mid Elijah herbal Conor Clark reminder about your friends at dire law if you’ve been injured in a personal injury accident you can count on dire law and the team to provide you with a helping hand when and where you need it no matter what you’re dealing with call
Dire law the team today at 40239 37529 or visit d. law to chat with a trusted professional about your personal injury claim d. laww that’s d. law 402 393 7529 more recruiting questions flooding in here on the stream when it comes to needs and wants and good stuff from
Mitch here on uh the metro area in Millard South and the talent they have Westside still loaded a lot of talent Omaha North of course in the Metro uh B West is always pretty incredible and Lincoln has uh uh some some Talent of course central Nebraska cardi I mean
It’s Grand Island I mean so a lot of proud football programs in state that are getting looks not only by Nebraska with the Ed Foley tour but you’re getting more and more um programs in here not just Carter Nelson but but now you have this this run on instate talent
And particularly in state tight ends right I mean there’s there they’re just growing in in Nebraska apparently but I think Scott Nails it Nebraska is going after you know that 2025 quarterback you need to reload a defensive line and offensive line are always important we’ll check in with Greg Smith National
Recruiting analyst from rivals in about 15 minutes but interesting question you found in the Stream and we’re trying to peruse through it promise you to get your comments on Dion asks um uh Dion saying look yeah melin’s advertised of the nation we got players to poach Dion they’ll just jump on
Huddle brother and find him themselves advertisement or not so it it is out there it’s a new world in recruiting and the word is out on Nebraska precisely because of what Mitch mentioned the the war Academy and other training facilities you’ve got kids that are super talented that are refining their
Skills putting in the work in the off season you know one of the biggest take ways and and why things are so good not only because of population base in Florida and California and in Texas yeah you’ve got a ton of kids to choose from that are that are talented and big and
Fast and strong and all that but they’re Spring football that happens in Texas there’s Spring football that happens in Florida there’s Spring football that happens in in California so uh Nebraska doesn’t have Spring football so these kids that don’t have Spring football what are they doing they’re they’re not
Necessarily specializing in sports but they’re spending a Sunday or a Saturday with uh with Warren or another training facility and and they’re putting the work in that way and and for a second Dion you’re the one who brought this conversation I want you to take the
Husker hat off for just a second it doesn’t come off but but briefly briefly take off telling Dion to take his Husker red off yes and and and I’ll I’ll I’ll bring it back to Nebraska don’t worry but think about the high school athletes that you have in this state and think
About the opportunities that can be afforded to them by advertising as you say the talent that we do have on display in this state and I I think in the long it can help Nebraska I’ll get there in just a second but think of a kid like Easton
Stick sure playing in the NFL now best offer he had coming out of high school is North Dakota State great offer great offer don’t get me wrong but east sck was a kid that was way more talented than a division one daa program such as is North Dakota State that’s no slight
To North Dakota State but eastn stick was a power five kid do you think eastn stick’s get to Nebraska offer if say I don’t know name your power five school from the SEC or from whever if Mississippi State comes in if Missouri comes in if UCLA comes in Stanford comes
In and offers East and stick do you think that changes the recruitment from Nebraska’s point of view yes absolutely it sure because you’ve got some air quote peers mhm in the in the building now and that is a positive to Nebraska despite the fact that yes your
Competition is going to be greater by having more of a national presence that you know what Nebraska is a great recruiting base you’re bringing in competition for yourself but you’re also I guess uh rising or lifting the level of talent and lifting your own observation that you need to have within
Your own state in order to to bring the recruiting up to that level if you will to the likes of the UCLA and the stanfords and yes are some kids going to get away absolutely but look what’s happened with volleball in the State volleyball in in the state of Nebraska
It’s one of the Premier destinations for high school volleyball recruiting to come to the state of Nebraska it’s a premier State for the sport of volleyball think it’s been bad for the state that you know what occasionally kids go off and go play volleyball at a high level institution no go get school
Paid for get a nest egg before your 22 through nil and uh start off life with no debt and and a savings account and Scott may have put it into words better than I was able to playing better competition is always a win in my book
Even if you lose you get to see where you need to get better that’s kind of where I’m getting at here right and and that’s ru’s statement right uh I’m not going to apologize for bringing in Talent that’s that’s his job and your job is to to be willing to compete and
Go win a job so the opportunity for Nebraska here and this Millard South squad’s pretty incredible I mean does like back in the day you had the southeast Knights ranked and this is probably 30 years ago they were ranked in the top 10 top 15 of the USA Today they’d always shouldn’t say
Always but they had a kind of a home and home deal against Rockhurst you know where Rucker came from the Rockhurst Squad out of Missouri that was kind of a non-conference nonstate game they’ play but some of these high school powerhouses that’s what they do the imgs
Of the world I know they’re an academy but they they travel they have a they have a traveling schedule some of these powerhouses in uh California modern day uh they they travel around you want to see where you stack up I’m good with that well and let me use someone that I
Knew well as an example Brock Bando played High School football with him for a couple of years what happens is is is Brock knows he’s got division one aspirations he’s got the frame he’s got the talent that is going to lead him to be a division one type kid what does he
Do after his sophomore year of high school he goes off to IMG Academy because he knows the opportunities going to get in recruiting are better at IMG Academy than they’re going to be in Lincoln Nebraska and it’s a success story for Nebraska cuz he ends up coming
Back to Nebraska playing a couple years a good football for Nebraska gets a degree moves on with his life it’s it’s a win for all parties but like think about him sticking around in Nebraska does he ever even get a Nebraska offer if he doesn’t go off to IMG Academy you
Don’t know because we’re going back five six years ago in recruiting and recruiting is changed since then but there’s that that conversation to be had of if he doesn’t get an Auburn offer first does Nebraska ever come through with an offer you don’t know here’s my question does that say something about the
Recruiting of instate athletes from Nebraska well AB you can you can hit a hot button with a lot of coaches depending on the staff about the time and effort put in I mean it it shouldn’t it shouldn’t take Lincoln to Florida and then back again to get to Nebraska no
What what should happen is you you do your due diligence and if the kids a fit and you think you can get him and you like him and he likes you and he’s in state hell yeah you don’t you don’t lose him but you need to and you can’t any
Longer take Nebraska kids for granted they want to or are going to go to Nebraska and if other schools are coming in and making offers you can’t take them for granted anymore and I’ll I’ll I don’t think this staff is I’ll finish this conversation just by saying there
Has never been a time in the history of college football where having more Talent within your own state borders has been bad for the college football program in that state no you got to have it you got to have it and it’s been specifically Elijah you’re right important for Nebraska historically
We’ll wind out hour one Greg Smith on recruiting surl coming up in hour two at hail varsity and now and now back to hail Varsity radio one final time more your stream comments we’ll get there as the show progresses our two Greg Smith Jeremiah Sirles hilar City powered by corad
Logger so one out of every three fredal crashes in Nebraska it involves an impaired driver why take chances if you drink or use other substances don’t drive impaired driving is deceptively dangerous a message from the indot highway safety office fellas let’s talk Bubble Watch for a second we alluded to
It a little bit ago as the athletic out with their latest field of 68 projection and uh they ain’t lying when they talk about Nebraska’s next three uh really the the four game stretch starting with Maryland we highlighted but it is getting down to statement time before
You you find your dancing shoes either they fall off or you kick them off or you uh you hold on to them and right now Nebraska is in the danger Zone with a lot of teams uh in the Big 10 you kind of forward down to uh the latest
Rundown and you know Nebraska’s strength of schedule has them on the spotlight strength of schedule 66 kenpom at 52 Ned at 60 they are three and three with their quad one record and right now you’ve got Maryland and Michigan State and Nebraska and Northwestern and Iowa and Ohio State
You’ve beaten uh Bucky but you got to go to Ohio State you’re going to be one and0 against Sparty can you sweep Northwestern that’s a tall task and Connor will be on hand for that uh Maryland gotcha do you put a giant Pelt on the wall right up there next to your
Purdue uh Deerhead uh number six in the country and then you turn right around and go to Illinois so the opportuni is there you’re just wondering and Fred’s words mean a lot Fred’s words are always pretty measured he never gets too worked up I think he’s super matter of fact and
When he was with the network last night I mean the the the toughness question is very real you can feed off energy and and dig deep at home and they’ve done that Elijah but it ain’t traveled and it’s traveled for a half couple of times
But the the where does a team go if God forbid it does doesn’t go well Thursday night and then you’re at Illinois and then you’re at Northwestern you’re in a Four game skid well and that that’s that’s the opportunity that awaits you is you can look at it two ways you can
Look at the potential disaster or the potential opportunity how are basketball fans that wear the red and white looking at it they’re looking disaster it’s a crucial week though to say the least you have four quad One games remaining on your schedule three of them are in the
Next week this this is make or break for the NCA tournament this is the biggest week of Husker basketball in 10 years I mean that’s what I said yesterday yeah yeah like easily and again I agree with you I think you look at Thursday is opportunity rather than test I think
That you know even if you’re a Husker basketball fan you’re discouraged by the performance at Maryland and I mean how could you not be the energy in the building is still going to be high there’s still a ton to play for and again corn head looger to drink there
Yes there’s plenty of that and not only do you have a opportunity Thursday you have an opportunity on Sunday and an opportunity on Wednesday all these teams are good I mean every team in the Big 10 is good to a certain extent but the next
Three are the cream of the crop of the league right now and if you’re able to make some noise in that stretch that could write your wrongs from previously in the season this team’s still 15 and six there is a ton of postseason aspirations to play for and it sets up
Your February I mean from a confidence standpoint Greg Smith get a check in from Rivals we’ll talk some recruiting with Greg on the way with hail Varsity the voice of husker is on the air this is hail Varsity radio Insight opinion expertise along with the biggest names talking Nebraska sports join in
With the show at 42489 1240 or 1 1800 825 5865 now here are your hosts Chris Schmid and Elijah herble back with you at Hour 2 at tail Varsity we’re powered by corn head logger Chris mid Elijah herble conter Clark we say hello to Greg Smith and National recruiting edist with
Rivals find and follow him if you don’t already at Greg Smith Rivals Mr Greg it is awesome to see you in the video Hil Varsity YouTube where you can watch also the hail Varsity Radio Twitter feed the ESPN 59 KF Twitter feed wherever you like to watch the show how are you doing
Man that football office looks nice love the waled yeah yeah thank you thank you um you know it’s good to be back with you guys it feels like it hasn’t been that long but a lot has changed in that time right new job I have moved out of
Lincoln uh you know A lot’s happened around here so I was going to ask am I still able to you know uh knock on your door around dinner time around 6:40 uh when I smell you know Stakes on the grill but the door was never answered I
Mean I’m messing with you but yeah I’m so happy for you man that’s awesome National analyst and uh you deserve it brother it’s awesome thank you I appreciate that if if you smell the the grilled Meats from Omaha uh then you are more than welcome to come through and
Knock on the door we will uh uh I want to kind of get things kicked off uh with with just your analysis when it comes to to raing a player I’ve had some questions today in the Stream as far as Dylan riola and and the rivals still has him top three in
The country break it down man for our audience what goes into the uh the ranking of a player uh at quarterback or defensive tackle you know whatever but just how the uh the sausage is made for lack of a better term uh when it comes to to
Coming out with your your top three top five players in the country yeah it’s it’s a much more involved process and I think that people realize given and I always explain this to people like on the other end of it to prospects about like when they complain about their
Ranking when they say you know I’m only you know the seventh best wide receiver in the country well you have to understand if you’re number seven in the entire country we’re talking about you’re a pretty good player um in your own right right there’s a lot of high
School football players out there now when it comes to that top group it becomes a little bit nitpicky right when you’re talking about you know we have Dylan what number two um in our over all rankings and even when we moved him from from number one to number two in favor
Of Jeremiah Smith uh the wide receiver that he was in a class with at one point at Ohio State he ended up at Ohio State um we were met with criticism um when we did that because it’s just not it’s not typical to see a wide receiver jump over
A quarterback in that process uh but in that particular case we think Jeremiah Smith is basically Julio Jones um and if you think that then he’s welld deserving of being the number one player in the country right but when it comes to quarterbacks some of it comes down down
To you know how they performed in the season which Dylan definitely checked that box but then it also comes down to how they performed in Allstar games which we also thought he checked that box as well um and so to be honest with you like I don’t know what the case is
For moving him off of the spot that he would have previously had which is why we didn’t do it well the the the the the conspiracy theories out there from Husker fans are on three he’s got a Husker bias they have a vendetta against Nebraska oh they’re just doing it for
Clicks they just want the attention but you’re telling me there’s there’s actual real reasoning behind recruiting rankings yeah there there’s actual real reasons you really wouldn’t want it honestly I’m going to be you talking about how the sausage is made you would never actually want to anger a large fan
Base because they’re more likely to click the other way right it would be it would be smarter to then to make a couple of guys that were kind of mid three stars four stars and then get the bump from that um and have people talking about that so no it’s better to
Go the other way um than to just make people mad grg guy I want to get your thoughts uh with the national senior on you also keep an ear locally uh not just with Nebraska but the Big 10 but you know feedback you talk to kids all the
Time what is the buzz like for Nebraska with this riola commitment and just more so not only Rola but also rule because he is knocking on doors in state and out of state yeah I think that those are the the two main things right now that are driving Nebraska’s kind of resurgence CU
They surg at the end of this class and when it comes to both high school and the transfer portal you got to combine them anymore right and think about it all holistically um and I think that that initial initial surge was because they got Dylan rayola and he was in the
Boat and was somebody that you know when those transfer wide receivers came on campus I know they spent a lot of time with Dylan um when uh Dante Dell the running back as well did the same thing right so those were those guys it was instrumental and having Dylan around to
Help kind of pitch the program and say hey I’m a big time player I’m coming here here’s why you should also do it but the flip side of that is what you kind of alluded to which is when you say that you those guys have to then go talk
To the coaching staff right so then when to see if all of that stuff is true so then when they go talk to Matt Rule and those guys they’re like oh he actually was telling me the truth and shooting me straight about what he was actually talking about with this program and I
Think that people like and I continue to hear this consist L like parents High School coaches recruits they just love Matt Rule and they love talking to him and those two things in combination I think are a powerful onew punch right now Greg we were talking earlier about
How you know the talent in Nebraska is being sought after a lot more nationally now how does Nebraska kind of fend off those larger teams that are coming in whether that’s in the Big 10 or in the SEC or wherever it may be man that’s a great question because it it’s getting
Dicey out there it is hard like that it’s something where there’s a a a couple of things that Nebraska has to do and and one of them in particular that they can control right now um I think they’re doing well at which is just getting in the high schools and actually
Recruiting these kids hard right like the days are gone where you can just offer you know a guy like Chase Lofton and just expect him to come here or you know a Christian Jones you offer him and up he’s basically gonna shut it down um and then end up at Nebraska like those
Guys now have offers from all over the country you know in the case of Jones you know Notre Dame Oklahoma is really high on him um Chase Lofton obviously has the connection to Kansas state with his brother being there he was just at USC this past weekend going to Alabama
This weekend um and so everyone is after those kids so you have to put the leg work in which is why what Ed Foley is doing is so important uh for this staff right and then the other thing which they can’t control just yet they had one
Season of it is they gotta win right you I I’ve said this on this show before I’ve said at other places you have to put yourself in the shoes of these kids now who have not seen Nebraska win very much in their life lifetime or at least
Since they you know could remember what was happening with football so the wins have to come and the progress has to go on the field but the first step is is to actually put in the leg work to recruit them yeah and Greg there’s kind of two
Sides to this argument we’ve seen it both we talked about it back in in hour one that’s you know it’s concerning whenever the The Who’s Who of college football are coming to your state and recruiting because there’s more competition on the flip side my take is if there’s more attention and more
Talent within your home States I can’t remember a time that’s been bad for the instate football program despite the fact that you might lose some kids to out of state what’s your take on that is that a fair take that more more recruiting attention despite the fact
That the competition goes up and you might lose some kids is good for Nebraska in the long run oh yeah it’s absolutely good it is better to have it this way than to only have say two kids that really are deserving of scholarship offers within the state right because
Then the the more kids that Nebraska can bring in from inst state where you don’t have to travel as much it is easier to recruit them just based on kind of the overhead and what it’s going to take to to win that recruitment the better right
Like I know they want to go into Texas and they will continue to do that but it it takes a little bit more of a toll to do that versus going down the street or down I80 and recruiting kids um from the state so ultimately it’s a very good
Thing but I understand why it makes fans nervous uh because they’re going to be in some high-profile battles and it’s going to happen again this year Greg Smith with us here at hail Varsity National recruiting analysts with Rivals at Greg Smith Rivals where you follow him so when we talk about Nebraska and
Uh the the instate prospects Greg we know that it’s it’s been on the rise it’s been noticed recruiting is different now than it was 5 years ago it’s International for lack of a better term we’ve we’ve highlighted that why do you think the the the notice is out or
The word is out on instate kids yeah I think a couple of things and I I go back to remember and it’s funny you said five years ago because just about before that that cam Jurgens year when it was he was kind of the big name and people were
Starting to come to the state right LSU was in on him at the end and then over the next couple of Seasons you started to see guys like Nick Henrich and Chris Hickman um Garrett Nelson and Ethan Piper Snodgrass was in that same class as well but then what happens when
People colleges come to see those kids when they go to Burke to see Henri and Hickman oh they see Xavier Watts right and now he’s at Notre Dame so I think there’s a trickle down effect that has happened and that’s why you’re seeing so many kids get offers in the state
Especially at an earlier age because they’re starting to see those kids earlier and earlier when they’re seeing other players as well and this happens other places in the country too it’s just now happened at Nebraska a lot more um and it makes it a lot easier now
Because of huddle and things like that where teams can really they don’t have to actually physically come out here to see those kids on the first glance they can watch them on huddle get a good evaluation and then come out and see them um and so yeah I think there’s a
Number of reasons there but anytime you know I looked up you know I was at Carter Nelson’s game this past year and Notre Dame like director of player Personnel is on the sideline you just wouldn’t have seen that stuff you know five or six years ago it’s just kind of
Amazing how it’s all exploded Greg want to get your thoughts on on some names that that are out there and uh Nebraska offering a quarterback uh Dylan Duff kid out of St Louis what are your thoughts on him I know Nebraska’s still chasing uh masi out of
Alona that’s a big Target that they were looking at at quarterback for 2025 but touch on those quarterbacks that Nebraska’s looking at and then needs for Nebraska for 2025 yeah I think that Duff staying there first is he’s a he’s about 63190 um a good passer he’s a good he’s
Got a nice accurate arm um and he’s a kid that’s on the rise like he he has been visited by a lot of schools in the region over this kind of contact period here in January um so you think you know obviously Nebraska was in there with a
Good chunk of the staff when they offered him today um he was at Missouri I believe this past weekend Kansas Kansas State Iowa State all kind of circling the wagons on him as well so I think he’s a really good Regional Prospect and that’s kind of where Alex
Manky is right now even though he just took a visit to Texas A&M um because they’ve got an interesting connection you I think you’re going to continue you talk about teams that are GNA come into Nebraska Christian Ellsworth who was at Nebraska now down at Texas A&M as soon
As he got down there and in that position and kind of got elevated under Mike Elco they started offering Nebraska kids left and right and Nebraska targets um that that Nebraska had too Alex manky is a kid that he was really familiar with so they’ve got a connection there
Um and then he’s also got Iowa and Iowa State who are also heavily in on him as is Nebraska like you mentioned I’m very curious on what happens with that quarterback position when it comes to this cycle because as you know we’ve been doing this long enough when you
Have a really good quarterback one year it is very hard to stack quarterbacks year after year I don’t think that anybody is under an illusion that Dylan ra is not going to start this year and Beyond beond and so it just becomes really hard to then sell kids that want
To play right away at that position to be able to come in um it’s just going to be tough and as far as needs go for Nebraska this year defensive line I think is one I think that getting adding a guy to go along with Tyson Terry who I
I’m very high on I think he’s he’s a great young player um but getting another defensive lineman or two with him um getting another like big- time linebacker I think that this is a year where they can swing for the fence at linebacker as well so a couple those
Defensive positions in the front seven I think is where they need to be looking first and foremost Greg with with Rola and kin both on roster you expect R is going to play this year you expect kin most likely going to red shirt does that take down the importance of getting a
Quarterback in that 2025 class usually coaches want a quarterback in every single class because of things like attrition guys transferring in and out potential injuries missing on kids is it important for Nebraska to get a a kid in 2025 or does a a kin red shirt kind of
Take care of that I still think that you want to get one because of what we’ve seen with the transfer portal right like that that can change so fast now and so it’s just you have to protect yourself a little bit whether or not that’s a a guy
That you maybe think is under the radar um that you’ve got a good valuation on and you bring him in or if it’s a preferred walk- on that you really are high on like I just think that you always in this day and age need to bring
Bringing in a quarterback even though if things stay the same and no one leaves you’re going to be in a pretty good situation moving forward Kiona will height Greg uh had a inhome with UCLA Nebraska and uh Mr White out there to see him and uh you also have Michigan
State in the running give me a thought on on will height and you know what decision days just around the corner for him yeah I think that he’s a he would be a really good late ad for whichever School ads him I think that he would fit
In for Nebraska and now we’re in this situation where Nebraska has added so many players and I know this comes up all the time about how can they do this where the scholarship numbers do they have this he’s a guy that you make a spot for right like you just will figure
It out um because he he would be an impact type defensive lineman um to come into that room so you definitely want to add him like you mentioned tough competition here with UCLA sent and Chip Kelly out there to the house um Michigan State I think is one to watch as well um
That new staff with Jonathan Smith like I think that they’ve done a really nice job so far um obviously they bring over Aiden Charles and I think that he’s going to be a star in the Big 10 they they’ve just got a good staff obviously what they were doing at Oregon state is
Good um so Nebraska right there in the mix um but Ling him would be a really big deal for Nebraska’s future defense about 45 seconds Greg this new Big 10 man just the how how exciting are the recruiting war is going to be maybe exciting the wrong word for Nebraska
Fans but just overall it’s tough anyway with Michigan Ohio State Penn State you bring in uh the West Coast man it’s going to get pretty interesting yeah it’s already interesting because I didn’t think that those West Coast teams would have such a presence in the midwest right away I’ve been kind of
Tracking this I’ve seen Lincoln Riley in more like Ohio and Indiana high schools than I would have expected to see right away I think that that was something they needed to do anyway just to get tougher um and I think that it’s smart of him to kind of get that way as they
Go into the Big 10 you know that Dan laning in Oregon is going to be a problem like they’re going to be you know right there battling Ohio State I think is the favorites in the conference this coming season um and so adding those teams is still kind of weird we’re
All getting used to it but at the same time it’s going to be fun but like you said on the recruiting Trail I don’t know how much fun you want to have with a couple of those programs it’s Greg Smith National analyst with Rivals at Greg Smith rivals on Twitter give him a
Follow Greg appreciate you making time we’ll do this again soon thanks for for jumping on hey thanks as always guys good good seeing you guys all right there he is Greg Smith with us quick timeout Jeremiah sir’s on the way with hail varsity and now and now back to hail Varsity
Radio back into it hour two it’s hail Varsity powered by cornhead logger we welcome in our favorite Husker neller Jeremiah surles at Sur 71 hsk KR Sur tell us about the uh the tour man how’s your your winner been yeah it’s been busy uh you know I was in Florida at the
Beginning of the part for the hoola Bowl uh then I went up to Minneapolis in the middle part to work with my alignment up at the gym and I just got back last night from Frisco Texas for the bow so been running and gunning and having a
Great time and really just fun watching your clients go out there and perform with what they need to do ran into Matt rule down at the shrine bull as well so good to see him uh down there supporting Omar Brown and uh our Long Snapper so
Always good to see him and he was down the recruiting so it was always it was a great trip sounds uh sounds busy but uh pretty eventful which is great and we’re not far away from spring so it is the dreaded winter conditioning uh dreaded with a little question mark Ron Burgundy
Style but uh spring is is here and lot of excitement for riola but also some of the new additions what’s your your take on some of the gets for Nebraska and they may not be done for uh for the last Signing Day either yeah no first of all
I loved winter conditioning like I thought winter as hard as it is like you’re just grinding it out with your boys and then you’re done you go to class and you kind of just chill out like it wasn’t it wasn’t this super awful all day thing like it’s a really
Intense couple hours but other than that you’re kind of just chilling I mean some of my favorite memories are sitting in the C tub with the boys after a hard workout and everyone’s like making fun of the kid who puked or the kid who passed out or whatever it might be so I
Love that but no I’ve been super excited for this class and you know even being around down talking to Scouts and whatnot they all know I played at Nebraska and and a lot of them were like man hey Nebraska put together a pretty good class so that shows me that
Nationally we’re getting some attention too from the football scribes and pundits that are all around the league so I’m really excited about some of these guys that are going to come in I think spring is going to be a great chance to see some of this young Talent
Who’s going to be a contributor who’s going to be a guy that needs some developing and so on and so forth but overall I think the temperature of the huskerville should be really excited for the future to come s which group of guys do you think this particular winter
Conditioning is more important for is it those those guys that got some playing time last year freshman year guys like Malachi Coleman Jaylen Lloyd ly Hart some of the other guys in the defense you know a lot of coaches say you make your biggest stride in college between
Your fresh year in your sophomore year because of that winter conditioning or is it this group of early enroles this recent class that Nebraska got in because by getting in early they get themselves a winter condition they get themselves ready for spring which group of guys do you think this next couple
Months is more important for as you look at the rebuild as a whole yeah no it’s definitely the year two year three guys I mean those are the ones that need to take the big jump right you’re no longer experiencing something new for the first time you’re no longer kind of swimming
You have experience under your belt you’re no longer looked at as a rookie and for guys that played a lot of snaps you’re no long longer looked at as a young guy either right and so taking advantage of the winner and being able to be a good self scouter and going back
And saying hey I need to be better at this or I need to work on that and then applying it through this time is extremely important because those guys can’t afford to have a sophomore slump right you can’t rebuild if your freshman that went out and contributed this year
All sudden come out as sophomores and you’re like why do you look worse or the same right which is essentially worse right those guys have to make big strides and I think with Cory Campbell and the process and everything he’s put in it’s going to be really hard not to
Make big strides andless you’re just not bought in like that’s really the only way you don’t make big strides in the winner is if you you get out of it what you put in it because the plan that the staff and everyone’s going to put in is
All meant for you to have the most success Jeremiah Ser with us on Hillar City radio obviously winter conditioning very physical strenuous on the body what type of mental Edge do players gain from that kind of tough period of working out I know you said it’s only a couple hours
A day but it’s a tough couple hours each day yeah no it’s definitely mental toughness as much as is physical toughness right the the strength coach and the coaches runs and the older guys are going to try and push the younger guys to see who breaks right like that
Was always a piece of us like who’s going to quit who’s not going to touch the line who’s not going to finish the drill who’s going to make us restart the drill and you start seeing as a whole like who can we rely on in the fall and
Who’s taking those jumps from maybe a guy that was a didn’t touch the line guy the year before but now he’s a leader right you can start to see that and that’s a little bit where that mental Edge comes in of you’re developing your mental toughness of it’s Fourth qu games
On the line two minute drill you fall back on your training of the base that you built through winter conditioning so all this stuff is important all of it plays into a factor a lot of it’s just kind of evaluating where guys are at mentally as well with this winter
Conditioning progress uh process in progress you kind of mentioned the fact that players get in what they put into the process with winter conditioning is it more player Le or more coach Le what what is the the more important factor there yeah the coaches need to put together a phenomenal program right they
Need to have a program whether it be 6 weeks 8 weeks whatever it is leading up to Spring ball and calculate what they want to get out of it from a metric standpoint as far as what it comes from a player Le you know the player Le is
Much more who’s the internal leaders who are the guys that going to stand up and say hey follow me I know the path like Ty Robinson comes to mind Nash hutmaker comes to mind those type of guys and also who’s going to take the step into that leadership role these are where you
Really are starting to look for who you’re going to be leaders are in the fall but overall the coaches run everything and it’s their job to have the program put in place it’s the player’s job to execute sir what are you expecting from the o line you know with
The god of the guys coming back I’m expecting some really high hopes right I think Bryce benhard played his best football of his career towards the end of the year last year and really throughout the entire year last year Ben Scott coming back there big guy in the
Middle hoping that he’s goingon to be a guy that can anchor it down for us we bring in the transfer from Florida the boxer so hopefully he’s not punching anyone at the 10 yard line but I mean he’s an extremely gifted athlete you see it on tape all over the place Teddy
Braska having a healthy healthy non-surgical offseason can do Leaps and Bounds for him as well and then you start filling in there of guys that have played last year that aren’t just going to be penciled in and penned in starters but true competition across the board
And that’s one of the first times I can think for a long time of going into a spring with multiple guys that have starting experience competing and making each other better so we can truly find out who the best five are going to be come to fall and when you talk about
That best five siros what’s more important with those guys and taking strides based on what you saw is that that physical is that that that weight room element that they’re going through right now or is it going to be in Spring getting on the field and getting that
Technique right what do you think there’s more refinement to to be had with that group I think it’s both I I don’t think you can take one or pick pick one you know you have to be big fast strong physical to play offensive line it’s no secret you can be as
Technical and talented you want if you don’t got the the lead in your ass it don’t matter right and so you got to put that in put that work in during the the the winter but then when you get out you have to technically refine yourself as
Well you could be as strong as as can be if you can’t control your own body in your past set and timing then it doesn’t matter so it’s definitely a combination of the two you know when last year so many times with the the offensive line
It all went kind of South when one guy missed here or one block fall off here so just getting the five guys that work the best together and communicate the best and the less Mees and then pairing that with being fast strong physical which they all should be in this program
There’s no reason not to be that’s when we’re going to really start to see if we’ve made some big strides or not Sirles uh what can Glenn Thomas do for a a true freshman quarterback or a guy like harberg that that’s had limited development in his time at Nebraska yeah
You know I think you know talking about him you can just come in and install a culture you can come in and teach the way it to be done and you really get to build from the ground up right so that that’s for me is you want a guy that’s
Going to build from the ground up shape mold clay his way and when you get to do that especially with a young guy you get to pretty much pick and choose hey this is my way of the highway worked or it didn’t right so I’m excited for him to
Come in and just kind of implement his system thought on riola the expectations the pressure the celebration and and you know he’s he’s moving the needle he’s making Nebraska you know recognizable from a recruiting standpoint you still got to produce on the field coach Ruland everybody knows that but it’s a little
Different feel now with uh with a guy like riola committing and then being on campus yeah you know I treat I treat freshman the same way I treat rookies until you’ve proven to me that you can do it you don’t matter to me right and
As much as rayola is great and fun I love it I’ve seen five stars flame out quicker than can be and I’m not saying he’s going to but I want him to come in and earn it still right I don’t want people to treat him like the Golden Boy
Or the anointed one yet like until you prove to me you can do it between the white lines in practice and then out on the game you’re just a guy right and I’m excited for what you’ve done and what you’ve built to this program but I think
That’s the kind of mentality he needs to have and it’s going to be important that the seniors rally around him the older guys rally around him is like hey you may be our guy but you still need to earn it from us right that’s just an important part of growing and developing
As a player not just as a as the guy right everyone can be the guy coming out of high school you got to earn it to your teammates and prove it to your teammates and then when they anoint you that that’s when it matters when you talk about that Sinker swim aspect suros
Do you think this spring R gets tossed into the deep end if you will yeah oh he’s going to get tossed in the deep end with the lead vest on right like let’s see if you can swing Young Buck but that’s what you got to do when you bring
In a guy like this that the hope is hey you play three years and go get drafted in the top 10 right that’s what that’s what happens when you draft a guy or bringing a guy like this that’s the Hope in the dream that he’s so good he leaves
For the NFL in three years you got to see what you got right away and understand where are we starting are we starting from Ground Zero are we starting from floor 10 or are you already built way up here where we’re just refining certain aspects but you
Really don’t get that feel for a player until you see him out there against 22 23 year old guys have been playing college football for four five six eight 10 years whatever it is now cherl STS on the Super Bowl Chiefs and uh they are going to you’re you’re
Grunting Chiefs and 49ers I’m with you sir I mean I really wanted a Ravens I really wanted a Ravens lion Super Bowl I mean that’s what my heart wanted I think it’s what America wanted but you know we we get Mahomes and Kel again and as much
As I don’t want them to win I can’t stop I have to stop betting against Patrick Mahomes he’s the best right I was looking up a stat today he is now third all-time quarterback wins in the playoffs behind only Tom Brady and Joe Montana he’s 28 years old he’s passed
Manning he’s passed rothberger he’s passed he’s passed all these greats as a 28-year-old we’re watching one of the best to ever do it arguably going to go down as the best to ever do it and you know he found his stride and he’s only been sacked once so I want San Fran to
Win I think they may be the more talented roster top to bottom but 15 is the greatest X Factor there is in the NFL teammate Randy Gregory could uh could end up with a Super Bowl ring yeah going from Denver and Shawn pton and that train wreck to uh one the best pass
Rushing units in the NFL with I mean Chase young Randy Gregory Bosa Armstead such a talented group up front for San Fran hey let’s knock like the Broncos didn’t have a six- we stretch this year where they looked all right all right hang the banner hang the banner hang the
Banner Sirles last thought what’s coming up from you man I know you got some podcasts working and and you’re uh you’re spending time with clients that’s pretty awesome yeah so a lot more just pre-draft stuff going here off the road for a few weeks uh we’re still doing our
Podcast the o line committee uh o line lifestyle podcast if you’re interested to go check it out on YouTube or Spotify or apple um would love for you guys to give me some feedback on that we just break down tape a lot of fun stuff there
But for the most part now pre-draft full steam ahead to the draft the best city to visit during the pre-draft process is where Indianapolis combine dude the combine’s a riot a riot like it’s off air we have stories okay well we got to hear some of them off air and yay or nay
On the St Elmos do you Hammer the shrimp cocktail oh yes I hammer I’ll make me cry It Hurts So Good Sirles be good and we’ll check it again soon thanks for a few minutes absolutely appreciate you guys go Big Red good to hear from siros the uh sur’s
World Tour good for him man uh and the agent world and then the the Nebraska football uh analyst world as well just H thoughts on the big red find our podcast Spotify iTunes Google Play where you can download the show or catch the YouTube uh version on video subscribe to the Hal
Ofar City YouTube channel and uh Twitter HR City radio and now and now back to hail Varsity radio good stuff from surles and Greg Smith with this hour M Sherman in hour one find their interviews on the podcast Spotify iTunes Google play with hail Varsity subscribe tell a friend give us
A rating good better ugly we are good with what your feedback is hail Varsity YouTube channel as well chrish Schmid Elijah herbal Conor Clark find us on Twitter at Schmid radio Herbal Essence at cclark 27 so on Three’s National reporter Jesse simonon had a chance to
To do a one-on-one with Rule and uh a lot of things talked about specifically the excitement the enthusiasm and the uh well the thought Nebraska’s primed to make that quote big jump and uh that’s music to Nebraska fans ears but um pretty good conversation fellas with Rule and
Simonon and Rule started off with some some of the things that you know as a Nebraska fan but his level of concern and he said this in his post games when when you look at the turnover factor with Nebraska football there’s no reason when you look at the the turnover
Differential that you’re in ball games let alone losing on a walk-off or losing in overtime with that disparity in uh in turnovers it’s just not feasible in football but he uh looked at the five and seven and says look and I know that’s what it was and
November was tough to take but I’m paraphrasing here but you’ve got all sorts of momentum here with recruiting obviously with riola uh with what Nebraska wants to do from a development standpoint and the uh the fact is this you’re uh and coach dinardo has said
This to us for 100 years uh if you’re a a have if you’re a blue blood program you can get back to be in Blue Blood and uh rule referenced that the 910 win years for p uh he thinks they’ll get back there shortly and the blueprint
Here for success is going to be that development but also Elijah going and getting really talented players and coaching them up and I think that the quote of the article here is is something I’ve heard from a lot of Husker fans over the past couple of months you hear it directly here from
Matt rule talking about those nine 10 win Seasons he says I expect us to make a big jump if you don’t have a minus 17 turnover ratio last year we probably go from five and seven to an8 n Win maybe 10- win team knows and then he goes on to say but we
Did but we did I mean that’s let I if you told me uh that Joe Schmo Husker fan said that and not Matt R say yeah yeah part for the course you said Matt R says I go okay it’s it’s it’s interesting have one
Of us it’s it’s a it’s a healthy look at the what it could have should it’s interesting though to have a coach and a fan base in lockstep like that because it hasn’t always been that way in terms of what the issues are you know you do
You kind of follow what I’m saying whenever you hear some postgame press conferences back in the frost and Riley years didn’t always feel like the coach in terms of their plan to fix the program was in lock step with what the fans saw but Matt rule from day one has
Been in lock step where it’s how do you win at Nebraska you run the football you play physical football you go back to what made you great in the 9s you embrace the weather and then you move forward and looks back at last season and says you know what we’re probably 8
N 10 win team if we don’t have a minus 17 turnover margin that’s exactly what Husker fans are saying too it’s it’s is it not interesting to have a coach that’s that in lock step with the fan base no you take care of the football and good things happen right AB get some
Better quarterback play good things happen it’s not a crazy take to say oh we need to fix the turnovers anyone can see that but like to for him to just come out and say that so bluntly is interesting I just feel like a lot of coaches aren’t willing to say something
Like that anyway especially like the win differential part like yeah the turnovers any coach can go out in a press confer say well we need to stop turning the ball over got to stop hurting ourselves got to stop shooting ourselves in the foot how many times
Have you heard that as a Husker fan over the last 10 years you don’t really hear coaches say well if we did a little bit less of this we’d probably go from 5 to eight right like you you don’t hear that all the time and obviously Matt R has
Been you know very upfront about what he says and how he feels and I think that’s a good quality to have as a head coach of a program like this and I I think he’s as Elijah said very in line of what you know a lot of the fans think and
That can be good for some reasons and you know bad for others but um I mean hey when when you look at it you can’t really argue with that if you don’t turn the ball over minus 17 in the turnover margin you’re probably going to be a
Better team so uh it’s staring him right in the face the the thing that needs to get fixed and obviously a couple of other things as well but you know that that’s the glaring issue and he’s he’s willing to admit that advantage is that is going to be there for Nebraska is you
Got a lot of young guys reps and time and they were able to make some impact back to what you were talking to suros about Elijah making that jump in a second year from some of the key contributors is is freshman that’s big uh they all know what to expect from a
Practice style that separates Nebraska in a good way that puts them more in line with the michigans of the world and the Minnesota and Iowa of the world uh when it comes to physical football Tony white is sticking for another year and his defense was fantastic it was really
Good against the run and they got called upon too many times uh their next step is to close out games if the offense isn’t closing out the ball game running the football the four-minute drill but teams will know what to look for okay with Tony white in this 335 doesn’t mean
It’s going to be any easier for these uh offenses to to to to crack them I mean Nebraska gave up about a a drive and a big play typically once a game I mean they were they were solid for for 13 points maybe 17 and there should have
Been a billion points scored on them off of turnovers and there weren’t now it’s not going to be easy to replace the news of the world but you’ve got your back end back with you you’ve got your two big psychos in the middle and the polar bear and Ty
Robinson and uh put that on a shirt the two big pyos and and your linebacker depth is is a little thin but we’ll see if it it’s uh gets infused with your transfer portal and you’ve got some guys that are still around that saw some really nice action what was good about
Nebraska they played a lot of dudes and there was a a good rotation they’ve got to still be Stout against the Run they’ve got a schedule they can manage it looks like on paper to open things up and then it gets real ugly uh with Ohio
State and beyond that but that’s why you you play the game that’s why you try and figure it out so Nebraska in a good spot uh fix the turnovers keep good uh Vibes on defense and stay positive but it’s it’s not staying positive for the sake of blowing smoke it’s being positive
About look at all the things that you didn’t do and you were right there so it’s going to be big for Nebraska to to to take that step with the seconde guys with the the first year guys with the fifth year guys with the eighth year guys I don’t think there’s any
Eight-year guys but the sixth year guys and put it all together you can be excited about this season and uh what’s the ceiling at we you got all sorts of summertime uh after we we see what they are in Spring to discuss that yeah do we think uh that the Panic alarms start
Going off if they fumble the ball nine times in the spring game again yes yes absolutely because I think uh we kind of downplayed that last year like oh it’s it’s a new regime coming in that’s they’re just nervous he’s just freshman no they had problems holding on to the football uh
We will send you off into a Tuesday night I hope some of you have fired that Grill up with the good weather I’m thinking about it we’ll wind down a Tuesday it’s hail varsity and we’re powered by cornhead logger and now and now back to hail Varsity
Radio one final time it’s hail Varsity were powered by corn head logger Chris Schmid Elijah herbal coner Clark so Elijah is off to bowling in short order Conor has basketball Southwest locally here in Lincoln hosting Northeast and uh that should be all right you uh have uh a slate of
Basketball here the next couple of days and you’ve kind of perused all the different brackets out there so Athletics says nebras is bubble watching what else is out there to to call him Husker Nation ahead of Thursday calm you’ve seen some brackets that have Nebraska still as a nine seed I yeah
I’ve seen nine seeds I’ve seen 10 seeds I I think you’ve seen play in in Dayton the the only thing that’s going to calm down Husker fans over next th I was going to say it Xanax prescription but well I would go bourbon but pick your
Poison yeah at the end of the day Bourbon and Xanax a bad idea yes that’s a horrible idea yeah the only worst idea is bourbon sleeping I think I think the most accurate one I’ve seen at least it that agrees with my opinion and it’s not the
Bourbon and Xanax combo is the jool linardi last 4 in I think that’s pretty accurate right now just based off the way that they lost on Saturday on the road to a Maryland team that is playing better but it’s a team that you shouldn’t lose by Ked they got killed in
A big game yeah so I think last four in is is accurate I think Nebraska’s squarely on the bubble right now a win on Thursday could change that uh you saw how much they dropped after the loss well the equal thing could happen after a win against the number six team in the
Country in your building so um I I I think on the squarely on the bubble is is good um at least in accuracy and uh I’m I’m not surprised that they’re located on the playing game would you say that whenever we discuss what nine days from now there’s
More scenarios where Nebraska is off the bubble either in or out then they are still on the bubble a week from now if they split if cuz I think if they split if you go in your next three 2 and one I think you’re in right I’m saying these
Last four you you go two and two I think you’re good there’s not a bad loss in the next but they still have they still have they still have bad losses out there to St their toe as you go winless over the next week I look at this team being off the bubble
In a bad way being on the outside looking in yeah I agree and but the thing that’s going to help Nebraska right now before we get into the next three is the fact that they’re three and three in Quad One games that’s huge because quadw wins are hard to come by
The fact you got three of them already and you have three opportunities coming up that are all will be I I would have to check up on northwestern’s net because it’s been a little bit low this year but they should all three be quad one opportunities so if you’re able to
Pick off one or two of those that’s going to go a long way and the fact that they already have three of those quad one wins is is a big deal people weigh that in a ton does Northwestern get murdered tomorrow night the Revenge game at Purdue that’s interesting likely I I
Want to say Purdue probably wins that one pretty pretty handily Northwestern is playing good basketball obviously but yeah Purdue is going to want their get back especially after back-to-back years losing in Evon youon to keep rocking if you’re Nebraska you need hey state to keep rocking that’s the one that every
Concerned teetering as well right and your win over Indiana Indiana’s got all sorts of talent you need Sparty to keep rolling the metrics lovees Sparty too so that’ll help out Nebraska they’re what they’re still like top 20 in Kim pom aren’t they michig State 12 strength the schedule
Good old Michigan State well we’ll be back at you tomorrow at 4: and uh get the show downloaded today YouTube channel with halil Varsity or Spotify iTunes Google Play thanks for tuning in with hail varsity
