Sam M - spring ball news

inWV

All-Conference
Sep 22, 2007
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Defense was a problem at Penn St was one reason why we were blown out. Lateef also was hurt in the herky game which handicap our offense the rest of the way.

Still would have lost but can’t blame all the offensive woes on Holgersen.
Holgerson said it took until the B1G part of the schedule to find a part of the offensive game that really clicked for NU and that was duo and inside zone running plays with EJ. The offensive thing overall looked like it should have worked, but it didn't. I think Raiola was a little like Fool's Gold.
 
Aug 18, 2016
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Can you blame anyone? It's pattern recognition.

"Year 3 Rhule" turned out to be a joke, roster and staff attrition probably a net negative, schedule going to be much harder, etc.

I think most everyone is just wanting to see before they dare believe again.
Just answering the question asked somewhere on here about why no one wanted to talk about football.
 

mgbreeze

All-Conference
Dec 16, 2004
10,068
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No one cares but I definitely wanted Fred fired after year 3! 4-16 and dead last in the B1G, yikes! It's one time we can be thankful that a coach's contract saved him. Anyway, I think this upcoming football season is going to be painful and yet again a contract will be the only thing saving a coach.
 

1thomas

All-Conference
Jan 18, 2003
627
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I'm excited. Talk about it on here? With guys that seemingly would complain after getting head from their wife that she didn't swallow? Nah.
There are so many players I'm excited to see this year and how it gels with the new coaches. Think we've got some great guys and I'm eager to see how it pans out. Mozee, Barney, Colandrea, Hunter, Pritchett, Evans, Nwaneri, van Poppel, Chambliss, Shavers, and on and on
 

kennyfinpowers

Redshirt
Aug 23, 2019
585
28
23
Lateef was 21/37 against PSU. NU had three fewer first downs against PSU. He got beat up against Iowa. He was 15/28 against Utah. NU had 17 first downs. To compare, Raiola had 18 first downs against Northwestern and 13 against Minnesota.
I think Holgerson will be more comfortable working a game plan for either Coleandra or Lateef than he was with Raiola.
How many points? You don’t score games by first downs
 

litespeedhuskerfan

All-Conference
Aug 24, 2006
1,438
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Of course it's just the MWC, but Coleandra was the POY in that conference. He started as a true freshman at UVa. As for the WR, I think this is the second time Sam M has stated that he really likes that room. The WR room was hyped last year and didn't produce. Raiola is a very talented passer, but his lack of any running cred made him very predictable for B1G D coordinators. The NU WRs were defended with this in mind.

I feel like the WR room has been all hat and no cattle for a while. Maybe if they fly under the radar pre aeason they'll surprise.
 

RikeMiley

Senior
Sep 1, 2022
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I honestly thought like.. everybody wanted Fred gone. Hell I bet he didn't even want to he here... are you telling me we had fans that wanted him to stay when things were at their lowest?
"Unique Circumstances
Any other coach who has a record of 20-62 and 5-46 in the conference over three seasons would be fired the first chance they got. That isn’t the case with Hoiberg, and it doesn’t have anything to do with loyalty to a guy. The former Athletic Director Bill Moos extended Hoiberg after the first season and heading into the Covid season. The deal was not made public and it gave coach Hoiberg a full seven years and a buyout of 18.5 million dollars. No university would be able to afford the buyout."

How funny $18 million buy outs were just 4 years ago, Moos saved Hoiberg with his buffoonery, unless it was Ronnie Green ala the Frost extension.
 

Baxter48

All-Conference
Nov 2, 2015
1,170
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I honestly thought like.. everybody wanted Fred gone. Hell I bet he didn't even want to he here... are you telling me we had fans that wanted him to stay when things were at their lowest?
I did, I know he’s a good coach he just needed a little time to adjust to the big 10 the transfer portal and he made adjustments with his coaching staff dismissed one or two .
 

inWV

All-Conference
Sep 22, 2007
14,188
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I have no clue. What do you think?


Holla
Davis portaled and Jeudy graduated. They were replaced by Stoudmire (6-1/292), Whittington (6ft/270) and Jones (6-5/265). These guys will likely be part of a rotation that will include at least RVP, Hoffken, Pietrzak, Nwaneri, Cam L and Gabe Moore. Stoudmire had a productive 2024, but was injured in 2025. Whittington is a younger player that I think they like, but is probably a year away.
The guys who will play the most are Stoudmire, RVP, Pietrzak, Nwaneri, Cam L and Moore. 3 interior guys and 3 DE types. Cam will finally get to play a position he is suited for. I think they will be much better than last year.
 

dinglefritz

Heisman
Jan 14, 2011
51,348
12,780
78
I am mainly reacting to the comments from Rhule and Jacory about the new QB and how he has "brought a new confidence and energy" to the offense. I think Jacory even called it a "swag" that the dude has. So we are already getting a bit of hype about Colandrea before he has played a down. And we are beginning to see hype about our WR room as being very athletic and impressive. We have heard that crap before. But I do agree with you that so far there has not been a ton of hype overall which is refreshing.
Well Barney talking isn’t unexpected and I’m fine with it. What I don’t need to hear is Rhule telling us how player X is an NFL guy. NONE of them are NFL guys until they are.
 

dinglefritz

Heisman
Jan 14, 2011
51,348
12,780
78
Of course it's just the MWC, but Coleandra was the POY in that conference. He started as a true freshman at UVa. As for the WR, I think this is the second time Sam M has stated that he really likes that room. The WR room was hyped last year and didn't produce. Raiola is a very talented passer, but his lack of any running cred made him very predictable for B1G D coordinators. The NU WRs were defended with this in mind.
I thought our WR room was pretty damned good last year. The WR room wasn’t the major problem.
 

dinglefritz

Heisman
Jan 14, 2011
51,348
12,780
78
To add to it, if there's an issue with the 2026 season, Coleandra may not even be the culprit. It could be Rhule/Holgorsen.

When Lateef played super well vs UCLA it was "see what Holgorsen can do with a mobile QB".

Then we could barely muster out a first down vs Penn St, Iowa & Utah. The offensive play calling was atrocious.
Our O line injuries on the right side destroyed any chance we had of finishing the season strong.
 
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dinglefritz

Heisman
Jan 14, 2011
51,348
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My bad for bringing up first downs. That stat can be skewed. We were getting chunk plays vs UCLA. We weren't really grinding out drives like we probably needed to do vs Penn St, etc.

I agree on your last sentence. Also, it was frustrating when Raiola would miss wide of receivers....

In a game where you're getting destroyed, it makes it so much for frustrating when you go 3-and-out a handful of times in a row.
PSU’s talent was light years better than UCLA’s. PSU’s defense had it rolling.
 

dinglefritz

Heisman
Jan 14, 2011
51,348
12,780
78
No one cares but I definitely wanted Fred fired after year 3! 4-16 and dead last in the B1G, yikes! It's one time we can be thankful that a coach's contract saved him. Anyway, I think this upcoming football season is going to be painful and yet again a contract will be the only thing saving a coach.
And I was all in on him from day one til present. Wish we had made a similar hire for football. Fred is a perfect fit. Not sure who that guy would have been for football.
 

dinglefritz

Heisman
Jan 14, 2011
51,348
12,780
78
I like their transfers.

I like the new hires.

I LOVE the firing of a terrible OL coach.

I see no reason why they won’t be better this year than last. Might not look like it record-wise.
The record thing is exactly accurate IMO. Given the schedule this could be a better team and still struggle to win 6. Interested to see how it all shakes out. Hoping the QB play is good and the D line better.
 

dinglefritz

Heisman
Jan 14, 2011
51,348
12,780
78
I honestly thought like.. everybody wanted Fred gone. Hell I bet he didn't even want to he here... are you telling me we had fans that wanted him to stay when things were at their lowest?
I would say most non-message board fans wanted to keep Fred. Not once did I want him fired.
 

inWV

All-Conference
Sep 22, 2007
14,188
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PSU’s talent was light years better than UCLA’s. PSU’s defense had it rolling.
It's like in some folks mind, PSU's struggles meant that they didn't have a playoff level roster last season. They did, and had things sorted out before they played NU.
 
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inWV

All-Conference
Sep 22, 2007
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And I was all in on him from day one til present. Wish we had made a similar hire for football. Fred is a perfect fit. Not sure who that guy would have been for football.
The people that wanted to fire Fred are not as up on the landscape of college BB and NU's historical position within it. Fred had already demonstrated excellent coaching before he got to NU. The portal has allowed him to put together a competitive roster.
 

Scoop123

Senior
Jan 9, 2026
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Basketball is so much easier to turn around. You get one or two star players and you can immediately compete. You get a star player or two in football and you aren’t even close in many cases. I think it is awesome that Fred turned things around but for Matt to do the same it’s going to take a lot bigger lift IMO.
 
Aug 18, 2016
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Basketball is so much easier to turn around. You get one or two star players and you can immediately compete. You get a star player or two in football and you aren’t even close in many cases. I think it is awesome that Fred turned things around but for Matt to do the same it’s going to take a lot bigger lift IMO.
Didn’t Hoiberg have a couple of current NBA players on those teams?
 
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Scoop123

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Jan 9, 2026
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Didn’t Hoiberg have a couple of current NBA players on those teams?
I honestly don’t follow Husker hoops enough to know. I have a different favorite team in college basketball that I follow. I just know that a few few key players can turn it around in hoops. It’s just a matter of math for me. Five players on a court versus 22 starters in football and a much larger staff.

If I took Cameron Boozer and put him and one of his teammateson a below average team… They could be top 15 almost immediately. Whereas you put one or two Indiana or Ohio State players on Nebraska, I don’t see us immediately improving to near the same degree. I am not suggesting this is what Fred did… Because I don’t know. I would just hate for people to think Fred turned it around, so Matt should do the same.
 

Baxter48

All-Conference
Nov 2, 2015
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And Raiola has more hype coming into the program than any player I can remember since Frazier. The hype was euphoric. And yet he turned out to be only an above average QB with major deficits. And then he was gone like a fart in the wind. Coleandra? He looks good on film from his days at UNLV. But I will not get any of my hopes up until he actually starts making a difference on the field of play. I think I speak for a ton of Husker fans when I say that we are tired of offseason feel good analysis. We won't be convinced that this program is back until we start showing it on the field.
This is my last season for support of Rhule, i think he’s a decent coach but he also made some head scratching bone head decisions on staff and players like satt as oc and picking Jeff Simms. I still hang on to hope things will change for the better with the new coaches and no more Dylan. The difference between T Frazier and Dylan was Tommies parents didn’t interfere and he thrived on competition. Dylan on the other hand his dad was always insisting on different things. Maybe I’m wrong but I can’t see Dylan doing much better at Oregon.