OT: Why would Scott Frost go to Nebraska?

Submitted by MGlobules on

Scott Frost is being wooed for both the Nebraska and U Florida jobs; meanwhile, UCF donors are ponying up big  bucks for facilities at that university.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/ucf-knights/os-sp-ucf-uconn-mike-…

The indoor player facility that Frost is getting is something that Jimbo Fisher has been poor-mouthing about his school's need for all season long, as fans look with increasing ambivalence on his team.

It's not so widely known, but UCF is the biggest public university in the U.S., in a rapidly growing and increasingly pleasant big, cosmopolitan city, with a lot of wealthy donors intent on pushing it past FSU and UF as the state's major program and school--well-situated to do so.

Does Scott go "home" to cold, recruit-limited Nebraska, a place he is known to be ambivalent about, or build something enduring at UCF? I don't know. But the landscape of football in Florida is in flux. 

EDIT: A few posters taking it for granted that the guy would want to return to NB, but I don't think that this is a Harbaugh story. Just going to add this piece about Frost's ambivalence to his alma mater because I realized that it had influenced my thinking about him going back:

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/the-story-of-scott-frost-s-love-hate-relat…

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cbuswolverine

November 13th, 2017 at 11:17 AM ^

Because he's coaching at a school where 9-0 doesn't even earn you a spot in the top ten.  

 

"I know our biggest rival is South Florida, but have you seen our new facilities?"

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Bodogblog

November 13th, 2017 at 11:19 AM ^

Like Oklahoma? Everything Oklahoma is, so can Nebraska be. It just needs the right coach. Everything else is doom-seeking characterizations of certain parts of the country as uninhabitable. Riley had some decent recruits interested until they imploded. History, facilities, rabid fan base, good school academically... add a good coach and you're there.

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stephenrjking

November 13th, 2017 at 12:00 PM ^

It's not nonsense at all. Oklahoma plays multiple games in Texas every year. It recruits the state extremely well. Nebraska does not have that opportunity. Notre Dame, for all of its struggles, still has its own national tv contract and a library of propoganda movies and a national identity that nobody else even approaches. And even their ceiling is limited. 

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Clarence Boddicker

November 13th, 2017 at 12:52 PM ^

Nebraska can't really recruit Texas kids since they moved to the Big Ten--Oklahoma is just north of Texas, while Nebraska, north of that, presents a much greater distance, and parents, friends, etc, can't watch their games on t.v. Nebraska's California recruiting pipeline dried out long ago, and they completely lost the ability to recruit nationally out of states like Jersey and Florida. I have no doubt that the right coach with the right system (Option! Stop trying to pass out of pro sets, you numbskulls!) can make it work. I'd stay away--the expectations are so high the job remains a coach-killer. As fans, they--and we, for that matter--need to be satisfied with 10-2, 9-3, and 8-4 seasons. That's a good record, not a bad one! Hubris gets you Hoke, Riley, and Da Coach O.

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Bodogblog

November 13th, 2017 at 1:25 PM ^

Nebrasksa has five 4* commits in their class right now, in the middle of a meltdown year.  They had five last year as well, including a near 5* receiver they took from Ohio State. 

I'm not arguing Texas, I'm arguing the cornfields comment.  The right coach can pull the talent needed from whevever they find it.  And Notre Dame has no ceiling.  You can argue that the additional academic requirementst they put on are limiting, but it's more than made up by their brand (though I'm loathe to use such a term after the Brandon era). 

Frost will go to Nebraska.  If he's a good coach, they'll be good then very good quite quickly. 

You're all over-thinking this.  In CFB, most important is the coach.  Then the school, history, resources, fanbase, recruiting footprint, in some level descending order.  

Since you offered a one school sample size in your argument, I'll offer mine, plus history: Florida.  Spurrier and Meyer, great coaches, great results.  Muschamp and McElwain, mediocre and poor coaches, mediocre and poor results. 

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JonnyHintz

November 13th, 2017 at 2:52 PM ^

Notre Dame is surrounded by talent. Chicago isn’t far, Michigan produces decent talent, and Indiana borders Ohio. Nebraska is literally in the middle of nowhere. They’re not going to pull in the talent required to be Oklahoma like you said. It’s gonna take more than five 4*s to do that

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Bodogblog

November 13th, 2017 at 5:46 PM ^

So all of a sudden the midwest is a bastion of football talent?  Look around this thread, or the numerous others during Michigan's own coaching search - a good percentage of people said "Michigan needs to have realistic expectations", the implication being the midwest was a lost region destined to be covered over in tomb of snow.  There's always a reason for that - unless you're Florida or Georgia or USC.  Which, as I write the names of those schools, my argument proves itself: Florida I've covered, UGA under a pretty good coach in Richt, pretty good results, USC great under Carrol, terrible under many other guys over the last several decades.  How about UCLA?  See, you can play this game yourself.  Great coach makes a great program.  

A good coach will bring more than five 4*s - my point was that even a bad one can bring that now. 

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JonnyHintz

November 13th, 2017 at 6:23 PM ^

You’re confusing the Midwest with the Great Plains. The areas of Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio put out plenty of talent. Nebraska isn’t in the Midwest. Nebraska shares a border with Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado. Only one of which they play a game in on a semi-regular basis and NONE of which produce great talent. Nebraska can’t recruit the way they need to in order to be the type of program they want to be, or be like Oklahoma as you said. They don’t have the built in recruiting base that those top programs have. They’re not even CLOSE to a good recruiting territory. You’re expecting a mediocre Nebraska program to be able to consistently go head to head with elite programs in fertile recruiting territory that are hundreds of miles away. They’re not going into Texas and out recruiting Texas, Oklahoma, or A&M. They’re not coming into the Midwest and out recruiting ND, UM, OSU, or PSU. They’re not going down South and out recruiting Bama, Georgia, or any of the other SEC/ACC Powers. They’re not going out West and out recruiting USC, UCLA or Washington. It’s not happening. They’re a second tier program now and there’s really nothing they can do to break away from that aside from success with lower ranked recruits (like Dantonio has done) but that goes completely against your recruit point.

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Bodogblog

November 13th, 2017 at 9:13 PM ^

So if you have access to those ferti!e Texas recruiting grounds, success follows?  Ok let's use your example, using... Texas.  You can play along.  Good coach Mack Brown, elite team.  Bad coach Mack Brown, lifeless.  Charlie Strong did nothing with those resources.  Really, this game works with any team in any state.  I won't go over Michigan again because you've already done that in your head. 

The coach is the most important thing in college football, far and away.  It's like the QB of a football team, but even more important.  Then history, resources, fanbase, academic quality, other things.  If Frost is elite they'll be good then very good quite quickly.  

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JonnyHintz

November 15th, 2017 at 6:29 PM ^

The problem with Texas specifically as an example, is everyone goes there. It isn’t just one team. You have Oklahoma and A&M as major players. Teams like OSU go down there routinely. All programs far and away above Nebraska. Now go look at a map. Nebraska is about as far away from any talent as you could possibly be. Coaching is important. Very important. But Nebraska isn’t going to get the talent required to be a real national player and be on the level of Oklahoma. Their ceiling is essentially what they were getting with Bo Pelini. They’re going to win 8 or 9 games and occasionally hit 10. That’s it. That’s their ceiling. Bad coaching will be your undoing. There’s no doubt about that. But good coaching can only get you so far if you can’t get the talent required. Which Nebraska can’t. They’re too far from any talent base. They’ll get a good recruit or two here and there, but never enough to challenge on a national stage the way Oklahoma does

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trueblueintexas

November 13th, 2017 at 12:17 PM ^

When Nebraska was in the Big12, they could guarantee the families of Texas recruits they would be back home to play games "near home" at least twice a year (Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech, Baylor). 

Nebraska has almost nothing to offer Texas recruits now. They never play in state. They are at least 6-8 hours away driving. Flying has limitations due to no major airport in, near, or around Lincoln. Most of the games outside of Lincoln, are even further away (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinios, Iowa) and of those, 3 of 4 do not have easy access airports. Lincoln is a small town and much of the talent in Texas comes out of large cities: Houston (5.5M people), DFW (4M people), Austin (1.5M people), San Antonio (2M people). 

To convince kids to go to Nebraska now, the head coach will have to either be a huge name draw, have built up a history of winning and sending kids to the NFL, or have very wealthy bagmen.

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FranklinHatchett

November 13th, 2017 at 11:18 AM ^

I think he will go there for the obvious reasons, but also because he can pretty much dominate the big ten west once he gets rolling. I'd be schocked if he goes somewhere else. It will be fun to beat him in big ten championship games.

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GeorgetownTom

November 13th, 2017 at 11:19 AM ^

1. He's a Nebraska native.

2. He's a Nebraska alum.

3. He was a star QB at Nebraska.

4. He was the leader of Nebraska's last national championship team.

5. He is Nebraska's Jim Harbaugh.

If 1 through 5 were not true, then there is no way he would consider leaving for Nebraska. However, 1 through 5 are all true.

Also, UCF will never surpass UF or FSU. It's laughable to even suggest it. UCF's endowment is dwarfed by UF's. FSU's is much larger as well. So however many wealthy donors UCF may have, UF and FSU have far more. And while UCF may have a large student body it's a commuter school with no fans whereas UF and FSU have large swaths of non alumni fans. They are also large schools with tons of alumni.
 

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UMgradMSUdad

November 13th, 2017 at 2:44 PM ^

You're not neccesarily wrong in any of these, but it is ignoring the venom and hate he dealt with from Nebraska fans and players before his last season there. Yes, most fans would now recieve him back without reservation, but the abuse he received following his transfer from Stanford makes his more of a  love-hate relationship with Nebraska.

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mgowild

November 13th, 2017 at 11:36 AM ^

The landscape of football in Florida is not in flux. Miami is a CFP contender. Florida is coming off back to back SEC East titles, once they can get their issues on offense figured out and convince their players to stop engaging in credit card fraud they'll be okay. FSU lost their starting QB in week 1 and nothing in Jimbo Fisher's tenure suggests this is anything but a down year. UCF and USF will always be competing for the distinction of being the 4th best school in the state. Heck, FAU is getting as much publicity this year with Lane Kiffin as UCF is. So while UCF may be experiencing a period of success, their dreams of becoming a national power like UF, FSU, and Miami is just that - a dream.

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Bigly yuge

November 13th, 2017 at 11:43 AM ^

I like frost as a coach. He took over a train wreck at UCF and quickly turned them into the best team in the American East, and a national contender as well. If Frost does come to Nebraska it will make the big ten even better than it currently is. No question that the big ten has the best coaches in the country. If I were frost though, I'd go to Florida bc of the recruiting advantages and his familiarity with the state from his time at UCF. Will be a very interesting offseason.

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UofM626

November 13th, 2017 at 11:49 AM ^

It's the same reason BIG JIM came home as well. It's the exact same situation. Nebraska is a football school down on its luck, just like Michigan was. He is a alum, just like Jim, he was QB, just like Jim, he lived there, just like Jim. It's a no brainer, CF will always be 2nd and 3rd fiddle in the state of Florida. He can recruit and he's young, if I'm him I would leave for Nebraska in a heart beat

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lilpenny1316

November 13th, 2017 at 11:50 AM ^

They play in the B1G West.  Their main competition is Wisconsin and Iowa (once every four years).  Geographically, they are closer to all the big cities in Texas and the west than any other B1G teams.  That can be a good sell to kids in Texas, Colorado and Arizona.

Plus, he can run a clean program and still be competitive.  He can't do that at Florida.  So if he's smart, he'll go to his alma mater, where the administration has changed since his days there, play a cupcake non-conference schedule and deal with one tough opponent every year, unless they draw us, OSU or PSU.

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lhglrkwg

November 13th, 2017 at 12:09 PM ^

I think Nebraska lost a ton of their sell in Texas and the region because they can no longer guarantee they'll have 3-4 games in Texas and Oklahoma every year. Now their head coach is walking into a Texas family's living room and telling them their closest games are typically in Lincoln, and instead of playing Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, etc. every year, they're playing Illinois, Purdue, and Iowa.

I wonder too if Nebraska feels a little bamboozled because they thought they'd see a lot more of the big names in the Big Ten when they joined, namely Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan, but with the addition of Maryland and Rutgers, they're seeing those big name teams only every few years

A move to the Big Ten may have been good for Nebraska as a university, but I think it is going to be bad for Nebraska football and may be the thesis of some articles written in 10 years about "When did Nebraska football die?"

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GeorgetownTom

November 13th, 2017 at 12:33 PM ^

They were already declining in the Texas centric Big 12. If Nebraska were to rejoin the Big 12, they wouldn't suddenly out recruit Texas or Oklahoma for Texas recruits. They would be on the Oklahoma State/TCU/Baylor (pre-scandal) tier and likely behind them in the pecking order for Texas recruits.

Nebraska is a difficult job recruiting wise, but in the B1G West you should easily be able to match/slightly exceed Wisconsin's recruiting (top 30-35) which is currently the best in the West. So if you can build the most talented roster in the division, you can contend for the division every single year. If you can win the West with no more than 1 loss, then it's a one game playoff vs. a team from the East. Win that game and you are in the top 4. Much easier path for Nebraska in the B1G West than in the Big 12.

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Richard75

November 13th, 2017 at 12:41 PM ^

The schedule thing is no longer an issue. The B1G reworked it recently so that the traditional powers face each other more. Nebraska had/has OSU and PSU this year, Mich and OSU next year, OSU in 2019 and OSU and PSU in 2020. No, they aren’t playing all 3 in a given year, but who would want to? As good as MSU has been under Dantonio, even they pushed to be in the West during realignment. Sure, Illinois/Purdue/Minnesota aren’t glamorous but then neither are Baylor/KU/ISU (this year notwithstanding). Not playing in Texas is a problem, but Nebraska obviously was OK with that or else they never would’ve left the Big 12.

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Perkis-Size Me

November 13th, 2017 at 12:30 PM ^

Before I go into my answer, let's be very clear about one thing: UCF will NEVER pass UF and FSU as far as consistently being the premiere program in the state of Florida. Never. The donors may want that to happen, but both schools will right the ship, and UCF just can't compete with those programs on a year to year basis. If UCF moves to a P5 conference AND if Frost sticks around AND if he proves to be the real deal, then maybe it could happen years down the road. But that's a lot of ifs. It's a fucking directional commuter school. There will always be limitations to what he can acheive at UCF. 

As far as whether or not he'd leave for Nebraska, I could definitely see it. Location notwithstanding, Nebraska has the same resources that a place like UF or FSU has. The same booster support, if not moreso. The Big Ten is coming back and becoming a major player in national title races again. Recruiting may be tougher for sure, but Nebraska has consistently pulled kids out of Texas and California for years. No reason to think Scott Frost couldn't do the same. And if he goes there and WINS, recruits will come there. 

Nick Saban could go to Montana State next year and he'd still reel in top-5 classes. Because everyone would then know that Montana State is going to win national championships and send 10-20 kids to the NFL every single year. So if Scott Frost goes to Nebraska and shows he can win, he won't have any issues recruiting. And who knows folks? He may have a special place in his heart for Nebraska. That's his alma mater, and if that's important to him, that's something that Florida just can't offer him. 

 

 

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Richard75

November 13th, 2017 at 2:45 PM ^

Respectfully disagree. It’s hard to imagine UCF rising like that, but things change—especially in that state. FSU was a football backwater before Bowden’s arrival. Florida never won much of anything until the 1990s. Miami has cycled between irrelevance and national-title contention for a couple of decades now. A good coach can win indefinitely down there, given all the local talent. Likewise, a bad coach can destroy any program, no matter the advantages.

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