Carriker and Coach Volume 1

Carriker and Coach Volume 1

 EXCITEMENT IN NEBRASKA 1997 called. Nebraska fans said, “Yeah, don’t worry. We’ll be back for another national championship soon.” Hopes are high and Cornhuskers everywhere are excited. Nebraska’s very own, one Scott Frost, has returned home to rekindle the magic of Cornhuskers football. Don’t believe it? Frost and his new coaching staff are hard at work on the recruiting trail.

The latest Huskers’ commit? Adrian Martinez. Look up his junior season highlight reel. He totaled over 4,000 yards and 39 touchdowns and is the prototypical dual-threat quarterback that is a perfect fit for the type of offense Frost envisions at Nebraska. NOT JUST A FOOTBALL TOWN That national championship? Yeah, the first one might come in this weekend’s NCAA Division I women’s volleyball tournament. Nebraska pulled off another upset of No. 1-ranked Penn State beating the Nittany Lions in five sets (25-18, 23-25, 24-26, 28-26, 15-11). It was just the second loss of the season for Penn State. Both losses came at the hands of head coach John Cook’s Cornhuskers. WHAT FROST CAN LEARN FROM COOK Prior to the Final Four, Cook commented that his Nebraska squad would be the least talented team playing for a national title. Cook lost three All-Americans from last season and has more freshmen than seniors. So what? #WhyNotUs became the mantra of this year’s Big Ten co-champions who now sport a 31-4 season record. They will face Florida in an attempt to win their second NCAA title in three years. Frost and the football Huskers might want to take on a similar motto as they embark on the grand turnaround.

COACHING TRANSITIONS Welcoming a new head football coach and staff is always difficult, but it has been eased in the Huskers’ case. Players are often hurt when a coach and his staff are fired. Dissension in the ranks can develop quickly. Not so with the transition from Mike Riley to Frost. Time will tell how well players adjust to Frost’s playbook. In essence, Nebraska players are taking on a new course; call it Championship Football 1997, because Football 101 is what they take in Iowa and many other schools across the nation. It will take some time for the knowledge of the new systems to be learned, to become second nature.