8 replies to this topic

[mNhhh]

Els digging into new challenge as recruiting coordinator


By BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Wednesday, February 8, 2012 11:30 pm


His business card might be more cluttered than just a couple of months ago.

Ross Els, you see, is now the owner of three job titles: Nebraska's linebackers coach, special teams coordinator and recruiting coordinator.

The last two of those assignments were just recently added to the second-year Husker assistant's job description after John Papuchis was promoted to defensive coordinator.

Big jobs, sure. But the affable Els will quickly tell you that on Nebraska's coaching staff, most responsibilities are shared.

"We don't have one guy that makes all the decisions in anything we do," Els said. "So I think my role right now in the special teams and the recruiting is to just kind of get it organized, to decide or talk with the coaches how they want to do things."

Of course, trying to organize a plan that might yield a special recruiting class is no small feat, especially when combining it with position coach duties.

"There's a lot to do in a short period of time, really," Els said.

Challenging as it may be, Els was excited about the possibilities as he talked this week with the Journal Star about his new roles and Husker recruiting:

What are your main objectives as recruiting coordinator?

"It's unique here as everybody knows because we need to scour the country to get kids interested in coming here, to take a visit. If they do, they're blown away. But we've got to get them to the state of Nebraska. So I think to answer your question, the mission of the job I'm in right now is to make sure that, A: We have the right areas covered where we have a shot to get guys and we can obviously get the best talent. And B: To make sure the process keeps going, staying on people to make sure the film is being watched and evaluated, or staying in communication with the people whenever we can. Again, our staff does a great job but I think you need someone kind of overseeing it, just to make sure that the full system keeps functioning properly."

The staff was limited in how many recruits it could take in this last class, ultimately signing 17. You also had to wait until the end on some recruits to announce. Now that you've had a week to step back from it, how do you think the staff's plan worked out?

"Really liked it. We kind of shot for the moon on a few guys. We did not go down to that B list very quickly. As a matter of fact, we really didn't at any position, and that was the plan. We wanted to make sure we got the best quality we possibly could. Some of those kids did wait until the very end and some of those kids committed to us early. And some decided not to come here. So you really dealt with three types of decision-makers out there, but I really like the class that we got. There's not a player where we said, 'Well, we didn't get Player A, let's go down to Player B.' These guys were always on top of the board the entire time."

Recruiting comes with plenty of hype. And I'm not just talking about the hat ceremonies. There's all the media coverage and plenty of armchair recruiters out there. What's your take on all that?

"It's just the way it's going to be right now until there's maybe more legislation to slow it down or speed it up, whatever the case is. So I don't know if it really matters if we like it or not. We have to adapt to the way recruiting is being done now. But it follows society, too. We live in the day and age of reality TV, where all you have to do is do something goofy and you get on TV. That's probably going to happen with a lot of kids and recruiting, too. ‘Hey, how can I get myself noticed. It's all about me.' It's a sad state, but that's just kind of the way it's going right now. Fortunately we weren't involved in a ton of those things down the wire. But there were a couple that said yes, a couple that said no, and you kind of had to play the game to wait to see if you could get them."

Bo Pelini mentioned last week that he'd like to hit the Dallas area a little more going forward. Are there are any other specific areas you want to target more?

"I'm a big numbers guy. And figuring out where we have gotten guys in the past since Bo has been here, and where we've gotten kids that have actually played. Texas being No. 1, and California and Nebraska being a real close second and third. That's where we're getting the majority of kids, and we will always start of course with the state of Nebraska. That's No. 1. We've put a couple guys in California now, and a couple guys in Texas to hit those areas very, very hard. Yeah, we've kind of gone back to emphasizing where we've had success in the past and also emphasizing our connections."

Does Nebraska's football history still sell to a teenager?

"Since this is my first time walking into schools with an 'N' on my chest, I think the coaches and the parents still have that ooh and ahh of remembering back in the day when there were some national championships. The kids have a lot of respect for our program. They understand that the way you do things at the University of Nebraska is right. You're going to get great fan support, probably the best in the country. You're going to get great academics. So the football program draws a lot of kids. Now, saying that, do the recruits look at us and say, 'You guys are one of the Top 2 schools in the country?' Probably not right now because we haven't finished in that area. But it still means a lot when you walk in and say you're from the University of Nebraska, just the all-around things we can do for kids."

There are some schools that put a bunch of early offers on the table, maybe even close to 100 offers to recruits right now — a year before signing day. Do you guys do that?

"No, we are so picky. … Again, it kind of goes back to the way we do things here. If we offer a scholarship to a kid and he takes it, we're happy. … But I know there are a lot of programs, being in this business for a while, there are a lot of programs that just hope to God a lot of people don't say yes at once. And, yeah, of course we offer more scholarships than we have available because you're not going to hit a high percentage. But we do not go crazy with it. It's a very thorough process. The area coach, the position coach, the coordinator and the head coach all have to give a heads up before we talk anything scholarshipwise. And that's the way it should be."

So how many offers has Nebraska extended for the 2013 class?

"We've offered several at each of the positions. And we're still going through that process right now of getting film watched. It's obviously very time consuming to watch all the film on these kids. The goal now is to continue to do that, continue to find the kids we want in the program, and then find a way to get them on campus before the season gets started."

Carl Pelini was a lead recruiter on some of those key junior college players Nebraska has signed in recent years. With him gone, is there a certain coach that will be focusing on the juco ranks?

"Obviously Carl did a very good job getting some very good junior college players here. But it was more because it was kind of in his area. So the area coach, if he has junior college in his area, will be the guy that will be initiating the conversation with that. And I even hate to talk areas, because areas to us are the initial start of identifying kids. Then it turns into the position coach recruits him, the coordinator, the head coach. It's such a team effort here. I have not once heard, 'That's my recruit, my area.' We don't operate that way and it's an amazing staff to work with, it really is."

What'd you make of your first year in the program, with all the attention and critiques that come with being a coach at Nebraska?

"To be honest with you, and I think people don't understand this, we really don't pay attention to it because we're so focused on what we got to get done. We've got to get better in every single thing we do. I'd rather have it this way. I've played in a lot of empty stadiums in my life. I'd certainly rather have people interested in the program, and certainly appreciate the support that Nebraska fans bring to us. It was a blast because of the people I work with. And I don't care what the job is, in your job or my job. If you're with the people you want to work with, you're going to enjoy it, and I am. It was fun. We just got to get better at every thing we do."

[RINGKONG]

this will end in tears.

[johnnyhusker82]

RINGKONG, on 09 February 2012 - 01:51 PM, said:

this will end in tears.

Whatever you say boxie...

[RINGKONG]

johnnyhusker82, on 09 February 2012 - 08:04 PM, said:

RINGKONG, on 09 February 2012 - 01:51 PM, said:

this will end in tears.

Whatever you say boxie...

Preach it Baghdad Bob!

[johnnyhusker82]

RINGKONG, on 09 February 2012 - 08:12 PM, said:

johnnyhusker82, on 09 February 2012 - 08:04 PM, said:

RINGKONG, on 09 February 2012 - 01:51 PM, said:

this will end in tears.

Whatever you say boxie...

Preach it Baghdad Bob!

I get the better end of that comparison.

[RINGKONG]

johnnyhusker82, on 09 February 2012 - 08:13 PM, said:

RINGKONG, on 09 February 2012 - 08:12 PM, said:

johnnyhusker82, on 09 February 2012 - 08:04 PM, said:

RINGKONG, on 09 February 2012 - 01:51 PM, said:

this will end in tears.

Whatever you say boxie...

Preach it Baghdad Bob!

I get the better end of that comparison.

I am pretty sure he was hanged ..

[HuskerFan]

RINGKONG, on 09 February 2012 - 08:33 PM, said:

johnnyhusker82, on 09 February 2012 - 08:13 PM, said:

RINGKONG, on 09 February 2012 - 08:12 PM, said:

johnnyhusker82, on 09 February 2012 - 08:04 PM, said:

RINGKONG, on 09 February 2012 - 01:51 PM, said:

this will end in tears.

Whatever you say boxie...

Preach it Baghdad Bob!

I get the better end of that comparison.

I am pretty sure he was hanged ..

Winner, by technical knockout...... RING.

[Coop]

If there the world was fair it would have been a draw.

[johnnyhusker82]

HuskerFan, on 10 February 2012 - 12:39 PM, said:

RINGKONG, on 09 February 2012 - 08:33 PM, said:

johnnyhusker82, on 09 February 2012 - 08:13 PM, said:

RINGKONG, on 09 February 2012 - 08:12 PM, said:

johnnyhusker82, on 09 February 2012 - 08:04 PM, said:

RINGKONG, on 09 February 2012 - 01:51 PM, said:

this will end in tears.

Whatever you say boxie...

Preach it Baghdad Bob!

I get the better end of that comparison.

I am pretty sure he was hanged ..

Winner, by technical knockout...... RING.

Not hardly. That's still better, in cmparison.