Hopes of Medium Rare Steak on the Fourth Try
When Scott Frost took hold of the reins to the Nebraska football program in December 2017, he made clear from the start that its past would help bridge the gap to a better future.
“It’s going to take a lot of hard work, it’s going to take a lot of dedication from many people, but there is a formula that worked here for a long time, and times have changed a little but some of those things, the same things are going to make this work again…”
Come August 2018, two iconic names from the history books spoke with his inherited roster and initial recruits. From a standpoint of laying the foundation for Frost’s culture, having a duo like Grant Wistrom and Jason Peter tell these young men about their experiences wearing the same jerseys makes sense.
He wanted to reinforce the underlying tenets of tradition. Not just the stuff that sells t-shirts. But the details born from clocking in before daylight and heading back to your car with the moon hanging over your head. Bringing in former players for a pep talk prior to Kickoff No. 1 is as new a concept as cracking an egg to make an omelet. But it made sense.
In February 2021, Peter returned with fellow former Husker Jay Foreman in undefined roles. What we’ve come away from various interviews and radio segments with is the notion that their presence will be good for morale. And maybe some lost luster of the Big Red’s heyday will rub off.
But Zach Duval specifically pulls down $400,000 to mold Frost’s players into what he wants. He has backup in Andrew Strop, Jasen Carlson, Dan Millington, and Mike Arthur. If they don’t entirely fit the bill, Shawn Beckton, Jr. and Ryan Teifer fill in any cracks as interns.
All have various credentials, including certifications and degrees in affiliated fields while Arthur was the first assistant strength coach in college football history under Boyd Epley.
There’s an argument that Foreman’s presence could pay dividends. He established the Foreman Friends organization geared towards assisting abused, underprivileged kids in group homes. The spotlight on mental health in sports is unforgivably small. Considering Foreman’s background, interacting with players a few times per week seems worth a trial run.
Several Big Red football legacies dot the most recent incoming walk-on class. And should any of them go on to become part of an All-Big Ten list, that’ll be an enjoyable footnote.
Tradition has a place among historical bluebloods. Alabama’s a prime example, as the Crimson Tide have something in common with who the Huskers used to be. Every staff wants to sit under the learning tree of Nick Saban, talk shop, and see if they can funnel some of his black magic onto the field come game day.
When a recruit hands over a signed National Letter of Intent to Saban, they don’t do it because Bear Bryant used to walk the sidelines or Mark Ingram Jr., Derrick Henry, and DeVonta Smith all held the Heisman. Not because of Joe Namath or Johnny Cain.
They do it because they want to win exponentially more than they lose, hoist trophies, and learn from arguably the greatest coach college football has ever seen. And should the die be properly cast, they climb to the peak of the mountain and make bank in The League.
To schools that have won in the past and will win again—your Alabamas, Ohio States, etc.—who they were and where they began is part of the journey, not where they want to be.
The meal served up is an entrée of embarrassed opponents punctuated with the fame and money that comes with being named champion. As a garnish, maybe Amari Cooper shows up and waves to the crowd during the late season evisceration of an FCS team present for its hefty payday.
For six years, Frank Solich failed to do something that the head coaches prior to him did. Following consecutive 6-4 seasons, Bob Devaney realized his offense had stagnated. He turned to his 31-year-old offensive coordinator and admitted only so many sequels could be pulled out of the original script he brought with him from Laramie, Wyoming. Enter the I-Formation.
Devaney also needed new blood, dipping into the junior college ranks. Bob Newton, Dick Rupert, and Keith Wortman were brought into the fold. All went onto have NFL careers.
After a 47-0 decimation at the hands of Oklahoma in 1968, Osborne considered retirement. From the ashes of that defeat and the resulting program overhaul, he would be part of success that bled over into his own tenure as head coach.
But Barry Switzer was always a step ahead. Then Jimmy Johnson’s Miami Hurricanes and Bobby Bowden’s Florida State Seminoles came onto the scene. Three things were obvious. The sun rose in the East, water was wet, and Osborne’s boys were too damn slow.
Defensive coordinator Charlie McBride switched to a 4-3 scheme from the 5-2 his Blackshirts had been running for years once 1992 came about. “When we played Miami and Florida State, we looked like a bunch of turtles on defense,” McBride mentioned to the Omaha World-Herald back in February 2017.
After the schematic shuffle and an emphasis placed on plugging in as much speed as scholarship numbers allowed, Nebraska went on the tear fans and its current head coach are trying to tap into.
But doing something just because tradition demands it isn’t a good reason to continue trying to hammer the same bent nail. The two most successful leaders in Nebraska football history understood that.
Kids didn’t stick around Orlando to play for Frost because of Daunte Culpepper. They wanted to rack up yardage in an Oregon Duckian offense and wreak havoc as part of an opportunistic defense. The fun became addictive and they eventually played a season without ever coming out on the losing end.
When in the kitchen grabbing for spice, treat the container like an open flame. Keep it in your hand just long enough to get what you need. Hold on to it for more than a moment or two, and you find yourself burned with the realization that the bulk of what’s in front of you isn’t fit for human consumption.
Another year of Nebraska football lacking a postseason won’t go down well no matter the dressing.
No fundamental changes have been made 32 games in. No new cooks in the kitchen, no genuine changes to the menu.
There’s still time between now and August to change that. But as of now, there’s no reason to think a properly cooked steak is coming to the table just because 30-year-old linens are on the table.