Bo Pelini didn’t get it.

At least not at first.

Please flash back to the spring of 2003. He was Nebraska’s new defensive coordinator, fresh from the Green Bay Packers. He walked out to his first Husker practice and encountered a sea of red — 150-plus players — about three times the size of an NFL roster.

“I was freaked out,” Pelini said Wednesday. “There were players everywhere.”

That was Huskerville as we once knew it.

“It was just different,” Pelini said.

Yes, Nebraska was different than other places in college football. The Huskers had 60-plus walk-ons back in the day, and Pelini admits he didn’t exactly understand the walk-on phenomenon in these parts.

As time passed, Pelini talked to people close to the program: Barney Cotton and Ron Brown and Marvin Sanders and Jeff Jamrog and others who had a deep appreciation for Big Red’s walk-on program. Pelini observed things on his own and began to understand the culture and tradition of Nebraska football.

Yes, it’s different here. Maybe unique is a better word.

Whatever the case, it was crystal clear Wednesday that Bo now gets it. You heard the passion in his voice. That sea of red that freaked him out in 2003 makes perfect sense to him now.

“We’re committed to getting the walk-on program back on its feet and becoming a huge part of our future,” the first-year Nebraska head coach said as he unveiled his 2008 recruiting class, which includes 30 walk-ons (18 were announced Wednesday, and 12 others will follow when paperwork is complete) to supplement 28 scholarship recruits.

Some people won’t buy Nebraska’s company line, which goes something like this: Never mind that we didn’t crack the top 20 in the national recruiting rankings (No. 21 by Scout.com, No. 30 by Rivals.com), because those services don’t measure the impact of a large and proud group of walk-ons who would tar the roof of Abel Hall if you asked them.

Nebraska coaches say they feel great about the 2008 scholarship recruits, and the coaches say they feel even better about the class when the walk-ons are considered.

All this walk-on talk probably sounds provincial and hokey and maybe even a tad arrogant to non-Nebraska fans. Some will snicker.

But this stuff is of supreme significance to most Husker fans, many of whom simply want their program back. They want that feeling back. To those folks, Pelini’s words Wednesday must have been like music to the ears. Yes, Bo now gets it. He didn’t need a script when asked about the importance of the Big Red walk-on program.

“Most of the walk-ons are coming from the state of Nebraska,” he said. “They come from towns, from areas that have a love for the state, the university and our football program. And the more people you bring into a culture that have strong beliefs about something and have a strong commitment and want-to, it’s going to make you stronger in the future.”

Jamrog, NU assistant athletic director for football, is heading up the walk-on charge. He said Husker coaches sorted through 175 potential walk-ons and narrowed the list to 31.

Nebraska recruited those 31 players (only one said “No thanks”) as if they were five-star scholarship recruits. And therein may be the main difference between Pelini’s staff and Bill Callahan’s crew. But let’s be clear: Callahan didn’t get rid of the walk-on program; he just de-emphasized it.

To wit: When the new coaching staff took over in December, Nebraska had 35 walk-ons on the roster. Jamrog spoke Wednesday of the possibility of NU eventually returning to a 150-plus-player roster — 85 scholarship players and 65 walk-ons.

We’ll see. For now, the Big Red boss of bosses is happy.

“I didn’t know how well it would work this year,” Tom Osborne said of Nebraska’s walk-on recruiting. “I thought, well, the previous staff had four years where they had walk-ons. True. But they really didn’t go after (walk-ons) in the same way we used to here. So, I didn’t know what the response out there would be.”

And?

“From a casual observer’s standpoint, I was really gratified by the number of really good players who still wanted to walk on here. And they will make a difference. It may not show up for a couple of years. But it will definitely show up.”

Perhaps the last four years have showed us Nebraska absolutely needs the walk-on factor to show up in a big way. Callahan’s program too often lacked energy and passion — on that we can all agree.

In short, Nebraska often didn’t feel like Nebraska.

Bottom line: The walk-on program gives the Huskers a unique edge — an advantage warm-weather schools in highly populated areas lack. That’s integral for dear old NU. So, recruit a bunch of Joel Makovickas and Derrie Nelsons and John Parrellas and Adam Treus, and have their ungodly energy and want-to rub off on those megastar scholarship recruits. It’s a proven formula.

But here’s a key: Treat all the players the same, scholarship or no scholarship, like Nebraska used to do.

Skeptics always will snicker about Nebraska’s walk-on phenomenon. The world’s changed, they say now. It’s an instant-gratification society. Most walk-ons need time to develop. Who has the patience?

Can it still work?

“I don’t see why not,” Osborne said.

Pelini is counting on it.

“I think the stronger the walk-on program is, and the more we keep it strong, the better off our program is going to be for a long period of time,” he said.

It was sweet music to the ears of many.

Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.