Posted: Friday, October 1, 2004 7:00 pm
Blake emphasizes importance of recruiting: Seemingly on cue, John Blake's cell phone rang during his speech at Friday's Extra Point Club luncheon.
He didn't answer it, but did peek at the number on his caller ID.
"Looks like a recruit," he said, smiling.
The timing of the incident was perhaps too uncanny, considering Blake, the defensive line coach at Nebraska, had been telling those at the luncheon the importance of recruiting.
"You can win the Kentucky Derby with a thoroughbred a lot easier than you can with a mule," Blake said, drawing laughter from the crowd.
"We've got to get more and more talent."
Blake is regarded by many as not only Nebraska's best recruiter, but one of the best recruiters in the nation.
"Recruiting is something I take pride in," Blake said. "I don't consider it recruiting. I call it a relationship … because it's a lifelong commitment."
Blake's primary recruiting areas are California, Texas and Oklahoma. Of Nebraska's 10 verbal commitments for 2005, six are from those states.
"We have a lot of places that we're recruiting that probably had not been touched (before)," Blake said. "Nebraska's been pretty good to develop players here in the state, and going to New Jersey and finding key guys, but we're all over the place nationally."
When asked how he's able to recruit to a cold-weather state such as Nebraska, Blake offered one of his standard responses.
"I tell them Santa Clause can't come if there ain't snow on the ground," he said.
CARRIKER UPDATE: Blake labeled defensive end Adam Carriker his best defensive lineman, then said Carriker has been slow to recover from a high ankle sprain. "We still might not have him back full-speed," Blake said. "He's there for emergency reasons. But we've got to get this man ready for the Big 12 race." Carriker missed NU's last game against Pittsburgh.
THANKS: Blake said he's been impressed with the support he's received as a member of the Nebraska coaching staff. "I've never seen such a group of people that deserves a national championship," he said. "I go home every day, and I tell my wife and kids … I've never seen so many people that are just warm and loving and willing to accept you and want you to be a part of something. That makes me work harder when I'm recruiting."
EXPLANATION: Head coach Bill Callahan this week explained in depth his rather conservative play-calling in Nebraska's Sept. 19 win at Pittsburgh. Although Husker quarterback Joe Dailey attempted only seven second-half passes, Callahan said, "We didn't back off of what we were trying to get accomplished, run or pass. What we did is try to take advantage of the wet field." For instance, he said, Nebraska ran a lot of naked bootlegs. "Because of the field conditions and because we had established the run in the first few games, we were running the wide zone play. If you go back and look at the tape, on those naked bootlegs, we had the entire (Pitt) front displaced. Why that happened was because it was a grass field that was very slick, very wet, and it was hard (for defenders) to re-direct." Furthermore, in its first three games, Nebraska's tendency was to throw on second down-and-long. By calling more running plays, Nebraska essentially was less predictable, Callahan said.
TIGHTENING UP THE 'D': Before yielding 31 points to Texas Tech last week, the Jayhawks had allowed just 37 total through three games. That's the fewest over that long of a stretch since they allowed 34 to Missouri (0), Nebraska (24) and Baylor (10) during the 1999 season.
Just two years ago, Kansas allowed at least 37 points in seven of its 12 games.
"Everybody's playing downhill," strong safety Tony Stubbs said. "We've been running the same thing (this year that) we've been running the past three years. It's just everybody wants to win."
QUOTABLE: "You can see week to week that they are getting better and better. You can see on offense how their kids are starting to understand the system. They have a great athlete at quarterback. Their defense is stout, tough and hard-nosed. They play physical. They play disciplined. Whatever they do, they do it well. Nebraska is still Nebraska." Kansas coach Mark Mangino of the Huskers.
—Steven M. Sipple, Brian Rosenthal and Curt McKeever