Scott Frost had some things to say about Oregon State on Thursday. The Beavers have Mike Riley on staff as an analyst and Trent Bray is still coaching linebackers, same as he was in Lincoln. Corvallis is also home to three recent Huskers, all Riley commits, at this point: linebacker Avery Roberts, quarterback Tristan Gebbia and wide receiver Tyjon Lindsey.
Those were the three top-rated players in the Huskers’ 2017 recruiting class, which might make that three-person transplant one of the most highly touted classes in Oregon State history. It’s like finding a $100 bill on the ground.
Unless you sort of expected a $100 bill to be on the ground.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that those kids were in touch with somebody they formerly knew when they were here,” Frost said on Thursday before adding that he still occasionally touches base with some UCF players. He FaceTimed with Knights quarterback McKenzie Milton on Wednesday, Milton’s birthday.
Disclaimer in place, Frost then went on to say, “At the same time, if somebody is contacting our kids when they’re still our kids and trying to get them to transfer, then I’m not going to be a fan of that continuing to happen. I’m not saying it did happen, but two weeks from now the transfer rule changes so it’s kind of a moot point.”
But it wasn’t yet moot when Nebraska handed running back Greg Bell a list of blocked schools last week. The list included all Big Ten schools, any team on the Huskers’ schedules through 2021 and, drumroll please, Oregon State. It was very much a shot across the bow.
And cause for celebration in Oregon, at least for one columnist. John Canzano wrote the following on Thursday:
Again, I sort of love it. Because it’s a departure for the Beavers from the quiet, polite, nice-guy image they’ve cast over the years. Now, they’re pirates, raiding the four-star talent. And while we all know Mike Riley may be mixed up behind the scenes some, it’s Jonathan Smith’s program now, and I admire that he’s making people uncomfortable.
Oregon State should be edgy.
It should be trying to win.
It should want to be a tough out.
In that, Frost’s pointed comments are a welcome diversion from the smiling, polite, aw-shucks Beavers from past seasons. And I hope it continues, of course, within the NCAA rules.
“Sometimes those things are necessary,” Frost said after the Wisconsin game of the Huskers’ two most recent transfers.
And this is why this is a sport unlike almost any other. One program’s addition by subtraction is another’s call to arms. You don’t get this without intense regionalization, a clearly defined hierarchy.
Never change, College Football.
The Grab Bag
- Four Wildcats will miss the game Saturday against Nebraska.
- Nebraska tight end Cam Jurgens is expected to miss a month with a broken bone in his foot.
- What do the Big Ten basketball coaches think of Nebraska this season? Derek Peterson with a great read from media day in Chicago.
- “Coach, we’d better put one on these guys. They kind of deserve it,” senior wide receiver Matt Davison told Frank Solich before the Huskers faced Northwestern in the 2000 Alamao Bowl. So Nebraska did “put one on” the Wildcats.
Today’s Song of Today
Brandon is the Managing Editor for Hail Varsity and has covered Nebraska athletics for the magazine and web since 2012, Hail Varsity’s first season on the scene. His sports writing has also been featured by Fox Sports, The Guardian and CBS Sports.
