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So much going on today with the grand revelation of the new Tater Island HuskerOnline, it's stalling out (except for Sipple making his entry), and the introduction of a new Rivals InsideNebraska that I wanted to write out a few general musings. This is as much to organize my own thoughts as anything, but I thought there could be some interesting conversation to be had when looking at things synoptically:
1) Callahan was right to make the move to Tater Island. If I'm wrong about this, then I'll have to reevaluate just about everything I think about recruiting and CFB media.
2) Why was he so correct to make the move? Rivals. Despite having a great deal of sentimental attachment to the first recruiting service I ever signed up for twenty years ago, it's most plainly a rancid turd circling the drain these days. Long gone are the days of Jeremy Crabtree and a crew of dedicated, competent national and regional analysts. Hell, even #FatFarrell has abandoned or been fired from that sinking ship. When you're left with some combination of Josh Helmholdt, Adam Gorney, and a new cast of unknown pups that are ostensibly desperate for whatever gig they can find, you know it's rough. Combine the clear decline in personnel with virtually no innovation over the past five years despite clear advances made by 247 and now Tater Island and you've got a well-trod path towards the graveyard in which Scout is still decomposing.
3) 'But recruiting coverage sucked on HOL for several years,' you say. True enough. Part of that is unquestionably down to the way Frost and his staff largely packed it in for a lot of Covid and then through most of the season last year. There simply wasn't much to write about. I don't care if you had Clouse, Mongo, or whomever else--you can only polish a turd so much. However, the unique reason why HOL's recruiting insights were so watered down, and this goes back to Clouse's time and then some, is because of the aforementioned point about Rivals. That's to say, Rivals' network has gotten so bad over the past five years that the only way things got broken on HOL were if someone had a direct Nebraska source giving them the goods. That would often be sufficient for positive news, but HOL wasn't alone in having those sources. For negative news, you're often getting that from other teams' sources or from a well-connected insider, like Steve Wiltfong was. I can't count how many times we'd have no idea about some development on HOL until someone came over and reported what Fong had said or what someone had brought to the Husker 247 board from another team's site. Hell, there were a few posters who basically made it their job to import as much 247 intel as possible.
4) Callahan knows he has good North Stadium, alumni, and Nebraska HS connections. But he still needs to be able to sell decent recruiting coverage. He saw what was happening with 247 eating Rivals' lunch essentially over and over. Knowing that Shannon Terry, the guy behind basically all of these sites, was starting a new network with vision and funding meant an opportunity to fill out the main missing element from his publication. It was truly a lifeline, because having to stick with Rivals really could have damaged his operation in the long-term.
5) One thing I don't understand and have been puzzled about for a while given the rumors came out so early is the decision to hire Sipple for the new Tater Island site. The only thing that potentially makes sense to me is that Callahan wants to pull slightly back into more of a true editor/publisher role and give some of the day-to-day football beat to Sipple. Perhaps with all the NIL/ABM connections he's made, managing that has taken enough of his time that he wants help doing football. That just doesn't strike me as something he'd do, though. Maybe it's to give further name recognition to entice people to switch or sign up, but again I'd think him bringing all of his staff over would probably do enough there combined with the allure of Tater Island's network. Who is signing up for Steve Sipple? Maybe you guys can help me out in making more sense of that.
6) The two-man team they've announced on the Rivals site with some random young dude named Zack Carpenter and Nate Clouse is pretty great. No one has any clue who Carpenter is, he's young and inexperienced, and he has no connection at all to the Nebraska market. He doesn't live in Lincoln or even close by from what I understand. It's hard to see how they're going to have any decent team coverage with that set-up. Say what you want about Callahan, he does have sources and he does occasionally break things on that front despite usually being very tight-lipped to guard his precious access. Moreover, Helmholdt literally informed everyone in Carpenter's introduction that he wasn't even towards the top of their list. They clearly tried to find someone, anyone with name recognition and local access and were likely shot down across the board. Someone with this guy's profile makes sense: It's a guy who is doing whatever he can to get a start in the business. Worth taking a stab here given how rapacious Nebraskans are when it comes to Husker news. Maybe Frost finally turns it around this year and a rising tide lifts all boats. Maybe.
7) The Clouse thing is just glorious. My thoughts on his quality as a recruiting expert over the final few years of his career at HOL are well-documented. Some agree with me, some don't. That's fine. What I think we can all agree on is how beautiful a thing it would be if he rose from the ashes and started crushing it as a part-time, Mongo-style recruiting analyst on what is clearly the underdog site. There are two reasons that have been brought up today that make me think he can potentially do some damage. First, sweet, sweet revenge against Callahan over what was clearly a very acrimonious split. Given that many attribute Clouse's decline to a combination of personal apathy with the job and then Covid making recruiting devoid of juicy information, there's a possibility that a highly-motivated Clouse operating in what is clearly a more news-rich environment could return to his form during the Riley days. Second, and a hat-tip to @Baron Winnebago and @Alcaus here, he definitely does have some juicy Callahan-era connections. So the return of Bill Busch and Vince Gunita could actually give him a very unique edge over ol' Mongo and even the 247 boys. I'm very eager to see how that plays out.
8) The transition today on both ends has been hilarious. After the semi-respectable and bittersweet goodbyes from Callahan and Helmholdt last night, you got some real fireworks. First, Helmholdt announces the new Rivals team by flatly stating that recruiting coverage on HOL declined to an unacceptable level after Clouse left over a year ago. While I disagree with the causal implication there, I still think the shit-flinging is terrific and welcome. Second, Robin goes live on Tater Island well after midnight with some posts, but by the time people get up this morning, Shannon Terry is on there telling everyone that someone at Rivals has raised questions about the transition and so they're delaying it a bit more. This doesn't stop Sipple from introducing himself on Tater Island and the new guy no one knows, Carpenter, on Rivals. Meanwhile, the players in this drama that everyone care about are locked out of their new, respective sites. I'm of the opinion that when the Rivals guys threw some doubt on whether the Tater Island version of HOL could get off the ground, Terry instructed Callahan, Washut, and crew to stand down but allowed Sipple to go forward since he was never a Rivals employee. Given that Clouse was affiliated with Callahan, I have to believe Terry countered by raising some issue with Clouse posting on InsideNebraska until the whole dispute was resolved. Whatever it is, you've literally got everyone MIA while people on one side, another, or playing both post with merriment, confusion, and all things in between. I love it.
9) Where does this leave 247? I actually haven't heard much out of them lately. I don't worry so much about them, because history has long shown that two recruiting services is sort of the optimal number and Rivals will fold up long before they're in any danger. However, I do wonder if they've been able to get a guy as good as Wiltfong now that he's taken less of an active role. Also, it seems like through whatever means--maybe the connection with Lambrecht and the NIL guys--HOL has gotten fairly good at covering the transfer portal stuff. When you combine that with Tater Island's clear focus on that, Callahan and crew might be pulling even or actually ahead of 247. Going to be interesting to see how they respond.
Anyway, that's all. What a fun time to be a consumer of Husker news.
1) Callahan was right to make the move to Tater Island. If I'm wrong about this, then I'll have to reevaluate just about everything I think about recruiting and CFB media.
2) Why was he so correct to make the move? Rivals. Despite having a great deal of sentimental attachment to the first recruiting service I ever signed up for twenty years ago, it's most plainly a rancid turd circling the drain these days. Long gone are the days of Jeremy Crabtree and a crew of dedicated, competent national and regional analysts. Hell, even #FatFarrell has abandoned or been fired from that sinking ship. When you're left with some combination of Josh Helmholdt, Adam Gorney, and a new cast of unknown pups that are ostensibly desperate for whatever gig they can find, you know it's rough. Combine the clear decline in personnel with virtually no innovation over the past five years despite clear advances made by 247 and now Tater Island and you've got a well-trod path towards the graveyard in which Scout is still decomposing.
3) 'But recruiting coverage sucked on HOL for several years,' you say. True enough. Part of that is unquestionably down to the way Frost and his staff largely packed it in for a lot of Covid and then through most of the season last year. There simply wasn't much to write about. I don't care if you had Clouse, Mongo, or whomever else--you can only polish a turd so much. However, the unique reason why HOL's recruiting insights were so watered down, and this goes back to Clouse's time and then some, is because of the aforementioned point about Rivals. That's to say, Rivals' network has gotten so bad over the past five years that the only way things got broken on HOL were if someone had a direct Nebraska source giving them the goods. That would often be sufficient for positive news, but HOL wasn't alone in having those sources. For negative news, you're often getting that from other teams' sources or from a well-connected insider, like Steve Wiltfong was. I can't count how many times we'd have no idea about some development on HOL until someone came over and reported what Fong had said or what someone had brought to the Husker 247 board from another team's site. Hell, there were a few posters who basically made it their job to import as much 247 intel as possible.
4) Callahan knows he has good North Stadium, alumni, and Nebraska HS connections. But he still needs to be able to sell decent recruiting coverage. He saw what was happening with 247 eating Rivals' lunch essentially over and over. Knowing that Shannon Terry, the guy behind basically all of these sites, was starting a new network with vision and funding meant an opportunity to fill out the main missing element from his publication. It was truly a lifeline, because having to stick with Rivals really could have damaged his operation in the long-term.
5) One thing I don't understand and have been puzzled about for a while given the rumors came out so early is the decision to hire Sipple for the new Tater Island site. The only thing that potentially makes sense to me is that Callahan wants to pull slightly back into more of a true editor/publisher role and give some of the day-to-day football beat to Sipple. Perhaps with all the NIL/ABM connections he's made, managing that has taken enough of his time that he wants help doing football. That just doesn't strike me as something he'd do, though. Maybe it's to give further name recognition to entice people to switch or sign up, but again I'd think him bringing all of his staff over would probably do enough there combined with the allure of Tater Island's network. Who is signing up for Steve Sipple? Maybe you guys can help me out in making more sense of that.
6) The two-man team they've announced on the Rivals site with some random young dude named Zack Carpenter and Nate Clouse is pretty great. No one has any clue who Carpenter is, he's young and inexperienced, and he has no connection at all to the Nebraska market. He doesn't live in Lincoln or even close by from what I understand. It's hard to see how they're going to have any decent team coverage with that set-up. Say what you want about Callahan, he does have sources and he does occasionally break things on that front despite usually being very tight-lipped to guard his precious access. Moreover, Helmholdt literally informed everyone in Carpenter's introduction that he wasn't even towards the top of their list. They clearly tried to find someone, anyone with name recognition and local access and were likely shot down across the board. Someone with this guy's profile makes sense: It's a guy who is doing whatever he can to get a start in the business. Worth taking a stab here given how rapacious Nebraskans are when it comes to Husker news. Maybe Frost finally turns it around this year and a rising tide lifts all boats. Maybe.
7) The Clouse thing is just glorious. My thoughts on his quality as a recruiting expert over the final few years of his career at HOL are well-documented. Some agree with me, some don't. That's fine. What I think we can all agree on is how beautiful a thing it would be if he rose from the ashes and started crushing it as a part-time, Mongo-style recruiting analyst on what is clearly the underdog site. There are two reasons that have been brought up today that make me think he can potentially do some damage. First, sweet, sweet revenge against Callahan over what was clearly a very acrimonious split. Given that many attribute Clouse's decline to a combination of personal apathy with the job and then Covid making recruiting devoid of juicy information, there's a possibility that a highly-motivated Clouse operating in what is clearly a more news-rich environment could return to his form during the Riley days. Second, and a hat-tip to @Baron Winnebago and @Alcaus here, he definitely does have some juicy Callahan-era connections. So the return of Bill Busch and Vince Gunita could actually give him a very unique edge over ol' Mongo and even the 247 boys. I'm very eager to see how that plays out.
8) The transition today on both ends has been hilarious. After the semi-respectable and bittersweet goodbyes from Callahan and Helmholdt last night, you got some real fireworks. First, Helmholdt announces the new Rivals team by flatly stating that recruiting coverage on HOL declined to an unacceptable level after Clouse left over a year ago. While I disagree with the causal implication there, I still think the shit-flinging is terrific and welcome. Second, Robin goes live on Tater Island well after midnight with some posts, but by the time people get up this morning, Shannon Terry is on there telling everyone that someone at Rivals has raised questions about the transition and so they're delaying it a bit more. This doesn't stop Sipple from introducing himself on Tater Island and the new guy no one knows, Carpenter, on Rivals. Meanwhile, the players in this drama that everyone care about are locked out of their new, respective sites. I'm of the opinion that when the Rivals guys threw some doubt on whether the Tater Island version of HOL could get off the ground, Terry instructed Callahan, Washut, and crew to stand down but allowed Sipple to go forward since he was never a Rivals employee. Given that Clouse was affiliated with Callahan, I have to believe Terry countered by raising some issue with Clouse posting on InsideNebraska until the whole dispute was resolved. Whatever it is, you've literally got everyone MIA while people on one side, another, or playing both post with merriment, confusion, and all things in between. I love it.
9) Where does this leave 247? I actually haven't heard much out of them lately. I don't worry so much about them, because history has long shown that two recruiting services is sort of the optimal number and Rivals will fold up long before they're in any danger. However, I do wonder if they've been able to get a guy as good as Wiltfong now that he's taken less of an active role. Also, it seems like through whatever means--maybe the connection with Lambrecht and the NIL guys--HOL has gotten fairly good at covering the transfer portal stuff. When you combine that with Tater Island's clear focus on that, Callahan and crew might be pulling even or actually ahead of 247. Going to be interesting to see how they respond.
Anyway, that's all. What a fun time to be a consumer of Husker news.
