NU’s Blake: no big loss?

By Kyle Simonsen  |   Tuesday, December 12, 2006  |  Comments( 1 )

Nebraska Cornhuskers
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It was announced Tuesday night that Nebraska Cornhuskers defensive line coach John Blake will be leaving the staff to join new North Carolina head coach Butch Davis. A small wave amidst the hurricane of this year's coaching carousel, but a big change for both of the teams involved.

Blake will be serving in the same capacity for Davis as he had for Bill Callahan, but with the somewhat superfluous "Associate Head Coach" title tacked on as well. Avid Husker fans can tell you that the real loss, however, is in the recruiting department, where Blake will surely be missed.

Or will he?

It was no secret on the streets of Lincoln that Blake was brought in to be a recruiting guru, and he was crucial in rounding up some of the transitional players pivotal to the regime change at NU. He was responsible for getting commitments from both Brandon Jackson, the team's leading rusher, and his backup, Marlon Lucky. He has been instrumental in culling the cream of the crop from the nation's junior colleges, bringing in both of this year's starting tackles, Ola Dagunduro and Barry Cryer, as well as starting cornerback Andre Jones.

There are indicators, however, that John Blake may have reached his maximum potential at Nebraska.

For all his recruiting successes, Blake has had relatively meager accomplishments so far on the class currently being assembled. Following the recent decommitment of linebacker Jared Glover who changed his mind and decided to stay home and go to Oklahoma State, Blake has only one signee to his name this year: defensive end Patrick Grant, who, at 220 pounds, many see as more of a "tweener" prospect. It's too early to tell whether Blake's departure will have any effect on that lone recruit.

Blake's prowess as a position coach had slipped substantially this year as well. Although rush end Adam Carriker received all-conference honors, a Blackshirt pass rush that racked up a nation-leading 50 sacks a year ago barely managed half that number this year, recording only 26. Tackles are down significantly as well; last year's starters on the front four were responsible for 173 total tackles, but despite having four senior starters, this season's squad managed only 96.5 takedowns.

This isn't to say Blake hasn't been a valuable asset for Nebraska. He's a man of exceptional character and class with great values and tremendous football knowledge. But perhaps Blake had little left to offer the Huskers, and he can be part of a key rebuilding phase with Butch Davis and the Tar Heels.

The final impact of Blake moving on will be difficult to assess for a few years, but it will be important for Nebraska to replace him soon and make sure to maintain connections with potential recruits for this year's class. The Huskers are still trying to shore up their class for 2007, and key targets such as defensive tackles Shukree Barfield, Kevin Dixon (currently committed to South Florida) and Chris Perry (currently committed to Miami) would all fill big needs at their position, but all three were being primarily recruited by Blake.

One has to wonder if they will choose the program they were considering, or the position coach who sold it to them?
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