Things I know, and things I think I know (special late-in-week edition):Â
Let's say Nebraska basketball coach Fred Hoiberg were to elicit the help of all-time Husker great Dave Hoppen as a volunteer assistant to help with the program's big men or just be a mentor to players.Â
I'm guessing the vast majority of Husker fans would hail it as a wise move.Â
But when Nebraska football coach Scott Frost revealed recently he's called on former Husker greats Jason Peter and Jay Foreman to help the program as volunteers, you heard a lot of reactions along the lines of "Ho-hum, here we go again with the 1990s."Â
Bill Moos has a much different reaction.Â
The fourth-year Nebraska athletic director thinks it's vitally important to honor the program's glorious past. He also thinks it makes sense to sometimes use players from the past in various capacities to help the program.Â
"We certainly benefit from players who have the mentality of those two guys," Moos said of Peter and Foreman. "I'm talking about restoring the pride of not letting people down and making players understand they only get one shot at this. They have to understand they need to grab on to everything they can during this experience because when it's over, man, it's over."Â
Moos was excited about becoming Nebraska's AD in part because he's enamored with the Husker football program's tradition.Â
"You're talking about decades of guys who played their hearts out here — first not to let themselves down, but also to not let down their teammates and not let down those who played well before them," he said. "They passed it off to the next generation: 'You guys, don't let us down.'
"And see, that's all been lost."Â
Most of it, anyway. Getting it back essentially involves winning more games — a lot more. Because Nebraska has endured five losing seasons in the past six years, a predictably high level of cynicism and skepticism has settled into the fan base. Which explains the snarky reaction I heard from many people regarding Frost's decision to involve Peter and Foreman. Â
I told Moos what I've heard from many fans, which goes something like this: Why would current Nebraska players listen to a couple of players who starred for the 1990s Husker national championship teams?Â
"Because they were our last champions," Moos responded. Â
If former Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight were to come to Lincoln to talk about his undefeated 1975-76 national championship team, I would be extremely interested in how he went about coaxing the team to greatness. The conversation remains germane.Â
If Neil Armstrong gave a speech about being in the first group of men to land on the moon, I wouldn't say, "Well, Neil, that was a long time ago. What does it matter now?"Â
"What we need to do is draw from those type of people," Moos said. "Listen, most of the guys we have now on our football roster are bigger, stronger and faster than many players from our past, but are their hearts there? You have to have that mentality, you have to have that emotion, you have to have that passion."Â
Listen to Peter and Foreman discuss Nebraska football sometime. The passion remains.
Moos recounts a story he heard from Peter. It was the one about Jason's brother, former Nebraska defensive lineman Christian Peter, breaking a Christmas ornament on his forehead right before a game to whip his teammates into a frenzy. That little show of emotion required seven stitches.
"We need some more of that!" said Moos, his voice rising.Â
Amen. Love that stuff.Â
* Nobody asked me, but Greg McDermott might be wise to tap into how well Kirk Ferentz went about handling a tumultuous period in his Iowa football program.Â
McDermott, the 11th-year Creighton men's basketball coach, has (rightfully) come under heavy fire for his use of the word "plantation" during a postgame speech to players in the locker room following a loss Saturday. If he remains employed in the coming months, he would do well to proceed in the manner Ferentz did during the months after he came under fire this past summer.
Ferentz's program (rightfully) drew intense scrutiny when approximately 60 former players shared examples of racial bias or mistreatment. Ferentz, basically from the start, met harsh criticism and hard questions head-on. He made changes, including the creation of a diverse advisory committee to improve the climate in his program. Current Iowa players and coaches have reported that there has been a more inclusive environment.
Bottom line, Ferentz was both contrite and willing to enthusiastically make changes. Along the way, he received support from former Hawkeyes.
As for McDermott, I'm not sure at this point if his awful choice of words should lead to immediate termination in part because I'm uncertain if there's been a pattern of such behavior. I've never heard anything to suggest McDermott is anything but an excellent coach and person of character.Â
However, it's noteworthy that former Bluejays aren't exactly lining up to offer support for the 56-year-old Iowa native. That's an element of the story to watch closely.Â
* Speaking of people who can breathe fire into a football program, Ndamukong Suh recently told Shannon Sharpe he remains "pissed off" that he didn't win the Heisman Trophy following his remarkable 2009 season at Nebraska.Â
Instead, the honor went to Alabama running back Mark Ingram. That's bad enough. I had forgotten that Suh finished fourth in the voting behind Toby Gerhart of Stanford and Colt McCoy of Texas.Â
“I’m still mad that I didn’t get an opportunity to win that, or they saw that I didn’t deserve it," Suh told Sharpe. “I think if you put the bodies of work together, anybody, even a blind man, could’ve figured that one out.â€
You think Nebraska ever again will have a defender of Suh's caliber?
It's not a given.Â
Photos: Our favorite staff images from the 2020 Nebraska football season