1-on-1 with DP – 93.7 The Ticket KNTK - One-On-One with DP: November 11th, 3:25pm - What's Up, DP?

Episode Date: November 11, 2021

One-On-One with DP: November 11th, 3:25pm - What's Up, DP?Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Now back to the happy hour with Nick Sainerton and Enrique Alvarez-Claire on 937 the Ticket and the Ticketfm.com. Back here on the Happy Hour, 937, the Ticket, FM.com. Nick Sainert and Enrique Alvarez-Clarry are with you. So we usually have Aaron Sorenson on Wednesdays. However, it's been kind of a different week. Scott Frost talked to at 11 o'clock on Wednesday. So we switched her to today. She dish us for Scott Frost.

Not necessarily. In a way, not necessarily. I'm going to blame Scott. We are now joined on the Honda-Lincoln Hotline by Aaron Sornson of Hill Varsity. Aaron, how's it going? It's good. It's fair. You can blame Scott Frost.

He did change my schedule for yesterday because of the last-minute announcement that we got to talk with him. Are you trying to tell me that Scott Frost is more important than the happy hour? No, but my job kind of is. just because they want me there. But that was the only reason. Otherwise, never. That checks out. We'll take that for what it is.

All right, let's just go right into it. What's your thoughts on how this week's kind of unfolded? It's been a rough week for Nebraska men's athletics as obviously everything that happened with the football program on Monday. And then Nebraska basketball decided to kind of fall out flat in their home opener. What's this week been like? Well, we'll start with basketball because I feel like that right now is a little more solvable. And by that, I mean, I have no idea what's going to happen this season.

But I will say for the Nebraska basketball fans out there who are looking at this one game as a potential, like, I don't think the, you know, I don't think the wheels have fallen off the bus yet. I think that this is definitely something that Nebraska can build from. I don't think you certainly can build from this. But, you know, there's an opportunity. to use this as a learning opportunity and to get better as a team. If you're going to have a game like this, at least it happened when it did and not, you know, two months down the road. If you're going to have to learn that like rebounding's got to get better,

just there are just these pieces that they're going to have to improve on. So I think, you know, listening to how upset Fred Hoyberg was, which I think a lot of people sort of said, you know, this is the most upset he has seen. He has seen post-game in his tenure at Nebraska. I'd agree. At the same time, this is very, very, very early in the season. There's a lot of room to grow. So I'm not yet of the like, well, throw up the white flag.

It's over. If that's where somebody's at, like, too soon. For football, definitely a bit of like some pieces were expected, some were unexpected. I think as the weekend was progressing, there was a lot of smoke that Frost could have his contract or could have his, could ultimately be retained. but have its contract essentially restructured. And usually when there's smoke, there's fires. So as we know, that came true on Monday. I think the part that really surprised me and a lot of people was the decision to part ways

of four assistant coaches when it happened. I think most people thought that there would be changes, but they would happen postseason. So that one is a little bit more of a tougher thing to sort of wrap your head around. But it definitely has made for a very, it's not been a dull week for a bye week. that's one thing I guess you could say. Yeah, we're talking to Aaron Sorenson of Hill Varsity. I want to touch on that because that's been kind of a big talking point

as having the assistance done immediately. Why do you think that is? Is it for recruiting purposes? Is it just it was going to happen anyway, so might as well just have it start right now? What are your thoughts on that? Why now? I think when you look at the timing, recruiting was probably your biggest factor into it.

I think at that point you're probably making knowing that you're going to upset some of your current players. As we know, the offensive line was very somber. They really liked Greg Austin, so it sounds like that was a pretty rough announcement and then subsequent practice and workout following that news. But when you look at recruiting, especially when you think about, I think it's what November 27th is when they can officially go back in home

and this is a week of recruiting where you can be out looking at, you know, you can be out on the road looking at kids, but like that November 27th date, if I'm not mistaken, is like the date you can go back in home. And when you walk into those homes, you're going to have to have a plan in place. And when you look at that time frame, it would have been very quick post-Iowa to make that happen.

So this is going to at least allow Nebraska some time to maybe get its ducks in a row before step, into recruit rooms and or homes, I should say, and telling them, here's what our plan is for the future. Although I don't know if they'll have an offensive coordinator in place at that point, but at least there's some roadmap that they can say, well, look, we've already parted ways, now we're working on the next steps. Yeah, I'm curious because Nebraska's going to lose quite a few guys on defense since they're so experienced on that side of the ball. But how much, how worried are you about attrition becoming a factor?

on the offensive side of the ball with so many staff changes. Because, I mean, Nebraska, Scott Frost wasn't shy about it a couple weeks ago. They're going to use the portal quite a bit this year, especially if Adrian Martinez does decide to move on, which that kind of seems to be the way that everybody's leaning on that front. So how worried are you that attrition becomes a factor specifically on the offensive side of the ball? Well, first, I just had to look it up for my own sake. The quiet period ends on the 27th, so it's very close.

They get to go home on the 28th and forward. So I just needed to make sure for my own sake. Of course. Yeah, I think the inevitable, like, it's inevitable if, say, Treve Albert said we are going to be partying ways with Scott Frost at the end of the season or after the Iowa game had made that announcement, you would have seen attrition. I think whenever you lose a coach, you inevitably see, you inevitably see attrition just because of that.

So there are going to be players who are on this roster right now that had their position coach, their role eliminated essentially with Nebraska that this player had that coach in their home, recruiting them, telling them what they saw on them, built a relationship with them, have spent multiple years with them, developing and getting better. And so I wouldn't be surprised,

especially when you think of how hurt the offensive line was. You could reasonably see players they're making decisions. You know, you never know with quarterbacks what they're going to do because obviously quarterbacks are very much, they're often very tied to their position coaches as well. Now that could change depending on maybe what Scott Frost does with the quarterback, but I would be surprised if we don't see some level of attrition. I think that's just inevitable.

I will also add, though, by retaining Sean Beckton, who a lot of this team very deeply respects that was, in my opinion, a smart move. You do need somebody to bridge the gap. Sean Beckton has immense amount of respect on this team. So he could potentially keep some players, at least some of the skill players, engaged in wanting to stay in Nebraska. But I would be lying if I said I don't expect to see some players decide to move on from Nebraska when this season is done. Yeah.

We're talking to Aaron Sorenson of Hale Varsity. And Aaron, you kind of touched on it during your answer, depending on if Scott Frost decides to do anything with the quarterbacks. I was wondering, what are your thoughts on a possible Scott Frost possibly taking over with quarterback's coaching, and then that opens up another coaching spot. And we know that Frost said that Dawson has been doing a great job with special teams, but do you believe that he looks anywhere at a special teams coach? That's a good question, because I know a lot of people are really upset by his answer yesterday when he kind of didn't want to give a definitive answer as to, yes, he wants one, wants the special teams coach.

I think you have to start with whatever happens with offensive coordinator. Obviously, he talked about needing it to be somebody he trusts. And in doing so, being able to give up the play calling duties himself, that's going to be huge because if he can actually find an offensive coordinator he trusts, maybe then he feels more confident and comfortable putting his time and attention as a CEO of a team and focusing then as a quarterback's coach. It's sort of like, I brought this name up yesterday, and I'm sure I upset people in the process of it, but like, that's what Bill Callahan did. He focused on quarterbacks.

So it's like, don't say that name, but like, I mean, a lot of head coaches focus on different position groups. And we know that as a former quarterback himself, that is an area that Scott is particularly passionate about. So I think it would make a lot of sense, but you have to start with that offensive coordinator to find out sort of how the chips may fall from there. And I think because of that, I can't say in all certainty that a special team's coaches going to, you know, to be a part of this change. And I honestly, I think that's going to be a big piece that people will either be critical or I think a lot of feelings about this decision to part ways of four coaches in the way

that it was will be dependent on what happens. And if a special team's coach is hired or not. I think people will see a special teams coach is like, well, he's willing to make a change. If it's basically the same structure, but just different people, I could see some, I could see some people being upset with that by thinking, well, then, what was really the big difference here. And his answer previously about it's not special teams, it's specialists, while I don't entirely agree

because there's been so many special teams mishaps as well, that tells me, like, I don't know if he's 100% on board with a special teams coach, but maybe his mind has been changed, or maybe he and Treve Alberts have talked about it. I don't know, but like his answer, his answers previously, and then what he said yesterday, don't give me that, like, I would say I'm 50-50 on what ends up happening there. How skeptical are you, Aaron, that he will actually be willing, Scott Frost, I mean, will be willing to give up a role in the offense?

Oh, I'm very skeptical. I think he's skeptical. Yeah, there was definitely uncertain. You could feel the uncertainty in the room yesterday. He was like, I called this offense for 10 years. Yeah, yeah. I would say he's even skeptical about it. But I think this is something that clearly in his conversations with Trev Albert, Trev wants him to give this, like he wants him to focus more as a CEO and to be more of a higher level thinker across the board versus being so dialed in just on one one area.

And he even said, he's like, I haven't spent a whole lot of time thinking about other things. I mean, I don't think Eric Schnaander really wants him, like, meddling too far into the defense. But, like, oftentimes we would ask him questions about an opposing team's offense. and Scott would say, I don't, I haven't watched any of their offensive film. I have no idea. Yeah. So I am skeptical, but I think if you gave him some truth serum, he'd say the same thing, too. I think he is skeptical of giving up the thing that he is passionate about.

And like he even said himself, he's done for 10 years. Aaron, big news of the day, Jojo Doman, hanging up the cleats for Nebraska, getting surgery on his, on his hand. How big of a blow is it that they're losing? their Swiss Army knife, nickel linebacker in Doman before these last two games? It definitely hurts, especially with how he played against Ohio State. But the one thing, the one reality that sets in for Jojo, and I think a lot of fans understand fully, is that he was going to have, it sounds like he was going to have to have surgery at some point, and it then becomes a, when does he have that surgery?

And the timeline is starting to get tight, especially for these players that might be looking into the senior goals, getting invited to the NFL combine. These things are going to come quickly. It's kind of hard to believe how fast those timelines are going to, how fast this timeline is for some of those players who are looking at the NFL draft. But like those invites are going to start and they need to be able to show that they're healthy. So if it was a, in a lot of ways for him, this was, in my opinion, a wise. business decision. He chose a return for a six year that he didn't have to return for. He already gave Nebraska more time. It definitely sucks for Nebraska, but it's smart for Jojo. And when you look at like the long term benefits for him, I think he made the right decision

for himself, although I'm sure Eric Schnander would have loved to have him for two more games, especially against Wisconsin, Iowa. But now you're going to get to see someone like Isaac Gifford step up. It'll, it'll be, it'll be interesting to see how the defense. steps up in his absence. A couple more here before we let you go. We're talking to Aaron Soren Sorenson of Hale Varsity. What is the, so it's kind of a two-parter here. What is the expectation for next season?

And then what should be the expectation for next season, taking everything into account that Scott Frost restructured a contract, that it's going to be a new offensive staff, possibly a new quarterback. What is the expectation and what should be the expectation? I think the expectation is you have to hit a bowl game. And I think that should be the expectation. I think if you get anything, honestly, I think if you hit six and six, people will still be disappointed. But if you don't at least get to a bowl game, that's a non-starter for 2022.

Like, it is bowl game or bust. But at that same time, I think you're looking at needing to find a way to get to seven and five, eight and four. I think those are the expectations because it becomes a point of you have said you're so close. And you've said that so many of those games are just a play away. So you've now made a change, big changes. If you can't get over that hump and you cannot figure out how to make those close games swing in your favor, then those expectations are no longer, like you've blown the expectations up at that point. So I would say like a reasonable one is six and six get to a bowl game,

but I think they're probably, I think in all honesty, they're probably higher than that. Yeah. One more question for you before you let you go. We're speaking to Aaron Swanson of Hale Varsity. Nebraska Volleyball signed their volleyball class. Yesterday, Hayden Kubick joins her sister. She's the number one recruit in the country. But a big loss in state as Estella Zadichka goes to Missouri.

Can you tell us a little bit more about not only Nebraska's volleyball class, but maybe Estella? Yeah, I have to just say first and foremost, my favorite thing about Nebraska volleyball, not just Nebraska Cornhusker volleyball, but I'm talking about Nebraska volleyball as a state is the amount of people who on Facebook and in different places were like basically upset because they're like, well, this player went to, you know, to Texas, whatever.

Like it was so, it was just cracking me up the amount of like, basically you can't keep everyone here. And in that, just the reality of it. It's the same even with football. You can't keep all of your top talent. Nebraska did sign a really strong class, so I think the reality is you are going to lose some players elsewhere.

I was actually thinking of this the other night when I was looking at the top 25 in volleyball. And Nebraska definitely has a challenge ahead. As far as staying in that top 10 of some, like volleyball as a sport is just getting more and more elite. every single year, which is not a bad thing at all. Nebraska signed the number one recruiting class last year, has signed a really strong recruiting class this year. That talent is still coming to Nebraska.

But as volleyball, as a sport continues to grow, and that comes from TV coverage, it comes from us talking about it on this radio show right now. It comes from every bit of media that continues to just, like, put a spotlight on the sport, and the talent grows, the players get better and better every year, the competition gets better. you're going to inevitably see players that you would have loved to have seen stay at Nebraska leave.

And so, you know, I think that actually bodes well for the state as a whole, but it does definitely think if you're a Nebraska volleyball fan and you wish you could keep everyone that you want local. But it's inevitable as the sport gets better. So it's kind of like a, it's a good thing, bad thing all at the same time. Yeah, and they signed Nebraska volleyball, signed the second ranked class in the country. and we mentioned they had the number one recruit in the country in Maddie Kubik's sister, and then Becca Alec from Waverly.

So, all right, Aaron, we appreciate the time, as always. Enjoy the bye weekend, and we will talk to you next Wednesday. Yes, normal Wednesday. Yes, ma'am. All right, have a good one. We'll talk to you soon. Thank you. That is Aaron Sorensen of Hale Varsity, joining us every week, as she always does.

All right, good stuff there. Let's take our final time out. When we come back, we will give away some goodies, courtesy of Beatrice Bakery next up on the happy hour. Download our app by searching 93.7 the ticket in your app store to stay in touch and listen all day long wherever you are. More of the happy hour is next on 937 the ticket and the ticketfm.com.