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Saturday’s game between Colorado and Nebraska poses a fundamental question about the rapidly changing modern era of college football:
Which is the right way to build a team these days?
The head coaches of both programs started at the same time, in late 2022. But since then, Colorado’s Deion Sanders and Nebraska’s Matt Rhule have taken wildly divergent paths in their quest to rebuild two rival rosters.
For example:
∎ Rhule has made 486 off-campus contacts with potential recruits for Nebraska, according to records obtained by USA TODAY Sports. By contrast, Sanders didn’t visit any recruits away from Boulder during the same period.
∎ Rhule brought in 48 freshmen out of 60 newcomers this year, including non-scholarship players. Sanders did almost the exact opposite – bringing in 44 transfer players out of 65 newcomers.
∎ Rhule recruits heavily within his state and has 53 players on his roster from Nebraska. On the other hand, Sanders recruits heavily from out of state and has more players from Texas (21) and Florida (18) than Colorado (14).
“I would say it’s a clash of styles,” former Colorado and Northwestern head coach Gary Barnett told USA TODAY Sports. “It’s a new way of doing it, and it’s an older way of doing it.”
Both could be on the right paths for the different jobs they were hired to do. Both also could be wrong about going too far in one direction when players now can change teams without penalty in pursuit of more money or playing time.
Last year, Colorado beat Nebraska, 36-14. This year, both are 1-0 heading into Saturday’s game at sold-out Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.
May the best belief system win?
Aug 29, 2024; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders before the game against the North Dakota State Bison at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/different-deion-sanders-matt-rhule-115029090.html
Author : USA TODAY Sports
Publish date : 2024-09-06 11:50:29
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