Do the Huskers have enough talent in 2026?
Over the last three transfer cycles, outgoing Nebraska players have landed at FCS schools at nearly double the national average.
College football’s classic chicken-or-egg conundrum is talent versus coaching. If you could lock in one for your team to experience maximum success in the future, would you choose top-tier talent with coaching quality as the variable or top-tier coaching with quality of talent as the variable?
I’ve always felt the majority opinion on this sided with “talent” for a few reasons. One, it’s easier to estimate—using recruiting rankings or, today, transfer rankings—and can be continually updated. Two, every top-tier coach ever has probably been quoted as saying something like “you need to have good players.”1 Three, a lot of the easier-to-find evidence pointed to “stars matter,” which meant the method was continually espoused because, well, just look around, man.
I’ve always sided with the minority here. Maybe it’s a desire for romance, a subconscious preference for craft.2 Maybe it’s a regional bias. I am a Nebraskan and grew up during peak-era Tom Osborne, where the Huskers were always more talented than about 80% of the teams on the schedule, but, from ages 1 (1980) to about 15 (1994), Nebraska almost always lost to the teams in the 20%.3 Then it all changed for Osborne and the Huskers even though nothing outside of minor tweaks or routine maintenance had actually changed. Part of my bias here might also be hopeful hedging because I don’t foresee a future where Nebraska is more talented than 80% of its schedule, so it would be better for the beat I’ve chosen if coaching matters more.
I could continue this debate forever—because I’m forever having it with myself in my head—but the actual topic today is talent. Does Nebraska have enough in 2026? Always tough to say with certainty, but we can at least look at it through a different lens.
