Sharpe Praises A.D. Emphasis on ALL Husker Programs

'Rural Boy' Wants All Sports to Compete for Championships

Tom Osborne Feels Good About the Hiring of Bill Moos

Moos Doesn't Tolerate Mediocrity, Embraces Entire State

Count Greg Sharpe, the Voice of Nebraska Football, as “very impressed” about the hiring of Bill Moos, the Huskers’ new director of athletics.

“I thought he came across as very humble and genuine,” Sharpe told me Monday. “I really appreciated how Bill understands that Nebraska is a special place. That came across just listening to him. He is a great hire. He checked the options I like when he talked about ALL Nebraska programs needing to win, not just football.

“That’s a message we haven’t been hearing for quite a while,” Sharpe said. “Bill mentioned how you have to have things that fit. That’s BIG, and I’m not sure it’s been fully appreciated the last couple of years at Nebraska. Bill Moos certainly has done that at Montana, then at Oregon and most recently at Washington State."

“I don’t think these are just words. I think our new A.D. lives by that, and that should be great news to all Husker fans,” Sharpe said. “The last month has been dark and there is no two ways around it. It has been very dark for 30 days, and the game Saturday night might have been the lowest moment.”

Like all Husker fans, Nebraska’s most lopsided football loss at home since 1949 “was really difficult to watch,” Sharpe said. “To be down 35-nothing at half on our home field was tough, but I think the sun shone brightly a day later, literally and figuratively, because I think Bill Moos is the beginning of some really good things at Nebraska."

Greg Sharpe (above) Likes Having a Mature, Steady Hand from an Athletic Director Who Has Been a Rancher

“Bill has a mature, steady hand, and I love the fact that our new athletic director has been a rancher,” Sharpe said. “He says he feels more comfortable in a rural setting than he feels in an urban area. To me, that IS Nebraska! Obviously, we have a big population base in Omaha. I do not want to offend anybody there.

“But you can be sure that our new A.D. is going to be spending time in Nebraska's Sandhills and in the tri-city area (Grand Island, Hastings and Kearney),” Sharpe said. “That’s the backbone of this state and of this university. Some may want to run away from the fact that we’re a land-grant university, but I’m really proud of that.

“I think farming and agriculture is the backbone of our state and Bill Moos is a guy that certainly gets that,” Sharpe said. “I think he’ll fit right in as he makes his way around the state in the coming months.”

In this pivotal hire, great expectations are mutually appreciated and equally beneficial.

“People talk about how Washington State is a hard place to win in anything, but they’ve been pretty darn good,” Sharpe said. “Those folks have a really good football team right now. They are isolated and they have a lot disadvantages, but I do not hear anyone around Bill Moos that talks about that. They have learned to get by and to succeed at that level.

“I enjoyed and appreciated hearing our new athletic director rave about the facilities in Lincoln and how everything is in place here to do big things,” Sharpe said. “Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect, but I was very, very pleasantly surprised listening to Bill. I think this hire is going to turn out well because he brings a real steady hand at a time when we definitely need it.”

Small World: Hall-of-Famer Rich Glover Spent Coaching Time with Huskers at Washington State

Talk about a monumetal surprise. College Football Hall-of-Famer Rich Glover, pictured above flanked by Pat Logsdon andDave Rimington, was "flabbergasted" when he heard that the Huskers' new athletic director was moving from Washington State to Nebraska. "I know Bill Moos. I helped coach football at Washington State when all those Nebraskans were there," Glover told me Monday.

"When I left the NFL, Warren Powers asked me to come to Pullman and be part of their staff," Glover said. "I worked with Huskers like Jim Walden and Bill Lewis. It was a different world for a guy like me who grew up in Jersey City, but it was definitely interesting. Everybody I knew there liked working with Bill Moos. I hope he can help Mike Riley get us back to winning. We gotta get together and stick together in the five games that are left. We need this break to get healthier and take on the challenge. I really like our new A.D. He has a way to put everybody on the same page. He knows what it takes to win and how to lead. He's a great help for anyone. Nebraska hired a great guy." 

Nebraska Defensive Lineman Nick Stoltenberg Earns 2017 Brook Berringer Memorial Scholarship

We end this N-Sider column with an inspiring photo of Jan Berringer presenting the 2017 Brook Berringer Memorial Scholarship to Nebraska junior defensive lineman Mick Stoltenberg last Saturday night. The scholarship, named in honor of Jan's late son, is a motivational reminder of how Nebraska Athletics operates, what it stands for and why the Huskers will return to the level they aspire to be.

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