ESPN's Herbstreit, Davis Say NU's Stock Rising

Nebraska fans began camping out Friday evening, spending the night in tents outside Memorial Stadium, ready to rise early Saturday morning and reserve their spot for an up-close view of ESPN's College "GameDay" broadcast.
 
They made themselves known with signs, cheers and chants, as Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard and Rece Davis, the heart of the "GameDay" crew, greeted millions of television viewers on a crisp, sunny fall morning. The majestic scene stretched from the steps of the NU Coliseum to the plaza on the east side of Memorial Stadium.
 
Nebraska's spirit squad, mascots and marching band added to the pageantry. While thousands of fans crammed as near to the broadcast set as possible, many others lingered around the fringes, playing games, taking pictures and carrying signs.
 
The festive atmosphere was everything the Nebraska athletic department expected when ESPN announced last week it would visit Lincoln for the first time since 2007, and for the seventh time overall. It's a sign of progress for a football program that used to be in such a spotlight on a routine basis and looks for a return to national prominence.
 
How does Nebraska benefit? A study of the "GameDay" stop at Washington State University in 2018 valued the visit at $1.5 million in free advertising for the school. It also reported about 1.1 billion social media impressions around the ESPN broadcast. Not to mention, recruits tuning in see and hear about the progress of Nebraska football under second-year coach Scott Frost.


 
The 3-hour pregame show concluded with Corso's famous headgear pick. He donned a Brutus the Buckeye head. In fact, nearly everybody on set said Ohio State would defeat Nebraska on Saturday night.

The lone and notable exception game from celebrity pickers Gabrielle Union and her husband, NBA star Dwayne Wade. The celebrity actress, a native of Nebraska, wore a No. 65 jersey – that of injured offensive lineman Christian Gaylord, in honor and memory of Gaylord's father, Scott, who died in a car accident last week. The crowd applauded Union's tribute, and roared its approval when she picked Nebraska.
 
Construction on the set began Thursday, and broadcast talent arrived Friday, when Brian Rosenthal of Huskers.com had a one-on-one interview with Herbstreit and Davis. They shared their thoughts on Lincoln and the trajectory of the Nebraska program under Frost in the following Q-n-A.
 
BR: What impresses you the most about Lincoln?
Kirk: "Passion, passion. Just loyalty. Incredible fan base. Beautiful stadium. And I, as a traditionalist, love to see Scott Frost in place, because it's fun to get Nebraska – I'd like to get Nebraska, USC, all these teams – I love when those teams are good because I think it's great for the sport. It's fun to see Scott in place, in his second year, building this thing up and hopefully he just keeps going and going and going."
 
Rece: "You know, it's a great football town, obviously a tremendous university with great tradition. I've been here for basketball a couple of times, but I don't know why but I ever experienced that entire Railyard district. Last night I checked out a couple of the local coffee shops down there. I think it's just a really college town which really transforms into something electric on a football weekend and I can't wait to be a part of it."
 
BR: What would recruits see here now?
Kirk: "The commitment. You have a new athletic director, you have a new head coach, the direction of the program – to me, a program that's desperate to get back to who they once were. It's ironic. There's a player currently on the team, a freshman, Jackson Hannah, who went to high school with my twin boys last year in Nashville, and so his dad and I are very good friends, and throughout the recruiting process, he'd be asking me about different schools and my opinion. And when we talked about Nebraska, that was part of what I said was, 'Man, that is a place that it's a stock you want to buy now because they're heading in a direction in the future where you want to be a part of it. And the coach they have is the guy you want to play for. I think this school as a ton to offer."
 
Rece: "I think recruits want to go places where football is important, and I don't think you'll find too many places where football is more engrained in the culture than it is here at Nebraska. I think the program is growing. I think Scott has it on a foundation that is going to be one that is sustainable and long lasting."
 
BR: What's the next step for Nebraska to get to where it wants to be?
Kirk: "I think the next step is exactly what Scott Frost said this week. He said, 'This is what we want. GameDay is here, Saturday night, ABC primetime. These are the games. This is our norm.  Now, are we ready for this?' He said, 'We're going to find out. We're either going to win and have that moment, because eventually it's going to come, or we're going to find out how close we are to being able to be in this kind of moment.' And I agree with him. Whether it happens Saturday night, or it happens later this year or next year, what he's trying to build, you need a signature win against a traditional power to say, 'Hey, we got this thing going where we want to go.' It's no longer just a vision. It's reality. So that's kind of the next step for me."
 
Rece: "I think the first thing is you take it step by step, right? You compete in your division first so you can get to the conference championship game, and then from there you hope that puts you in a position to compete for a spot in the college football playoffs. I'm talking these are over the next few years types of building goals for Nebraska. I think the immediate goal is a signature win, like the one you have an opportunity for against a team like Ohio State that comes in, or a team like it looks like Wisconsin is going to be this year. Prove you can play at level. Not only play and stay close, but win those types of games. I think that is the next tangible goal, and from there you start thinking about competing for the various championships as you go up the ladder."
 
BR: How does his offense fit in the Big Ten?
Kirk: I think it fits in really well. I think we live in an era where the spread is everywhere. You need a quarterback who can run and throw. Adrian is incredible with what he was able to do as a freshman, even in Columbus last year. So I think it's a fit. I think it stays to their roots, because you think of Tom Osborne, personally I think of option football, and they're still running a modern era option attack. That part of it is really good. When they were running with Bill Callahan kind of a pro system, and Mike Riley more of a pro system – I'm not saying it wouldn't work, it just felt weird to see Nebraska running that. To have Scott Frost bring back his own version as a head coach of option football, I personally love."
 
BR: Your impressions of Frost?
Kirk: "He's a great guy. I love him. I just love his intensity. I love his kind of no-nonsense.  He's very serious. I love how he played with a chip on his shoulder, I love how he coaches with a chip on his shoulder, and I think players can really relate to him and his approach to his job. To me, it's a matter of time before he gets this thing going."
 
Rece: "Scott would win anywhere in my judgment and I think he's going to win huge here because of the ties he has because of his understanding of Nebraska football and the tradition and what it takes and what is needed to win at an elite level here. When you combine that knowledge with the fact I believe he is one of the few guys you can plug in just about anywhere and have great success, I think it bodes quite well for the future of Nebraska football."
 
Reach Brian at brosenthal@huskers.com or follow him on Twitter @GBRosenthal.