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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Welcome to the Carriker Chronicles,
00:09 the people show.
00:11 Checking the pulse of Fresno Nation
00:12 brought to you by DPS Concrete Construction.
00:14 Check them out at dpsconstruction.net.
00:17 Ladies and gentlemen, I've got an awesome guest today,
00:19 but before I bring him on,
00:21 I've noticed that about a third of the people
00:23 who watch the Carriker Chronicles
00:25 actually subscribe to the channel on YouTube.
00:27 So if you haven't done so yet,
00:28 and you're so inclined, you'd like to see more interviews,
00:31 such as the awesome one we're gonna have here
00:32 with Trev today, or gut reactions,
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00:36 go ahead, hit that subscribe button.
00:39 Also, if you're as excited to see,
00:42 like I am to see what Coach Ruehl and his staff can do
00:45 as they continue to add to this recruiting class
00:47 by Wednesday, early National Signing Day,
00:50 all right, as we all know,
00:51 there's some big names in the works.
00:52 If you're as excited as I am to see
00:54 how this recruiting class comes together,
00:55 and actually, final signing day's in February,
00:57 although it doesn't feel like that anymore,
01:00 hit that like button.
01:01 Now, my guest today is one of the all-time greats
01:04 here through University of Nebraska.
01:05 He's also the current athletic director, Mr. Trev Alvarez.
01:08 How you doing, my friend?
01:10 - I'm doing great, Adam.
01:11 How are you today?
01:12 - I'm glorious.
01:13 It's the most wonderful time of the year,
01:15 the most busy time of the year,
01:17 and so much to talk about,
01:19 and I appreciate you taking the time to join me today.
01:23 And I always like to kind of go backwards real quick
01:25 before I go forwards.
01:26 So, the biggest area of improvement
01:29 that you saw on the Huskers last year,
01:31 what was the biggest area of improvement to you
01:33 that you saw on the Huskers football team last year?
01:35 And what's the area you'd like to see them
01:37 continue to improve in the most
01:38 as they go into year two under Matt Ruhle?
01:41 - Sure, well, as you know, Adam,
01:44 you and I have talked about this,
01:45 and not a lot of people know more about football than you do
01:49 and the reality is we have a lot of progress to make, right?
01:53 I mean, there were several things,
01:56 but first and foremost,
01:58 I think that the core foundational things
02:01 that make Nebraska football,
02:03 Nebraska football needed to be reexamined.
02:05 And I wanna say on the surface,
02:08 anytime you say comments like this,
02:10 it can immediately be extrapolated out
02:12 to somehow be sort of negative to any past leadership
02:16 in our football program or athletic administration.
02:18 I don't mean that, right?
02:19 The world continues to change.
02:22 You just talked about the early signing date,
02:24 the transfer portals,
02:26 all of the things that our fans read about all the time.
02:29 So I really caution us to not think about,
02:32 comparing something to something previous.
02:36 But what I know is, and I think you know, Adam, is that,
02:40 well, I know you know,
02:41 is that Nebraska football, first and foremost,
02:44 it has to be based in a foundation
02:46 of extremely hard work, right?
02:49 Like you need a coaching staff and you need,
02:51 we have some built in advantages here.
02:53 We have some things that make it more challenging.
02:55 But at the end of the day, this is a grinder job.
02:58 And so I think first and foremost,
03:00 you have to have a staff that does that.
03:01 Secondly, you know, I think toughness has to be a part
03:04 of what our identity is.
03:05 And so I think practice happens.
03:07 How do we go about it?
03:09 How do we develop?
03:10 You know, one of the things that I think
03:13 we're all really proud of at the University of Nebraska,
03:15 it doesn't matter who you are, where you're from,
03:17 whether you're a scholarship player or walk on,
03:19 you can make an impact here.
03:20 We've had some of the best players,
03:22 some of the greatest Huskers ever to walk through here,
03:25 were walk ons.
03:26 And so I guess from my perspective,
03:29 you know, those are the things we often talked about,
03:32 you know, we always get fixated on the outcomes we want,
03:35 but the process that has to be in place
03:38 to ultimately lead to those outcomes is really important.
03:41 So, you know, I was just pleased
03:43 with the strategic approach to everything.
03:46 We talked about building an infrastructure,
03:48 the apparatus around football,
03:49 and we'll probably get into recruiting in a little bit,
03:51 but, you know, just a really coordinated strategic vision
03:54 around talent acquisition, retention,
03:57 managing through all of the challenges.
03:59 I think building a great culture
04:01 is probably more important now than ever before.
04:04 And then, you know, just having a football team
04:06 that Nebraska fans can identify with in terms of toughness.
04:09 So clearly we've got a lot of work to do, right?
04:12 And so the second part of your question was,
04:15 are some of those areas,
04:16 and I certainly don't speak for Coach Ruhl
04:18 and our coaching staff,
04:19 but, you know, I don't think the lay person
04:21 has a difficult time understanding the turnovers.
04:24 And I think that's a core thing
04:26 that Nebraska was really, really, you know,
04:29 founded on as well, is that, you know,
04:31 we don't beat ourselves, we don't turn the ball over.
04:34 We play clean game, we respect the game,
04:37 all those types of things.
04:38 So I think a lot of great progress was made,
04:40 certainly more progress that has to happen,
04:42 and you continue to work on your roster,
04:45 continue to work on building the culture.
04:47 And I think Matt and the coaches have done
04:48 a really good job of that.
04:49 - Now, just for everyone at home, you know,
04:51 we're not gonna talk about specific recruits here,
04:53 but just as a general rule, I'm curious, Trev,
04:56 what are your thoughts on bringing in a, for example,
04:59 a transfer portal quarterback, okay,
05:01 if a team needs immediate help
05:03 with the quarterback position, for example,
05:05 versus potentially a highly rated high school quarterback?
05:08 Or, you know, you don't see this a lot,
05:09 what about if a team brings in
05:11 two potential high school quarterbacks
05:12 in the same recruiting class?
05:13 So what are your kind of thoughts on that?
05:16 - Well, I think that's really, you know,
05:18 why you depend on your coaching staff to have a pulse
05:21 and understand what the culture of the team is, you know?
05:23 And, hey, there, obviously,
05:25 there have been certain institutions
05:26 that it's proven very, very successful
05:28 to take a one-year guy, you know,
05:30 that ain't Notre Dame, you know,
05:32 not speaking for them, obviously,
05:33 but their one-year transfer from Wake,
05:35 I think they probably would have said,
05:37 yeah, we, that worked out really well for us.
05:40 You never also know exactly what's on your team.
05:43 And so one of the things I think that Matt
05:44 is really important to him is really respecting
05:47 the people that are here, right?
05:49 And growing them and developing them.
05:51 And remember now, we've got some talent
05:53 in the quarterback room, right?
05:55 They've got progress to make as well,
05:57 but I think both Heinrich and Purdy both at times
06:01 showed some really strong play for us.
06:04 And so, you know, I don't have strong feelings about,
06:08 I think it just depends on what your situation is,
06:10 what your current room looks like,
06:12 who are the high school kids that you're recruiting,
06:15 what are their skill sets?
06:16 And so I think you have to look at the totality of the room
06:19 as you continue to build your roster,
06:21 how taking a, you know, one-year transfer,
06:24 how does that impact the rest of the locker room?
06:26 I mean, there's a lot of things to consider.
06:29 And obviously we hired Coach Rules
06:32 to have the intelligence and strategic vision around that.
06:35 And I think in the end, when all this settles,
06:38 I know it's hard,
06:39 as we're trying to get through Wednesday,
06:42 aren't you glad there's an early signing date?
06:44 I mean, can you imagine having to wait
06:45 until February for all of these things?
06:47 - It'd be crazy, yeah.
06:48 - It'd be nuts.
06:49 - Yep.
06:50 - But I think in the end, you know,
06:52 I think we'll have a really strong quarterback room
06:54 and I think our coaches will have a good vision around it.
06:58 - Now I've actually always wanted to ask you
07:00 this particular question,
07:01 'cause I'm always just curious what a guy
07:03 who has ties to Nebraska in the past always has to say,
07:06 versus even folks that don't.
07:07 But just in general, offensively,
07:11 are you a guy who tends to like more option-oriented
07:14 type team, like a mobile type quarterback,
07:16 or more pro-style type team?
07:19 And part of what prompts that question
07:21 as we're chatting today is some of the guys,
07:24 and I'm not asking about the guys,
07:25 but just in general,
07:26 you've seen them recruit more pocket type quarterbacks
07:29 in this previous period,
07:31 with Kyle McCord, Dylan Riehl, Daniel Kalin,
07:33 who's committed to Nebraska.
07:34 But just as general,
07:35 do you like a more mobile type quarterback,
07:37 option-oriented offense, pro-style?
07:39 What are your thoughts on all that?
07:41 - Well, I think you can get to a lot of what you wanna do
07:45 with a lot of the similar skillset.
07:47 I mean, it's one thing to have a true option quarterback,
07:49 like Tommy Frazier or Eric Crouch.
07:52 The reality is this,
07:53 and I think sometimes we don't talk about this enough,
07:56 the rules at College Football have changed, Adam.
07:58 I mean, many of the things that we used to do
08:01 in terms of blocking schemes,
08:03 those are outlawed now.
08:05 I mean, you can't play,
08:07 the game is not played the same way as it was
08:10 back in the '80s and early '90s.
08:12 And so it's really changed.
08:13 It's turned into more of a in-space type of game,
08:17 winning one-on-one battles out in space.
08:19 And yeah, so to me,
08:22 I mean, I think you look at our existing quarterbacks.
08:26 I mean, maybe they weren't true option type players,
08:30 but they can certainly move in the pocket.
08:32 They can certainly escape pressure.
08:36 They can certainly put pressure on a defense.
08:38 So I think in the end,
08:40 you have to have a quarterback that has some mobility.
08:44 They can't just be a sitting duck
08:47 on a five and seven step drop without any movement.
08:49 But I really think at the end,
08:50 I mean, you guys know what I love?
08:52 I love a physical football team.
08:54 I mean, to me, you lived it, Adam.
08:56 I was on teams where we couldn't stop the other teams running
09:00 and there was nothing more demoralizing to a team
09:04 than when somebody lines up
09:05 and you can't stop them on defense,
09:08 no matter what you try to do.
09:10 And I know the defensive line is really important to that.
09:13 Running back position is really important to that.
09:15 Overall culture, toughness, all those types of things.
09:17 That at the end of the day is what I'm mostly interested in.
09:21 You know, how you get to it,
09:22 I suppose, is a matter of interpretation
09:24 based on what talent's available
09:27 and how the game has changed.
09:28 But I think you can still, I think it's out there.
09:31 Teams have proven it across college football.
09:32 You can still be, in spite of all the rules changing,
09:35 in spite of the limited ability
09:37 to have practice time in full pads,
09:39 you can still create a really tough physical football team
09:42 that can win the line of scrimmage.
09:44 And I know that that's something that Coach Ruhl
09:46 and our staff are working on as well.
09:48 - Now we've chatted about a lot of things so far,
09:51 whether it's quarterbacks, whether it's what has improved,
09:54 what you'd like to see improve going forward.
09:56 Is there a kind of how you're gonna look at year two?
09:59 And I know we're just ending year one under Matt Ruhl,
10:02 but what would your definition of success be
10:05 as we start to enter year two under Matt Ruhl and his staff?
10:08 How would you define success for year two going forward?
10:11 - Well, I think it's kind of obvious.
10:18 I don't think it's hard to see progress.
10:21 I mean, sure, we were all disappointed.
10:24 We really wanted to go to a bowl game,
10:26 not just for our coaches and administrators,
10:28 we wanted it for our kids, for the players,
10:30 for the, you know how much they put into this stuff, right?
10:33 And you know how badly they want to win,
10:37 how badly they wanna have a program
10:38 and how badly they want to be, you know,
10:42 continue making progress.
10:43 So, you know, you will never hear me, you know,
10:46 create any benchmarks relative to wins and losses.
10:49 There are so many things that impact the season.
10:53 I think, you know, they're just tangible, incremental,
10:58 you know, growth areas across the board.
11:02 This isn't easy.
11:04 It doesn't just about the play on the field, you know,
11:07 it's recruiting, it's just general momentum.
11:12 And I think you'll be able to see it, feel it,
11:17 you know, how the games are played.
11:18 Do we finish some of those one score losses
11:21 that we lost by three, you know, in crunch time?
11:24 How do we react when we have to make a play?
11:27 You know, part of that's just confidence, it's growth.
11:29 It's, you know, those types of things.
11:32 That, you know, that you go through in athletics.
11:34 And I think it'll just be, I think it'll be fairly obvious
11:37 whether Nebraska is continuing to make progress.
11:40 And I'm pretty confident that'll be the case.
11:44 - All right, so the Big Ten's never gonna be the same.
11:47 Oregon, Washington, USC, UCLA.
11:49 We're gonna encompass basically all the time zones.
11:53 I don't think we have a mountain time zone team,
11:54 but we're gonna cross right over 'em
11:56 as teams are flying back and forth to play each other.
11:58 All the way from East Coast to West Coast,
12:00 no East division, no West division.
12:02 How do you think the Big Ten is going to be going forward?
12:07 Like, what's it gonna be like to play in this new Big Ten?
12:10 No divisions, all these new different teams coming in.
12:13 And I know this is probably a tough one for you to answer,
12:15 but I just gotta ask it.
12:17 Is there more conference realignment coming on the way?
12:19 I mean, there's all these rumors going around
12:21 with teams from the ACC, and you can answer that one
12:24 however you see fit,
12:25 but I just had to throw that out there too.
12:27 - Well, you know, Adam, I would,
12:29 if there's one constant we should all be prepared for
12:34 is the constant change, right?
12:36 Like, you know, while I know that everybody
12:39 would want clear definitions
12:40 about what the future looks like,
12:43 number one, I don't know what the future looks like entirely.
12:46 I don't know that anybody does.
12:48 We're going through an unprecedented transformation
12:51 in what collegiate athletics looks like.
12:55 You know, lots of folks wanna look backwards and say,
12:58 "Well, we had an opportunity, we didn't do that."
13:00 I don't wanna spend any time or energy looking back.
13:03 You know, at the end of the day,
13:06 there are court rulings,
13:08 there's a lot of litigation that's happening,
13:10 there's a significant amount of revenue and dollars
13:14 that have entered into the collegiate space
13:16 that is sort of unprecedented.
13:18 There's the growth in the college football playoff.
13:21 So there are so many different factors,
13:24 you know, there's freedom of movement,
13:29 you know, there's collectives where players
13:31 are monetizing their name and image and likeness.
13:35 Meanwhile, the average athletic department
13:38 isn't necessarily operating with a massive profit each year.
13:45 You know, the dollars that are brought in
13:46 are spent on student athletes
13:48 as well as coaching staffs and the rest of it.
13:51 So it's just an unprecedented time of change.
13:54 I would never predict that there won't be additional
13:59 movement in terms of membership history.
14:02 As I've said previously, it's been untying to conferences
14:05 that have been static relative to membership.
14:07 And so I think the Big Ten will likely continue
14:10 to be aggressive in areas that make sense.
14:12 But, you know, we've been pretty aggressive here recently.
14:15 And as you mentioned, the growth,
14:17 it's a national conference now.
14:19 - Yep.
14:20 - And so it's gonna be fascinating as we go forward.
14:22 You look at our schedules of the days of, you know,
14:25 one or two tough games a year or over.
14:28 You think about your favorite NFL team
14:30 if you're an NFL fan.
14:31 And, you know, realistically,
14:32 you look at a lot of these teams,
14:33 you know, they'll go 12 and four one year,
14:36 and the next year it's four and 12.
14:38 I mean, the margins are so razor thin.
14:41 The scheduling is so very difficult.
14:43 And so that's why, as we've said a couple of years ago,
14:48 having a very detailed strategic vision around
14:51 and, you know, executing the fine details
14:54 of everything we do in our operation
14:56 are gonna matter more than ever before, Adam.
14:58 It's never gonna get easier in the sense of
15:01 who you're playing against
15:03 and what the competition looks like.
15:05 So we're gonna have to be strategic,
15:06 we're gonna have to be smart,
15:07 and more than anything else,
15:09 we're gonna have to be unified.
15:11 It's gonna take all of us.
15:12 And I'm just talking about our administration
15:14 and our coaches, it's our fan base,
15:16 it's our former players.
15:18 If we're not unified, we have very little chance.
15:21 - All right, ladies and gentlemen,
15:22 as you know, this show is brought to you
15:23 by DPS Concrete Construction.
15:25 They are your local concrete experts.
15:27 Make sure you check them out at dpsconstruction.net.
15:32 All right, last two questions I got for you,
15:34 and I appreciate your time.
15:36 Nebraska volleyball just closed off
15:38 a phenomenally phenomenal season,
15:40 33 and two, Big Ten champs,
15:42 made it to the National Championship match.
15:45 All right, what are your thoughts on the job
15:46 that John Cook has done and the season they just had?
15:50 - Well, you know, obviously I haven't really been here
15:53 a small sliver of John's career,
15:55 but I can't imagine him,
15:57 I mean, he was named Coach of the Year for a reason, right?
16:00 I don't know how or how he could have done a better job.
16:05 I would assume, again, not knowing the whole totality
16:08 of his career, but this is the best coaching job
16:11 that John's done in his career.
16:13 Just a remarkable effort.
16:16 You know, a team that was very young,
16:18 that he brought together, again,
16:19 built a very, very strong culture with that team.
16:22 You know, it's so hard in the moment
16:25 'cause you're so disappointed,
16:27 but it won't take long for people to look back
16:29 and realize, wow, this was a really special group.
16:33 And I hate to make these comparisons,
16:35 but as I sat there, I kind of went back to 1993
16:39 in football, you know, and it felt like
16:42 that was kind of a first step where there was a recognition
16:46 that, hey, there's no reason why, you know,
16:49 and the problem was a little bit different.
16:50 They've been in an elite level for a long time,
16:52 but I wouldn't be surprised if this year
16:56 and the way it ended doesn't really help this program
16:59 and this team, this young team, as they move forward.
17:02 They're gonna be hungrier than ever,
17:04 and I think great things are in store
17:06 in the future of a volleyball program.
17:08 - All right, last question.
17:09 Husker basketball's off to their best start
17:12 they've had in quite a while, nine and two.
17:14 They just beat, some might even say,
17:16 bowling around Kansas State in the second half.
17:19 They beat 'em 62 to 46.
17:21 What are your thoughts on Fred Hoiberg
17:23 and their fast start to this season so far?
17:26 - Well, I'm extremely proud of 'em.
17:28 You know, both of our basketball programs
17:30 are nine and two right now.
17:31 So, you know, it's, out of what it is,
17:34 it's no different whether it's basketball,
17:35 volleyball, football.
17:36 I mean, you know, you have a tough team.
17:39 You know, if you're not scared of anybody
17:40 and you come to fight every single night,
17:42 stuff like that can happen.
17:44 You know, and if you don't,
17:46 the second half of Minnesota can happen.
17:48 And I'll tell you what I really appreciated about Fred
17:51 is he had the courage and he did it the right way,
17:54 but he challenged his team.
17:56 You know, after the Creighton game
17:57 and after Minnesota, the way, you know,
18:00 our team didn't respond in a sense,
18:01 he asked them, "At what point do you get tired
18:04 "of getting punked, right?"
18:06 And so, to watch them,
18:08 the Juwan Gary is about as tough as you get, right?
18:10 And so he's really stepped up in the leadership role.
18:13 That's a team that can compete with anybody in the Big Ten.
18:15 I'm really excited about watching them
18:17 as they get deep in the conference play,
18:19 but a lot of momentum right now across Husker Athletics.
18:22 I'm just grateful to our coaches and student athletes
18:25 for how hard they're working.
18:26 - Yeah, shout out to all the Husker sports.
18:28 Shout out to the women's basketball team as well.
18:31 We were fortunate enough to get to watch a practice
18:33 with them and they were awesome to our family.
18:34 So I'm always rooting for them regardless.
18:37 Ladies and gentlemen, let me know.
18:38 I got some questions for you.
18:39 As always, let me know in the comments below.
18:42 All right, will Dylan Raiola commit?
18:44 All right, just simple yes or no.
18:45 How important to you is National Signing Day?
18:47 We've got Signing Day in February.
18:49 I guess that still matters.
18:50 You've got transfer portals.
18:51 How important is Signing Day to you, the fans?
18:55 And Nebraska doesn't have very many people
18:57 transferring away from the football program.
18:58 Is that a good sign to you?
19:00 'Cause it is to me.
19:01 All right, until next time, Husker Nation,
19:03 go Big Red and always remember.
19:05 - Throw the bones, Adam.