If anyone wants to chat about things -- Huskers, Valentine's advice, etc. -- I'm here and have some totally amazing ideas.
@Sam: Well done, Sam. Connecting football to this day of love and overpriced chocolates. Rex Burkhead has to be high on this list, right? I mean, I'm always cautious to name a player too recently because I think sometimes we overlook guys from the past. But Rex was adored and you saw No. 22 jerseys everywhere you went. If you want to go old school, I think Bobby Reynolds was quite the hero back in the day. Suh was so dominant and nasty and had a such a perfect name for stadium recognition that he might be on there too. And any QB that won a national title. Put them on there. Good question. Y'all should throw out some names too.
@Huskerfan15: I don't get asked it very much actually. It wouldn't make me throw up in my mouth, just wonder why everyone is always so quick to move on to the next idea in everything. It's why recruiting is so popular. The next guy in line is always thought to be better even though there's no certainty that will be the case. I think Frost is in the perfect situation right now. I think UCF can be a sleeping giant. Biggest school in Florida. More than 60,000 enrolled and I think he's going to have the resources to build that thing up into something pretty good.
@NGR: He's talking about a radio appearance I just had in which a neighbor knocked on my door and my dog lost his mind about it. It was really bad radio. Or great radio. But yes, it ended with me giving the dog a belly rub and calling him "a good dog, such a good dog." Honestly it was a much more touching moment than the end of The Notebook.

@71husker: You always want your players believing they've got a legit shot to go and grab a job, no question. Honestly, it's such a cliche answer, but it really is true when you're a QB at Nebraska: You can't get lost in the noise. Because there's always noise. There's always noise about the perceived starter, and then noise about who everyone thinks could do it better than the starter. You just have to sort of accept that's part of it, and pay as little attention as possible to it, and realize all that really matters is what you are hearing from Mike Riley and Danny Langsdorf. As long as there's an open line of communication there, which I have no reason to think there isn't, that's what matters. Will someone leave? I mean, Gebbia just got here, O'Brien is in his second year. I think it's a little silly to start speculating on how those guys see it when this thing is just getting going. Might one of the scholarship QBs eventually leave the program? Sure. That's happening all over the country. You just want guys to compete like heck while they're here, give them a fair look, and then have those bigger picture conversations down the road when the timing is more proper.
I do think Lee is the favorite, yes, but I think O'Brien should be plenty motivated and see opportunity for a job that as far as I know it, is open to be won, and also at all a position where we all know full well you better have depth. Even if you're the second guy in line in April, you're one unfortunate injury away from being the most important guy on the team.
@71husker: Yes, Brook is obviously on there. Maybe at the very top. I consider him one of those championship QBs, too. Sam Foltz will always have a special place in hearts too.
@Jack: That it's February and I am not ready to put a number on it. The schedule's tougher though. Adding a road game at Penn State as a crossover, and that trip to Oregon is sure a "who knows what the heck to expect" game for both programs probably. The only thing I'd say is NU could win eight games this year and potentially still be a better team than the one that won nine in 2016.
@MattRobinson: Dang Matthew. Quite a story. Someone going to top that?
@Jack: It's not strange that a scholarship guy might transfer from the QB spot because there's only one football, but seriously people, Gebbia just got here a month ago. And even if he didn't play for two years, he'd only be a third-year sophomore in 2019.
@HuskerKP: There's some truth to the joke. Although I don't think the fan would be in the dark completely. There'd be a YouTube clip of an old Husker game playing on a computer screen in front of the person.
@HawaiiHusker: I think Nebraska staffers use social media very well. They use it more than we ever know and have a very well thought-out plan in how they used it. I do wish fans wouldn't tweet at recruits at all -- good or bad, honestly. I know some guys like Lamar Jackson really liked the attention, but I think it gets to be overkill from some. Honestly, there are just a few bad seeds who overreact when a player picks another school too and it's a bad look. But 99.9 percent of fans aren't like that, and honestly, most of the fan base isn't even on Twitter, so it's always important to keep it in perspective.
@Sam: Sam bringing the Valentine's day theme to life, I like it. Kevin Williams had a pretty nasty split with Nebraska fans, I'd say. And there were some guys from the 2007 team who I think wore pretty thin with the fan base by the end. The Alex Lewis-Husker fan relationship obviously never felt overly stable either. There are others I am definitely missing. I think this is a case where there are probably more recent examples because I do think social media has broken down a wall between fans and players. There's some good to that, but when it's not going hot, there are going to be hard feelings on both sides. I'd say the same thing, though: Fans don't need to be tweeting negativity at current players. It's just silly.
@Czechdays: Maybe between Frank and Pederson. I hope we see the day Solich comes back to the stadium to be recognized. It would be a standing O. It's interesting how time heals the wounds. When Tyronn Lue's jersey was retired, Danny Nee gave a tribute on the video board. Obviously there's probably more respect for what Nee did exactly with that program now in hindsight, but the applause was great when he was shown on the screen.
@JimNE: I should have named Berringer right off the bat. Just a brain freeze. I think if there were a statewide vote he's No. 1 on this list without the runner-up being too close.
@Zadi: I still am unclear if this is exactly the same operation as the one that was famous in KC. But if it is, you order the burnt ends, and probably need to get there when it opens to assure you'll get them. While we wait to see what happens there, I recommend going to Phat Jacks. Deserves all the praise it gets.
@HuskerKP: Definitely a bad breakup. I think time has allowed more Husker fans, and even people across the country, to see it as more of a sad story than anything. It's a story you don't love to go through, but I'm glad the story of his upbringing, and the reasons people tried to help him as much as they did, has been given some perspective, while also not discounting the horrible acts he did.
@Glenn315: I know you're asking about 2017, and I think I'd say QB play just by a whisker, just because I'm anxious to see what a Riley/Langsdorf offense really looks like when they have their type of quarterback back there. That doesn't guarantee it's going to be way better, I'm not ready to say that. But I'm open to the idea that a QB who goes through his progressions a little better and has a little more accuracy could possibly drastically change the look of everything. Of course, he better have some O-line help too.
@Jack: We've seen him in limited samplings. I swear I'm not going to try to overhype a guy who hasn't taken a snap. But obviously coaches and players see something in him, because it's through their comments that people have become excited and optimistic about Lee.
@Mike: Don't know what Diaco will do in that regard. Good question. Which we will ask next time we chat with him.