Scott Frost created a stir late last week when he suggested his offensive linemen were vomiting "15-20" times per practice under new O-line coach Dominic Raiola.
“It’s not because they’re not in shape – he’s just working them hard,” Frost said, via the Omaha World-Herald. “I think they love it. He’s kind of freed them up to go be aggressive and I love the way they’re coming off the ball.”
Made during Frost's monthly call-in radio show, the comment was a throwaway gag and far from the centerpiece of his presentation on the show. In fact, the World-Herald included it merely as a bullet point in its notebook summarizing Frost's appearance on the show, below his announcement of Casey Thompson as the Huskers' starting quarterback in this Saturday's opener.
Still, the comment made it into the World-Herald, where it then took off online. Many accused Frost and his staff of callously putting his players at risk of heat exhaustion or worse.
This is like when people tried to tell us that Iowa running backs getting rhabdo was somehow good https://t.co/MaC8Ar81BR
— Jane Coaston 🏔️ (@janecoaston) August 19, 2022
A dietitian and athletic trainer’s worst nightmare 🙄.
— Wendi A. Irlbeck MS, RDN, LD, CISSN (@Wendi_Irlbeck) August 20, 2022
This is going to result in hospitalization or even worse when electrolytes are lost through 😓and vomit. Vomiting during practice isn’t badge of honor.
Coach Raiola isn’t funny he is a liability to your program 🤦♀️ 😑. https://t.co/hctFGGDUwv
Why is Scott Frost bragging about this? What does Nebraska’s athletic trainer have to say about this?
— Jon Solomon (@JonSolomon35) August 19, 2022
You’re doing a bad job coaching if your in-shape players are vomiting. @bachyns shared the history of college coaches who overlook player safety. https://t.co/TkERBBT6Ji https://t.co/YimpzHlOZ0
Over the weekend, Frost walked back the comment. Via the World-Herald:
Frost said he "might have exaggerated" on how often Nebraska's offensive linemen had been vomiting in practice. On his monthly radio call-in show, Frost jokingly estimated it was 15-to-20 times per practice, drawing criticism from national media out of concern that Frost didn't care enough about his players' well-being.
"Our training staff and weight staff of keeping me abreast of everything going on in practice," Frost said.
Nebraska is among 18 FBS teams playing this Saturday, traveling to Dublin to take on Northwestern (12:30 p.m. ET, Fox), which Frost is certainly thankful for. No FBS head coach needs to get away and get a win more than Scott Frost.