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LINCOLN — It was at some point during Tony Gwynn's first season as San Diego State's head coach in 2003 when an assistant leaned over with a theory why the 43-win team they inherited was getting blistered during a 6-14 start to the year.

"Hey, I think they've got our signs."

Count it as one of many learning experiences for Gwynn. College coaching isn't as easy as it looks — even for one of Major League Baseball's greatest hitters who was just two seasons removed from a 20-year playing career worthy of Hall-of-Fame distinction (he was inducted in 2007).

"Teams were just teeing off on us," Gwynn said in an interview with The World-Herald earlier this month. "We took some beatings early."

It's just part of Gwynn's cautionary tale, his recounting of the first couple years on the job at SDSU, which included countless metaphorical dousings of humility-flavored ice water. Entering his eighth season, Gwynn laughs it all off now — though ever-emphasizing, between the gentle chuckles and the misstep-filled anecdotes, that MLB credentials don't ensure success as a college baseball coach.

"I said, 'We'll recruit the best players and play the toughest schedule and win,'" said Gwynn, who served as a volunteer assistant for one season before taking over the SDSU program. "I made a lot of mistakes early. The college game is different. We had to figure it out."

No one needs to tell Nebraska coach Darin Erstad. He knows the challenge that is facing him.

Erstad, a 14-year major leaguer, has played the sport all his life. He just hadn't coached it before volunteering with NU in 2011.

Suddenly, he's the Husker CEO, tasked with roster management, player development, NCAA rule obedience, program promotion — oh, and winning.

He has to revive his alma mater's program, which has missed postseason play each of its past three seasons and is entering a conference where baseball is perceived by national pundits as an afterthought.

It would seem appropriate to assume growing pains are inevitable. Right?

"I guess time will tell," Erstad said.

That's Erstad being bluntly honest, with a dash of bravado — because presumably, what's going through the mind of the competitive, hard-working 37-year-old is an acknowledgment of his limitations from the start and how open he's been about reaching out for guidance. And perhaps that he believes a turnaround is more likely than most might think.

During one team gathering, Erstad told his players flatly that he made up for his lack of recruiting experience by hiring assistant Will Bolt. Last fall, Erstad allowed pitching coach Ted Silva to completely reshape Nebraska's on-mound philosophy (now based on more change-ups and better fastball command).

Erstad also has had constant contact with the NU compliance staff, which Associate Athletic Director Gary Bargen described as a "hunger" to continually inquire about what is NCAA-legal.

"I like to ask questions," Erstad said. "We all have our own opinions, but you take your ego out of it. That's baseball. You can't stop learning. (We) have everything out on the table and make sure everybody's on the same page."

Gwynn surely would say Erstad is on the right track.

Gwynn remembers being routinely frustrated about NCAA rules that restricted the amount of time he could spend with his players.

He couldn't recruit early on because he kept failing the NCAA's recruiting certification test.

Once he passed, he mismanaged the process. Gwynn's first class included four players — Adam Jones, Ryan Sweeney, Sean Henry and John Peabody — who were selected in the first 10 rounds of the 2003 MLB draft. None made it to campus.

So Gwynn began using pregame batting practice as his own classroom, standing behind the cage with opposing coaches before the afternoon's first pitch, picking their brains.

He also relied on former San Diego State coaches. He asked a lot of his assistants. He regularly phoned Pacific coach Ed Sprague, who had an 11-year MLB career.

"I remember thinking I might be overwhelmed a little bit, but then I just started asking questions," Gwynn said.

His best team, with phenom pitcher Stephen Strasburg, made an NCAA regional in 2009. His 2012 squad, with just nine upperclassmen on a 35-player roster, is full of potential.

"I'm much more confident now," Gwynn said.

There certainly are some perks to being Tony Gwynn, too. He's still recognized on recruiting trips — more often by parents nowadays, he says. Former MLB teammates and coaches are scattered across the country.

Erstad can relate, though he's not much of a name-dropper. His NU players have heard a few stories — at-bats against Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte, or Nike camps with Albert Pujols. Erstad won three Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger, but you wouldn't know it unless you saw the trophies in his Haymarket Park office. Or hopped on a computer.

"I've never been one to talk about myself," Erstad said. "I guess you can find out all you want to know on the Internet."

Plenty of people (fans, recruits, onlookers), curious about the accomplishments, will do just that — at least for a while, Gwynn said. Eventually, reality sets in. Those accolades, those memories and those contacts don't end up mattering too much.

"That first game, the camera's on you — and that's how it will be for (Erstad)," Gwynn said. "They want to see how you write your lineup card, how you're going to wear your uniform. But you'd be surprised how quickly they forget.

"There's an expectation, that because you're the coach, you're going to win. It just doesn't work that way. It's really competitive."

It's like being a rookie again.

Contact the writer:

402-473-9585, jon.nyatawa@owh.com

twitter.com/JonNyatawa

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