Nebraska Quarterback Heinrich Haarberg Pre-Northwestern Press Conference
On if he’s been able to settle into a rhythm as a starter
“That’s something that I need to work on, and I think that as I start more and more games and get more and more reps on Saturdays and Fridays, I’ll figure out that I can push myself even more on Tuesdays than what I’m feeling like I should be able to. And I don’t want to back off on Thursdays and Fridays, those are the days that we tune everything up so that we can execute on Saturdays. You find a tempo and you find a tempo for everyone else too, because there’s guys – the o-line is taking a lot more beatings than I am. They find their tempo and then we all just kind of settle in together.”
On if there’s a difference between knowing vs. not knowing that he’s the starter
“I don’t think so, and if there is, if that starts to creep into my mind, I need to work on getting that out. I want to keep preparing the same way I have been the last couple weeks. I want to prepare just like I have been the last two, three years. I want my shot. I want my opportunity, so if I get lackadaisical on a Tuesday because I feel like I need to protect myself for Saturday, I think I’m doing a really big disservice to the team.”
On his trust level with the young receivers
“There’s a couple young guys that it's hard, especially when a couple of them have been here since the winter. But when they show up in the summer and you don’t get the summer to throw with them, it is kind of tough, but that’s where we need to treat Tuesdays like a game day. Because that way, when we get to game day, those guys are starting to come along because they’ve been practicing hard like it’s Saturday all week.”
On the difference between the offense now vs. the start of the year
“I think we saw from spring into the fall that this offense is constantly evolving, just because we have so many dynamic players. We have had a couple injuries, guys that need, as we said, need to come along a little bit. So, when guys like Marcus (Washington) go down, that kind of takes away some of the experience on the outside, so you have to change a little bit. But I don’t think we’re going to shift entirely as an offense. It’s just shifting the load a little bit.”