Tuesday Press Conference Quotes

Coach Frank Solich Quotes
Opening Statement
"I think a couple of U.S. Marines have already been in front of you, and we are certainly happy to partner with them and the Toys for Tots program that will be in effect this weekend. I think it’s a great deal, and we’re pleased to be a part of it."

"It should be an exciting weekend, and Kansas State brings to town a very talented football team. It will be Senior Day for us. We will have 34 seniors that will be introduced before the game. It will be a pageant for us before the kickoff. It’s been really an excellent group. They’ve been part of 48 victories during their careers here. They are 32-2 here in Memorial Stadium. What they have also brought is a real chemistry and been really able to produce both on and off the field, and I feel good about that. They were part of being a Big 12 Championship team when they first showed up. They played on a national championship team. They’ve been through a disappointing season, and they are going through a season now that they hope to finish well. It’s been an excellent group. I think they have been very solid in terms of their response to getting things done the Nebraska way. Nine of them already have their degrees, and I think it will be 11 of them who will have their degree by December, so that’s 20 of the 34. And of course I think the rest will be in line to get their degree the following semester. It’s been a great group, as far as Dennis (Leblanc) and the academic staff working with them and getting things done for their career when they finish up here at the university."

On the decision to start Cory Ross at I-back:
"We will start Cory, and it was not an easy decision. You know Cory played very well in the second half, we intended to get him reps in the first half and Kansas had the ball and kept it for a six-minute drive there at the end of the half. So we didn’t get anything done with him at the beginning of the game. But in the second half he played considerably. We feel like he is running hot right now. He gave us some things we were looking for. He was on top of his game. Our feeling was he was the best back on the field that day on either side of the ball. This game is just kind of continuing. So we will start off with Cory. Both Josh and David have done some outstanding things throughout the course of the season, and we expect they will get playing time. Certainly, the guy who goes in second will get playing time. Ideally we have tried to use three back as we have gone through the game, but Cory will get to start."

On not starting Josh Davis on Senior Day:
"That makes it a little bit tougher, but you still need to make that decision. You need to have the guys that are playing the very best football at this moment on the field. Kansas State is an excellent football team. You want to do that no matter who you are playing, but you are playing Kansas State. You better have guys at this very moment that are getting it done as starters."

On a change in philosophy after not changing I-backs last season:
"Thinking back on it, last year, we didn’t play Dahrran (Diedrick) probably as much as we anticipated playing him prior to going into the season. He had a great junior year; we expected that to carry over. I think he got off to a great start. But then he had games where he probably wasn’t as productive as he normally had been for us, and other guys started getting time."

On rotating I-backs:
"We will start of with Cory, and there is no set number of series, we will just see how it’s going and go from there. We will use other backs, but there is no set number of series."

On Cory Ross’ injuries:
"He’s been hampered by injuries almost since he has been here. And that is one thing that has slowed his progress down as a running back here. He would just get going and start to show his ability and then something would happen that would take him out of practicing for a while. He did come out of Texas with a thigh bruise, but he has been able to get over that. He has responded very well. He is healthy now. So we hope he will stay healthy throughout the course of this season."

On Cory Ross’ size:
"Well there are some advantages and some disadvantages. If you’re running roll plays, coming in from behind the line of scrimmage and getting combo blocks, would it be difficult to see through linemen to find Cory’s eyes to see what crease he is going to take? Those kinds of plays can give a little shorter linebacker an advantage. He’s not long-legged. He doesn’t have long arms. You are running an option play, if the pitch isn’t there, and he extends his arms, it’s not going to go too far to bring the ball in. I say that jokingly because Cory and I joke around a lot. He’s been excellent on that end of it. But he’s got great hands and can be the whole package. He is the kind of guy that will block. We have been very pleased with our three backs as far as what they will do without the football. If you are going to be a complete player in our system it’s got to come down to more than just having the ball under your arm and what you are doing there. There are going to be times where you need to block and carry out great fakes."

On Solich’s relationship with Ross:
"I just love to see a guy reach his potential. I don’t care if he is a 6-3, 225-pound running back. I don’t care. I don’t care if he is a 5-6, 200-pound running back, or in Darren Sproles’ case, maybe a 175 or 180-pound running back with great speed and quickness. I do have a soft spot for running backs. I do like to see them maximize their abilities. They come in all shapes and sizes. It’s amazing. There is no prototype out there. You do like to have always a big I-back in your system. But the great running backs come in all shapes and sizes. I like them all."

On Cory Ross’ impact in the second half at Kansas:
"If you think back, Josh (Davis) had a really excellent game against Penn State. And if you think about how David (Horne) played at Texas A&M as a true freshman, it just worked for him. He made it work. And I think that is what happened for Cory (Ross). He got his opportunities. He made the most of his opportunities. It all clicked and he was able to utilize his athletic ability. What we are interested in getting is where it’s a consistent game after game after game running back approach."

On Kansas State’s offensive balance:
"They have a quarterback that can run. He’s thrown the ball very, very well, especially as of late. So he is a dual-threat in terms of the quarterback position. He’s got size, to make the big run of course, as well as the power run. They have an I-back that can go the distance every time he touches the ball. They are developing and have very good receivers. And have a history of having very good receivers in their program. They run the ball very effectively. They do it in many different ways ? one-back or two-backs. They will motion. They will get a back out of the backfield and bring him in motion to run options that way. They do the whole gambit and they are very good at what they do."

"In order to play that well that long, you’ve got to be good. They have a great history of playing excellent defense. When you line up against Kansas State you expect you will be playing an excellent defensive football team. And we are sure that will be the case."

On Kansas State:
"They had some big plays, there were some fade routes that we were able to complete against them. So it was more big plays than it was just pounding away and driving it down the field on them. They played more man coverage when they first started off against Cal, for instance. Now it’s a very good mix of zone and man now. Against us traditionally, they have been an awful a lot of man and they still will be out of some set. But they’ve got a great group of coaches, a great group of defensive players. They will do extremely well there and the offense will try to create big plays like they’ve been doing. And that is how they can get up on people. They’ve got a quarterback that can throw the ball, 60, 70 yards. They’ve got an I-back that has great speed. So on both sides of the ball, big plays will be important. And people have had success with big plays against them. I went through the punting reel. They have forced people to punt the ball 95 times - 95 times! That is a lot of three and outs, and that’s an amazing statistic. And when you look at it from that angle, they are playing well on both sides of the ball and their streak shows it."

On last year’s game:
"I’m not sure how to compare it. I don’t’ think I’ve ever coached a team that didn’t step on the field that wasn’t confident about getting it done. And I believe that about last year’s team, too. And there were times that we didn’t play well, and once we didn’t play well, it kind of caved in on us. But stepping on the field and truly believing in yourself is a must in this profession. I’ve got no way of comparing where the two teams are at. But I think what you are talking about, Kansas State and Nebraska, both believing in themselves, believing in their programs, it will be a great game."

On moving Josh Davis out of the I-back position to concentrate on special teams:
"He was doing an awful lot for us. If you look at in terms of output, as far as punt returns, number of punt returns he taken, number of kickoff returns he’s taken and then snaps from the I-back spot, certainly as the starting I-back. We expect that to be the case that a guy is able to step on the field and do that. We expect a guy to play great defensive football, be on the kickoff coverage team, be on the punt return team, be on the punt block team. Those are just expectations you have of your players, and they better have it themselves if they are going to be a good football player."

On the importance of this game:
"It’s always great to play at home. And there is always an advantage for any team that is playing at home. I don’t care who that team is. They still may or may not be favored in the game, but there is still an advantage to playing at home. So it’s good to get these guys here. If you look at the last five games the team that has played at home has won. Great teams are able to go above and beyond that, able to play great games on the road and at home. We’ve certainly had one game this year where we didn’t play well on the road. Otherwise the Missouri game we had one quarter and a couple turnovers where we didn’t play well. Otherwise this team has functioned at a pretty high level. We are expecting them. We have two games left in the regular season to play great football here and play great football in our following game against Colorado."

On the importance of this game:
"It determines whether or not Kansas State or Nebraska has a chance to win the Big 12 North."

On his approach to the game:
"I think you approach it with a mindset that this is a game that determines the outcome of the Big 12 North. In that regard, you are playing for the right to play in the championship game. But you need to play the following week, too. And that is a thing you always guard against as a coach. You don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket. But you do need to understand what this game means, and this game means a chance for the Big 12 championship for both teams."

On the respect the Nebraska and Kansas State programs have for each other:
"I would think both programs have great respect for one another. I have great respect for Coach (Bill) Synder and what he has been able to do at Kansas State with the program. He had the ability as a coach to go through several coaching changes over the years. He’s been there quite some time and has still been able to make it work with numerous coaching changes. It’s never automatic. So he’s done a great job. He puts teams on the field that are in great condition. They line up and are ready to play four quarters of great football. They are very well-coached. They believe in themselves. So we have a great deal of respect for what they are all about. I would presume they respect what our program is all about."