Cosgrove Pleased with Blackshirts

Lincoln - Nebraska Defensive Coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said he was pleased with the way the Blackshirt defense executed during Saturday's 25-7 victory over Maine, and is looking for another solid performance in this week's battle with Atlantic Coast Conference foe Wake Forest. 

Cosgrove met with the media following Nebraska's two-and-half hour practice on the Memorial Stadium FieldTurf on Tuesday, the Huskers' first practice to prepare for the Demon Deacons.  (A full transcript of Cosgrove's interviews and comments from Offensive Coordinator Jay Norvell are available only on Huskers.com by clicking on the page numbers at the top of this story.)

Cosgrove said the Huskers showed improvement in nearly every area, and he was especially pleased with the Blackshirts' ability to pressure the quarterback.

"The biggest thing, the things we put an emphasis on, there was improvement. We wanted to improve our pass rush, and I think that’s obvious just by the stats of the game. I thought we played hard, we were physical. We still have some things we have to clean up but they did a lot of good things this past Saturday. We have to build on that and we have to continue to improve."

Cosgrove, who is also Nebraska's linebackers coach, commented on the play of Big 12 Defensive Player-of-the-Week Bo Ruud and several other linebackers who made major contributions on Saturday, including first-time starter Corey McKeon. 

"Bo did a lot of nice things. He was honored by the Big 12 as the defensive player of the week. He caused a fumble, recovered a fumble, interceptions, he made a lot of big plays. We need to clean up some run stuff but he played a nice game. (Corey) had a very good game, he played well, just what I expected him to do. He has a great knowledge of the game, he has a real good feel, does a great job communicating, and made a lot of plays." 

 

While Cosgrove was happy with the efforts of the defense against Maine, Offensive Coordinator Jay Norvell said the offense was disappointed in its performance against the Black Bears.

"We were not happy with the way we played offensively overall, whether it was on first down, or the red zone or third down," Norvell said. "Our guys have rededicated themselves to come out this week and improve on what we learned from last week and last week's game.  That's really it.  We have got to me more aggressive in every way, up front, at our skill positions and we've got to be more defined at the quarterback position.  To a man, our guys are refocusing."

The Huskers will continue preparations for their game with Wake Forest during practice on Wednesday at Memorial Stadium. Saturday's kickoff time for the Demon Deacons will be 6:10 p.m. with a nationally telecast on TBS.