Nebraska Player Quotes
Sept. 3, 2005
Memorial Stadium
Lincoln, Neb.
Quarterback Zac Taylor
On Frantz Hardy’s long reception
“He got himself open, and with the coverage he’s giving us, he was one-on-one with guys who covered him. He made a good play.”<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>
On <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Maine’s defensive pressure
"They were bringing pressure, but that was expected. I just kind of got out of sync a little bit. To me they were easy throws. It was frustrating, but like I said, we’ll work from it."
On the atmosphere at Memorial Stadium
“It was more [than I imagined.] It was unbelievable. The tunnel walk is something else. I can’t imagine a greater entrance in college football. I think one of the first defensive stands was that the crowd was so loud. It was fun; it was a great atmosphere.”
On throwing long passes
“I just tried to put it out there and let them make the play. You don’t want to hold back; just make sure they’re in stride. Give them a way to run. That’s what I tried to do on that play. There were passes that should have been successful. I don’t think it was conservative on my part. We didn’t always connect.”
On what the team will take from the game
“There is really a lot of room for improvement with a bunch of the new guys and really, the whole offense. We definitely know we have a lot of room for improvement.”
On getting hit in a game situation
“It was nice to get knocked around a little bit for once. Our line gave me great protection. My offensive line did a great job.”
Will Linebacker Bo Ruud
On the team’s goals
“Basically the big thing we want to do is go out and have fun and do what we have to do to have a great time.”
On linebacker Steve Octavien’s injury
“He walked off the field and I thought he was going to be ok. I thought it might be a slight sprain or something. I didn’t think he’d be hurt bad. It’s a tough break for us. He’s a good player.”
On the team’s performance
“We were playing hard and stuff. We had some bad breaks, but we’ll learn from this game. We can only get better. We should’ve scored more points, that’s for sure.”
On Nebraska's defensive pressure
“We were rotating pretty heavily, especially the defensive line. I think you could see our pass rush was pretty good. They were doing a lot of screens and quarterback draws a because they couldn’t handle our pass rush.”
On his interception
“It was the quarterback was rolling out a little bit. Jay Moore really got in the quarterback’s face. The ball kind of tipped and came right to me.”
Wide Receiver Terrence Nunn
On the improvements in the return game
"It felt real good to break open a couple of times tonight since we didn’t really have that last year."
On sharing return efforts with Cortney Grixby
"We both switched off kind of like we did tonight. We kind of have a two-part return system. We just have been working on it really hard. Our punt block team is really good at protecting us."
On a strong start
"I do feel really good about my start here at Nebraska. I know it’s just going to get stronger and stronger as my abilities progress. I’m very happy that we got the win. It was a little bumpy, but we still got the win."
Linebacker Stewart Bradley
On setting a tone for the game
"It was a good first half. We rotated a lot so we should get some fresh legs in there and continue with pressure. I thought we played really well."
On his preference between blitzing and covering the backfield
"Sacks are good. You have to love those, but picks are fun too. It’s the first game and you need to play some games to get back into the swing of things. The first game you tend to do poorly on a couple things, miss a few tackles and what not. But overall I thought we tackled pretty well and I think having that experience isn’t something you can learn in practice, you have to do it on the field."
On coming playing the first game of the season
"It’s been a long off season and it was nice to get back in there and hit some different colored jerseys. Camp is great and we learn a lot there, but there’s nothing like a game situation and I’m really excited to be back on the field."
Freshman place-dicker Jordan Congdon
On deciding to play for Nebraska
"I’ve always wanted to kick for one of the top Division I football teams in the country and Nebraska offered me that. It’s their goal to win a national championship and that’s something I’ve always wanted as well. The coaches are great, the players and fans are great and the academics are something special, so I feel blessed to be here."
On earning his starting position
"I’ve never really had to compete for my spot. It was always given to me. Now, I’ve had to come out here and I’ve had to compete every day. To be honest, the separation between me and David [Dyches] isn’t big at all, but the coaches made their decision and I was excited to get a chance to start tonight."
Wide Receiver Frantz Hardy
On his consistency
"Everybody always has things to work on in every game and at practice and that’s what I try to do too."
On coming to Nebraska
"I really felt comfortable here. If you feel comfortable you can play football. If you’re not, then you can’t play."