Huskers Focus on Sooners

Nebraska football coach Bill Callahan welcomed members of the media to Memorial Stadium on Tuesday to discuss the Huskers' Saturday showdown with the Oklahoma Sooners in Lincoln. Huskers.com provides a complete transcript of Coach Callahan's meeting with the media, along with quotes from several Nebraska players. Quotes from Defensive Coordinator Kevin Cosgrove and Offensive Coordinator Jay Norvell will also be included after Tuesday's practice.

 

Nebraska Football
Weekly Press Conference
Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2005
Coach Bill Callahan

 

Opening Statement
“We’re pretty much in the same routine as we usually are for a Tuesday. We brought our players in Sunday and had an opportunity to review the film and get that game behind us. Yesterday we worked out our developmental players, and today the coaches are working hard finalizing the game plan. We’ll present that game plan to the players this afternoon at 2 p.m. All in all, we’re looking forward to playing this game this weekend. The players are looking forward to the week of practice, and we’re looking forward to improving our football team.”

 

On the team’s confidence level after its loss at Missouri
“I think it’s very strong. We had an opportunity to review the positives and the negatives of the previous game and came away with a lot of positive feelings of things that we did right and obviously things we have to work hard to improve. There are certain elements of every game that you look at that you have to improve. You have to improve each week whether you win or lose on certain areas. From that perspective, I would tell you our guys are very confident in their abilities and our abilities as a team.”

 

On quarterback Zac Taylor getting hit in the Missouri game
“A lot of quarterbacks get hit, and sometimes more than not. They get hit based on the flow of the game. We don’t go into a game trying to expose our quarterback to take hits, but the way that game went on Saturday, we had to throw it more than we normally would have to. With that being said, he’s more vulnerable. Most quarterbacks are when you get into a type of game like we did on Saturday.”

 

On Nebraska's offensive line
“I would tell you that our line continues to improve in that area of our play. What I’m looking forward to is our line improving from some of the things that we had gone through, some of the experiences that obviously occurred on Saturday. It’s different every week. The match-ups got different, and we didn’t do a very good job at crunch time when we needed to, when we needed the vital protection on third down. That’s probably the aspect that I’m most concerned about, and we are as a team and a position ? the third down protection because that’s when you get heated up. That’s when you’re going to see an opponent’s best rush, their best players coming off the edge. You’re going to see more tenacity, more energy, and more effort to get to the quarterback because you are in obvious situations. I would tell you after looking at last week. We were in third-and-long considerably. I reviewed that with the team in-depth, specifically all the third downs that we were in, and they were particularly long. When you’re in that down and distance, it’s hard to protect anybody. It’s a cumulative. You’re going to get their best rushes. You’re not going to hit 100 percent. We know that. And, of course, your quarterback is going to take some shots. We want to stay out of those down and distances.”

 

On dropping passes
“[We will] continue to work on ball skills. I took from that game Nate Swift had nine catches in that particular game and dropped two balls unfortunately, but he made a lot of great plays in that game. A lot of our young receivers are continuing to make plays. Todd Peterson has shown more consistency in his performance. Terrence Nunn made good plays in the game. Unfortunately he got stripped on an excellent strip by their safety. But that’s something we continue to work on every day. We go out and work the fundamentals of eye-hand coordination, ball skills, catches around the different portions of the body, back shoulder throws, pivot catches, all types of things that work on a receiver’s skills. We’re continuing to work hard in our route running. I think that paid off for us. We saw Todd Peterson stretch the field on a couple of corner routes the other day. We have the ability to go deep with these young guys, and we featured their skill and their speed on Saturday. We just didn’t have enough opportunities to get the ball off.”

 

On changing playing time because of performance
“We look at it as a coaching opportunity. We know you’re not going to catch them all. A guy drops the ball - you’re not going to yank him. Just like a guy striking out ? you’re not going to pull him out of the lineup right away. You have a guy who can hit at a high percentage. These kids do an excellent job of transferring their skills and making the transformation from what they were into what they are now. It’s a young group. We’ve had a couple guys out. (Isaiah) Fluellen has been out, so that’s necessitated other guys step up into those roles. I would tell you that all of those players ? (Nate) Swift, (Todd) Peterson, (Grant) Mulkey ? they’ve been consistent performers for us, so we don’t push the panic button at all.”

 

On making improvements
“I think every game you come out of, you want to get better. You want to get better at every aspect of your play ? your team defense, your team offense, and your special teams. We want to get better in the area of team. We want to be more consistent returning the ball on kickoff returns. We want to do a better job blocking for the return specialists. I would tell you it’s not one area we say every week we have to get better at this. It’s general. It’s very focused, driven in terms of every area being focused in on improvement. I wouldn’t point out one single area. It’s all encompassing. We go in with that approach, and that’s always been our focus. We don’t particularly point to one position and say, ?this position has to improve or else.’ It’s an area that position coaches handle on a weekly basis.”

 

On the defensive performance at Missouri
“I think you’d always do something different. That’s a given that you’d always do something different. We did something different this year than we did a year ago. I think next year we’re going to do something different again. That’s the way it goes. You’re going to prepare and do what you think is best for that particular situation. If it works out, it’s great. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. We have a plan that we set each week. We go through it thoroughly, meticulously in our preparation, and we lay it out. Our players have a good understanding of what’s expected of them, and I would tell you that in any game, any situation you go over, you look for areas of improvement. You look to see what you could have done better, but I’m not second-guessing anything that we’ve done. I never do. I just always look to get better and to improve, and we’ll learn from that situation as we have and attempt to apply what we’ve learned into this week’s preparation.”

 

On the magnitude of Oklahoma vs. Nebraska
“I think it’s a special rivalry and we’re looking forward to it.  There’s a lot of history involved in this particular rivalry and our kids are educated in that sense, and we’ll continue to educate them throughout the week of our preparation.  It’s a great contest.  They’re a good football team; talented football team.  Good in every respect.  You don’t see any holes.  I don’t.  We don’t as a staff.  They’re very talented.  They’re a young talented team, but they’re awfully talented.  They’ve stacked numerous national recruiting classes together and that talent still shows up particularly on offense where they’re starting to generate a rhythm.  You can see their quarterback beginning to get confidence especially with what he accomplished on Saturday night.  So I see them getting better.  I see their defense as one of the stingiest defenses in the country.  They’re physical, quick, explosive.  Their range and closure is as good as I’ve seen in college football.  I think they’re the most talented defensive team we’ve seen so far to date.  They’re awfully talented.”

 

On preparing for whether or not Adrian Peterson will play
“We prepare for everybody who’s on their team.  We prepare for every contingency and every ramification that would occur.  We prepare for their best.  You have to go into it with that mindset.  I don’t think you just say that you just get ready for a particular player.  You get ready for everybody.  They run the same plays, it’s the same system.  It’s maybe just a different guy doing it.  They’ve shown the ability to adapt through injury, playing a number of backs as they have.  They put one guy in, like Gutierrez that played, who’s really a fantastic back.  Watching him play on film you see his speed and his ability to get up in the hole and make you miss...very good, excellent.  Patrick, excellent.  They’re all quality athletes.  They’re not going to put somebody in that backfield that can’t generation a plus four or plus five gain for them.  And their offensive line is in sync, and they’re getting in a rhythm.  You can sense where they’re coming and how they’re building and where they’re going as a team.  Their offense is getting more confidence with a younger quarterback who I think is terrific.  He has the ability to run and make plays just like we saw last weekend if they so desire.  If they elect to run him, he can run.  He has that type of talent.  And he’s an excellent thrower.  He’s getting better.  His spin on the ball is tight.  You don’t see the ball wobbling all over.  It’s a tight spin and quick release.  The location is improved.  You see all those aspects of his play and he’s done very well.  He’s getting better.”

 

On Nebraska Wide Receiver Todd Peterson
“Number one, he’s a bright young man.  He’s an interesting young man.  He’s very bright, smart, intelligent.  He has the ability to pick up a lot of the offense.  I’m sure as we sit here he could easily recite the entire offense to you.  That’s how smart of a young man he is.  He’s played multiple positions, multiple roles.  You can interchange him from one position to another.  If you move him from the X to the Z to the Zebra to the E, he can do it in a heartbeat and know everybody and knows every concept and knows how to plug in and knows the complementary routes.  From that aspect, I would start there.  And I would compliment him on his preparation.  Secondly, his route running has really improved.  He’s got speed.  He’s got size.  He catches the ball away from his body and he elevates and elongates for the ball as well as any receiver I’ve been around.  He continues to get better.  And what you enjoy about Todd Peterson is that you see improvement week in and week out.  You see him get better, run the intricacies of the route.  He’s got the ability to stick and separate, to make moves and coverage and come up with the big play.  So we’re going to continue to utilize him as much as we can.”

 

On what this game against Oklahoma means to Callahan
“I think it means a lot to our team.  Every game means a lot to our team.  That’s been our focus.  Each week we prepare for every opponent the best we can.  This is a pivotal game for both teams.  Let’s face it.  Where we’re positioned in the conference and divisional races, it’s an important game for both teams.  Like I said earlier, this is a very talented football team coming in here.  So our outcome is going to depend on how well we practice this week.  But I would tell you it’s an excellent football team coming in here.”

 

On the emotions involved in preparing for Oklahoma
“We prepare very focused and very even keeled in terms of how we go about our business.  We prepare differently each week for the next set of circumstances that come up.  Everyone’s different.  That’s how we’ve trained our players in our preparation and that’s what we’ll continue to do.”

 

On the importance of getting off to a fast start
“It’s huge.  It’s big that we get a good start.  A fast start.  We weren’t pleased with the way we started the last game.  Looking at the first possessions of each half, our defense has done well.  Our offense hasn’t generated as much success as we would like.  Our defense has done well with the exception of our last three games.  Up until that point we were doing pretty well at a very high percentage.  That’s important.  We look at that closely.  It’s going to be key for us to come out the first possessions of each half and do well.  You just have to be able to adjust a little bit quicker and faster than we have the last two weeks.”

 

On the presence of Nebraska's 1995 Championship team at the Oklahoma game
“It’s great that they’re coming back and being honored and deservedly so.  That’s a great football team.  I remember when I was in the NFL writing up these guys on reports and they were loaded.  They had guys left and right and they deserve everything they get.  They need to be honored and recognized for the exceptional play and performances of their careers.  And it’s great that they’ve come back here.  But no we haven’t bothered them to come back in here and talk to our team.  We really haven’t.  We’ve just stayed focused on what we’ve got to get accomplished and let those guys celebrate their reunion.”

 

On the fact that neither Nebraska nor Oklahoma are ranked
“I think it’s a big game for both teams.  We’re both battling, fighting, competing.  It’s a huge, huge game.  We look at each game like that.  Both teams not being ranked, I don’t think that factors into how the kids are preparing and how our players are preparing for this game.”

 

On the significance of quarterback Zac Taylor playing the Sooners
“I think it’d be special, but you have to talk to him.  I can’t put words in his mouth.  I would think that it would be pretty important.  He’s a pretty focused individual and I don’t think he’ll allow emotion to enter into his preparation or his performance.”

 

On Oklahoma’s increasing momentum
“I think they’re getting better.  Like I said, they’re generating a rhythm.  They’re awfully physical on defense.  Their range and mobility and their ability to get to the quarterback from a variety of alignments is outstanding.  We’re going to have to be at our best.  There’s no doubt about that.  They have the ability to come at you from a lot of different ways.  There’s a lot of great athletes on that side of the ball.  Without question, the best linebacking corps I’ve seen to date.  Their ability to fill, to close and enter a gap, their run entry; it’s the best I’ve seen.  No one’s been close to this caliber of play in my opinion.”

 

On Oklahoma’s defensive strides
“That’s their strength.  They play to their strength.  That’s what has allowed them to function the way they do.   And offensively, watching the Baylor game, they got consistently better.  If you look at the final stats after the game, you realize that there were a huge amount of yards generated by the Oklahoma offense.  Close to 500 yards I want to say.  Their ability to run the football was very good.  You can see the rhythm in the passing game.  Protection was solid.  They’ve got outstanding athletes at the wide out position.  They’re a loaded team.  You don’t stack national recruiting classes together and not have talent.  This is a talented football team.”

 

On the irony in having quarterback Zac Taylor from Norman, Okla.
“I don’t look at it life like that.  I just look at the fact that we have an outstanding quarterback in Zac Taylor and we’re just putting all of our energy and focus into his preparation to try to help him succeed the best that he can.  I don’t get caught up in all of that.”

 

On quarterback Zac Taylor’s progress as a leader
“I watch his performance closely and I see his courage and his steadiness as a leader not only after plays where he’s succeeded but after plays where he’s taken some shots and had to get up off of the turf and do it again.  Some of the throws that he’s made in the pocket have certainly impressed all of us.  He is certainly a leader on this team by example of what he does and how he goes about his business and how he performs.  On game day, he’s done an excellent job getting himself ready to make plays.  He’s continuing to get better.  This will be a major test for him and his development for his personal performance this week to see where he’s at in big time competition.  This will be a real barometer for all of us.”

 

On what the Huskers can take from playing Oklahoma in 2004
“I don’t think you can take anything from last year.  I think it’s completely different.  It’s unique.  There are different nuances that have changed in their system.  Our system has changed, it’s different.  There are certain plays that you see that come back up again, but to say that you can take a whole game plan and do it again, no.  It’s different.  The way they’re running the football and the way they’re featuring the play action with their receivers and their quarterback.  It’s much different.”