Huskers Talk about Showdown with Cyclones

Nebraska Weekly Press Conference
Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2006
Memorial Stadium
Pre-Iowa State

Head Coach Bill Callahan
Opening Statement
"We’re well underway with our preparations for the upcoming game against Iowa State. We’re looking forward to the challenge. (Iowa State) is a good football team on tape. We watched them execute in all their areas of play, and this is a good football team and we’re excited and eager about the challenge."

On the Iowa State defense giving up big plays
"That's meaningless. These guys play hard. They’ve given up some plays, but I would tell you that as you watch them on film, they are physical. They’ve got a young defense, and they’ve got a lot of players that are just coming on. I’m really impressed with their linebacker corps. These guys have made substantial gains in the weeks I’ve seen them on film. Yeah, they’re going to get hit, everybody gets hit with a big play here and there. Overall, generally speaking, I think they’ve done an excellent job in getting a lot of young players on the field integrated into their defensive concept. They’re very sound fundamentally, and they play hard. That’s their trademark. They are physical. So we have our hands filled as we go up there offensively. We respect what (head coach Dan) McCarney has done with that football team, and where they’re going, and the emphasis that they place on defense. I’m sure they’ll get better, because they have gotten better week-in and week-out, as you watch them play."

On the dangerous combination of juniors (quarterback) Bret Meyer and (wide receiver) Todd Blythe
"I do have great respect for Blythe, on how they single-match him up, as well as (senior wide receiver) Jon Davis, and all those guys. It’s an excellent receiving corps. They’re big-bodied wide receivers. They have excellent speed. They all play the ball well in flight. They’re ?hands’ catchers, you don’t see any ?body’ catchers out there, cradling the ball. They are aggressively clutching the football, putting it away, making yards after the catch. They’re really well-versed, and that’s impressive. They’re strong route runners. Sometimes you’ll watch a guy run a route and he’ll get banged or bumped and they’ll collapse and kind of lose their stem. But you watch these guys, they’re right on route, and they get re-stemmed and get on the right line again, on their course, and they make cuts coming out of the bricks, and they make cuts coming out of the top end of the route. And if you watch them at the top of their route, and watch them make their moves, their sticks, their nods, coming out of coverage, they are very, very impressive."

On the need to pick up sacks on the defensive side
"We always want sacks, and that will be a key emphasis this week. We’ve got to put pressure on (junior quarterback Bret) Meyer. It’s going to be important that we pick up our production in that particular area."

On the biggest difference on the defensive side for why the sack numbers are down
"I can’t (put my finger on it). I’ve looked at it strongly. I looked at our game films, and I’ve gone back and looked at that, and it’s just not one thing. Every game is different, and how you play people is completely different, and you can’t make a judgment on just one particular game. We didn’t have the production well enough to be successful, but by in large, at times, when you watch our play Saturday night (against Kansas), they did a pretty good job at times. But there were some lapses, some inconsistencies, and that’s what we’re going to try to work hard on this week as we go on the field."

On the reasoning behind a wide range of action from the I-back position
"We just try to change it up. We have confidence in each and every one of those backs. During the non-conference portion of the season, we planned to feature every one of those players, which we did. We’re going to continue to do that, and have (running backs coach) Randy (Jordan) and (offensive coordinator) Jay (Norvell) create run schemes for them. Then we look at how the schemes fit their strengths and weaknesses, and we emphasize that as we game plan and as we call plays."

On the reaction to the defense in the Kansas game, and how that affects the defensive game plan for Iowa State
"Every game is different, and so we go into this week with a different mindset completely, at how we’re going to play Iowa State, and how we’re featuring our front, and what we’re going to do from a pass-rush standpoint. It’s all different. The great thing about this team and these kids is that they’re very resilient, and they can switch mindsets very easily and pretty quickly. They can shift their emphasis quickly as well, and that’s been a trademark in this football team since I’ve been here. So I expect them to improve, and we’ll go to work hard today with the intent to get better."

On the intent to change the defensive game plan for Iowa State
"It all depends on the game plan. I usually sit down with (defensive coordinator Kevin) Cosgrove on Wednesday nights, and just listen to him talk about how we’re going to defend Iowa State. On Tuesday mornings I get the keys of victory, and I go through those with the staff, and then I watch practice and we tinker a little bit and tweak some things. But generally speaking each game is different with how we’re going to defend a particular team, especially this one. This is a wide-open spread attack, and a very-pass oriented (Iowa State) offense, with the potential to run the ball effectively. So there’s a balance there that we’ve got to gear for and a balance that we’ve got to prepare for."

On the defensive game plan for junior quarterback Bret Meyer
"I think Bret Meyer is outstanding in the last two years I’ve had to see him. He’s an efficient guy. He’s got tremendous confidence in his receiving corps. He’s got good protection, and he’s got a good feel and instinct for what they’re trying to get done on offense. They’ve got a good system that they feature well, and he executes it very confidently."

On the impressive play of (junior wide receiver) Frantz Hardy against Kansas
"We always felt that Frantz had big-play potential, and I think that was evident in Saturday’s game against Kansas, and I think it was evident a few times last year. But he’s a guy that has all the tools. He’s got the speed and burst you look for in a wide receiver, and he can catch it short, long, deep, and intermediate. I think he’s proven that, and now it’s just a matter of him becoming more consistent. I’m really proud of the fact that those guys have come a long ways, not only Frantz, but (junior wide receiver) Maurice Purify, (sophomore wide receiver) Nate Swift, (junior wide receiver) Terrence Nunn, (sophomore wide receiver) Todd Peterson, and also with the emergence potentially of (freshman wide receiver) Menelik Holt. So we’re getting better. There’s more continuity, there’s more consistency in the receivers' play. These guys understand the nuances of coverage, they know how to beat coverage, and they know how to get in and out of the transitions they need to get into in order to be successful as a route runner. Overall, the route-running philosophy has drastically improved. I think (receivers coach) Ted (Gilmore) has done a great job with that, and I think we’re about to stretch the ball a little bit more vertically, like we did last game."

On the importance of big plays on offense
"I think it’s devastating to get hit on a quick strike. We were fortunate enough in last week’s game to strike early, and make some big plays that allow you to get your momentum going. I think it’s always really important to find a way to get started with a big play. I think everything’s designed to try to hit a home run. It doesn’t always happen, but I think you certainly try to go to that extent. You want to have the big plays in your offense, and (senior quarterback) Zac (Taylor) is capable of throwing the deep ball, whether it’s on the early downs or the late downs, it’s always something you’re trying to look for. You’re always trying to look for the big play, like a hole in the coverage where you can potentially take advantage of a match-up."

On Iowa State’s top-ranked punt return team
"Special teams is always an area of emphasis, and an area we take pride in, so we’re always concerned. Whenever you see a guy hit a home run, you want to pitch him outside, or inside. But we’re concerned, not only to get a good punt off, but to get good coverage. How you leverage the ball down the field, whether it’s in the middle of the field or stuck on a boundary, your leverage and beating blocks down the field becomes crucial. So many times you’ll find guys tied up going down the field in the cover, so you’ve got to beat those blocks with speed. So if you’re just going down there with half-speed, that’s where you get hurt the most. Of course when you’ve got a guy like they have, you’ve really got to keep the ball inside you, in front of you, relative to where you are on the field."

On the best way to attack a team that has a strong linebacking corpse like Iowa State
"It depends what you want to do and how you want to balance it up. It depends on how you want to feature your passing game, and whether you want to emphasize your downhill runs, your perimeter runs, your gap runs, your draw runs ? whatever neutralizes them the best is what you want to feature. All of Iowa State’s guys are good players, so we’ll have an assortment of plays to try to take advantage of that."

On sophomore I-back Cody Glenn’s game against Kansas
"The second series of that short-yardage run that Cody had was very impressive. He broke into the coverage they had and ran over the safety, and what I like about Cody is that when you watch him run, his pads are over his feet. What I mean by that is that he’s got a lean in his run that allows him to get his pads down, and to power over particular tackles. He’s also got enough quickness and change of direction to make people miss as well, but he’s a powerful back. We followed that short-yardage run up with a couple off-tackle power plays where you’ll see him burst through the hole. He is a physical presence when you see him with the ball, and I know the fumble he had hurt him and touched him deeply. But to see him bounce back and get that go-ahead touchdown in overtime sparked his confidence a little bit."

On the importance of winning against Iowa State for the Big 12 North Division race
"They understand the importance of the divisional race. It has been written about since the beginning of the season how much importance this game has because it was supposed to include the two Big 12 North division contenders, and it could have ramifications down the line, as all these games do. They understand the importance, and the road mentality that it’s going to take to go up against a hostile crowd in that type of environment. They understand the picture, and they know what to expect. We’re anxious and excited to get up there and play."

On the importance of the October stretch of the season
"We’ve mentioned that several times, of course at the beginning of the year we pointed out that this will be a very crucial stretch in terms of consistency, winning on the road. We have back-to-back road games in the Big 12 North and it’s important that we do the best we can to come out on the positive end. That challenge was presented in training camp. It was presented last spring. We’ve reminded them again this week, so they have a pretty good education about where we’re at in terms of the schedule and the significance of playing on the road and coming away with a positive game."

On the atmosphere of playing at Iowa State
"It’s a big game no question. It’s a game where both teams have tremendous pride. Knowing (Head Coach Dan McCarney) Mac and knowing his background, having coached with him for a number of years at Wisconsin, I know exactly how fired up they’ll be and what they’ll be saying in the meetings, and how he’ll get his guys fired up. But really, it’s not about them. In all due respect, it’s really how we prepare this week and how we prepare ourselves to go up there focus and concentrate and make the plays we have to make. All the hoopla and all the conjecture we can talk about here until two in the afternoon really doesn’t mean anything when you step in between the white lines. That’s what matters. And how you focus and how you prepare, that’s the key as you get ready for a game like this. Practice, preparation, that becomes game time reality and that’s our focus for this week. Try to build upon what we did positively, work on our weaknesses and try to improve so that we can go up there and compete at the highest level."

On ISU Head Coach Dan McCarney
"He’s a great guy. He’s a high energy guy. He’s a motivator. He’s a guy that’s extremely organized. He’s done a heck of a job up there at Iowa State. He’s done a really good job in building that program and taking it to a level where it’s at now. The last two years, when you look at Iowa State, they’ve been in contention for the North Division crown on the last day of the season, so that just kind of exemplifies his attitude, his demeanor, his personality of battling. He’s a hard-working guy that will have his team ready to play. They’ll be well prepared."

On Nebraska’s cornerbacks
"I think there are some flashes of real excellent play, especially by Andre Jones. I think that he’s becoming more mature. The pick he had in the end zone was a huge play, and his ability to play in the upper field and his off technique has improved. Playing the jam, he’s getting better. He’s contesting routes much smoother. He’s coming in out of breaks better. He has room to improve, but I would say by and large this is a guy that’s really starting to improve his play. And Cortney (Grixby) has had his struggles here and there, but he’s a guy that got a little banged up during the game, bounced back. He’s a tough guy so he’s going to give you everything he’s got."

On recruiting junior college players
"We’re going to go out and find the best players we can. I’m not going to make any statements relative to whether we’re going to take more or less. You never know, you just have to play it out and see where you’re at the conclusion of the recruiting year."

On senior safety Andrew Shanle
"I think Andrew’s a bright player and I think he has leadership qualities that allow us to do what we do in the back end. He is a fella that has tremendous concentration, understands the game, has instincts to make plays and makes them. I think he should have had three picks in that particular game. He’s smart. He’s a level-headed guy. He’s tremendously prepared when he takes the field, and he’s become a great leader for us in that back end. So it’s great to see a guy like him emerge and be a huge factor for us."

On NU center Kurt Mann’s health
"He’s going out, he’s coming out today. So we’re excited to see Kurt in action and see how he holds up and what he can handle."

On whether Kurt Mann will play against Iowa State
"That’s my understanding. We’ll see how he does. We’ll see how many drills he can get through and see if his strength holds up. If he’s ready, he’s ready, if he’s not then we’ll just back him down for another day and take it a day at a time."

On the effect of close games on a team
"I think you see in college football anymore, what a team did last week and then what they do the following week, it’s crazy. I don’t think you can pinpoint one certain thing. I think it’s all different. I think every game is treated differently just because everything involved. Schemes are different, fields are different, it’s always different and it always will be different."

On the evolution of ISU’s offense from primarily running to primarily passing
"Their evolution, and I can’t honestly speak for them but from what I see, is that they’ve utilized their talents. As a coaching staff, as a program, you’re always putting your players in position to make plays, and they’re playing to the strengths of their particular personnel. Not to say that they can’t run the ball because I think (senior running back) Stevie Hicks is an excellent back. I think that they’ve changed and they’ve adapted to what this conference is about to do. As one of their players was talking about yesterday, the Big 12 having all those teams in the top offenses in the country really is a compliment in a way to what the conference has become. In another way, I look at our conference and it is uniquely different than most. A little different than the Pac-10, a little bit more different than that Big Ten. It’s more spread-oriented. It’s really evolved into that aspect, and if you’re going to go down into Texas or this location of the country and recruit skilled players, you have to find a way to get skill and attract it with your system. And that’s what kids want to do, they want to catch the ball. They want to be a factor. I think they’re playing to their strengths. I think they’ve evolved and adapted well. I think like all the teams have in this conference. I see Baylor now has adopted Texas Tech’s offense, and they’re throwing it like crazy now. It’s cyclical I’m sure, but we’re right in that cycle where it’s more pass-oriented and wide open than it’s ever been."

On freshman Josh Freeman starting at Kansas State
"I had heard that he is starting, and I’m happy for him. I’m happy that he’s a starting quarterback and that Coach (Ron) Prince has confidence in his ability to be a freshman starter in this conference. I wish him the best of luck."