Linebacker Corey McKeon

Nebraska Weekly Press Conference
Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2006
Memorial Stadium - Lincoln, Neb.
Pre-Missouri

Linebacker Corey McKeon
On the health of the linebackers
“I can’t sit here and say that I’m not concerned about it, because it is a factor in the way that we’re playing.  You have Lance (Brandenburgh) with a cast on his arm, it’s going to make it difficult for him to make tackles.  He’s trying his best over there.  Stew (Bradley) and Bo (Ruud) are completely healthy, but I’m not playing to my potential with my ankle and knee (injuries) and Steve with an ankle and a hamstring (injury).  The fact that guys are trying to tough through speaks a lot for our linebacker corps, but it has affected our play.  Guys aren’t able to get as much rest as they have before.  The defensive line rotates four or five guys.  The secondary, they’re ironmen.  They don’t come out of the game.  I have a lot of respect for the way they stay in there.  The linebackers had that luxury of rotating guys, but that’s fading away with injuries.”

On the speed of Oklahoma State’s offense
“They were able to get out on the corner on us.  We weren’t able to recover.  Usually, we have the speed to get out and defend the corner.  We usually let them get to the edge and then we make the play on them for a one-yard gain.  With the speed at a minimum, it was kind of hard to make those plays.”

On NU linebacker Steve Octavien playing through injury
“He’s had a couple injuries in the same spot which he can’t control.  He tries to get out there and play and do his best, but it’s getting to the point where coach (Kevin) Cosgrove is having to say no to him, because Steve wants to be out there.  He’s trying his best.  He wants to be a part of the defense.  He wants to make plays for everyone.  But physically, he’s not able to and it’s killing him.  He’s selling his soul and trying to do everything he can do to be ready to play, and it’s still not able to happen.”

On compensating for Nebraska’s injuries
“You just have to execute better.  We didn’t do that very well on Saturday.  Guys were jumping gaps, trying to make too many plays.  If we just stay sturdy and take care of our responsibility, it will be a lot easier to contain teams like that who have a lot of speed who are taking advantage of our losses.  As long as we play responsibility football, we should be fine.”

On playing through injuries
“You just try not to think about it.  Being out on the field, everything else just disappears and you just play football and that helps.  Injured or not, if you’re out on the field, you still have to play and take care of your responsibility and get the job done.  You try to keep that in the back of your mind as you play to the fullest of your ability.  You get that one or two steps behind, it doesn’t matter.  You still have to do your job.  If you have to set up other guys to make plays, so be it.  That’s what you have to do to get it done.”

On dealing with injuries to linebackers
“We’re experienced in that area with guys going down.  Clayton (Sievers) has had a hamstring (injury) for a while, and (Phillip) Dillard has been out all season, and that was a terrible loss.  We got a little taste of it at the beginning of the year, and now, we’re just trying to fight through it and trying to get guys healthy.”

On the limits on Nebraska’s linebacker rotation due to injury
“We used to have a rotation with four linebackers: me, Bradley, Brandenburgh and Ruud, in which we’d all get equal playing time.  But since I haven’t been able to go 100 percent, Brandenburgh has been stepping in almost every series; I’d take two in a row when he would come in for Bradley.  With Octavien healthy for the Texas game, Ruud and Bradley rotated evenly.  With Octavien out, Ruud had to play the WILL spot by himself

On the team’s sense of urgency for the Missouri game
“It’s a game you look forward to, because it is Missouri.  They’re a rival and a tough team.  Watching them play on TV throughout the year, they are a fun team to watch.  They have a lot of explosive players.  It’s fun to go out and play a team like that with a lot of weapons.  It’s a challenge.  Those are the types of teams you look forward to playing, so this team is really looking forward to this game.”

On the mood of the team
“Even after Saturday, we’re excited.  We want to play this game.  This is a game that we’re looking forward to.  We want to get prepared this week and we want to play the game.  Missouri coming into Lincoln is a big-time game, and I know that everyone is looking forward to it.”

On the importance of this game
“Every game is a must-win game in college football.  We don’t have those playoffs like the big dogs do.  We have to win every game to go to a championship.”

On Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel
“He’s a dual-threat.  He can get it done on the ground and through the air, especially through the air.  He’s very effective.  He knows how to use his weapons.  He knows how to find those big tight ends.  He knows how to get to his big playmaker receivers down the field.  If that offensive line gives him enough time, he can really hurt people.  He reminds me a lot of (former Oklahoma quarterback) Jason White in the way he throws the ball.  At the same time, he can run the ball on you.  He’s like a Brad Smith, except he likes to throw the ball.  Brad liked to run it a little more.  Chase likes to throw it a little more.  He’s going to be a tough quarterback.”

On facing a shorter quarterback
“Their offensive scheme is such that they do a lot of quick passes and shotgun where guys won’t be in his (Daniel’s) face.  They do that a lot.  With ends like (Adam) Carriker and Jay Moore and a good push in the middle from guys like Ola (Dagunduro), Barry (Cryer), (Ndamakong) Suh and those guys down the middle, getting their hands up will be vital to breaking up those quick passes.”

On adjusting to a team that uses late audibles at the line of scrimmage
“Out there, seeing the checks like that, you can’t show your hand early.  If you have a pressure on or some kind of play, you have to sit and wait or maybe move around a little bit, depending on what they’re throwing at you.  One thing that hurt us last week against Oklahoma State is that you can’t be out of place when the play hits because, if you’re moving around or trying to disguise, you have to be in position to do your job when the ball is snapped.  Last week, we found ourselves out of position when the ball was snapped, trying to adjust and do the things to keep them off-balance.”

On the grind of playing for the 10th straight week
“When I didn’t play, I hated bye weeks, because you didn’t do anything.  Now that I’m playing, I love bye weeks, because it gives you a chance to heal, relax, and get mentally prepared for the game two weeks from then.  We haven’t had that this year.  It’s been a grind.  Coach (Bill) Callahan made the schedule like that because he knew we could handle it.  We have a tough mental team.  You can’t look at it like you’re playing until your next bye week.  You have to play the next game and just be mentally tough.”

On the role of the upperclassmen on keeping the team’s mindset right
“We have to get a lot of hard work done.  We have to beat these guys in preparation this week.  I’m sure the feel around the locker room is going to be different after losing to Oklahoma State, but this team is great at looking past stuff like that and getting ready for the next week, and I’m sure we’ll be thinking about just Missouri.”

On playing at home
“Going to Oklahoma State and being in a game like that, you sit there and think about how nice it would be to be in front of all your fans, especially Nebraska fans.  They’re incredible.  Sometimes, it’s fun to go on the road because it’s a little different.  It’s a shakeup, but you get out there and after seeing the stadium and everything, about two minutes into the game, you wish you were at Memorial Stadium in front of all the great fans.  You miss it.  There’s no better place to play, and you realize that going on the road.”