Joe Ganz Quotes

Nebraska Football
Preseason Press Conference
Monday, Aug. 6 - 11 a.m.
Memorial Stadium - Lincoln, Neb.

Joe Ganz, Junior, Quarterback
On the quarterback competition and knowing the offense (Listen)
“It’s my fourth year here and I should know the offense.  I know it pretty much in and out.  Probably just as good as anybody except for Coach (Bill) Callahan because he’s just a freak when it comes to stuff like that, but I should know it because it’s my fourth year and I got help from Zac Taylor the past few years. Now he’s back being a (volunteer) assistant coach to the quarterbacks so it’s going to help even more.”

On the summer and transitioning into fall camp
“I think that the summer solidified it.  Just working with the guys and gaining the respect of my teammates and coaches is really what matters to me.  The press and the fans can say whoever they want to start, but I want to gain the respect from my team and coaches more.”

On developing vocal leadership (Listen)
“It hasn’t been too tough to learn the vocal leadership style.  I had two great years under Zac (Taylor) learning it, so it’s been a real easy transition for me.  I’m always a vocal guy anyway, so it really wasn’t too hard, but it’s hard for the guys to follow it. You can’t just walk the walk, you have to be able to really gain the respect of the guys in order to become a vocal leader.  You can’t just be loud and expect guys to follow if you’re not going to work hard and do what you have to do to take care of business.  I think with my first couple of years of working hard and just being quiet and learning from Zac (Taylor) it will be a real easy transition for me."

On Zac Taylor being around the team again (Listen)
“He’s a guy you can go to who has been in the battle and through the trenches who can really help you out with stuff instead of just going to ask a coach.  You have a guy who has been proven in the Big 12 to go out and he’s the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, so who better to go out and help.  He’s still a great leader and still a down-to-earth guy and you can go up to him no matter what. It’s going to be a real great help for both of us.

“He should be out on the field.  He goes from top dog and starting quarterback to kind of the bottom of the ladder, so I’m going to joke around with him and rough him up in practice a little bit, but he should be on the field.  But hopefully not too long and hopefully he gets picked up, but as long as he stays here it’s going to help us tremendously. I call him Coach Taylor now, but it’s just kind of joking with him.” 

On the key to running a good offense (Listen)
“The key is just to be consistent.  This offense isn’t about making spectacular plays, it’s about being consistent.  Moving the offense down the field and making crucial third downs - that’s really what it is going to take to keep being consistent and move the offense - that’s what the coaches are really going to look for.”

On his mobility as quarterback
“Besides the knowledge of the offense, my mobility is probably my other greatest ability.  It’s going to help me win this job.  We were just talking about putting in scramble drills today.  We make big plays when the plays break down or nothing is open, we will be able to have the mobility just to scramble and rush and let those receivers have a couple of more seconds to move down the field, and we can make big plays that way. I can see myself doing that and that would be a real advantage for me.”

On practice and the quarterback competition
“It’s (the competition) always on the back of my mind, but once I get on the field I don’t really think about it.  I just try to control what I can control and that’s all I think about.  I can’t control when Sam (Keller) is on the field, and he can’t control when I’m on the field.  I’m really worried about when I step across the line and I’m behind the center and what I have to do.  I’m not really worried about what he’s doing because I can’t control it.  So there’s no point in putting that added stress on myself.  I just worry about what I have to do and that’s about it.”

On the relationship between himself and the other quarterbacks
“I’ve been through it before with the whole Harrison (Beck) thing, so I’m kind of used to it. We know we’re competing on the field and there is always that competition in the back of my mind when we’re doing drills.  But when we get off the field we try not to let it weigh on us.  It’s stressful enough going through two-a-days and having the competition on the field, so when we’re off the field, we just relax.  We’ll go to the Player’s Lounge and just relax a little bit and maybe play a video game or two, just so we don’t have to think about it so much, so it’s not so stressful all the time.”

On helping Sam Keller with any questions
“If he ever has a question, he knows he can come up and ask me about it. I’m not that type of kid who is going to be a jerk just because we’re trying to compete for the same job.  He knows that if he has a question for me that he can come up and ask me. That’s my nature and I’m going to help him out no matter what. We’re civil to each other, but we still know we’re competing for the same job.”

On his reaction if Sam Keller gets the starting position
“If he gets it, obviously I would be the backup and just ready to play.  I plan on being the starter just like he plans on being the starter, so I’m really not looking towards my role of being the backup like I’ve been the last two years with Zac (Taylor). But if he does get the job, I’ll just be the backup and I’ll just be one snap away like I have been the last couple of years.  I’ll prepare the same way I have and nothing will change really. Nothing will change with my preparation from last year to this year because I’ve prepared just like I would if I was a starter the same way Zac did.  Nothing will really change.”

On the hype that comes with new quarterbacks
“It kind of wears on you, but it’s not too bad.  I knew when I was coming in that Nebraska would recruit the best kids in the country and I was considered one of those kids, so I take it as an honor. But it does get tiring having the media froth all over the new kids that come in. It’s not too bad.  It really doesn’t bother me.  I did come in knowing they were going to recruit the best of the best, and I knew there was going to be competition and I would have to earn my way.

“The competitor in me loves it.  Bring on who you want to bring on.  That’s how I was when they said they were thinking about Sam (Keller) coming here and that’s the type of attitude a quarterback has to have is like, ?Bring it on.’ You can beat out anybody that comes in.”