Sam Keller Quotes

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

Sam Keller - Senior, Quarterback
On his decision to come here a year ago
“It’s indescribable.  I was sitting there and I was having dinner and I was thinking - ?Wow, at the end of this month it will have been one year.'  You just go full circle and you get through all of the things you have to get through before you can play again.  Then, tack on to that, an extra year and a half I had to wait after being hurt.  This is just unbelievable with the anticipation and the excitement.”

On playing again after a year off (Listen)
“I expect to play better because I’ve got the game experience and I’ve had all this extra time to fine tune things.  I’m as big and as strong as I’ve ever been.  One thing I was worried about after the 2005 season was my durability, but I don’t think that will be a problem any more because I’m significantly bigger than I was then.  In spring ball I made all the throws and it was no problem.  I’m excited and all of the gears are aligned and it’s just time to get this ball rolling.”

On former Husker quarterback Zac Taylor helping out (Listen)
“Zac has tremendous knowledge of this offense and obviously he’s tested it under fire, so Zac being around is great.  He’s a great resource just to have as far as knowing where to go and what to do.  You can always know what to do on the chalkboard, but in the game compared to scrimmage and practice is a lot different.  You can talk to the coaches, but it helps to have a guy like Zac who knows it as well as the coaches that has been in the game.  There’s experience there that is valuable, so I will go to Zac a lot if I need it.”

 

On the public’s opinion of Keller being the starting quarterback (Listen)
“I say to that talk that it’s pretty unrealistic.  I would say that this is a legitimate quarterback situation where both of us can be the guy.  So you have to let that play out as long as you can until you know that that guy has earned it.  Spring was a good barometer for me to know where I’m at and likewise for Joe (Ganz), and it will continue through fall camp until the coaches make the decision.  The most important part about this whole thing is that I have faith in the coaches.  I trust them and so does Joe.  I think I can say that Joe does it well.  We’re going to have a good team regardless. They just have to make a decision about who is going to be the guy to get us as far as we can possibly go.”

On the Nebraska quarterback competition compared to the ArizonaState competition
“I’m not going to compare this situation to that situation. It would be like comparing apples to oranges.  But I am not a stranger to competition or controversy or whatever the word people want to give it for the past two and a half years.  So, it is what it is, and you have to attack it and only control what you can control.  You can’t control how people perceive it. You can’t control how Joe or the opposite quarterback is going to play and you can’t control what the coaches are going to say, but you can control is that you can look at yourself in the mirror and know you did everything  you did.  That’s the only thing I am approaching or caring about - that I did everything on the field that I could do and I can look at myself in the mirror and say ?Hey, I did it all and I did it the right way.’”

On losing the starting quarterback position at ArizonaState
“The situation was out of my control.  They made a business decision to go the other direction.  I did everything I could do to win the job, but at the end of the day when the dust settled, I wasn’t the guy.  I can’t make the decision.  Coach said he made a mistake and he wanted to go back and change it.  I didn’t have time to sit around and mull it over and feel sorry for myself.  I had to either stay or go, so I decided to go and it’s the best decision I have ever made.”

On his sense of urgency to start the 2007 season (Listen)
“My sense of urgency just comes from that I just want to play, and I love this game.  After sitting out for so long and being on scout team, I realized how much I loved football and just competing.  That’s what my sense of urgency is.  I want to do it at the college level.  I want to come out and play and get into a battle with my new teammates.  That’s what I’m so hungry for is to just go out and beat somebody and another team.  I just want to go out and beat somebody with my teammates. That’s where my sense of urgency is.”

On coming to Nebraska and not getting the starting position
“Once you make a decision in life you have to go with it and not look back.  I made the decision to come here and I made the best of it so far but there is this one last step that is the season, and that is the most important step and I can’t wait to play.  I just can’t wait and that’s all it comes down to.  I will not look back and pity myself in any regard.  Whatever happens will happen and I will go about it like a man.”

On his relationship with Joe Ganz and the other quarterbacks
“The other quarterbacks and I get along really well.  We feed off of each other and help each other. Obviously there is no animosity or bad tastes in our mouth for anybody.  At the same time there is only one quarterback that can play.  We’re not going to be each other's best friend, but we do get along.  I get along tremendously with Joe.  He’s a great guy and that’s why I’m saying that it is what it is.  It’s not a controversy or anything in my mind.  It’s just a competition between two good guys going after the same job.  That’s what the quarterback position is.  There is only one guy that can play.  So, that best guy has to play and you have to have faith in your coaches to make that decision.”

On splitting the quarterback reps
“You have to have faith in your coaches that they’re going to do it the right way and get you the amount of reps that they think you need.  It’s a lot nicer when you get all of the reps as a starter because you’re just that in tune with the starting group, but in the spring I think the reps were done just fine.  I got plenty of reps and I learned the offense very quickly and that will continue into the fall.  I don’t think there will be any problems with the amount of reps.  I think the coaches are going to have that handled very well.”

On his passion for the game
“I have to channel my passion somewhat, but I’m going to channel it the best way I can in practice and when I compete, but there is nothing like a game.  I’d be remiss if I told you that it was like a game situation like I’ve been in, like against LSU or USC, that’s what college football is all about.  Just playing the big teams and trying to match up against those guys. That is what I miss and that is what I’m looking for.  The best I can do is channel that into a practice setting and I have to go back to work this fall and earn the job again, so all I can do is channel it and try not to let it distract me.  There is a task at hand.”

On earning respect from his teammates (Listen)
“You just have to be yourself and don’t blow smoke.  Don’t try to be somebody you’re not.  You come to work and you put on your work hat and you just get after it.  Working out during the summer, getting the guys to come throw with me - respect recognizes respect.  They’re going to respect you if you respect them and respect the program. When I came in here, I’ve had that approach to just come in here and work.  I just show the guys that I’m just here to work and here to help and these guys are good guys and all guys respect you if you’re a good guy, too. It’s all about coming in, working hard, showing them that you’re willing to work and leading by example and that’s all I can do at this point.”

On his familiarity with the offense (Listen)
“I’m very comfortable and it’s always a work in progress.  You can never know too much.  A guy like Zac (Taylor) who is very versed in this offense could even tell you that he could even learn more because the West Coast Offense has had so many wrinkles added in so many years starting with the Bill Walsh days until now.  There are so many things that people can do and there are so many different innovations Coach Callahan is making to this offense that you can always learn more.  But conceptually, I’ve got a very good grasp for this offense and that came in spring and that came with work this summer, so fall camp is all about applying it.”

On the personnel of the offense (Listen)
“It could be outstanding.  The offense allows you to plug in so many different things and utilize so many different athletes that we should be unmatched. From the top to bottom with our wideouts, our tight ends and our running backs, we have a lot of firepower, but you can’t forget about the offensive linemen either.  Those guys are smart, big and tough, and they’re going to play well together.  As far as an offense as a unit, it could be something special.  But that’s what fall camp is for, to come together and get chemistry.”

On misconceptions he’s heard about himself
“I haven’t heard anything negative. If there is, I would like to know because it probably isn’t true.  I’m just a worker and a grinder and I just like to come in and work at it.  That’s all I’ve done since I’ve got here.  I haven’t heard anything negative and I hope there isn’t anything negative.”

On his reputation as a gunslinger (Listen)
“That’s a fair assumption because some games I throw a lot of interceptions, but that’s because I play fearless and that’s always how I’ve played and I don’t care who it is or what’s happening.  I’m a fearless kind of competitor, but at the same time, one of your best attributes can be one of your worst, so I make some erratic throws here and there.  I can see those perceptions. However, I will tell you those aren’t true any more because this offense really forces you to take what the defense gives you and almost kind of slow down and take the check down and take the secondary receiver.  With some other games, sometimes I would feel like I had the entire team on my shoulders and I had to make some ridiculous throws to keep us in it.  Some cases that may have been true, but in other cases I might have shot myself in the foot.  But I don’t think I do that anymore.  I’m always going to play and be who I am and that’s the competitor I am, but as I’ve gotten older and have gotten to know the game more, it’s important as a quarterback to be the guy that manages the team well.  Not just making plays and making things happen, but also managing your team and not hurting your team with any decision.  That’s one thing I’ve really worked on and one thing I’ve gotten better on during the spring, and now it’s time to start it over today and take it up at fall camp.”

On his motivation to be the starter for the USC game
“I’d love to be the starter when they come to town.  This will be the fifth time going against those guys and the third time playing and I’ve never beaten them, but have gotten close.  Also, if I’m the starter, I want to be looking ahead to that game come Nevada and come WakeForest.  It’s very easy to see USC on the schedule and see that I have another crack at these guys. Believe me, that really gets me going, so when that day comes I will really love it.”

On being coached differently here compared to Arizona State
“At ASU, when you’re a freshman you get molded to a point from high school to college. There are a lot of things about the speed of the game and about college football that you have to learn as a freshman and it’s a lot of the coaches really engraining you. When I got here I had that general knowledge about how to play, but it was more just teaching me this offense and teaching me how things work here. It was definitely more me going in and spending time with the coaches and having time to see what was going on and taking all of the instruction I could get.  Most of all, with this whole situation, I have to be on the field doing it.  It comes with repetition to perform with this offense.  It’s more instructional and teaching than any hands on.”

On why he came to Nebraska
“The word opportunity.  That’s it.  I’m very grateful to Coach Callahan after going on a limb and allowing me the opportunity to come here and that’s exactly what he’s allowing me this year.  It’s a huge, grand opportunity to play and to lead this team, but at this point the job is not mine.  That’s the way I’m approaching it, as an opportunity.  It’s an opportunity that had I not have come here I never would have had, so I’m thankful enough for the opportunity."

On Nebraska's receiving corps and running backs (Listen)
"It’s awesome. Those guys can really play. When you look at the experience that a guy like Terrence (Nunn) has had some of the big catches Mo (Purify) has had and the experience of Todd Peterson and Nate Swift and the tight ends and Marlon (Lucky) and Cody (Glenn), you have viable options.  They are tremendous ball players and it really excites me.  I love having weapons around me."

On being named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year
“I was honored that people would think of me in that light.  It’s exciting. I would love to be the Newcomer of the Year. It’s also interesting because I’ll be a 23-year-old newcomer.  It sounds really nice. It’s an honor and I’m happy people think of me in that regard and it’s not something that weighs heavily on my mind.  Obviously the camp is the issue at hand for me.”

On being the Newcomer of the Year and not holding the starting position
“That comes with the position and the hype surrounding this battle and the Big 12.  People think that for a reason, and it can’t really get into my way of thinking right now.”