Coach Callahan Press Conference Quotes

Nebraska Weekly Press Conference
Tuesday, Aug. 28, Noon

Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Pre-Nevada

 

Opening Statement

“As far as the week goes we have been finalizing our preparation towards Reno right now, and I have a pretty good jump start on that particular opponent as we prepared for them through the duration of training camp. We had a pretty good opportunity to work against a lot of the things they like to do. It's a good start for our football team. We’re anxious and eager to get going for the home opener, and we’re playing against a good opponent that we have a lot of respect for. Reno is the type of team that has had considerable amount of success in the past. It is a team that we have great respect for. As you look at them historically and you look at the success they have had and the opponents they have played, they do deserve that attention and respect. I just go back recently to their bowl game against Miami, and as I was visiting with one of the guys in the media pool I was telling him that if you look at their success in that particular game you know its impressive. You look at the way Reno matched up against Miami, it’s awfully impressive. You look at the caliber of talent and athletes that come out of the WAC conference at Boise and of course at Fresno, those are good football teams and they're dangerous football teams because they’ve got such good skill, they’ve got good coaches, good talent and it's going to be a good challenge for our football team on Saturday.”

 

On similarities between Marlon Lucky-Cody Glenn and Quentin Castille-Roy Helu

“I really can’t tell until we get going here to really draw a real honest comparative value. I couldn’t tell until we played a game, and I can give you a better answer as we move through the process.”

 

On I-back Cody Glenn not appearing on the first depth chart

“Well he is back. He is clear and he will be back out at practice today. We're just going to take a look at him and see where he is at. As I mentioned yesterday on the teleconference, he is day-to-day, and well see where he is at today in terms of his preparation and we'll move forward. I think the big thing is, when you look at the depth chart, not to draw a lot of conclusions because it changes on a daily basis. It can change relative going into a game. It can change next week. It can tomorrow. It can change by Friday, so all these things are taken into consideration. We had to put this chart together not because (Director of Media Relations) Keith (Mann) asked me to, but other than that we really have to look at this from the aspect that things change and they change day-to-day. Cody hasn’t been on the practice field in some time yet, so I am going to be very patient and see where he is at today. Does that mean he is not going to play? No. That does not mean anything, it just means this is where we are at today and it's day-to-day. We'll see how he does today and see if he improves and gets better and see if he gets elevated through the process.”

 

On I-back Marlon Lucky’s injury

“Marlon is back and he has been back for some time. So Marlon is cleared. He has been at practice. He is ready to roll.”

 

On offensive lineman Matt Slauson’s injury

“He’s back, he’ll be back today and again he’s going to be a guy we are going to have to look at and see how he practices, evaluate how he prepares for practice today and Wednesday, and see how it works going through the week. And we'll have an opportunity. A lot of times you will find guys that have been injured or nicked or whatever, we’ll take them all through the week of preparation. We’ll even work them out prior to the game. We’ll actually physically work them out with our trainers to see exactly where they're at to see if they are capable of going on game day. So we take it all the way up to the time when we come out for the pre-game as to the status of a player and how much he can play and how much he can tolerate, and to see where he is at physically. So we have a pretty good measuring stick with our training staff and medical staff with that type of process.”

 

On the number of players the Huskers have on the depth chart at the kickoff return spot

“We've got a lot of them back there this year, and I know we had T(errence)-Nunn back there last week working, but Cortney Grixby is back there as well. We have also utilized Andre Jones, and all of those guys have been outstanding in their preparation. We have used young guys like Niles Paul and we're going to see and continue to look at that throughout the week. We’ve made no final determination yet at this point."

 

On cornerback Armando Murrillo being listed ahead of returning starter Andre Jones on the depth chart

“Coach Elmo (Phil Elmassian) really likes his work ethic and the way that he has prepared and his learning curve has really been accelerated through the training camp. This is his first time in a college program, learning all the different types of coverages, but he has really adapted. I’d have to credit him with his summer preparation with what he did during the course of the summer in getting himself ready.  Not only the physical things that he did on the field during seven-on-seven from what they tell me and then what he did in the classroom off the field in terms of improving himself and seeing the game a little bit deeper than what he has. The amount of time that he has put into it has really paid off. He’s more detailed, he’s more focused. I think, from my perspective, as I look at him as we compete against him, I think he sees the field a lot better than what he did when he first got here. It’s a bigger picture, a broader scope for him to see and also to adjust to. I think he’s got more confidence as he’s learned the big picture and learned how to master some of the details of what Coach Elmo is asking him to do.”

 

On differences between quarterback Sam Keller and former Husker quarterback Zac Taylor

“I wouldn’t go there. I wouldn’t make that comparative statement. I think they are both fine quarterbacks. This is Sam’s first game here at Nebraska, so let’s see how it goes. I’m not going to jump up and down and try to make some type of statement relative to their strengths or weaknesses. Let’s just let them play. I’m excited about Sam. I am anxious to watch him play. I've got a lot of confidence in his abilities, just like I did Zac’s. I think he’s well prepared. He’s worked extremely hard to get to this point where he’s at. He’s really done an excellent job absorbing the offense. I’ve got to give him credit. He’s really done an excellent job preparing, studying and doing the things off the field that you have to do as a quarterback to his credit.”

 

On the title H-Back instead of Tight End on the depth chart

“We have changed it a little bit because those players are pretty versatile. We’ve used them in a lot of different capacities. On the line of scrimmage, off the line of scrimmage, in the backfield, out wide on the perimeter, so it’s really become a flexible position for us. As you saw, there are a number of those players that we are encouraged about, not only with J.B. Phillips and Josh Mueller and Sean Hill, but the young guys like I mentioned a week ago, Dreu Young and also Mike McNeill. All those players have a role and as we are game planning, we are defining their roles for what plays we want them in for what situations. They are all going to play. That’s the exciting thing. That’s a great situation to have I think.”

 

On his expectations for I-back Marlon Lucky

“I think you’d have to talk to Marlon about his personal expectations. I know as a team, we all have great expectations and I think he’s lived up to that. We’ve really tried to expand his role and his skills to the point where we try to feature him more in the packages we have. I think Marlon has done an incredible job this spring and then also his work ethic this summer has put him in a position to be the starting I-back going into Saturday’s game.”

 

On Anthony Blue’s role for Saturday

“He’ll be on the special teams depth chart. It’s too bad we can’t publish those as well because a lot of those players emerge on special teams. That’s one of the areas that I’m particularly proud of. Now we’ve had some additional depth for those areas of our play. They are just as important as offense and defense as you look at it in its totality. Special teams are crucial for us. Those areas that we talked about improving, a lot of those young players will show up on the depth chart and in play in those particular areas. Blue is a guy who has had a really good camp. We’ve got a good problem there with (Cortney) Grixby and of course (Zackary) Bowman will be playing this Saturday. Andre Jones. We’ve got four corners. We’ve got five corners with Blue. We can get into a lot of different packages as well as using their versatility on special teams.”

 

On cornerback Zackary Bowman's playing status

“I don’t know yet. We’ll just see how this week goes. He’ll play, but I couldn’t give you an exact amount of repetitions. The rotations haven’t been thought through yet at this point. Normally we go through the week to see where everybody is at. We’ll just take it day by day.”

 

On Zackary Bowman's performance in practice

“Pretty good. He’s improved considerably. In terms of his progress, since the time he’s got on the field until where he’s at today. We’ll see where he’s at as we move on in the game week. He’s doing more. I know we’ve increased his reps in the practices. How he’s holding up and how he continues to improve and progress will be monitored pretty closely.”

 

On his feelings about the depth of the secondary

“When you look at it from the standpoint of last year, there is no question about that. Of course with those young freshmen, with (Prince) Amukamara and (Anthony) Blue and of course an opportunity to play those guys on special teams as well as being the sub packages. There is no doubt we have more depth. That’s a real asset. That is a benefit to our football team.”

 

On his impressions of Nevada offense

“I like their offense and what they’ve done with it. It gives them a lot of versatility to maintain their one-back running game - their structure, and also to have the quarterback in the shotgun so that you have to honor their play action pass, which they do a great job of. They've got a lot of big-play receivers. They have got good speed. I just think that what they’ve done in the past with their quarterbacks has been outstanding. The way they feature them and how they play to their talents and skills. It will be interesting to see how they adjust with their new quarterback, what they are going to ask him to do.  We don’t have a lot of film on him, so that’s the one thing that we don’t have is that exposure to see his strengths and weaknesses. If you look at the history of their package, they have really done a great job of moving the ball. Their ball control, they do not turn the ball over. I think they were ninth in the country last year in their turnover ratio so that hits me immediately as I begin to study a football team - what they are doing on offense and defense. They are generating plays on defense. They are not turning it over on offense. So I thought that is the mark of a good football team. Of course, a hall of fame coach in Coach (Chris) Ault. I have great respect for him. That goes all the way back to my years when I was at Northern Arizona. In the Big Sky Conference, he was a head coach there. They were always vying for the championship when he was there at that particular time. They are a physical football team in so many respects. They are a challenge to us. Like I say, all you need to do is turn on the Miami game and you get a pretty good indication of what kind of team they are.”

 

On Nevada's defense

“I like their defense. They are multiple in a lot of areas. They have the ability to get into three-man line and four-man line structures. They show a lot of multiplicity in terms of fronts and coverages. They have every coverage in the book. The normal fan would say well why is that. It’s because of the fact that they play in a wide-open conference. You look at Hawaii and they're in the shotgun and they are in one-back, no-back. You are going to see just about every formation in football when you go up against those teams in the WAC. They have a lot of variations in their coverage. They will play zero-coverage which means they are going to blitz and not have anyone back in the deep end. They will play cover-one. They will man it up with a safety in the hole. They will play two-deep. They will play what we call cut-two. They will play two-fire zone. They will play a two-man. They will play a cover-three fire zone. If you want to keep going we can keep going on that for a while. They play a lot of coverages and that’s the challenge. To go ahead and make all those conversions and adjustments by your receiving corps and by your quarterback. It’s going to be a great test. It’s going to be a great challenge for our offensive football team, coming out of the blocks.”

 

On the extent of Nebraska's package we will see this Saturday

“We are going to do the best we can. We have done a lot of thing in our offseason as far as research and trying to improve our football team. Really the main thing for us is to go out and be efficient and be consistent. That is what I have been driving home at our team and our squad. If we can do that and come out with more points than them, we would be real happy.”

 

On two freshman linebackers (Blake Lawrence and Thomas Grove) climbing the depth chart

“Black Lawrence is everything we thought he was. He continues to get bigger and stronger. He has got very good speed and length as a player. He is a smart guy, which is one of the attributes that really stands out. He is smart, tough and dependable in a lot of ways. For a young freshman to come in and adapt to this style of defense and the things we have asked him to do, is outstanding. Thomas Grove is a walk-on that has done an excellent job in the capacity that we have asked him to. He’s a natural athlete that can run very well. I think you will see him more on special teams and also he is in that backup role. I also have to mention the fact that I really believe the fact that Lance Brandenburgh has really been an asset to our linebacking corps. I know we talk about Steve (Octavien) and Bo (Ruud) and Corey (McKeon) but Lance is right in there. He is just as good as all of those guys. He’s a fellow that will see a lot of playing time. We have the ability to utilize him in a lot of different ways this year. I just want to make mention of him because he is an outstanding player and leader on this football team.”

 

On avoiding injuries at linebacker

“I think it’s just a matter of durability. I think it is a matter of maintaining your strength and conditioning levels. Good fortune has to be on your side. There is no question about that. We do have some additional depth and we are experienced at that position. Those are good things to have.”

 

On facing a tough team in the first game

“I think you get to know about your team every week as you compete. Everything is different. It is uniquely different week in and week out. I think you grow and you learn and you go through the process of improving your team on a weekly basis. I think the challenges are different from every week. This week’s challenge versus next week’s challenge is going to completely different. The matchups are going to be completely different. The schemes will be different. The fronts will be different. I think it is more about how your team adjusts and adapts as you go through the schedule, which I think is really important. That is what we are going to work on. That is what we are going to work towards as we go through the year.”

 

On Nebraska's kicking game

“We have a plan. Adi (Kunalic) will do all the kickoffs at this juncture and Jake Wesch will back him up. On the PAT and field goals, we have not made a determination. We are going to keep that competition alive until the end of the week and take it day to day and make a decision going into the game.”

 

On position changes for Matt Slauson, Carl Nicks and Lydon Murtha

“What we did was move Carl to left tackle and Murtha to right tackle and Slauson has moved inside. In training camp, I think it is important to understand how to get your players as much repetition and versatility as possible so that if you ever do have a situation where you may have to move one to another side, at least you have done it. That is one of the purposes and one of the objectives in a training camp is really to move your players around and see what they can do because you do have time on your side in the spring and in training camp. That is what we have done. We have moved guys around so that if we ever get to a point where we need them to play at a different spot, it is not foreign to them. It is a lot easier when they have that type of exposure. If we ever did have to move a guy around because of injury or just because of where we feel the player’s strengths are, we can do that.  I think all those guys are interchangeable up front. Murtha can play both tackles. Nicks can play both tackles. They have been trained to do that. Slauson has been trained to play inside and outside at the guard and at the tackle. I think that bodes well for all those guys. For our team, I think it is in their best interest that they continue to improve and get better and take on those roles as needed. I think all those guys want to do what is best for the team. They are unselfish in a lot of ways when you ask them to do that. For a lineman to move inside or outside or from guard to center, we try to train them all in that regard. In that respect, I think it is important to understand that those are interchangeable roles out there. So many times I think that you think of a player as just being a right tackle or a left guard and you have to understand, that when you are in a scheme that we are in, essentially they are all interchangeable.”

 

On expectations of the Husker captains (Bo Ruud, Brett Byford, Zackary Bowman)

“The expectations have already been in motion. I think that when you are named a co-captain, you have already exemplified all the characteristics and traits that a team looks for in leadership. They are looking for examples. We don’t really have to stand up and yell and holler to be leaders on our football team. We have a lot of guys on our football team who are capable of leading. Our senior class, it is probably the largest senior class that I have had since I have been here and they can all lead. As long as they come to practice every day and come to the meetings focused with the right attitude, the concentrated purpose and the ability to go out and play at a high and fast level every day, that is positive leadership. I think we can all learn from that, and I think our players learn from that. These captains are exemplary at it, and that is why they were voted such.  I always say if a guy just does their job and plays his role to its height and works hard to improve every day, then that is positive leadership. That is the thing that we have been working on and working towards as we have gone into training camp and now go into the season."

 

On the quality of the Big 12 North

“All I am concerned about is our football team. That is where I am at mentally. That is our mindset and that is our focus. Taking care of the things we need to take care of in order to obtain the success we want to have.  I do not know how the Big 12 North is going to be. We have respect for everyone, but we're going to take one game at time. We have a long ways to go before we get into the Big 12 Conference, I do know that. We're just going to really focus in here on Reno and do our best on Saturday.”

 

On the amount of work the Huskers will get out of their young running backs

“As much as we can. I think it is important to understand that all of these backs are capable of playing, and they have been trained, and repped, and coached to play in any situation.  It is hard to pencil in a particular number of plays or series for these guys because the game, how it unfolds at times, is so unique that some guys may be more and some guys may be less. It is not that we don’t like anybody more or less than the other guy. It’s just that we're trying to fit them into the roles that we want to. I think Randy Jordan has done an excellent job. I can harken back to last year, as you recall we had four running backs, and I sat here at this time last year, and we were talking about how we were going to play all four running backs and all four running backs played, and four of them all gained over 300 yards and they all had success. I thought they were really well coached and managed. They all knew their roles and did well. By the end of the year it was tough to get one of them out on the field. So things change. Like I said it is a process that you go through on a week-to-week basis and one that we look at very closely. I would love to get them all as much work as possible, and experience. I think it is invaluable every time a young player touches the field and obtains a rep in game time experience, it is invaluable in my mind.”

 

On quarterback Sam Keller’s throwing motion

“I think he throws well. He has a real quick release. He has a very fast trigger, it is smooth in my eyes. I think he has excellent accuracy, location, and ball placement. He is smart, heady, he gets through the progressions as well as a quarterback can. Executing under pressure, we try to put him in as many situations as possible to stress him and see how he competes and he has done well. Until the lights go on and you’re on the field you really can't make a solid statement in that respect. But I do say that I have a lot of confidence in him. I think he has displayed excellent preparation to get to this point of where he is at.”

 

On the challenges Nevada’s defense poses for quarterback Sam Keller

“It is a great challenge. I think he would tell you that. I cannot speak for him but I can tell you that it is a great challenge for him in a lot of respects. He has seen it all from our football team. I know that. His preparation has been very detailed and intense. He has had the opportunity to go up against the assortment of coverages and blitz packages that he could potentially see and go up against in this game. I feel confident about where he is at right now.”