Nebraska Player Quotes: Maurice Purify

Nebraska Weekly Press Conference

Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2007

Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)

Pre-Iowa State

 

Maurice Purify

Senior, Wide Receiver

 

On Corey McKeon's comments about football being fun 

“You want to have fun with everything you do, playing football. You are not going to be very interested if you are just working all the time and you’re not having fun.  College football is supposed to be fun, you are supposed to have fun playing, and you are supposed to like playing.”

 

On the criticism of Nebraska's 3-1 start 

“I think it is mostly the offense’s fault. We need to move the ball and the opponent in positions where they are pinned back. If we move the ball more and keep them on the bench, the longer they (the defense) get to rest and they can play harder. It is on us.”

 

On taking the criticism personally 

“I kind of like criticism. It builds me. I like to prove people wrong. If somebody criticizes me, I like to play harder.”

 

On the team rallying together because of the criticism 

“We're coming together as a team, and supporting our defense in a tough time. That is what you have to do. You have to tell them things can only get better from here. You have to keep practicing hard and things will click.”

 

On judging a team's performance

“A win is a win. We are 3-1. That is how you have to look at it. I would not care if we had 100 yards total offense, as long as we won the game.”

 

On quarterback Sam Keller leading the offense

“He always wants to improve and get better. He doesn’t let last week's game affect him. He does not accept being good, he wants to be great and he wants to get better and better every week. So I expect something bigger this week than last week.”

 

On Keller's approach to the game

“He is the kind of guy that if you drop a pass, he will come and talk to you and tell you that we're coming back to you.  He tells us we are going to get this thing moving.  He is an encouraging guy. He is positive. He likes everything intense and wants everybody to play their best.”

 

On his own enjoyment of the game

“I’m having fun. I am with a great group of guys at receiver. Coach (Ted) Gilmore is fun to be around. I've got Menelik Holt. He is making jokes every minute. Terrence (Nunn) is funny, Frantz (Hardy) is a weird guy, so it is fun to be around him. The receivers are fun to be around, so I am always having fun."

 

On whether going to practice feels like going to a job 

“It is a job to some extent. We are here to fulfill a task, and we have to do it. We are working hard to get better, and our job is to win the game.”

 

On the offense trying to pick up the defense

“It is our job to make them better. Give them the best look, playing as fast as we can, as explosive as we can. We are the people that are going to get them better. Just by game speed and playing hard. We are their best practice. Practice is where you gain confidence and your ability to play in the game.”

 

On his expectations for this week's practices

“I don’t know, the man is coming in here next after me. That is the question you will have to ask. As receivers, we did not really hit at all. It was more for the linemen, linebackers, running backs and safeties. We didn’t really hit at all, we are just carrying the load."

 

On watching film in units or as a team 

“It was a normal week. We broke apart and watched film and we got a lot from it. There were a lot of things that we did wrong and could have done better on both sides of the ball.”

 

On IowaState

“I watched their game against KentState. They are a good team. They run to the ball and tackle well. I have not really seen much, just one game so it is hard to tell right now.”

 

On the team's approach to the Iowa State game

“I would just say that we want to get better. There was a lot of things that we did wrong as a team and we just want to get better from it.”