Nebraska Coach Bill Callahan Quotes

Nebraska Weekly Press Conference
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2007
Pre-Texas

Head Coach Bill Callahan

Opening Statement

“The injury status of the team yesterday afternoon changed somewhat.  We got a little more information about a few players.  First, Lydon Murtha has a foot injury that’s going to take him out of the game and out of the season.  He’ll be out for a good six-to-eight weeks. Hopefully, he’ll be ready for the bowl practice. He’s the only player that’s been ruled out for the (Texas) game.  The three other players that were injured in the (Texas A&M) game, (Brett) Byford, Blake Lawrence and Bo Ruud, are all questionable for this week’s game and they’ll be day-to-day.  We’ll see how they progress throughout the week.  Aside from that, we’re just moving on to our preparation against Texas and looking forward to the challenge in Austin.”

 

On the injury to Lydon Murtha

“He had a foot injury that’s going to require surgery. I think it’s a toe fracture, and I think they’re going to go in there and repair it sometime today or tomorrow.  I think it happened on the second play of the game, from what they’re saying.  He played the entire game and finished the game with it, so we’ll see how the op-report looks when he comes out of surgery in the next couple days.”

 

On the adjustments to the offensive line after the Murtha injury

“(We’re going to use) a lot of different combinations.  We’re going to bring up Jaivorio Burkes.  He’s going to have to move up.  He most likely or probably will see some playing time. (Matt) Slauson has played that position. With the situation with Brett Byford not being clear as of today, there’s a lot of juggling of positions where (Jacob) Hickman could end up going to center, and then we’d have to move (Mike) Huff to the left guard.  There’s about four or five different combinations we’re looking at right now.  It’s all based on how Brett comes back this week. We’re optimistic that he will, but we’ll just have to look at it day-by-day.”

 

On playing true freshman Jaivorio Burkes for the first time

“We’re going to have to. I don’t think there’s any recourse right now but to bring up another tackle and get him ready.  Wags (Coach Dennis Wagner) has been getting him ready in the last few weeks. This is something you prepare those young kids for.  A lot of those players have played quite a bit this year in a lot of different roles.  We’re going to try to continue to develop the roster and develop those young players as well.”

 

On the progress of Burkes compared to other young offensive linemen

“We have a lot of confidence in his abilities. He has the most talent to step in and play. We’re going to utilize his skills and abilities. He’s young. He’s going to go through the fires. Marcel Jones is continuing to improve. Both those guys have worked really hard on the scout team. They have done an excellent job. They’ve received a lot of glowing remarks from the coaches down on the scout team in terms of their work ethic and performance. They’re still young players, so we’ll have to keep bringing them along. You don’t like to play those young guys. We’re going to be forced into a position where we might have to.”

 

On the effects of playing eight straight weeks

“It was kind of weird. When Bo (Ruud) went down the first play of the game and (Blake) Lawrence went down, that was really weird. It happened so quick and so fast. We ended up playing Nick Covey a little bit more in the game. (Lance) Brandenburgh played. Phillip Dillard is still banged up. We’re trying to do a little patchwork there.”

 

On the potential benefits of a bye week while a team is struggling

“We just keep playing.  There’s nothing you can do.  The schedule is laid out.  We just have to focus on Texas.  A lot of teams in this conference are in the same situation we are, without a bye, playing straight through the schedule.  It would always be nice to have a bye.  It would be great if you had one prior to the conference schedule after the first four non-conference games.  I think that’s preferred. That would be great.  A couple of teams have had byes before they played us.  It’s always good that you have a little time to refresh. There are positives and negatives on both sides of the bye.”

 

On the I-back situation

“I think all three of those players did an excellent job in the game. We used them differently. I think you saw the plays we try to fit them in on and try to feature them on in terms of their abilities so that fits what they do well.  That’s not to take anything from the other things they can do.  We’re just trying to utilize their talents and what they do best.  Like I said Saturday, it was unfortunate that we couldn’t get Marcus Mendoza into the game.  We wanted to do that.  We are going to continue to prepare he and Cody Glenn for roles this week.”

 

On the role of Cody Glenn

“We’re just in a rhythm with those other players right now. I visited with Cody (Glenn) last week and explained the situation to him.  We’re going to utilize him the best we can. Right now, it’s a situation where all three backs are doing well. Marlon (Lucky) is doing well. He’s catching the ball well out of the backfield, as you can see. Roy (Helu) is doing well. Quentin (Castille) is doing well. I would like to see a little of Marcus (Mendoza) because he gives us a different dimension. Cody is another big, powerful running back that we can use in a similar way to Castille. It would be great if we could get him in, but right now, we’re playing the hot hand and they’re all contributing.”

 

On using Marlon Lucky as a receiver out of the backfield

“Earlier in training camp, we noticed a difference in Sam’s (Keller) play, being able to check the ball down a little quicker and utilizing the outlets a little differently than we have in the past. He’s a guy that sees the outlet receiver. He comes down to the checkdown receiver more than we have in the past. The other thing is everything that we’re trying to do get Marlon the ball in the running game and the passing game. It’s a combination of both. It’s having him as a primary checkdown for us against certain coverages and also having him featured in one-on-one routes on the perimeter.”

 

On Keller throwing to running backs

“I think there are times when quarterbacks have that tendency to check the ball down a little quicker.  They speed their read and progression up where they get off their primary and secondary and bring it down. I don’t think it’s any different than any other quarterback. I think they all go through that. I don’t think he does it all the time. Sometimes, he’ll see something flash and he’ll come off a decision and he’s trying to make the right decision. When he’s processing as rapidly as he is and as fast as he can, based on the coverages he’s seeing, he’s trying to kick the ball out pretty quickly, because it is a rhythm thing, a timing aspect that he’s trying to stay with. He’s trying to stay on rhythm and on cycle with what he’s trying to get done.”

 

On the struggles of the offense

“The biggest thing would be turnovers. That hurt us last week. Secondly, third down play. If those things would be better, we’d be a much better football team right now.  We refer to them as ?TNTs’, third downs and turnovers, and we really magnify them. We really try to make our players aware of where were at statistically in those two areas. We haven’t done well. When you turn the ball over three times like we did last week, you don’t put your defense in a good position. You’re off-kilter and you can’t complement each other the way you’d like to. That hurts. You get a drive going, you get momentum going and then you turn the ball over and you put a defense on the field that is struggling and it just adds to that mindset of, ?We have to stop them again.  We just finally did our job, and now we have to go out there and stop them again. That’s tough. I thought our defense responded. Out of the two turnovers, we responded well. We shut them down once out of the two in the first half.”

 

On Coach Shawn Watson’s role for the Texas game

“He’ll be down (on the field) again.  He’ll help me again on the sideline.  I thought it was great to have him on the sideline last week helping our players and coaches. It really helps me from the aspect of bench control during the course of the game, where I can really focus on defense and watch some things that are transpiring there. He’ll help me set up the next series. We’ll communicate, like we always do, and Coach (Ted) Gilmore will be upstairs in the press box.”

 

On play-calling responsibilities

“We call them in conjunction.  There are so many times when you lay out the game plan, when you get to certain situations, you know what you’re going to call. I’ll give you an idea. Let’s say it’s 3rd-and-4-to-6. In that certain situation, we have a number of plays. Let’s say we still have six plays for that particular sequence. We’ll rate what call we want for that particular situation. We’ll rank them one through six. When the first 4-to-6 situation comes up, you look at the card and we have the No. 1 ranking on a particular play and we’ll call it. We’re together as a staff prior to the call being made. At times, there will be some script-breakers.  There will be some situations where we’ll call it differently. Aside from the first 15 plays that are called, the situational plays that are called, it’s organized and well laid out. Everyone on our staff knows which is going to be forthcoming, unless there’s a change. From time-to-time, there is a change. That’s the nature of the game. As you go along, instead of the first play when you’re in 3rd-and-4-to-6, maybe the next time, instead of going to play two, you go to play four based on the coverage you’re seeing or the defensive changes they’re making out on the field. That can change. That can add a different dimension to what you’re doing.”

 

On recruiting

“Unfortunately, we have (started to lose kids). It’s disappointing because our staff has put in an incredible amount of work into recruiting. I go back to last spring. That whole process starts during last year’s recruiting, when you’re getting names of kids and you’re watching film. You come off the road after signing day and you spend your entire offseason, three days a week, watching film, evaluating prospects, getting prospects to camps, getting prospects to campus, getting families here for unofficial visits.  It’s a lot of work to climb into the No. 7 national ranking in terms of recruiting. That’s the disappointment when you don’t have success, you see some of that slip. There’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding the program. Parents want stability and continuity.  That’s why, with the contract extension in September, I think that made everybody feel assured that there was going to be those traits for their sons. With everything up in the air, I think that parents are concerned and looking for other options for their sons.  That’s the tough part, because our coaches have worked exceedingly hard in trying to build that. Let’s be honest, it takes time to build that. It takes years to get in a position where you can have a great class. As you look at the landscape of college football, they’re all going to go through a little bit of this and that. Philosophically speaking though, from a recruiting aspect because of the importance of it, it takes time to build. Since we’ve been here, I know where I’ve been in terms of trying to plug gaps and plug holes and having to go to junior college to get players. I understand that, because the expectation is so high, you have to get somebody who can step and play at a very high level.  When that doesn’t happen, you see the result.  It would be great to come in and say, ?Let’s build a program from all high school kids’. But that’s not the reality of where we're at.  When I came in, we had to build a program and we had to get stop-gap guys because of certain positions of trying to plug the dyke. We had go out and get players not only for depth purposes, but also for starting purposes, guys who could come in immediately and impact a situation because of the balance of the roster. That’s what you live with. That’s life in college football.  There are other programs across that are going through it. I think you see it. I think everybody sees it. It’s not an excuse for lack of performance on the field. I’m just telling you where it’s at. When you don’t have that increased development happen sooner than later, you get stung and it hurts. It really hurts. By and large, the coaches, the job they did, this is the hardest recruiting staff you have ever seen getting kids to camps, getting kids on campus and locking up a class the way they did. That’s what hurts. That’s what’s disappointing. You’re just building your program and you’re at the position where you can get a top class of talent like that and let it slip away, that’s tough. That’s really tough.”

 

On recent decommittments by prospects

“I think there’s uncertainty abounding. I think they’re concerned about everything. Parents are looking at everything. There are a lot of curious parents out there in the conversations I’ve had. I’ve talked to Tom (Osborne) about it, and he understands it and he’s doing everything he can. He’s helping us. He’s talking to the recruits that we brought in this weekend. He’s very active on the phone. He’s willing to do whatever he can to help us hold this class. We’re doing everything we can to make sure we don’t lose these kids, because they’re great kids. We spent a lot of time evaluating this whole area.”

 

On his message to recruits in uncertain times

“All I tell them is that they’re making decisions for a lot of reasons, for the academics, the traditions and things in place here at Nebraska are great qualities. I have no problem selling that. But I just let them know, just hang with us and we’ll see what happens. I can’t make any promises, because I can’t. I’m not getting any promises, so I can’t make any promises to them. It hurts. We just have to deal with the cards that have been laid out for us and do the best we can.”

On his thoughts on the progress of the program

“I have been (the man for this job). I’ve done an excellent job in every area. It’s hard for the media to know, but what we’ve done off the field and on the field, I think is well-documented. We’ve done some positive things. We haven’t sustained it this year. We were in a (Big 12) Championship Game, and in a three-year period of time, you come in and implement a whole new offensive system.  There’s a lot of work being done. To put together these recruiting classes, I think it bodes well for what we represent and for how hard our staff has worked. There’s no question, I have enough confidence in myself, my staff and my players to know that we can win. We’re going to win. We’re just going through a tough stretch. We’re going through a tough struggle right now, and we’re trying to work our way out of it.”

 

On the value of highly ranked recruiting classes

“It all matters. Absolutely it matters. I think it needs time. I think those classes need time. We’re playing a lot of young guys. I think it takes time. It’s just a circumstance that you try and keep going with the players you have. I love our kids. They’re trying hard. They’re working hard. There are some real positive signs of consistent play in the first half (against Texas A&M). We didn’t have that in the second half. I think it’s important to bring in good players. I don’t think you wouldn’t want to bring in a good player. I think you’re always trying to bring in a player that can contribute and help you. It’s just that we’re playing them a little younger.”

 

On Nebraska’s struggles

“We’re just going through some struggles. A lot of programs go through that. I’m not using that as an excuse. I’m just stating the obvious. We’re struggling and we have to play better. Nobody wants to win more than we do. No one wants to win more for this state than we do. It’s important to us. To have people think that this isn’t important to you, we give every waking hour and breath to this program. When it doesn’t work, it hurts. It hurts all of us. We are working hard to try to make this the best we can.”

 

On the potential of his resignation

“No (I’m not resigning). I’m committed. I said I want to be here. I signed an extension to be here. I thought that was indicative of my commitment here a few weeks back. That’s not an option.”

 

On playing true freshmen for the first time late in the season

“These decisions are made in the best interests of the program. We need help. We’re plugging some guys in because of some injuries and because of the nature of our play that we’re trying to improve. We’re trying to show the fans that we’re trying to everything we can to put the best players out there on the field and do the best we can. I would be hurt if you thought of it any other way.”

 

On the process determining when true freshmen play

“I’ve visited with each and every one of them to see where they’re at. They’re great kids, like Jaivorio Burkes. We need his help. There is a contingency where he could play and that is a possibility. I make that announcement publicly so that everyone understands the situation we’re in. There are so many aspects to personnel that you have to be ready to plug players in, if need be. I think we all respect that.”

 

On his involvement with the defense during the Texas A&M game

“I thought the first half, it allowed me to be fully engaged, which I was, understanding the calls and talking to the players as they come off, rallying them, supporting them and just listening to the calls as they’re being made in anticipation of certain things.  That helped me as well. I threw my two cents in there as well. I didn’t want to screw them up, but I would just add dialogue here and there, so we’re going to continue that. I think, on the flip side of it, Coach Watson has done an excellent job being with the offense and helping out. We’ve worked hand-in-hand, many times throughout the last two years, so he has a good feel for what we want to accomplish on offense. The dialogue in the staff meeting room, I’m there morning, noon and night, working with our offense. We’re all on the same page. There’s not a dramatic departure from what we’re doing. It’s not like, all of a sudden, there’s going to be a whole new offense created this week.”

 

On the weaknesses of Nebraska’s defense against Texas A&M

“I would say, the only frustrating aspect of last week’s game, was the containment of the quarterback on the read zone. We missed some things there. That was frustrating.”

 

On the performance of cornerback Anthony West

“I love Anthony’s play. We’re using him as a cornerback and nickel back as well. He has a lot of upside. He’s learning as he’s going along. I think Elmo (Coach Phil Elmassian) has a lot of confidence in what he’s done to put him on the field. He has a good understanding of the scheme. He has great work ethic. He’s a tough kid, and he’s only going to get better. He’s going to be an outstanding player.”

 

On the potential positive effects of going on the road against Texas

“I hear that all the time, coaches say, ?we get on the road and get away from all this stuff’. I just look at it as an opportunity to play a good, talented football team in Texas. They are talented. They have a lot of speed all over the field. You see their abilities to run it, throw it, defend. They have tremendous athleticism. They’re probably the most talented football team in the conference. You watch the profile of these players and you watch these players run to the ball, watch them run, hit, catch and block, they have it all.”

 

On the motivation of the team moving forward

“No. 1, let’s just find a way to win this game. Let’s just keep our focus isolated on Texas. We have four games left, but let’s just find a way to win and beat Texas. That’s our focus.”

 

On Texas quarterback Colt McCoy

“I think that he’s a guy that has all the throws. He’s a smart guy. The thing that impresses me is that the accuracy is there. He has talent around him and can make the big play at any time. Going back to last year’s game, the play to (Limas) Sweed, he can get you at any time. He knows where his talent is, where his receivers are aligned and mismatched and I think he has a great understanding of how to utilize that. Preventing the big play will be huge this week as we go to Texas.”

 

On the importance of Nebraska’s defensive line

“If you can’t disengage, get separation and come off blocks, it’s awfully tough. It starts with that aspect up front. The ability to use your hands, strike a blow, snap someone off, get disengaged and get to the ball is huge. That’s the biggest thing. The activeness, the explosiveness of the front, is something we keep trying to create, coach up and try to improve as we go through this struggle.  The front four is where it all starts. It starts there, no matter what team. I think that’s the first thing you look at as a coach when you turn on a film, you say, ?What’s their front like?’. Same thing with Texas. You look and say, ?What are they like? What do they look like up front?  Who can we attack? Who can we go after? Who can we double-team?’ You try to find guys you can go after and you can attack. I know that’s how we think, and I know that’s how all the coaches in this country think. When they turn on the film and you attack a team in the running game, who are you going after? In the passing game, you scheme your protections accordingly to the talents you’re facing.”

 

On the defensive line of Texas

“They’re huge up front, especially inside. They’re thick. They’re the prototype defensive tackles you look for, 320 pounds, square-bodied guys, run-stop guys, good strength and anchor. They can sit down and set the point. They do an excellent job of consuming the double-team. If you do double them and someone comes off, they’ll split the double and make the play explosively. We have our hands full with their two inside guys. They’re ends are very good, solid guys.”