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Nebraska Football
Preseason Press Conference
Monday, Aug. 4, 2008
Memorial Stadium
Joe Ganz
Senior, Quarterback
On if the season feels closer than when spring began<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>
“It still feels like we’re a long way away because we still have a lot of work to do. It kind of hit me yesterday when we got in our quarterback meeting, and Coach (Shawn) Watson said we’re going to give you all the No. 1 reps because we’re preparing for a game. So you kind of step back and say OK, it’s time to go again. It still feels far away, but it’s going to be here in the blink of an eye, so it won’t be too far.”
On how different it is from a year ago
“It’s a lot different, but it’s not going to change the way I go out and the way I prepare and the way I practice, it’s just going to let me clear my mind a little bit more, not worry about a quarterback battle, and just worry about the team in general. It’s nice to finally be the No. 1 (quarterback).”
On his role as the team leader
“It’s an honor for those guys to say that about me and for them to think that. Obviously it comes with the territory, being a quarterback. Any team that I’ve been on since I was younger, I always felt that I was the leader, and kind of took that vocal leader role. Last year, it was kind of hard to lead when you’re on the sidelines, but when I got in there, I kind of took that leadership role and never really let it go. It’s an honor, and I know it comes with a lot of responsibility, but I wouldn’t want to have it any other way.”
On the change from going from an offensive-minded head coach to a defensive-minded head coach
“Maybe we won’t have to score as many points. It’s going to be the same for me, because I’m still working with Coach (Shawn) Watson and Coach (Ted) Gilmore, so it’s really the same for me. I really can’t speak for anything defensively, because I’m not in any of their meetings or anything. It feels like the same training camp that we’ve had before, the same meetings that we’ve gone through, so it doesn’t feel like a change for me.”
On the most important thing he took out of his playing time last year
“Letting the game come to me and not trying to force as many plays. Not trying to make a big play on every play. Maybe throwing the ball away is a better option than throwing into traffic, or maybe even taking a sack. Just being able to be mature about it and not go for the big play every play, and not feel like I have to throw a touchdown on every pass. Just being more patient and more mature in the offense is really what I came back with.”
On if he felt like he had to always make a big play to score points last year
“Yeah, but as an offense, that’s our goal, every time we get the ball we want to score, so it really didn’t change the way we went about our business. It just happened that we didn’t score as many as the other team sometimes, and it’s tough. It’s tough when you’re throwing up 51 points and you lose, but I have a feeling it’s not going to happen like that anymore.”
On who his go-to guy will be this year after wide receiver Maurice Purify graduated
“Obviously, you’re going to go to Nate (Swift) and Todd (Peterson). Nate and Todd are going to be my security blankets. Those are the guys that I’m going to be leaning on, because we have a great chemistry together. We’ve grown up in this program together, so we’re on the same page. I know where they’re going to be, they know where I’m going to be, they know where the ball’s going to be, so obviously those two guys are going to be big. But we’re still looking for those younger guys. Those younger guys are still going to have to step up, because Nate and Todd can’t go every play, so we’re still looking for those three or four younger guys to step up. They have all the ability in the world, it’s just how quickly they can pick the game up mentally.”
On what Nate Swift brings as a receiver that makes him so good
“His route running. He’s a great route runner. He’s really good at getting open. He’s not the fastest guy or the quickest guy, but he probably runs the best routes out of all them. He just knows how to get open. There’s a difference between having sprinter speed and being a football player and being able to get open on the field, and that’s what Nate is really good at. He’s really good at getting off the line, and he’s really good at finding voids and settling in those voids and understanding the game, and understanding what coverage it is and how he needs to get open to get the ball. Hopefully we can have a big year and we can break that (all-time receiving) record for him.”
On what the emotions are going into fall camp
“It’s not as different to us as it was in the spring, but we’re excited still, we’re ready to get back. It’s a lot more exciting going into fall camp, just because you know you’re actually preparing for an opponent, you’re actually preparing for a season, so guys are a lot more excited and we can’t wait to get back out there. It’s been a tough last couple years, and we understand that, and we want to do everything we can to get this ship righted and we want to get it headed in the right direction. I know guys are really excited to get back to work and really work hard for that.”
On if there are unknowns in what to expect in practice
“I don’t think so. I’m sure there might be some things here and there. It’s probably going to be the same as spring, but obviously we’ll probably scrimmage a little bit more, just because we have to get ready for the year, but it’s probably going to be the same. I can’t really tell you until tomorrow.”
On having eight homes games
“It’s awesome. Those first five at home, it’s really nice, especially with the new staff. It will make the transition a little easier, not going on the road and having a big road game right off the bat. It’s awesome, it’s kind of exactly the way you want to go out, with eight home games your senior year, you can’t ask for anything more.”
On the team’s confidence and if they’ve buried the skeletons from last year
“I think we have. It’s always lingering, so in order for this team to really get its confidence back, we really need to have a good fall camp and we need to have a good first couple games. If we can do that, I think we can bury everything that’s happened in the past, and completely forget about it, and hopefully regain that confidence. We’ve had all the ability, but if we can regain that confidence that we had, we can be a pretty darn good team, so I think that’s really big for us.”