Nebraska Coach Bo Pelini Quotes (Sept. 1)

Nebraska Weekly Press Conference
Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Pre-Florida Atlantic

Coach Bo Pelini

On how he feels about the team now that they are only a couple days away from kickoff

“Well, I was thinking about it last night. There is always that factor of the unknown as you’re going into the first game every year. Bottom line is you haven’t played against anybody but yourselves since the previous year so there’s that little bit of the unknown. I feel like I’m confident in our football team, I’m confident in that they will be well prepared. That’s why you play the games, right?”

 

On if his team is still ahead of where they were last year at this time

“I think so. I think the knowledge is better. We’re further ahead in the understanding of what we’re trying to get done on both sides of the football. As a staff I believe we are further along. There are a lot of things. Last year you’re not only trying to get on the same page as your players, you’re trying to make sure you’re on the same page as the coaching staff.  The longer you are together hopefully all those things get better, but it’s still only one year under our belt so I’m looking forward to Saturday to see how our guys respond.”

 

On what questions still need to be answered before Saturday

“I think day by day we have to keep getting better.  There were still a lot of mistakes yesterday.  There were still some new aspects of the game plan that we introduced that we have to get cleaned up.  It’s Tuesday, 11:40 a.m. or whatever it is. We’re not quite ready to play a football game yet.  That’s to be expected, otherwise we would pack it in and show up on Saturday, and I could go golfing this week. Unfortunately, it is not that way.”

 

On if there are things he will not find out about his team until they play a game

“I think so and also you’re playing a team for the first time. The first game of the year I’m sure they are going to have some new things and that always happens. You just have to make sure your guys are well prepared, they understand their roles and then they react the right way.  We’re going to have some guys that haven’t been out there before, and there’s that unknown in how they are going to react. It’s just part of the deal. That’s why they always say you hope you always make a big jump between the first game and the second game because you have to work the kinks out.  It’s part of the deal.  I hope we light it up on both sides of the football and play a perfect football game, but I’m realistic enough to know that’s probably not going to happen.”

 

On how the young linebackers have grasped the defense and who they can lean on

“Better lean on themselves because no one is going to be out there helping them.  They're going to have guys around them, obviously, but they have to handle their responsibility and they're going to have to be able to react the right way and play well.  I have confidence in them or I wouldn’t be putting them out there.  It’s time to stand on your own two feet and be a man and show up.”

 

On how he would rate Florida Atlantic quarterback Rusty Smith

“I think he is an outstanding football player.  I think he is a Big 12-caliber quarterback.  I know the NFL guys will really like this guy.  He’s got a really strong arm. He’s a good decision-maker. He’s a good football player. You can cut it any way you want it, he can play.”

 

On if his anxiety level is at all raised because he is starting a first-year starter at quarterback

“No, I have a tremendous amount confidence in Zac (Lee). Unfortunately for me and for everyone around me, I have that level of anxiety no matter what.  I want us to play really well. I want to perform well. As far as Zac is concerned, I feel real confident in what he’s getting ready to do. I probably have more anxiety about some other positions than I do about how Zac is going to play.  I’m also realistic to know that he’s not going to play perfect. I hope he does. I hope he plays pretty close to it. I’m not sitting here telling Zac, 'you have to go win the football game by yourself.'  He knows that he is just one piece of the puzzle. It’s an important piece, but if we didn’t feel like he was prepared he wouldn’t be there.”

 

On what positions he has anxiety about

“Head coach. I don’t know.  I guess overall you just want to see how the guys respond across the board. I really like what Zac (Lee) has done in camp. We have youth and we have inexperience. Those are the positions where you want to see how those guys react when the bullets start flying for real.”

 

On if there are positions that are still wide open

“One thing about how we go about it is we play multiple guys at all positions. The competition is on. You have to prepare well and play during the week or someone is going to pass you up. You have to earn your way onto the football field, and it’s not just what they have done up to this point, it’s what they are going to do between now and game time. We’ll change a guy in a heartbeat, and if they aren’t prepared and not performing in practice then I don’t believe they are going to do that in a game. I don’t think you can just flick a switch and our guys understand that. There are multiple positions like that.  Really, there isn’t a position on the field that isn’t like that except a guy who’s a proven seasoned vet. A guy like (Ndamukong) Suh, he’s not going to get beaten out. I feel real confident that our defensive line is pretty much set. We have about eight or nine guys that we have confidence in. Positions where we don’t have seasoned vets, linebacker, and some areas of the secondary are still getting worked out. We have a lot of competition going on there. We have a couple positions on the offensive line, receiver, we have a lot of talent there and we’re trying to work our way through that. Some of that is why you play the game, where we’re going to give a number of guy’s opportunities. We’re not going to put a couple guys out there and the rest of guys sit on the bench and watch and hope for next week.  We’re going to give a lot of guy’s opportunities to show what they can do.”

 

On how important it is to establish another running back with Roy Helu Jr.

“Roy can’t carry the ball every play. We have a lot of confidence in our guys.  I feel like we have good depth at that position. We have a lot of talent there, so you are going to see some other guys.”

 

On if he could see Roy Helu Jr. carrying the ball 25-30 times a game during the Big 12 season

“It depends on Roy.  It depends on a lot of factors.  I don’t think he necessarily has to right now, but I’m not opposed to it.”

 

On if he felt the same sort of anxiety before games when he was a coordinator or assistant coach

“Oh yeah, there is always that.  I go to bed thinking about certain plays and certain scenarios and certain situations that could come up.  Once again, you have to teach them, you have to stress things and hopefully they react the right way.  It’s a tough game. You’re asking guys to make multiple amounts of split-second decisions, and you hope you train them the right way so they can make the right decisions the majority of the time. You’re not in full control of it as a coach. You hope you taught them the right way and prepared them the right way, but sometimes you feel like you’re at their mercy.  I have confidence in the training they have had. I have confidence in what I’ve seen in practice and I think its moving in the right direction.”

 

On if he has to tell Zac Lee to be patient and let the game come to him because of Zac's confidence

“Yeah. Zac has a tremendous amount of confidence in what he can do. Sometimes that can work for you, but it can also work against you.  Coach (Shawn) Watson does a phenomenal job with Zac.  I think he understands him well. I just go by what I see in practice, and he’s well prepared, extremely well prepared to go out there on Saturday and perform well.”

 

On if he has seen Zac (Lee) improve on committing fewer turnovers during fall camp

“Absolutely, no doubt. He has made tremendous strides and you just see him growing. I’m seeing it from the backups, too.  I saw Cody Green, who is a young freshman, do something in practice yesterday decision-wise that is well beyond his years.  I’m seeing the things that are being taught to them applied and its fun to watch because I’m seeing a lot of development there.”

 

On the importance of playing reserve quarterbacks

“Most important thing for me is to win the football game.  I’ll worry about all that other stuff when the time comes.”

 

On playing Florida Atlantic in the season opener

“First of all, I think they are a very talented and very athletic group.  They are well coached. They are coming in here expecting to win a football game, and they should expect to win the football game, otherwise they might as well not show up. I know we are going to have our hands full. We better be ready to play four quarters of good football. You watch them on all the tapes we have watched, they played in some tough environments on the road. It’s just the nature of where they are right now and the conference that they are in.  They have to go on the road, they have to play tough opponents. They are not going to be in awe when they walk in here.  They are coming in here to play some good football.  We have to be well prepared to handle what they are going to throw at us.”

 

On where Lance Thorell fits into the defense this season

“A very similar role that he had last year, which kind of depends on the opponent.  He plays nickel, dime, he is very involved on special teams.  He’s a good football player and one that I have a lot of trust in. I like him.”

 

On what kind of improvements he has seen from Thorell in the fall

“We kind of thrust him into the role he was in last year a few weeks into the season. Now he has a better understanding of what we’re doing, and I think that’s going to make him better.”

 

On if he has developed the type of depth he wants at the nickel spot

“That’s a little bit of a work in progress. That’s not an easy position to learn.  I think we have more options there, but until they have played it, until they have been involved and have experience in doing it in game situations.  We are deeper there than we were a year ago, I can tell you that much.”

 

On if he thinks they will play the same amount of nickel and dime as they did last year

“Yeah, that doesn’t change for us.”

 

On how Ndamukong Suh has developed into a leader

“I think it’s a work in progress.  He leads in a different way.  He leads by example and by how he carries himself. He’s just not a real demonstrative guy. He’s not a guy who’s going to be a rah-rah type leader and that’s OK. Leadership comes in a lot of different forms.  Jerry Rice, he was as good of leader as I have ever been around, he didn’t say boo.  He just did it on how he went about his business.  That’s the key. That’s the key for Suh.”

 

On how ready Ndamukong Suh is to live up to the expectations that have been put on him this season

“I’ve said this before to him, that’s all for you guys. His year is going to be defined on how he plays when the ball is snapped and not all the other stuff. That means nothing at this point. He needs to play some football and he needs to play at a high level.  That’s a challenge that he has in front of him. He is a marked man. He needs to go out there and get after it and play at a high level.”

 

On how important Jared Crick is to the defensive line

“I think the notion that people are just going to double team (Ndamukong) Suh, that’s not football. That can’t happen. It’s not like man-to-man defense. It’s not basketball where I could put a box-and-one on. I could tell you this, there are certain times where the center or somebody to lean that way to help, and I think people are going to be shocked at what Jared Crick brings to the table.  He’s a good football player. There is no question in my mind that he’s fixing to have a big year.  Especially if people choose to do what some people say they might do, and that’s lean towards Suh.  They better be ready to block No. 94.”

 

On if he gave the team a crash course on FAU Coach Howard Schnellenberger

“No. I don’t care, and I don’t think they care.  I don’t really know much about it. I remember watching that game years ago.  That’s irrelevant at this point.”

 

On if he is excited about this season after last years success

“I’m excited about this season because I didn’t think we had a great season last year.  I didn’t come here to win nine games.  That’s why I’m excited for this season.”

 

On what kind of expectations he has for his safeties

“First of all, I put high expectations on all of our guys no matter what position they play in. Second of all, we were inconsistent at the safety position last year. We weren’t always dependable. We were undisciplined at that position last year.  Not intentionally, but we had some busts and we gave up too many big plays last year.  A number of those things come back to the safety position. Not all of them obviously.  I think I need to see more consistent play there.  That’s what I’m looking to get.”

 

On if the mental aspect has been there through fall camp with the safeties

“At times, but it’s not exactly where I want it to be. I’ve said it before, I want them to be perfect. I want them to be accountable.  I want them to do it exactly the way they are being asked to do it on a consistent basis, and we’re not quite there yet.”

 

On if any of his teams have played a perfect game

“No. I don’t know if I’ve seen anybody that’s ever played a perfect game.  Well I did a couple times in my own mind.”

 

On if his response will always be that way because he will never see a perfect game

“You can either settle or you can want more, right?”