Nebraska Coach Bo Pelini

Nebraska Football Weekly Press Conference
Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009
Memorial Stadium - Lincoln, Neb.
Pre-Kansas

On if he's surprised that Kansas has struggled the past month

“Yeah, I think they’re a good football team. I think they are very talented. I know we’re going to have our work cut out for us. I know they are going to be ready to play. A Big 12 North game and they’re playing at home. I really haven’t followed it greatly, I’m sure they’ve had some injuries and some things like that, like a lot of people go through. But I know he (Coach Mark Mangino) does a great job and runs a great program. Their coaching staff does a great job, so I know they’ll have them ready to play this week.”

 

On whether the defense focus on early season films of Kansas when quarterback Todd Ressing was healthy, or more recent game films

“We look at their whole body of work, but he’s played well. He’s a good quarterback. He’s a weapon. He’s dangerous. He scrambles well. He runs that offense really well. I know we’ll have our work cut out for us.”

 

On his level of concern about a letdown following an emotional win

“We won’t let down. I don’t buy into all that. We stay really consistent in our approach and how we go about it. The team came out yesterday and practiced really hard and really fast. I like where we are right now.”

 

On if the defensive turnaround from 2007 is more schemes or more player development

“Scheme always has something to do with it, but I don’t believe it’s what you do, it’s how you do it. In football, it’s about fundamentals, technique, teaching and developing each guy individually. And also, I think it’s about creating an attitude, a culture, a certain way of going about things, both practice-wise and how you approach it when you take the field. I think all of those things go into it. I think it goes well beyond scheme. The scheme kind of changes, that evolves as you go along, but how you do it and the way you play every single week is something that I think separates somebody playing good defense and somebody not playing good defense.”

 

On if he saw what guys could potentially be when he arrived in the spring of 2008

“Well, I think to a large extent what you have to do is you have to look and see what guys, I think at that time we were trying to learn what guys could do and what our strengths and weaknesses were, and really address it from there. I think that plays a part in how you build your scheme around a particular group. It also plays a part in how you attack and how you develop certain guys. I think that’s fair to say that that’s how you approach it. We learned about what they could do and what they couldn’t do early on, and just keep working to get better. I saw a pretty slow gradual progress last year. I thought at the end of the year we got better. I think that continues now. Believe me, we’re not the finished product by any means, but we’re continuing to get better, and as we continue to get better and the guys get more comfortable in what we’re asking them to do and how we’re asking them to do it, I see their confidence growing. That’s when you really can get good, when they really start to grow confidence-wise. I think that’s really starting to happen now.”

 

On where he would rank the defense on a national level

“Oh, I don’t know. I don’t get into all of that. I know what we are capable of doing. Unfortunately, I get to watch all the practice film and all the game film and really break it down to the detail. I just know there is a lot more there for us, knowledge-wise, technique-wise, execution-wise, and our guys understand that. As long as we keep working to get better. You can’t get comfortable, I know that. You have to keep pushing and wanting more if you really want to achieve. That’s the kind of attitude our guys have taken. The worst thing we can do is want to sit there and pat ourselves on the back. That’s how you get hit in the mouth. Our guys, we take a very black and white approach in showing them, you know we did these things well, these things didn’t hurt us today, but they could hurt us down the road. Our players understand that and we just keep working to get better. As long as we keep that attitude, we can continue to keep getting better.”

 

On what he thinks about the Big 12 changing into more of a defensive league

“Well, I think every year is going to be a little bit different. It evolves and I just think that it is cyclical a little bit. At the same time, I don’t know if it’s throughout the whole league, Oklahoma has been playing good defense for a long time now and that’s why they have won championships. Texas has improved defensively and has been playing good defensively, and that has put them in a position to win championships. That’s what I believe in also, and hopefully that will lead us in the same direction. But I know this; you can’t win championships without playing good defense. I think that’s proven to be the case.”

 

On if the defenses are catching up the to offenses in college football or are defenses adjusting to what offenses have been doing

“I don’t know about adjusting. I still see a lot of points being scored throughout the country. That’s still happening a lot. Scheme-wise, I don’t know how much things change. Some people have evolved, some people haven’t. I believe a good defense can stop any offense, period. Can you always completely shut them down? That isn’t always the case. There are a lot of things that go into that. I don’t think it’s a matter of having to catch up, I think it’s a matter of playing better defense and executing better. One thing that has really helped us is that we’re good up front. We’re really good up front. When you’re good up front, I think that’s one thing that’s a common theme throughout all the teams that are playing good defense right now. If you’re good up front and you can handle the middle of the field, it can create a lot of problems for an offense, both run game-wise and pass game-wise. That’s the case with us right now. I think that’s a common theme throughtout all the teams that are playing good defense. I’m not saying that we’re not good in the back end, at linebacker and everything else, but it all starts there. It starts with being able to control the line of scrimmage.”

 

On what having a good front four allows you to do with your safeties

“It allows you to do a lot of different things. It allows you to play two high safeties when you want. It allows you to be very multiple in what you do. If you’re not good up front and you have to be committing defensive backs and safeties down in the box all the time, then you’re very limited in what your options are. When you’re good up front and you are controlling the line of scrimmage, you can give different looks. You can be more multiple. Fortunately for me, that’s a luxury I’ve had over my coaching career. You have to develop your guys up front. I think that was the case with all the good defenses I’ve been around. It allows you to do a lot more things in the passing game. It gives you a lot more options.”

 

On how KU quarterback Todd Reesing’s experience can change the dynamic of his defense

“He’s really good. He’s just a competitor. I have a lot of respect for Todd Reesing and the way he approaches the game. He’s a competitor. He’s a winner. I think he really understands their system. He’s been doing it for a number of years. I think he runs it very well. He’s very efficient at what he does. It creates a challenge for you to go against a guy like that, because he has kind of been there and seen it all. Been there done that. There’s not a lot you can give him that he hasn’t experienced before.”

 

On if he thinks they have taken advantage of facing some inexperienced quarterbacks in the Big 12

“Somewhat, that always helps. At the same time, I don’t really pay attention to who the signal caller is. I don’t really change my game plan according to who we play. I kind of look at what they do and try to take away what they do regardless of who’s back there. I might change a call here or there, but overall, you have to take away what a team does best and really defend the offense more so than the people running it.”

 

On if he is looking at what they aren’t able to do or what they have done and are capable of doing

“The way I approach it is you have to figure they are going to be at their best. You have to figure they are going to execute at a top notch level no matter what and that’s what we have to be prepared for. That’s kind of how we prepare our guys. If you want to be dominate, if you want to play high quality football, that’s what you have to do. You have to be prepared. You’re going to get their best shot.”

 

On what he would consider viable progress for the offense against Kansas

“I expect our offense to play very well this week. We need to play better. I thought we did some good things the other night. I think the circumstances of the game and the aura of what was going on, it played into us being very conservative. That ended up being the plan. As the game played out, it was the right way to win the football game. We were all on the same page on that, but every week is going to be different. We have to be prepared this week to put points on the board and to do it early and often, because we’re playing a pretty explosive offense with some guys who can hurt you at any time. That was very much the case against Oklahoma. They have some explosive athletes. It was just the way the game went. They never really forced us to be more wide open and we didn’t need to be. It was the right formula for that day, but this week we have to be ready to open it up and get ready to come after them and score some points.”

 

On if he wants to get in a track meet with Kansas

“I’m a defensive coach. I don’t like track meets.”

 

On how he will go about picking a starting quarterback and will it be a game-time decision for the remainder of the year

“I have confidence in both guys. The offense doesn’t change according to who’s in there or who’s the starter. There’s a chance you could see one of them. There’s a chance you could see both of them in the game. Once again, we have a lot of confidence in both guys. We’ll see how the game play formulates as the week goes on and how the practice goes, and we’ll make our decisions accordingly. Pretty much what we do at every position.”

 

On how his philosophy has changed on only playing one quarterback

“You know what, I want to win. I want to win. Whatever I feel is going to give our football team the best opportunity on any given week or any given circumstance, that’s what I’m going to do. I have a responsibility to the whole football team, the fans and everybody associated with the football program. Like I said, I’m here to win. Whatever we feel as a coaching staff needs to be done, that’s what we’re prepared to do.”

 

On if the offensive identity is affected by which quarterback is in the game

“No, not at all. We build our game plan, obviously there might be a play here or play there that change accordingly, but both guys are multi-talented guys who can run and throw and do a lot of things. It doesn’t change much.”

 

On how he would assess the play of defensive backs Alfonzo Dennard and Prince Amukamara

“I think they’ve played well. I think they need to continue to get better. I see some things that they can do better. They are competing. They are challenging receivers. They understand where their help is coming from and when they are getting help. Coach (Marvin) Sanders does a tremendous job with that group getting them to understand what we’re trying to accomplish each week. You throw Eric Hagg into that group, (Dejon) Gomes, and Anthony West has come in and played some huge snaps for us the past few weeks. Obviously, along with the safeties, that secondary group is doing some really good things. We still fight the urge to shoot ourselves in the foot every now and then with a mental error or a lack of concentration. Last week, I thought overall it was a pretty solid performance.”

 

On what Dennard had to do to take that next step and become the starter

“Experience. I think he plays the ball real well. He’s always been a very aggressive guy, very competitive. He will, I shouldn’t say take chances, but he challenges guys. He’ll get right up in people's faces and challenge people. He didn’t always understand exactly what we wanted from him. Now as his camp went through and early in the season he started to grow into the position. I think his overall understanding of the defense is much better and it’s allowing him to play better and it’s played out that way.”

 

On if you can run more of a base defense with Hagg and Gomes in the game 

“They actually do a lot of things that are linebacker-like. We use those guys a lot of times very similar to how we use linebackers. The play Hagg made on the fourth-down play, he was lined up as a weakside linebacker. That was a great play by him on a big-time back. They’re big, they have nice size to them, they are very athletic, and now their level of understanding is better and we can use them in a lot of different roles throughout each game plan. It gives us a lot more versatility and puts a lot of speed on the field.”

 

On what it does for his coaching confidence after holding Oklahoma and Missouri to only 15 points

“Well, it just shows me we’re making some progress. It doesn’t do anything for my confidence. I probably have too much of that at times. I think we’re making some progress, but like I said, I really have a pretty good handle on how far we still have to go. To me, it’s a pretty long way to really get where I envision us being. I really like our football team and the kids on our football team because they have continued to work. They keep working to get better every day. I’ve seen steady progress and that aspect of it has been rewarding for me as a coach, because I see these kids getting better and developing.”

 

On if the success NU had running the ball in the second half was a result of something they did on offense or something OU did on defense

“I thought we blocked some plays pretty well. I thought we had a couple schemes that really hit them. It was good mix in the running game. I thought the physical nature of our offense and our offensive line, that was as physical of executing run plays that we’ve had in a while. That was good to see. I thought we came off the football and took advantage of some things that were there. Obviously, when Roy (Helu) is running the way he is, or the way he was on a couple of those runs, he made a couple cuts that were pretty special. I thought it was a team thing. It was good to see. We needed to get some yards and make a couple plays in those situations and we were able to do it.”

 

On how both quarterbacks have responded after being benched

“They’re great kids. I think Cody (Green) was upset the other night because he is a competitor. He understood what was going on and why we did it. We talked about it. Believe me, those guys more than anything, they just want to win. They are team guys. Believe me, they both want to be the guy. They both see themselves as being the guy. One thing about it, we’ve had a direct line and a clear communication with them throughout the whole process. The thing that is special about those two young men is that they are both for each other. They’re team guys. They are for each other. There is a trust that goes on between the coaches and the players and they just want to win.”

 

On what the downsides are of being conservative and using that as your game plan for the remainder of the season

“Like I said, each week is going to be a little bit different. We watch a lot of film. We watch our opponent and going into each game you have to make a decision on what you believe going in. You have to formulate a game plan to be able to react and adapt to any situation that happens on any given game. There’s always going to be a conservative aspect to the game, but their also has to be one where you have to open up pretty quick in case things aren’t going the way you want on the other side of the football. I think we’re ready to adapt to anything that we need to do. One thing I have learned as a coach is you have to respect the game. Each week the circumstances are going to change. You have to be ready to do whatever it takes on that certain day to win the football game. I think we’re ready to do that.”

 

On how much he lets himself look at the big picture with only three games remaining

“I don’t look at it at all. All I worry about is today. All I’m concerned with is Kansas. The big picture doesn’t mean anything if I lose sight of that. I preach that to my players and I try and live that myself, because it’s all about today and the process that is going to get us to Saturday. We need to play better, and to do that we need to keep getting better each day. Believe me we’re not at the point as a program where we can miss a day. We have to keep working to get better and improve each guy on our football team.”

 

On if he would consider playing BoiseState in 2011 and what goes into the thought process of scheduling that type of game

“I really haven’t thought about it to be honest with you. I’m just concerned with Kansas. The last thing I’m concerned with is what’s going to happen in 2011 right now.”

 

On if Roy Helu taking the green jersey off for practice was his decision or if it was done by the coaches to see how healthy he was

“The green jersey, that more comes from Roy and the training staff and doctors. I don’t have a lot to do with that.”

 

On if Helu was tentative on Saturday against Oklahoma

“No, I think he was as healthy as he’s been in a month. He’s been nicked up and I think he was feeling pretty good, and it started during the week.”

 

On if players who come back and redeem themselves from a previous mistake is a credit to the player or the system

“Probably a little bit of both. You’re not going to be able to bounce back if you don’t have character. It doesn’t happen without support. Hopefully, there is a culture of trust and there are things going on around here that are enabling guys to do that.”

 

On if the culture is becoming more engrained

“I would hope so, but there is a ways to go in that area. We have a long way to go as a program right now and it’s only going to be done by continuing to roll up our sleeves and putting in hard word.”

 

On the path Matt O’Hanlon has traveled 

“Matt is an exceptional young man. It’s never easy, no matter what. It’s more magnified if you’re a walk-on, but even if you’re on scholarship, you are going to go through ups and downs, emotional highs and lows. You have to be strong. You have to keep persevering if you want to achieve. I think Matt has done that. When you’re a defensive back in a game where you play 87 snaps, you can play 86 really good ones and all people are going to remember is that bad one. You have to be strong enough to overcome that and mentally tough enough to keep persevering. Matt’s done that. He has continued to get better. I think right now he is playing pretty good football. He made some big plays for us the other night.”

 

On if they still do the walk-on tryouts

“Oh yeah, I know we had one in the fall. I think we have been doing it like twice a year.”

 

On what the chances are of a guy making it through the walk-on tryouts

“It depends on the guy. If somebody shows the ability to play here and exhibits to us that he wants to have an opportunity to get on the field, we bring them in and give them an opportunity. They have to be prepared when they come for the workout. Some of them, as of late, most of our walk-ons have come from being invited walk-ons and that type of thing. I can’t think off the top of my head how it’s gone because we have had a number of them. They have to be prepared when they get here. Some of them don’t truly understand what they are walking into when they come to that workout, but that will continue. We’ll continue that program.”

 

On if he was frustrated with the crowd against Texas Tech and IowaState

“Yeah, even before that. That crowd is always good, but the stadium just didn’t have that juice. I felt an extra bit of juice in that stadium on Saturday night. You could feel it. Sometimes I don’t think the crowd realizes how big an impact they can have on a football team and the whole aura of what’s going on and give us that extra juice. You go into a game and sometimes the crowd feels like they should win this game and sometimes you feel that. That’s been the case everywhere I have been. That’s human nature. I was trying to give an example to our crowd and fans of how big of an impact they can have. I thought they had a huge impact on that game the other night. I hope that continues. I would like that to be the case whether we’re playing Oklahoma or whatever ScottJunior High School.”

 

On if scoring first helps get the crowd into it

“Well you always like to score first, but that shouldn’t matter.”

 

On if he would like to be a power running team and pound the other team consistently

“Absolutely, I would like to see that happen more consistently. That’s one of the things that hasn’t happened consistently. You have to have balance to be able to get that done. You have to be able to throw the football to. Exhibiting the ability to pass the football is going to allow you to run the football and visa-versa. If they don’t think you can run the football, you’re going to be running the ball against eight, nine, or 10-man fronts. I don’t care how good you are, it’s hard to do that consistently. You have to have both.”

 

On if he worry’s about his offense being too one-dimensional down the stretch

“No, I think we have a good plan. I like some of the things that we are doing right now. I have a lot of confidence in Wats (Coach Shawn Watson) and the offensive staff. We’ll find a way.”

 

On how he would sum up the events of the past two weeks

“I’m worried about Kansas. That’s all I’m worried about.”