Defensive Tackle Jared Crick

On what they'll find out about Nebraska after going on the road this week and playing in a tough atmosphere
"I think everything. The first two opponents were good teams, but going against a team like Washington, we're really going to see how far we've come and what we're made of. It's going to be a great challenge. If we can come out of there with a 'W,' it's going to tell a lot of things for us."

On what he remembers from his first road start at Virginia Tech last year
"Just how big of a game it was. Myself, I was kind of too amped for the game. I didn't really calm myself and go out there and realize it's just another game. That's going to be one of the bigger things. We just have to go out there and play our game. We can't realize how big the game is or who we're going against, we just have to go out there and execute and we'll be fine."

On what the key is when defending a quarterback like Jake Locker
"You have to be aware of where you're at and what your buddy is doing. You have to keep pass rush lanes and stay intact with each other. We've gone against plenty of dual-threat quarterbacks, so it's not our first rodeo. We're going to go in with a smart pass rush mindset, but definitely we're going to be trying to get after him as best as we can. Yeah, we have to watch out for the rush lanes and if there is a pocket that should open up that he can scramble through, we're going to close it up pretty quick. We are going to go on with an aggressive mindset."

On Locker's ability to make odd throws
"Yeah, he's a good quarterback and can do those things. If we can put him in parts where he is indecisive, that is even better to help our DB's. No matter how he wants to sling the rock, he is going to do that. Our job is to just get pressure on him."

On if they've seen Locker stick in the pocket or move around more
"He wants to find his receiver first, but if he needs to, he will take off and run. That is with any quarterback though. It's not any different; we just have to get pressure as much as we can. If he wants to take you down and run, then we have to get him on the ground as fast as you can."

On if they take more pride in shutting Locker down with all the hype around him
"We want to shut down every quarterback we play, but hearing the hype about him isn't a big deal for us. We have to take the approach every week that the quarterback we're going against can be the best quarterback in the nation that week, so we have to go and prepare that he is going to play his best. We have to play our best to counter that. Just hearing the hype, it's going to be fun going in and seeing what we can do against a guy who could potentially go very high in the draft."

On the communication for a defense going on the road
"It will help it a lot. There isn't going to be as much noise, so we're going to be able to hear the backers and hear the calls. Going on the road, I think we play a lot better because we have the mindset that it is us against everybody. It just brings us that much closer together, and we're working that much more as a unit. It's going to be fun. We love road games. I love road games personally. It's definitely going to be our biggest challenge up to this point."

On if they feel like the way they defend the run makes it hard for running backs to figure out where they're going to go
"That's part of our job, just forcing the decision and slowing them up. If they know exactly what hole they're going to hit and it's wide open, they're going to hit it has fast as they can. If we can close that gap and make them think for a second about which gap they want to hit, it's going to slow them up and give us that much more time to get them in the backfield and give them a TFL. Part of what we want to do is to slow the running back down and get him in the backfield."

On how long it takes to learn a two-gap mentality within a one-gap scheme
"I mean you learn it instantly when they tell you it, but to get a feel for it and actually execute it, it takes quite a while. Some guys, times are different. You have to work at it a lot in order to be really good at it. We work at it every single day, and I still need to get a lot better at it from where I'm at now. It's definitely a technique you have to work on constantly to be good at it."

 On Taylor Martinez's ball handling
"It's hard sometimes. He is very good at hiding the ball, so is Rex and Roy (Helu). They do a great job with the zone read and hiding the ball and making you guess. Taylor is especially good at it, you've seen it in games where he tricks people out and takes off. They are very good at it and practice it every day. That is a tool they have that can help them out."

On what they saw from BYU's defense in their game against Washington
"Their schemes worked well. They got some pressure and they stopped the running back. I haven't watched the entire game yet so I can't tell you everything they did right. Just skimming, I definitely saw some good things that we're still going to do this week, but we're going to play our defense and not try to replicate what BYU did. The things we're going to do against them can be similar."

On how he would compare the development of the younger guys in the interior to where he was last year
"They're coming along. They're nowhere near where they need to be or where they want to be, but neither am I. They are getting better and learning. That is the biggest thing. As long as they can improve every single day, that is the biggest thing. That is all they can do. Even if it is just a little improvement, as long as they are improving every single day that is the biggest thing. I've definitely seen some great things out of them."

On how the experience the younger guys on the defensive line will help later on
"It's definitely going to help. Last year (Ndamukong) Suh and I were on the field 95% of the time, so it does kind of take a toll. You don't want to come out of the game, but there are times where you need to come out. You have to conserve energy a bit for the later games of the season. I think that will help us out for Big 12 play. We're going to be fresh and we're going to have more energy going in. having guys who can come in and not just give you a blow, but execute the defense and do their job, that is going to be the biggest thing for us. I think those guys, (Thaddeus Randle, Terrence Moore, Josh Williams) are crucial for us."

On how many snaps he thinks he's played
"I wouldn't know. I've played a fair share, but getting Thad and T-Mo (Moore) and those guys in has taken the load off me. I don't know, going into Washington, going into Big 12 week, if those guys can keep playing a high level, the percentage of my reps will stay the same."

On when he came out of the game against Idaho and they started moving the ball
"You always want to be in the game, especially when you see the opposing offense doing some good things. You want to get in there and stop it as quick as you can. I think it's good for those guys to get that experience and face adversity in a game-time situation. It just gives them that much more experience. Going into the next game, the next time they face adversity like that, they're going to handle it a lot better. Yeah, you want to get back in the game, but at the same time, it's good for those guys to get that feeling and get that adversity going against them."

On the importance of the secondary
"The secondary we have is crucial for us. It gives us that much more time to get to the quarterback and lock down receivers. You saw we had five picks last week, if we can do that again this week, that'd be awesome. Having those guys back there gives us more of an aggressive threat up front knowing that we have all that time that they're going to give us so we can get to the quarterback. At the same time, we have to get there as fast we can so they don't have to lock down those guys for much longer."

On how much they look forward to playing a team like Washington
"It's always exciting seeing a team who likes to pass more than run just for the fact that it is a chance to get sacks and a chance to put hits on the quarterback. The mindset is definitely to stop the run first and make them pass.

On what the key is to force Locker into making bad decisions
"You have to stay after him. He is a great quarterback; he's been through this before. He knows how to handle himself in a situation where he is getting a lot of pressure on him. We just have to keep it consistent. We have to keep hitting him every time we have the chance and slowly but surely make him feel us. If we can do that, then it's going to be hard to rattle the guy, if we can slowly grind away at him, we can do some good things as long as we keep getting after him."