Nebraska Player Quotes

Nebraska 20, Kansas 3
Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)

Redshirt Freshman Quarterback Taylor Martinez
On his road to recovery
"I’m a long way from where I was. I’ve been in treatment for a long time. It’s getting a lot better?it’s almost 100% right now."

On how important it was for him to get back out and play today
"It was very important for me to get back out there; just to know that it’s my team and no one else’s team, and for me to start establishing a rhythm once we go into Texas A&M and Colorado."

On if it was hard to be on the sidelines at Iowa State last Saturday
"It was very difficult. I didn’t like it, especially that close of a game. I wished I was in there helping the team, but there was nothing I could do about it."

Junior Cornerback Alfonzo Dennard
On if the defensive performance felt dominant
"Yeah, it felt pretty good because our defense was just swarming everywhere to the ball and trying to cause turnovers. Coach was talking before the game that he just wanted to play a good, pressured defensive game, and that’s what it was."

On how it felt to get back on the field
"It felt pretty good, because I wanted to come back and help our team win. I want to enjoy the win, just like everyone else is doing. I just want to go out there and have fun and compete."

Junior Defensive Tackle Jared Crick
On how he felt about the defensive effort
"I thought we played well. I thought we executed consistently for the first time all season. I’m very proud of our guys, how we hustled to the ball and mainly how we communicated well, but definitely, first and foremost, we executed and that was the biggest thing."

On if he’s impressed with the six sacks
"I’m very impressed, but I also knew we could do that. Like I said, it’s all credit to us stopping the run on first and second down and getting to those third-and-long situations that really benefit us getting those sacks. I knew we could do it. We just finally we executed and stopped them on first and second down, which gets them into that position."

On where this ranks in defensive efforts during his time at Nebraska
"It’s up there. We’ve had a lot of great defensive performances, but definitely up there. I can’t name, you know, number-wise, one, two, whatever, but it’s definitely a great performance, and it’s definitely one of the top ones I’ve seen since I’ve been here."

Redshirt Freshman Offensive Lineman Jeremiah Sirles
On what Kansas did effectively on defense and what went on with the offense
"We could move the ball but we couldn't score. That's a problem because you can't win a game with total yards. No need to panic. Nothing went terribly wrong. We just need to clean up the little things. Put everything into full drives and finish them off."

On if Taylor Martinez was good to go
"Yeah. He was fine. I'm sure he had a little rust to shake off for that one week but I think he is good. He is getting more confident as the year is progressing, I can tell. His demeanor about himself has gotten better."

On if he likes running the wildcat offense
"I love running the wildcat. It is one of my favorite things. Having Rex (Burkhead) back there, he is one of the most dynamic players that I have ever played with. Having him back there as a threat is a great thing to have."

On the defense allowing 87 total yards
"Throw your hands up to them. It was a heck of an effort by them. They played great. That is almost expected of guys like that. They live up to such a standard here as the Blackshirts, and they came out and took a wallop to them."

Senior Safety DeJon Gomes
Talk about the role the defense played tonight and how they played
"We just went out there and had fun. We could see a visible difference in how we just went out there and were flying around. We were competing and having fun doing it. We prepared really well over the week in practice. That really helped us."

On how big it was to have Alfonzo Dennard back
"He is a big part of the defense. You saw him come up with a huge turnover. It could have went either way. It would have been a big play for them, but it was a big play for us. I'm glad to have him back."

On if this is the best performance of the year for the defense
"According to the statistics, it would be. I would say yes."

On how important it was to get off to a fast start
"It was our emphasis. We wanted to get to the quarterback and give their O-line some pressure and we knew our defensive backs would do a good job. They guarded the guys long enough."

On being able to adjust on the fly as a defense
"I guess over the season, you see so many things over fall camps and week in and week out against different opponents and you just learn your scheme so much more. When you see things that you don't see in practice, you can pick it up that much easier."

On what they did to be effective on third down
"I think it came down to execution. We executed our blitz and I feel the best I have thus far this season. It really helped us a lot."

Senior Cornerback Prince Amukamara
On how important it is to hold an opponent to less than 100 yards
"It was an amazing performance by our defense. Our coaches are never satisfied. They are just going to raise expectations higher next week."

On if there is anything they could do better
"It was pretty good. I don't know. I didn't watch the film. One of our goals coming into this game was to have zero missed tackles. I'm not sure if we missed any or not."

On how important it was getting off the field on third down
"It was very important just to keep the offense on their toes. We ran different schemes for that."

On what kind of opportunity they have to win the Big 12 North
"As a team, we are very excited to get back to that game. We are still just focusing on the process and taking it one game at a time."