Nebraska Coach Bo Pelini

Nebraska Football
Weekly Press Conference
Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2010
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Pre-Kansas

On what he saw from Kansas in the second half of their come-from-behind victory over Colorado
"I just thought they kept playing. I think it shows a lot about their character and the things their coaching staff is trying to implement to them. It's real easy to pack it in in a situation like that, and they never did that. You have to give a team credit for continuing to fight and keep believing."

On if Turner Gill's character showed in his players during the second half of the Colorado game
"Like I said, I think it shows that he's instilling a certain kind of mindset in their football team."

On if he leaned on Gill when he was here in 2003 as the defensive coordinator
"No, I mean I leaned more on Frank (Solich). Obviously, Turner was on the other side of the ball. Everybody you come in contact with, everybody on the staff you develop a relationship with, you get to know them. I think you learn from everybody you're around."

On how you prepare for the Kansas quarterback situation
"To be honest with you, I don't even know who's going to play quarterback. It's kind of irrelevant. We're preparing against their offense, because they don't change much from guy to guy. I think they are all capable and you have to be prepared for whoever lines up back there."

On Rex Burkhead's play
"I thought he did really well. I think he's pretty natural at handling the wildcat stuff. I think he did really well. He has some background as a quarterback. Rex is just a good football player. To be able to line up and do all that, you have to be able to have an understanding of what you're trying to accomplish and be able to take charge and those are all things that are strengths of Rex. He's a good football player. He's very confident and a take-charge guy. I think he fits that role really well."

On if Burkhead has become a team leader
"Yeah, I think Rex became a team leader pretty quick around here. He got voted onto the Unity Council and it's only his second year. Rex isn't a rah-rah guy. He's a guy who brings it every day. He's one of the guy's who leads by example. When you have the kind of work ethic he has and you do things right on the field and off the field, and really embody all the things that you want your program to represent, I think he represents all those things. The guys recognize that and it draws respect quickly for a guy like him, and I think that's what's happened. He is an exceptional young man in every regard. Like I said, I think other players recognize it."

On if there have been any positives to Taylor Martinez sitting out the last game and a half
"Taylor is at a stage in his career where I think you can learn all the time by watching and mental reps and all those things, but you want him to be out there doing it and getting his reps out on the field. That's the best scenario. I'm sure it makes him more hungry, but he's a competitive guy. He wanted to play the other day. Hopefully, it will make him that much more hungry when he gets in there. I think he's anxious to get back out there and play."

On what he learned about Cody Green from last week's game
"I thought he played well. There are a lot of things he can improve upon, but I thought he managed the game well. He made good decisions in the passing game. I thought he played well and did many of the things we thought he was capable of doing."

On how to deal with the grind of a season entering November with guys being banged up
"It's part of the deal. Everybody is tired this time of the year. The coaches, players, it's a grind. When you get to this time of the year, you have to draw upon that we have a lot to play for. If we were 1-8 it would be a heck of a lot harder. My message to the football team is we'll take our rest in four weeks, until then you have to put the foot on the gas pedal and go. No one is going to give you anything; you have to go earn it.  If it was easy, everybody would do it. That's the message."

On if it's easier to coach against someone you know and have a relationship with
"Is it easier? Not really. I don't have a strong relationship with Turner. I respect him. I know him. I was with him for one year and we haven't really kept in touch much. I respect him as a football coach. He's not playing the game. I'm not playing the game. It's about our football team. That's about it."

On if there are similarities between Chuck Long's offense now and in the past
"There are some similarities and there are many differences. Obviously, it's different personnel. I see them getting better. I'm sure Turner, he's an offensive guy, I'm sure he has a lot of input on the offense, too. It's like anytime you're in a first year together, it takes time to gain continuity, not only with your team but with your staff. I'm sure they're in the process of doing that right now. You see them heading in the right direction, I'll tell you that much. They're getting better as the year goes on."

On what makes Eric Hagg such a valuable piece of the defense
"He does so many things for us. Everyone knows what he brings athletically, but we ask him to do a lot of different things from playing nickel to linebacker. Week to week he has a lot to learn. We ask him to do a variety of different things, which you have to be multi-talented to be able to get that done. I think he's having an exceptional year. He's really doing well and playing well. I think his future is bright. He'll play at the next level, there's no question in my mind."

On if the decision to switch to the Peso defense was because of the personnel they have
"That's a huge part of it. We worked him some at the safety last spring because we felt like he had to be on the field, but we also had some other safeties. We had (DeJon) Gomes, you have find ways to get your guys who have earned it, your best football players, on the field and he was one of those guys. It also gives you a chance, because he can do a lot of different things well, it's easier for us to match up with people. In this day and age, people want to try and create mismatches. When you have Eric Hagg on the field, it's a lot harder for them to do it. He can do the things we ask linebackers to do, but he can also cover any wide receiver you put him on. That gives you a lot of multiplicity and a lot of flexibility as a defense."

On if the last two months have helped him determine the direction NU needs to go in recruiting when moving to the Big Ten
"It's an interesting question, part of that is I'm not quite sure what some of those teams in the Big Ten, what the challenges will be. I think this year we're probably playing a little smaller than we probably will in the future, but that's more of a personnel and here-and-now type thing with regards to our personnel. I think that will change a little bit. I think you're going to see that our strengths as a defense will probably be a little bit different. I believe this as a coach, you recruit good football players and then you find a way to get the best football players on the field. Some of that is you have to take into account who you're playing, some of it also is you have to be able to find your guys and what they do well and make sure you find a way to get your best players out on the field. There's a little bit of all that going on, and will it influence recruiting a little bit? Yes."

On if the run defense this year has changed recruiting
"Oh no, not at all. The things that have happened for us in the run game are more, some of it was philosophical. I'll put it this way, you understand what the strengths and weaknesses are of every defense, what you're trying to accomplish in a game plan and what you want to take away, sometimes you're willing to give up more of a run to offset other things. I don't think it's really a personnel issue. We've had some inexperience, especially at the linebacker position where we misfit some things. That's not really a concern. I'll put it this way, I don't think we got out played physically. We hold up on the front well. Most of the things that have happened have been either tackling or some missed assignments, that type of thing. I thought we have gotten better as we have gotten more experienced."

On if he looks back at last year's defense and misses their tackling ability
"Oh yeah, and we knew going in we were going to miss that some. Those were three pretty key guys, especially you look back, Matt O'Hanlon was a really good tackler, (Phillip) Dillard did a really good job. It's not really the physical ability of people that do it, it's being experienced. You look at the first year, those guys, that was a house of horrors a little bit when they were just learning what to do. Some of our young and inexperienced guys are growing into their positions and I think they're getting better, but it doesn't happen overnight.  I see development going on there."