Junior I-Back Rex Burkhead

Nebraska Football
Weekly Press Conference
Monday, Oct. 31, 2011
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Pre-Northwestern

Junior I-Back Rex Burkhead
On how the 35 carries felt on Sunday morning
"A little sore. I'm not going to lie. But we came out with a win, so that's always a good feeling. It makes you not a sore as you think you would be."

On where he hurts the most the day after a game
"Definitely the legs. That's where you get hit a lot during the game. The calves a little bit after those cramps. They usually tighten up for a few days."

On what he does to relieve the pain
"You get in the cold tub. We have these little foam massage things that you use to roll out. Definitely sitting in the cold tubs, though. After the game, I was a little late to the press conference, so sorry about that."

On how difficult it is to rest when you want to get out there and practice
"Of course you want to be out there. Every chance you get, every rep you get is a chance to get better. It's tough to understand that. I respect the coaches' decision. There is time where you need rest. After you get a ton of reps in a game or practice, you maybe need it a little bit more. I love being out there. I love competing and playing with the guys, so it's kind of tough to stay back at times."

On what he thinks about the bond the freshman running backs have developed this season
"It's awesome. All three of them are very humble. They root for each other, they care for each other. It's just great to see. It's great to see those guys not be big-headed. They don't complain about playing assignments against one another. They call each other out. It's great to see how mature those young guys are."

On how tough Coach Ron Brown is on them each week
"Yeah, but that's how he is with everyone. It's not just because they are younger. With all of us in the running back room, he's trying to find that one little thing that will give us that edge in the game or in practice or something we can improve upon."

On how different it is to have 35 carries in college compared to in high school
"It's a little different. The hits are a little bit harder. You are a little bit older. Coach Brown says it's a mental thing. It's different because you are playing against a lot bigger people. You probably don't recover as quickly as in high school. On Saturdays in high school, I'd go out and play pick up football with my teammates, but there's no doing that now."

On if he feels the freshmen running backs are capable of playing at the same high level
"Absolutely. I have the utmost confidence and faith in those guys and their abilities that they are going to perform well. I've said before that all three of them are going to be big-time great players before they are done here. They've all got great talent and great abilities. Their football intelligence is way above many freshmen that come in right away."

On how far the team has come since the loss to Wisconsin
"Very far. I think the experiences we've had so far in the Big Ten, week-by-week, we've made improvements at all positions and all phases of the game. And I think we will continue to improve as we get more experience."

On if carrying the ball 35 times is something that he enjoys doing
"Yeah, it's fun. The coach kind of puts the game on your shoulders, as I guess you would say. They put their faith and confidence in you that you are going to get the job done. You don't want to disappoint them. As a competitor and as someone who wants to win, you take advantage of that opportunity."

On his thoughts on the Big Ten division standings
"We can't really worry about that. We've got to take it game-by-game. It's good to be one top, but at the same time, it only comes down to who's on top at the end of the year."

On how the team will view the win against Michigan State looking forward
"It was a great win that day. You cherish the win. But starting yesterday we started watching film as a unit. Today we watch in our individual positions and once that is over, we are moving right along to Northwestern."

On if he needs to remind the freshmen about that
"Honestly they are pretty mature. I think they know what they have to do. They know when to move on and when not to. I think they are very mature for their age and they handle things very well."

On if he thinks he will carry the ball as much against Northwestern
"We'll see. It depends on the game plan. It kind of just depends on what happens in the flow of the game. I think whatever their thoughts are during the game and whatever the defense gives us will determine how much."

On what happened on his false start
"I just jumped off. That was mistake. That was a mental mistake, and I shouldn't have done it."