Senior Safety Austin Cassidy

Nebraska Football
Weekly Press Conference
Monday, Nov. 21, 2011
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Pre-Iowa

Senior Safety Austin Cassidy
On what this final game will mean to him as a senior
"It means a lot. Walking around the stadium after lifting this morning, I saw kids warming up for the high school state championship and it feels like just yesterday that I was just getting started, and now I've come to the end. I know the guys that came here with me and that are here for their fifth year have been through a lot. I've had three different position coaches, two head coaches, two defensive coordinators, two athletic directors, two different conferences, so I've seen a whole lot of change. Not much is the same around here from when we first got here. We stuck together, we stuck through it and it's going to be one of the most memorable things in my life to go out with those guys one more time."

On why he walked on at Nebraska
"There's just something special about this place. All the tradition, the national championships, the support that you get here, the fan support and the academic support that we get. It's not just about going out on Saturdays and winning football games. It's a lot about that, but it's about becoming better people. I think the support staff here has done a fantastic job of helping us do that."

On if he thought he would achieve everything he has when he first walked on
"I always thought it was possible, but when those things happened, I was still pretty shocked. I was able to take the help that so many people around me were offering and see a little bit of success, but it's been quite the journey."

On if there was a point early on when he questioned if he belonged here
"I just knew right away. My first weeks on campus and stuff I just knew this was right for me. The guys that we had on the team, especially the guys that are in my class, we meshed pretty well. It was just one of those things where we knew right away that we were going to stick it out together and we were going to have a heck of a journey."

On how far the program has come since he first came to Nebraska
"I think we've come a long ways. I would say that culturally, it's a completely different culture. Like I said earlier, I think Coach Bo (Pelini) is all about winning, but more importantly helping us out an turning us into good people. And I would honestly say that he has done everything in his power to help us out. Sometimes it is tough love, sometimes he's going to get in your face and treat you like a man, and sometimes he's going to sit down with you and say, 'hey look man, I'm here if you need someone to talk to.' In my experiences, there's been a lot of change and it's been for the better."

On how proud he is to have a chance to win nine games for the fourth straight year
"This year has been tough. It's been up and down, but that's football. I don't think you can look at one program in the last four years that has had way more success than we have had. There have been a couple of elite teams, and I can't say that we're there yet, but you have to start with the foundation, start with the base and that's what Coach Bo and his staff has built here. I think we are consistent in a lot of ways and I think there is nowhere but up."

On if it frustrates him when naysayers think that nine wins is not enough
"For the most part, if you didn't play Division I athletics or if you are not one of our coaches, I can't say that we pay too much attention to the naysayers. We respect what the fans have to say and we appreciate their support, but we have to do what we have to do to prepare for the next week or move on. That's really what our focus is at."

On if he and his fellow fifth-year seniors have acknowledged what they have accomplished
"Yeah. Those guys are some of my best friends. Like I said, I think it just brought us closer, just the fact that we've been through so much together. I was telling Ross Watson, one of the GAs the other day that I should have seniority over him because I've been here longer than he has. I don't think we've really reflected on our time here yet. It's not time to do that. We'll wait until after a couple weeks after our bowl game to look back. Right now, everyone is just so focused that it's not time to look back now."

On if he wants to be a coach someday
"I'm going to keep my options open. I've always loved athletics. I've always loved football. I'd love to be around the game still, but I'm keeping my options open. Hopefully I'm going to find something that I really enjoy and stick with that."

On if he has explained what the Nebraska vs. Iowa game means to the players from Nebraska
"I think most people get that it's a big game. They know that any time you are playing someone within a close vicinity, a lot of times recruiting the same kids, you are competing in a lot of different sports, and they know it's a big deal. They know this could be a big-time rivalry. It's probably bigger to us than Colorado was, K-State or KU just because (Iowa is) right there and they are a really good program, so that's going to be fun for us."

On if he was an Iowa hater growing up
"No, I can't say I was. I never really cared for them too much, but I focused on Nebraska. I just didn't like who Nebraska was playing."

On how strong Iowa's passing game is
"They have one of the best receivers in the Big Ten. He is definitely one of the best receivers in the nation. I know that the coaches are going to have a game plan for us to do our best to attempt to shut those guys down. More important than anything we have to stay locked in and focused this week and put aside any distractions and fix us this week."

On how bad he feels for Jared Crick on Friday and what he's seen from him since the injury
"It's terrible that he went out the way he did. It's really sad. He was one of those guys that has been here for five years. I came in when he did and so he's been through a lot when he's been here and it's sad that he's not going to go out with a four-sack, 10-tackle performance. We definitely miss him. That doesn't mean he hasn't stopped being a leader. He is still around the guys all the time. He's been able to go one all the trips and all that stuff. He's at all the practices every day; he's still a leader; he's just not out on the field."

On how impressed he is that Terrence Moore has stepped out an played despite tough circumstances
"He is one of those guys that when you think you have it tough, you see what he has gone through recently and with injuries, too. You say that's a guy you want to play with and I go out and give it my all to be out there and play with him because my problems are minuscule compared to what he has going on. He's a good guy to rally around and he had a good game for us the other day. Obviously he had that interception for us, which was huge at the time. It's fun to play with him, and at the same time, he is really light-hearted and he keeps things light. Whenever I've seen him down, he doesn't stay down for long."

On what was going through his mind during that interception
"I started running down the field and was looking for someone to block. Then I see the ball pop out like he was intentionally tossing it. And at first I was like, 'Oh no! Don't toss it!' And then I saw Alfonzo (Dennard) catch it and I was like, 'Good idea.' They ended up calling him down but I don't know if the coaches were jacked about him. It would've been a heck of a play if Alfonzo would've scored, but that didn't happen."

On seniors, like Terrence Moore, that come from a different part of the country but seem to become a part of Nebraska
"I think people that aren't from here try and embrace the culture here. I know people that some from big cities or on the coast somewhere enjoy how friendly the people are here. I wouldn't say the slower pace of life but no one is in a big hurry. I think they just enjoy what Nebraska has to offer. It's like a family on the team. Wherever your family is at, that is where you want to be, and I think a lot of those guys look at each other like we are all brothers."

On the mood of the team yesterday
"No one was excited, obviously. It's hard not to get down on yourself, but at the same time, we don't have time to sulk. It's time to move on. We've got a big game this weekend. This game means a lot for us on a lot of different levels. This is huge for us. It's going to determine probably where we end up going in the postseason and so there's no time to reflect too much. We've got to learn from what happened and move on."