Cole Pensick Quotes (Sept. 9)

Nebraska Football
Weekly Press Conference
Memorial Stadium
Pre-UCLA
Monday, Sept. 9, 2013

Senior Offensive Lineman Cole Pensick
On UCLA’s defense last season
“They were just like any other defense, trying to stop the run and whatnot. We just look back and kind of learn from the negatives and look at the positives to try and progress as a team. That way we can get better every week and move on.”

On what he felt after last season’s loss
“Obviously, we wanted to come away with a win there. After sitting in the locker room and thinking about it a little while, you have to take the ups and downs. You have to learn from it. We can’t dwell on it. We just needed to move forward and get better. We still had the opportunity to come back to the Rose Bowl and play there, so we just had to keep moving forward.”

On losing the game so close
“Having a close game like that obviously eats at you a little bit more. Like I said before, you have to look at the ups and downs, the positives and negatives, and just learn from it to keep moving forward. You can’t dwell on something too long. Otherwise, it will just keep eating at you.”

On UCLA’s defensive line
“Just like any other week, you have to get in, study the film and look at their tendencies. You can learn a lot from watching previous games, like keying on what their tendencies are on pass rushes and how they defend the run. The big thing is just the mental aspect of it.”

On the offensive line play in the first two games
“I think we’re doing pretty well, but there are obviously things we can improve on. I think we have the right guys in the room to keep each other accountable, keep moving forward and better each other at every practic.”

On slow offensive starts in the first two games
“Obviously, penalties and false starts taking you from 3rd-and-2 to 3rd-and-8 don’t improve your percentages of moving the ball. The first couple games you have the jitters. The big thing is just keeping each other calm, learning from those mistakes and moving forward.”

On this game’s importance
“Like we always say when we talk in the offensive line room, you have to approach every practice, every game, like it’s the big one. You can’t take a certain opponent any lighter than another one because you don’t know what’s going to happen on any give Saturday. That’s why you play. The paper may say you’ll win, but you could end up losing. You have to come out there, compete and have the mental focus that say, ‘This is the game.’”

On this game being a measuring stick
“I wouldn’t put a measuring stick on it. It’s just another game that we have to get prepared for, get mentally focused for and come in ready to attack.”

On the black jerseys
“I think it’s about time. I grew up in Nebraska, and you always have just the scarlet and cream. Ever since I got here, we’ve always talked about having black jerseys, so I think it’s fitting.”

On the jerseys being extra cool
“To be honest with you, I really don’t know. I just put the jersey on and go out and play.”

On UCLA’s blitzes
“They’re a very solid defense, and they’re very fast. They get up field, and they come at you. I feel like we have to get in the film room and study them. Defenses have tips to give certain things away, so we just have to study and focus on the mental aspect of the game.”

On UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr
“Obviously, you come in and you know who certain pass rushers are. You have to focus on certain blitzes and which way they’re coming. We have to just get in the film room and study it up.”

On pointing out blitzes
“Everyone out there has the ability to call out something. If you have a blitz coming from the right side and you’re running to the left, you want to let people on the left side know there’s a blitz. More than likely, the defensive linemen are going to be working out, so having the right tackle yell something helps everyone get on the same page.”