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Nebraska Football
Weekly Press Conference
Memorial Stadium
Pre-South Dakota State
Monday, Sept. 16, 2013
Junior Running Back Ameer Abdullah
On the team being wound a little tight
“No not really. I try to have fun no matter what day it is. Me personally, no.”
On the long, explosive runs not being there through three games
“Just making sure everyone’s doing their job and finishing plays. In most cases, 90 percent of our offense is doing everything okay and to the best of their ability and then you have the 10 percent that isn’t going hard on finishing a block and that’s where it holds back the longer runs. All it takes is one person. We need all 11 of the collective unit to be explosive.”
On how they hold each other accountable
“It’s been pretty serious. If you’re not holding up your end of the deal then we will have someone else behind you who can. Shorten up reps or just letting people know that it means a lot to finish plays. Just put the next guy in pretty much.”
On balancing forgetting what happened and moving on with learning from the loss
“As we approach the next week, just taking into account what happened, happened on Saturday and we can’t let that define us. What’s going to define us is how we respond and react this upcoming Saturday. Understand that everything that happened on Saturday is because of us, but don’t let that bring us down for the next Saturday.”
On social media being a challenge to block out the noise
“I know it’s a challenge. When I was younger, it was more difficult for me to block out criticism. People definitely don’t know what is going on between the walls here in this program. I feel like it’s actually very good because it teaches you to be disciplined. Be a man of integrity. Be a person who doesn’t respond to criticism all the time. Not because you have just one good game and vice versa. Don’t let the outside critics get to you.”
On talking to the younger guys about handling criticism
“I think our younger guys are doing a pretty good job of it. I think it is all in them watching how we handle different situations more than us telling them you have to do this. The best way they are going to learn is through experiences and this is a great experience to learn how to block out what the outsiders say and focus on your teammates. I feel like the way the upperclassmen are handling the situation is really good.”
On how the leadership is holding up
“It’s definitely early in the season and it could be better. But for the most part, it’s pretty good at keeping spirits high. Keep fighting until the end. Our captains are doing an outstanding job of maintaining the RAC – the ‘Relentless, Accountable and Competitive’ spirit in our team. I couldn’t ask for any more, but obviously it needs to get better as we get deeper in our schedule and into conference play.”
On how to avoid looking past South Dakota State
“Just watch football around the country. I don’t know if South Dakota is DI or DI-AA. But there’s not much difference nowadays. Maybe the only difference are the offseason programs, but as far as athletes around the country, you can’t take them lightly. We just got to prepare and have our best week of preparation this week.”
On being inconsistent the first three games on offense
“It’s definitely frustrating, but we can’t allow that to keep us down. We got to just stay optimistic and just keep working to achieve what we know we can achieve. We know we have such good playmakers on the perimeter, good backs, great quarterback, and good offensive line. We have to remain confident in ourselves and not get down just because we have been inconsistent. It’s very early in the season. We got a lot of kinks to work out and a lot of things to correct. I strongly believe in this team that we will achieve that.”
On learning from how well the offense played in the first half vs. UCLA
“You can take a lot. When we are clicking on all cylinders, we are a heck of a football team both defensively and offensively. But consistency is the name of the game and just playing four solid quarters of football is what it takes to win in college nowadays and we understand that, especially considering what happened on Saturday. Just seeing how well we played in the first half really shows us how good this team can be, so that’s one positive you can take away.”
On the big, early lead letting the team get comfortable
“I think a little bit. That’s what we can’t afford as a team and it is definitely a learning process.”
On what he saw from his fumble on Saturday
“The guy made a great play. Breakdown in fundamentals a little bit. Like I said before, 90 percent of the people are doing what they need to do, but 10 percent a little bit off in assignments. It could lead to something catastrophic like a fumble. We need all 11 to be accountable and playing hard every play. That’s the difference between a 60-yard run, an interception, a fumble or a sack.”
On being a good sport and respecting the other team with gestures throughout the game
“I always try to be a good sport. You have some guys who talk a lot. My dad always told me growing up to kill them with kindness. There will always be guys out there who like to talk trash, but I just kill them with kindness because they think something is wrong with you being so nice. I just try to stay pretty even keel on the field. You can hit me but I will pop right back up, tap you on the helmet, tell you good play and come right back at you. That’s pretty much how I play.”
On building confidence when he was a younger player
“Right now I am the starting running back at Nebraska and I don’t have time to dwell on mistakes. I just take it in stride and just continue to play at a high level. That’s what my teammates expect and that’s what I expect out of myself. I don’t have time to dwell on bad plays. It’s just something you learn from experience.”