Tommy Armstrong Press Conference Quotes

Tommy Armstrong Jr.
Sophomore, Quarterback
Nebraska Football
Weekly Press Conference
Monday, Sept. 1, 2014
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Pre-McNeese State   On what he wants to improve on “I left a bunch of passes out there. I overthrew a couple of passes to Ameer (Abdullah) and Alonzo (Moore). Just getting the ball down and made smart decisions and threw the ball away.  We stressed on not taking sacks and not letting anybody in the pocket. We just got to get better at the passing game. I made smart decisions but I just got to get the ball to my receivers.”

On his overthrows “I just wasn’t putting it in the right place. One-on-one rights you've just got to deliver the ball.  Sometimes you've got to keep the ball high, other times you need to zip it in there. It felt like sometimes me and Kenny (Bell) were on the wrong page and me and Alonzo were on the wrong page here and there. That’s just the thing we have got to keep stressing on in practice.”

On how the the offense can improve
“We can be a lot better. Even before fall camp we have been stressing on moving the chains.  Taking what the defense gives us and getting four or five yards every down, and I think that’s what we did. We converted on third-downs here and there. When our numbers were called we kept the offense on the field and the defense in the right position. I think that’s what is going to improve, just keeping each other healthy and in the right situations to succeed.”

On going 8-of-12 on third down “We stressed a lot on it at practice. We’ve been going over second-and-long and third-and-long in practice with Coach (Tim) Beck, and he says as long we convert third-downs we are going to stay alive. That’s what he has been stressing in fall and spring camp. Because when teams are good they convert third-and-longs. That’s what they’re good at. That’s what we’ve been stressing the last couple of weeks.”

On the offensive lines play “They did great. That’s expected though because in fall camp they did a great job as well. You know they go against guys like Randy (Gregory) and Marcus Newby all those guys like Maliek (Collins) and Greg (McMullen). That made them better and they improved each and every week.  Like I said, those guys on the defensive line they make them better every time they line up against them. They did a great job yesterday or on Saturday, and like I said respect's due when they went out there, but at the same time Jake (Cotton) and Mark (Pelini) they went out there and led them. I was proud of them. Coaches had them rotating each and every series, but when their number was called they competed and I think that’s what the main thing with our offensive line, just make sure they’re competing.  Because right now they’re not set in stone as to who’s going to start, who’s going to be the number one guy, but they’re competing and they’re getting better and at the end of the day they’re family. It all starts out with them. They’re our pipeline. They line up each and every down and see different defenses every once in a while. Mark is the head leader when it comes to being center. You know I applaud them. Like their motto, they’re 'Hell in a Helmet.'  They went out there and proved they’re young, but they can play physical and aggressive.”

On his comfort in standing behind his offensive line for longer developing routes “I was comfortable. Everything slowed down, but at the same time you've just got to trust in your offensive line. I’ve been trusting in them ever since day one. And like I said, they’re young but they understand. As long as I put them in the right position, they’re going to respond the right way. I think Saturday they did the right thing and they did a great job. Like I said, they blitz every once in a while but they understood, I got this guy, I got that guy and they trust in the running backs to pick up certain guys. At the end of the day, they did a great job and it showed out on the field.”

On Armstrong's improvement in pre-snap reads and knowing his progression “I am a lot better than last year. I feel like a study film a lot better now. I understand certain things, certain looks and how to look at certain things. How to listen to Coach Beck better on certain situations during the game. It’s a lot better than last year. It has slowed down a lot."

On what’s different about the offense this year “I think this year we are more aggressive. We like running the ball. We like throwing the ball to playmakers like Jordan (Westerkamp) and Kenny, Alonzo and stuff like that. You know they’re more healthy. The receiving corps is a lot healthier than they were last year. You know we lost Quincy (Enunwa) but at the same time we have a lot of talent on the outside, and Ameer (Abdullah) he is a big threat inside. Outside we have a lot of guys who are big-time playmakers, and I feel like that’s a big confidence thing when it comes to the receiving corps. And we have a bunch of guys that rotate here and there now. We've just got to make sure they stay healthy.”

On his completion percentage “This year, probably just stay over 60 (percent). Like I said, I left a lot, probably four or five passes that should have been complete. You know, just high balls, wrong reads and miscommunication and stuff like that. I've just got to make sure every week we are taking all of the film work and putting it out there on the field and making sure putting the ball on our receivers."

On his throwing technique “Honestly they’re on me. Sometimes I've just got to understand I've just got to put the ball on a line. Alonzo, he didn’t have to jump for that ball, you know that’s my fault. I should have just zipped it in there and put the ball on his chest instead of making him jump for it. He had beat the receiver inside on the post route. I should have threw it just like I threw it to Jordan. It’s just the technique thing, I probably dropped my elbow a few times, that’s why the ball rose a little bit, but that’s just an improvement thing I need to do in practice.”

On the importance of the deep balls for the offense “It’s important, just not the deep balls but being able to throw the ball in general. Just because guys are going to want to load the box and stop Ameer and all those guys because they’re big-time runners. Being able to throw the ball is something we need to be able to improve on, and that’s what we are trying to do. Make sure we are 50-50 in certain situations when it comes to throwing the ball and running the ball to open things up for the running game. When teams see that they are going to have to respect that, they are going to have to take into consideration these guys can throw on us, too.”

On his relationship with the offensive line “Those guys, like I said before, they are competitors. They’re not locked in stone as to who is starting and where and stuff like that. They’re young, but they have chemistry. They understand that there are some seniors who have been in big-time ball games so they are going to take that into consideration of what Mark and Jake and those guys have to say. They understand that at the end of the day, those are the leaders on the offensive line. You know you've just got to go out there and compete. Like I said before, they rotate a lot. You see new faces when we huddle up.  When I huddle up I see new faces every (possession). When Givens (Price) is not in maybe its (Dylan) Utter or somebody like that. You know just seeing new faces and being able to realize, hey it’s nothing different when Givens is not in or Utter or (Mike) Moudy or when Chongo (Kondolo) is in and that we’re still good to go. When we’re throwing and nobody is hitting me shows a lot and that those guys are working hard and its showing on the field.”

On the fake spike “You know it was actually two calls that we had it was just miscommunication. We had two calls that were pretty similar, one call was fake spike the other was spike. Some guys thought it was spike, others thought it was fake spike, so that’s why we had the defensive end just freeze. It was just miscommunication.”