Nebraska Coach Bo Pelini Quotes

Nebraska Football
Weekly Press Conference
Monday, Oct. 27, 2014
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Pre-Purdue

Opening statement
“Well we got back to work yesterday. Went through the film, gave them a workout and then got a little jump on Purdue. Obviously today is the players’ day off and we’ll get back to work tomorrow.”

On if the team is fresher at this time of year
“Well yeah, I think we are. I think if you ask the players, they would tell you yes. I think it’s been a good schedule. I wasn’t sure going in how I was going to like it. And I like it for a lot of different reasons. But yeah, I think we are a little bit fresher.”

On the importance of being fresh going into the remaining games of the season
“Well it gets to be a long year. It does. You know, what people forget is that these kids have full class schedules and whatever else going on. It can be not just a physical grind, but a mental grind. The fresher you can keep them, the better off you are. Sometimes it’s as much a mental thing as it is a physical thing.”

On how much he has shortened practice this time of year
“I don’t know how much the team reps and things have changed. It’s not that much different. But we’ve cut through some of the walk-thrus and things like that, which probably cuts off somewhere in the neighborhood of a half hour a day. Our practices are usually right around 90 minutes.”

On if he expects his team to put together a clean fourth quarter game on Saturday
“I think that’s everybody’s goal throughout the country. There were a lot of good things on the tape. There were a lot of great individual efforts. Like I told the team yesterday, it’s about doing it every play. If you play 60 snaps, it’s about playing those 60 snaps without having a breakdown one way or the other. And it’s not like it’s one guy here or one guy in particular. It’s when guys take their turn. There’s a certain level of mental toughness it takes and focus and discipline to do it for four quarters. It takes what the score is, what the circumstances and situations are, whatever it may be. You play one way. That’s all the time.”

On looking back at the 2009 and 2012 teams who finished strong in the regular season
“It’s how you prepare and if you’re going to be able to stay focused in for the long haul, whether you get tired, physically mentally or whatever it may be. You have to put your foot on the gas pedal at this time of year. That’s the only way it works. Those are the teams that are going to be standing at the end. You’re not going to be given anything. You have to go take it. That isn’t just on Saturday. That means you’ve got to prepare the right way during the week. You’ve got to be focused enough and disciplined enough to bring it to the practice field every day. Because that’s where games are won or lost. How you prepare.”

On how he evaluates his pass defense
“I think they’ve done some things that are very good. And like I said, I think it’s been inconsistent at times in some breakdowns. And you know, I told our guys yesterday that I understand that we as coaching staff, in every phase, have high expectations and standards. And it’s about the details. That’s what carries you through about being able to play consistently. Play the way you’re coached consistently. At times I think we’ve done that very well. There were times that we’ve had some walls and slipups and things that, in my mind, are inexcusable. That’s where we have to keep growing as a team. Believe me, we’re not alone. That’s been this way as long as I’ve been coaching, which has been for a long time. That’s why you have to keep going. Every week’s a new challenge. Every day is a new challenge. You keep trying to get better. Keep upping your standards. It’s not being satisfied with where you are, it’s about what more there is. There isn’t a guy on our team individually or as a football team that is even close to reaching potential yet. When you understand that, you understand that there’s that much out there for you. Like I said, very seldom do you stay the same. You get better or you get worse. We have to work to get better every single week.”

On what he would like to see differently from the back end on defense after Rutgers’ long touchdown in the first quarter
“Well we had three guys come out of coverage and started chasing the quarterback, who was probably going to get tackled on a third and eight, third and nine. He probably would have gotten tackled for a two or three-yard gain. And three guys came out of coverage. It became a long pass because we were lazy in our technique on the backside, which caused the middle safety to squeeze a middle route that he shouldn’t have to squeeze because we should have picked up our backside corner. One thing leads to another. That’s why it’s a team game. Everybody has to be doing their part every play. If you’re lazy in your technique, it affects somebody else and it puts you out of position. And that’s how big plays happen.”

On if there’s anything he’s learned from past surprise losses that keeps him guarded now
“When you look across the country, there are head scratchers every week. Sometimes people lose games they shouldn’t lose, and sometimes they almost do. It’s not easy. You have to play this game on edge. You have to prepare on edge. You’ve got to have respect for the game because you have to realize how quickly a game can turn. You have to prepare in such a way that when you walk on the field, regardless of who you’re playing, what the score is or what the circumstance is, you have to understand that you’re preparing with the understanding of you don’t know which play will be the difference in the game. That’s the way this sport is and it’s been that way for a long time. You have to prepare yourself. And that has to be your standard every time you walk on the field. You have to play that way. You have to play with that sense of urgency every time. That’s how you prepare yourself to be the best you can possibly be. And it takes an across the board mentality in order to get that done.”

On if the workouts are designed to guard against surprise losses
“I think it is. That’s part of the deal. You have to play with a high tempo. You have to take advantage of your reps. When you’re staying on the clock like we have, and you’re going at a high tempo, you don’t have the opportunity or chance to repeat a ton of plays. Because that’s what causes you back for a very long time. And you don’t have that luxury. You better make the most of your reps the same way you make the most of your reps on Saturday. You have to bring that mentality to the practice field. The day and age of saying ‘I made that mistake, that won’t happen on Saturday.’ Well you’ve got to be right there in the wake. So you have to prepare accordingly. You have to bring the mentality every day. And it’s easier said than done to bring in that mentality every day to the practice field. You have to approach practice like it’s game day and be strong enough mentally to be able to do that.”

On what he recalls from recruiting sophomore defensive tackle Maliek Collins
“We thought he was really talented right from the get go. He’s a guy who wrestled. He was a big, explosive, talented athlete who was raw, which most guys are at that age. I thought there was a very high end to him. I think that’s showing that we don’t hit a lot of things right, but we hit that one right. I think he’s really talented. I think he’s a really good player right now, and that he can become a great player.”

On what kept Collins under the radar in the recruiting process
“I don’t know. Sometimes it’s the area of the country you’re in. I don’t know. He came from a school that wasn’t known as a football powerhouse. Coach (John) Garrison does a great job doing his homework down there in the Kansas City area and identifying him. You know, it didn’t take very long for us to watch the film and say, ‘wow, this guys is pretty special.’ You know, all you have to do is look at the draft every year across the country year after year. It doesn’t really matter what you’re ranked, there’s a lot of good football players out there. You just have to do a good job of identifying them.”

On if changing sophomore defensive back Nate Gerry’s position was a strategic move for him
“No, it was for both of us. He played backer for us last year out of necessity to a certain extent. And also because at that time we thought that was where he was needed. But long-term, it was always the plan to move him back to safety. And I’ve said it before, I think that experience of playing up there has helped them. There’s no question in my mind. You can’t do that all the time because not everyone has that kind of size or skillset to be able to play different things or be able to handle it mentally. I believe his experience up there has helped him. And he’s a mental guy. I think he’s got a long way to go. Heck, he’s only in his first year starting at safety. I foresee him doing some pretty special things before he’s out of here. He’s a really talented guy who has great instincts for the game.”

On if they told Gerry about moving him to safety when he first came to Nebraska
“Yeah, he knew he was eventually going to go back to safety.”

On if Secondary Coach Charlton Warren was everything he thought when they hired him
“And more. I think he’s a tremendously talented coach. Very detailed in his coaching and does a great job. This isn’t an easy system to come in and have the head coach looking over your shoulder all the time, especially at that position. Because I’m more of a backend guy, secondary guy and linebacker guy. This system has kind of evolved over a long period of time. And there are a lot of little details and little things that change sometimes from week to week. You would have thought he’d been coaching in this system for a long time. He understands. He worked really hard in the off-season and has done a great job. He’s a really good teacher.”

On if the players responded to Warren quickly
“Yeah, he sure hit the ground running. He’s an extremely intelligent guy. Great communicator. Like I said, it’s not like he picked it up overnight. It took some time to work on his part. We spent a lot of time together in the off-season and in the meeting room during spring ball, throughout fall camp. I think he gets more comfortable in what we’re doing every day. He really gives a lot of valuable input. He’s a really talented coach. Really talented.”

On why he thinks the offense has gotten off to some fast starts this year
“I don’t know. I think we’ve executed pretty well. I think Coach (Tim) Beck does a phenomenal job and really the whole offensive coaching staff. Those guys do a really good job. We’re pretty hard to stop when we’re not stopping ourselves. That’s the key. Start doing the things that will reduce the times we get off schedule. Take advantage of our opportunities.”

On how important it is to remain focused as a team to keep progressing forward
“Well you always want to play from ahead. But that’s not always going to be the case week to week and how it’s going to turn out, or how the game is going to play out. That’s why you just have to be able to react no matter what the situation is. We don’t really change much except for the adjustments that you have to make. Regardless of what the score is, these games are long. Let’s face it, in this day and age with the fast pace and the number of plays in the game, the amount of throwing there is, those games are long. You can’t really change what you’re doing and how you’re calling the game just based on score. It’s not like you can go sit on it early in the football game. Whether you have a lead or whether you’re behind, you just have to go and execute your offense and stick with your plan. I mean I think a good example of that was the Michigan State game. Even though we were behind and we didn’t take advantage of some opportunities, there was no panic there. We just kept playing. You keep playing and keep looking for your opportunities and try to take advantage of things that can get you back in the game. There can’t be a sense of panic just because you’re behind. I think at times, on both sides of the football, we’ve become our own worst enemy, even if we were ahead. And I don’t know whether there has been a sense of letup or what has happened there. I don’t know if the guys felt like the games were in hand or whatever it may be, that’s when some of our sloppiness has happened. There’s no excuse for that.”

On if there are any catches by senior wide receiver Kenny Bell that have stood out to him
“Oh, I don’t know. He’s made so many. He’s had a great career. Kenny Bell has been an absolute pleasure to coach. Just forget about football, but how he’s grown as a man over that period of time has been fun to watch. His evolution. He’s been a great kid to coach. It’s been very rewarding to see him accomplish what he’s been able to accomplish. I think that catch he made against Illinois last year was pretty special. He made a phenomenal catch I think at the Michigan State game down by the goal line. Those are ones that kind of stick out in my head, but he’s made so many great plays.”

On what he thinks of Purdue
“I think they’re a well-coached football team who has gotten better. You watch where they were a year ago compared to now and it’s like night and day. Which doesn’t surprise me. (Head Coach) Darrell Hazell is a heckuva coach and they have some really good coaches on that staff. (John) Shoop over there on offense who has been around for a long time is a really good coach. They do a good job defensively. It’s a program that’s on the rise. I think they’re going to continue to get better. You see the good coaching, the kids play very hard. They’re very sound in what they do.”

On how Purdue uses their running backs to make plays
“I think they do a lot of different things to try and create space for those guys. Like I said, I think they have a good understanding of what people are trying to do against them. Game plan very well. They have their different wrinkles that they mix in there. You know, trying to do as many things as they can to try and get a couple of those guys they have, the playmakers, out in some space where they have some room to run.”

On if they will do surprising things similar to last year
“I don’t think there’s any question that we’ll see some things that are a little bit different. On both sides of the football, we always tend to see that on a weekly basis. So that’s something that we’re used to dealing with. They’ve hit their stride a little bit offensively, so I would expect that we’re going to see some different things formation-wise and some things that we’re going to have to make some quick adjustments to.”

On the overall improvement of senior linebacker Zaire Anderson
“I think Zaire has done some good things. But once again, I think there’s a lot more out there for him too. The one thing about Zaire is that he’s going to play hard and he’s going to play physical. He’s just got to continue to work on the consistency and being able to adapt during the games. I think he’s come a long way. Every day he comes out on the practice field and he works so hard. He needs to keep growing just like the rest of the group.”

On the biggest jump Anderson has made as a key defensive player
“I think the mental part of the game. His understanding of it all. Forget about just what we’re doing defensively, but offensively what we’re trying to do, what works as far as our scheme is. His understanding has just grown. I think he’s a lot more confident and I think it shows in how he plays. He’s playing a lot faster and a lot more decisive than, you know, where he was a year or so ago.”

On the status of offensive lineman Givens Price
“He’s back to practice.”

On if place-kicker Mauro Bondi will be able to kick again this year
“Yes, I would anticipate it. Mauro will be back if not this week, then probably for the Wisconsin game.”

On if he plans to have Bondi back as the main kickoff guy
“We’ll see once he comes back how he feels health-wise. But yeah, if he can get up to the level he was it before he got hurt.”

On the role of place-kicker Spencer Lindsay in the second half of the game
“Spencer has done really well. He’s done really well since Mauro has been out. It represents a good problem to have. You can never have too many kickers, right?”

On whether he can believe Nebraska is entering the final month of the regular season
“Can I believe it? When you’re in my seat, it seems like this regular season has been three years long. But it goes quickly at times. When we walked out there the other day, it seemed like forever since we played a home game. It can go quickly.”

On if what he thought about senior cornerback Josh Mitchell’s lateral pass play
“You know, I was dumbfounded when I saw him do what he did. I don’t know. I love Josh, but like I said, what was he thinking? Talk to Josh, I don’t know.”

On who Mitchell was trying to pitch the ball to
“I don’t think anybody. Honestly what happened there, on a PAT, if you block it, you keep the ball alive. Because it doesn’t matter, there is no change of possession involved. And some certain level of insanity kicked in and he reverted it back to ‘hey, keep the ball alive on a PAT.’ But it was a field goal. Number one, we as coaches when we make a coaching point like that, make sure that they completely understand what you’re saying. And Josh understood it. But in the heat of the moment, some voice in his head had Coach Pelini telling him to keep the ball alive. We all have those little voices in our head all the time. Some more than others. He had one right at that point.”

On senior I-back Ameer Abdullah's success
“I am happy for him. It’s interesting, Ameer is not caught up in all of that stuff right now. But hopefully he’ll finish out this year the way he wants to finish it out individually and team-wise. He’ll be able to look back on this with a lot of pride with the things he’s been able to accomplish. It’s pretty special.”

On if it bugs him that Abdullah is not in some people’s top five in the Heisman race
“Does it bug me? Yeah, it does a little bit. I could talk for half an hour on that whole situation and how that goes. That’s not just this year, but year after year. I take that with a little bit of a grain of salt. I mean just watch the film. That’s all you’ve got to do.”

On if Abdullah and the team understand the significance of passing two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin’s all-purpose yardage mark
“Is Ameer even aware of that? I don’t know. Like I said, that’s for later on when it’s over. Passing a guy like what Archie was able to do. That caught my attention obviously because I was thinking about calling Archie up and saying, ‘see, you weren’t as good as you thought you were.’ No, Archie is a great guy. But obviously growing up in Ohio, it sure caught my attention.”