Ameer Abdullah Quotes (Nov. 24)

Nebraska Football
Weekly Press Conference
Monday, Nov. 24, 2014
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Pre-Iowa

Senior I-Back Ameer Abdullah
On injury status
“I just give it everything I have every Saturday. I’m getting better with each day. As long as I get to be on the field and get to play, I feel like nothing else is wrong. I haven’t had the proper time to give myself rest, but we don’t have time right now. We have to keep grinding.”

On summing up his senior season
“Meeting the people I’ve met through my experience here. In particular, the best position coach I’ve ever had, Coach (Ron) Brown. The relationship I’ve built with him. He is like a father to me. Leaving him is definitely going to hurt. I am going to keep him in my life. Coach Bo (Pelini) as well. My teammates, Kenny Bell has become one of my best friends since I’ve been here. I could just go down the line. My experience here at Nebraska has been great. This season, things have gotten away from us a little bit, but I know the character of this team, and I know we are going to finish things strong. We just have to take a deep breath and realize that we don’t have any control over what we can’t control.”

On facing challenges with the injury
“It sucks. It definitely sucks. But God does everything for a reason. I have been frustrated the last couple of weeks, if I am being honest. The way I started the year off was really good, but like I said, God does everything for a reason. Good will come from this. I’ve learned a lot. I’ve become more resilient and learned how to fight through adversity. I’ve been really healthy during my career here at Nebraska. When I got hurt in the Purdue game it was the first time I really had to miss a game. I only played two drives. But at the end of day it is not about me, it is about the success of the team. The way things have been the last two weeks, that hurts much more than me being injured and statistically finish how I wanted to finish.”

On making changes for the game against Iowa
“We just have to believe. We have to believe in our game plans. We have to believe in ourselves. We have done it before. It is really simple. A lot of things we messed up on Saturday, we have done before. They are very correctable issues. We just have to believe and get that mojo back. Believe that we can do things. I know Iowa is a tough defensive bunch. They’re always a tough team to play, and we are going to give them our best shot. So hopefully that fires our guys up knowing that Iowa is a competitive game and knowing that we have to raise our level of play for this Friday. It is going to come up on us quick so we have to get in the game plan today. We have to really shape up.”

On Tommy Armstrong’s elevated play against Minnesota compared to Wisconsin
“Just taking the pressure off himself. Sometimes too much pressure can make you feel like you have to make the extra play. But when he’s just relaxed and being himself back there he is an efficient quarterback. I’m sure this weekend will be another testament of how he is trying to take the pressure off himself and just let things go.”

On leaving your legacy at Nebraska
“I just want to be remembered as a guy who gave it up for his team. A guy who tried to be as circumstance free as possible. As a running back here, I try to be circumstance free instead of circumstance based. No matter what odds are thrown at me, an adversity thrown at me, I try to rise above that. I try to do my best with what I’m given. That’s the kind of person that I want to be remembered for here. A guy who genuinely cares about the well-being of the team rather than himself.”

On growing from freshman to senior year
“I’ve grown tremendously. I am much more mature about the game of football. I’m much more mature as a young man. I understand that everything that you do is very valuable and you can’t take anything for granted. Those are all fundamentals that I’ve learned through Coach Brown. I have to give it to him and thank him for that. But I’ve matured a lot. Much more than just on the football field.”

On favorite play while here at Nebraska
“I’d have to say my favorite play in college has not been my own. Freshman year against Ohio State, Rex (Burkhead) caught the spin route, made a guy miss and scored. It just showed what kind of player he was. Anytime you were accounting for Rex on the field, those were the kind of plays he was going to make. That was probably my favorite play, just witnessing that.”

On favorite personal play
“Miami game, there was one run where Denzel Perryman, a pretty hot prospect for this upcoming draft, I stiff armed him. It was only like an eight-yard run, but it was only supposed to be about two yards. It just showed me how far I’ve come as a runner from my freshman year.

On Coach Bo Pelini
“He (Bo Pelini) has meant everything. That guy has bent over backwards for me. Sometimes I was homesick. I remember my freshman year I was homesick for a while and wasn’t sure if Nebraska was the place for me. I could turn to Coach (Ron) Brown and Coach Bo (Pelini) to talk to. At the time he really sold me on the idea that Nebraska was for me, and he was going to do everything for me to help better me as a man and football player and become as comfortable with being here as possible. Like I said he has bent over backwards for me and I couldn’t be happier with the guy who’s leading this team. I love him for it.”