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Nebraska Football
Weekly Press Conference
Monday, Nov. 24, 2014
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Pre-Iowa
De-Mornay Pierson-El
Freshman, Wide Receiver/Returner
On how he comes back from his fumbles against Minnesota
“It’s coming along. The game is over, it’s in the past, it’s on to Iowa. Like you said, short memory, I’ve got to get it out of my head.”
On his fumble in the final series Saturday
“The play was called. We needed a first down. I think somebody undercut the route. That’s the reason why Tommy (Armstrong) didn’t throw it. He kind of scrambled and we have our rules to what happens when he scrambles. I was short so I go deep. I turned, I saw the sideline. I don’t think I really tried to avoid it. I tried to dodge the defender. I probably really should not have tried to do that. I should have let him push me out of bounds. I come back in and he throws the ball and I go up and grab it and take it away from the first defender. The second one just had his hand in the air and had his feet planted a little bit better, and he just pulled it out.”
On whether he realized how close he was to the end zone
“Not really. I saw it but it wasn’t really a thought in my head. It was just getting the ball and making sure I had it.”
On balancing the highs and lows of his freshman season
“Short memory. You can’t let that continue to go on. This week we have a short week. I have to get into the game plan. I can’t dwell on something in the past. It’s happened and I have to get over it. It’s a lesson learned, cover up the ball and just get down. When you have a chance to go through the middle of the field and you know you are going to get hit, just catch the ball and go down. Don’t try and fight for yards. It taught me a lot.”
On whether he thought he would be one of the main targets on offense at the end of the season
“I try not to think like that. Just try and make plays and if it so happens to be that way then it so happens to be that way. I don’t necessarily look for that to be happening, I just look to make plays.”
On Iowa
“They’re physical. I haven’t looked at too much film, but I know that it’s going to be a physical, tough game. I know we have to play our game. I know we have to minimize the mistakes we have had in the past.”
On any extra significance the Iowa game has
“No not really. They usually just say that this game is one that we have got to have. It’s a rivalry and everything and they don’t really like Iowa. It’s just one that the older guys really want to get. I’ll probably find out more towards the tradition as I spend more time here. I know it’s one of those games that they really want.”
On playing on Friday
“It just reminds of high school Friday night lights. I haven’t really thought about it. We have got to play them whether it’s Friday, Saturday, Sunday. It don’t matter we’ve got to play them.”
On his response to highs and lows of freshman season
“I feel like I have handled it pretty well, some things better than others. It’s an adjustment. I’m given a task and I have to do my job. I have to either step up or you don’t. That’s just the world that we live in. Coaches expect so much out of you, it’s either you deliver or you don’t. I didn’t really think about it, its just something that had to get done.”
On why he’s been able to play more as a freshman as the season progresses
“They just trust me more. I’m getting that comfortable level with them, to know that I am going to mess up, but they don’t come down on me as hard and they explain it. It’s something that we have built that bond throughout practice, and it made it a lot easier. I know it’s all right to, but know what you did wrong and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
On what he understands more than when the season started
“Understanding and reading coverages more. Like how to run the play and why we run the play. It just comes with the game. College football is a lot of mental more than physical. It’s developing that part in it. It takes time and I’m still developing. They’re still just right there as they were in the beginning. They just have a higher expectations for me now.”
On how Coach Rich Fisher has helped him
“He’s slowed things down and just made it easier for me. To understand concepts, how to read coverages and why we read coverages and the way we run plays.”
On whether anyone unexpectedly has reached out to him
“Not really. I got a couple tweets, Faux Pelini said something that I thought was funny, I laughed about it. But not really.”
On what Faux Pelini said to him
“He said you’re still awesome and fast. It brought a laugh to my face. I was smiling after I read that.”
On the support of his teammates
“They know how hard it is on me. I’m upset with myself and everything, but to know that they’re not upset and for them to come to me in that moment and still have a smile on their face and hug me, it just makes everything a lot easier on me.”