Riley Sees the Light; So Do Gangwish, Pierson-El

Huskers Concentrate on Big Ten Match-up

Nebraska-Minnesota 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2

Huskers Begin Preparations for Gophers

Even-Keeled Riley, Players Back at Work

 

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“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” – Desmond Tutu

The most powerful message from Monday’s weekly press conference was understanding again how football relates to life. If anyone thinks first-year Nebraska Head Coach Mike Riley is shaking his head, think again. Switching the script, Riley took the liberty to meet adversity head on. But instead dwelling on what went wrong in Nebraska’s gut-wrenching 23-21 loss to Wisconsin last Saturday, Riley opened with a barrage of comments to cover what went right. He talked about big-time plays, booming kicks, emerging playmakers and improving defensive backs, among other observations.

Even though his team has a disappointing 2-4 start at the halfway point, Riley sees the light, and he's using that illumination to motivate players who are getting better day-by-day and moving closer to the winning side of the scoreboard. The mindset beats endless dwelling on the dark side of this season's four losses, all of which were the result of Husker opponents scoring and winning on the final offensive play of the game. 

Like their positively-charged head football coach, a fifth-year senior captain/Blackshirt and a sophomore All-America kick returner/wide receiver see the light, too. At Monday’s press conference, defensive end Jack Gangwish stepped to the sixth-floor microphone and painted a positive portrait of how important it is to be a Husker and why he thinks faithful Big Red followers are the best fans in the world.

Pierson-El Hopes Rehab Produces Both Recovery and Resurgence

Outside the primary press conference, De'Mornay Pierson-El (No. 15 above) satisfied the TV cameras and scribes with a detailed description of his fifth metatarsal injury that needed a screw in his foot, caused a soreness in his shoe and made for a long layoff from his teammates. Rehabilitation stories are traditionally tough restarts that require recovery before resurgence and explain why Pierson-El is so eager to showcase his explosiveness again. It also provides insight into why he resisted a redshirt to help his teammates create a new path.

Pierson-El insists he's not that far away from getting back the speed he had before sustaining his injury. "A couple days, a couple weeks maybe," he said. "It's not that far at all. It just depends on how practice and everything goes really. It's just how much they let me in and certain things they let me do." Saturday's Minnesota game is the target, but, in essence, Pierson-El is "just looking at what I can do and what's best for the team," he said. "What they give me is what they give me. I can’t ask for more. That’s what their job is – to assume how much I can handle and everything like that. I have to show and prove myself at practice. I have to earn that right. I don’t think that’s something I can just say, ‘Give me more.’”

Pierson-El prefers to run instead of watch end-arounds, wide-receiver screens and short-passing screens. "My first thought was, ‘Just wait until I can run on my foot again.’ It’s like seeing your gifts at Christmas and not opening them yet," he said with a laugh. "I mean, you know you have them, but you just can’t get them quite yet. I just have to wait for my time, really.”

Strength Coach, Trainer, Former Huskers, Teammates All Helped

Post-surgery presented tough times for Pierson-El (pictured above), so he talked to his coaches, training staff and family members. "There was nothing but support," he said. "The only way to go from there was up and get back to who I was." All advice was appreciated, including spirited encouragement from head strength coach Mark Philipp and former Husker Will Compton, "who reached out to me because he had the same injury and wanted me to trust in my body," Pierson-El said, adding that Ameer Abdullah also talked to him.

Initially, the injury was puzzling. The physically fit and mentally tough Pierson-El even went through almost an entire practice on his injured foot before he knew it was broken. "I didn’t know until I got an X-ray and Mark Mayer (head football trainer) called me into his office and told me what actually happened. I was at practice still cutting and everything. I wasn’t as good and at times it would give out, but straight ahead, I was still running full speed with a slight pain.”

With the Same Injury on Both Feet, Cethan Carter Helped Pierson-El

Teammate Cethan Carter (No. 11 pictured above) shared his thoughts with Pierson-El because the Husker tight end experienced the same injury twice in different feet. "Their words really helped me through it," said Pierson-El, who sums up his conversations with this: "Just really be sure...listen to my body and when I’m back, trust that everything will be just fine because it’s stronger and will really let loose...don't think about it...just play.”

The most important part of Pieson-Els' experience was his positive mindsent. “I didn’t want anybody’s sympathy," he said. "I didn’t want to hear, ‘Ah I’m sorry this and that.’ I didn’t want you to feel sorry. I mean, I call back home here and there, but for the most part, I was cut off. I blocked everything out and just focused on being better and getting stronger. I working on me and finding different ways to excel by trying to strengthen my weaknesses to the points that I could while not being able to walk or being able to play. That was it really. Just focusing on me coming back better mentally, physically, stronger and in better shape.”

Gangwish Praises Loud Crowd, Calls Huskers 'the Best Fans in Football'

Gangwish plays with similar determination. Having been sidelined with an elbow injury, he understands the complexities of overcoming injury and has no complaints. "There's definitely a heightened sense of what needs to be done when the game is winding down," he said.

Asked what it meant to have such a loud crowd for the Wisconsin game, Gangwish waxed eloquent. “That’s what’s special about this place. That’s what’s magical about Nebraska," he said. "We have the best fans in football. It’s pretty incredible. We’ve been kind of down this year, and we still get to walk out there to a rocking stadium and a sold-out crowd and fans that love us and support us. That’s amazing. That’s something that you can’t put a value on."

Huskers' Magical Wild Cheering Ranks High in Overall Fan Experience

In the fourth quarter "the stands are still packed, everybody’s there, wild and cheering and I don’t know if I’ve ever heard it so loud out there," Gangwish said, referring to fullback Andy Janovich’s 55-yard touchdown run. "As a Nebraska kid, as a football player and a team captain here, that's irreplaceable...that’s magic.” The overall experience "hyped out of my mind" after Janovich's touchdown. "I was head-butting people," Gangwish said. "I was pretty excited."

It was crushing when Wisconsin kicked the winning field goal with four seconds left. Asked if he puts responsibility on himself and other guys from Nebraska when things get down, Gangwish expressed the frustration of putting in all the hard work, yet not getting tangible results.

Everyone Wants the Glory Days Back, But Next Game Still the Focus

"There's a deep sense of responsibility, a deep sense of importance of what’s going on here, because I grew up here and because I understand the scope of Husker football," said Gangwish (No. 95 above against Minnesota). "I understand the magnitude of what this means to people. That’s pretty common for guys from the state. We know. We lived it. We were fans first and now we’re football players. For us to be in this situation is especially difficult. We didn’t come here because we wanted to be 2-4. That wasn’t anybody’s dream."

Gangwish believes guys that have grown up in Husker Nation "want the glory days back," he said. "They want us doing well. That’s what we wanted. That’s what we still want. This is my fifth season here. We've sacrificed a lot, put a lot of our time into it. Our guys love this place. They love this team and to see us not do well is tough. But I think it’s important to remember that we're competitive-minded individuals, and our focus is on winning the next one.”

Full Transcript of Mike Riley's Press Conference

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