Kevin Williams Press Conference Quotes

Nebraska Football
Weekly Press Conference
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Monday, Nov. 23, 2015
Pre-Iowa

Kevin Williams
Senior, Defensive Tackle

On how much the bye week has helped
“I think it helped a tremendous amount. We went 11 straight games. That will wear and tear you. That’ll wear you out. Having that bye week to get our legs back and get guys healthy and going into such a big game like we got coming up this week, I think that helped a lot.”

On if Iowa being 11-0 raises the stakes
“Like I said, we’re just playing football. We’re not approaching it that way, not really looking at the record. We’re going to approach it the same way we approached Michigan State. If you get too caught up in that stuff, you lose focus on what you need to do on the field. It’s another football game, another good team coming in, so we’re going to approach it that way and just play football.”

“It adds a little juice, but I think that’s more for the fans and stuff. It’s a rivalry game which is cool, but like I said you can’t get too caught up in that. Still got to do your job and execute.”

On Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard
“We’ve played scrambling quarterbacks. We played one two weeks ago with Rutgers. I don’t think it will be too much of a concern. If we can get back there and rattle him a little bit to start off, hopefully he won’t be running around too much.”

On Iowa’s running backs
“They’re consistent. They’re technicians. They execute at a high level, so we just have to execute as well, at a higher level. We have to play fundamentally sound, with great technique and go out there and do our job and everything will take care of itself. I’m not worried about that.”

On what he’ll be thinking during the senior day ceremonies
“It’s supposed to be me, but it’ll pretty emotional, just because I’ve been with those guys, coming in early. I mean, I was here when Ameer Abdullah committed. So seeing those guys leave, seeing Taariq Allen, Jamal Turner, who I came in with, leave, will be pretty emotional. They’ve grown to be some of my best friends here. We’re a family, so I’m not really worried about losing touch with them, but we’ll still keep in touch. It will be a pretty emotional time, but I think we’ll be good.”

On coming back another year
“It means a lot. My biggest thing is I don’t want to go out injured. I want to leave it all on the field, not in the rehab room. It means a lot to me to get an extra opportunity to leave it all on the field.”

On his master’s degree
“[I’m] six credit hours away. [I’ll graduate] in May. [So next season I’ll,] focus on football. [I’m getting my master’s in] construction engineering and management.”

On the impact of this senior class
“This senior class is special to me, not just because I’m a part of it, but because they have persevered through so much adversity. We’ve gone through a coaching change, an A.D. change and much, much more. Injuries across the board, so being able to overcome all that adversity really shows a lot about our class. We’ve been able to stay even keeled and not kind of lose our stuff and handle it. I’m proud of these guys. Regardless of what happens on Friday, I’m proud of these guys and they’ll always be my brothers.”

On how prepared the team is for Iowa with the bye week
“Quite a bit more prepared. Just having those two extra days of practice last week and a whole extra week to watch film and really break down their offense last year. That helped a lot. I think we’re really prepared. I think we’re ready to go.”

On if he watched the Iowa/Purdue game on Saturday
“Yeah. Like I said, they’re fundamentally sound. They’re really consistent. They don’t mess up so there’s not a lot of room for error. We just have to go out there and execute.”

On if he watched the Michigan State/Ohio State game
“I actually fell asleep during it, but when I woke up it was the fourth quarter, 14-14. And I was like, ‘dang.’ I looked at my mom and said, ‘that’s a close game.’ And she said, ‘I know.’ It was interesting. I was expecting a little more out of Ohio State’s offense, but it was kind of cool, especially since Michigan State’s kicker went to high school not too far from where I grew up. So that was kind of cool, he won the game for them.”

On how well he knows the Michigan State kicker, Michael Geiger
“I don’t know him, I just know he’s from the area. Ottawa Hills. ”

On what it would mean to get these seniors to a bowl game
“That’s what we’re preaching right now. Send these guys out good, send these guys out positive, on a positive note. I’ve been right there. I didn’t know if I was going to get this extra year or not, so this could have been my senior year. I feel for them. I know how important it is to send these guys out right. So just send them out with a victory. And I say not to get caught up in it, but how sweet would it be to knock off two undefeated teams. Go out that way, there’s no better way to go out. So if we can do that, I think it would mean a lot to the senior class.”