Tommy Armstrong Jr. Press Conference Quotes

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

Tommy Armstrong Jr.
Junior, Quarterback

On last year’s Iowa game
“It was a roller-coaster game, dealing with the injury and having a sloppy first half. Then, [we] actually bounced back the second half and kind of re-grouped as a whole, as an offense.  We really didn’t get a lot of plays to execute [in] the first half, but we made plays in the second half which really got us in the game and brought us into overtime to win the game. That’s what we’re looking forward to, kind of having a sound game and making sure that we’re consistent [in] the first half and second [half].”

On the long plays against Iowa last year
“I think it’s just winning one-on-ones. Brandon [Reilly] got a chance to win on a basic go route for himself, which was the last drive of that series, the last drive that actually put us into overtime. And you just have to make sure that you win your one-on-ones. They put themselves in the right positions to win games this year. We just have to study film the right way and make sure that we’re able to just go out there and execute and take what they give us. We’ve seen on film there’s times where teams have wide open guys that you can just take five or six yards and just move the chains, but instead they go for home-run balls and throw interceptions, and turnovers is the key in this game and taking care of the football is the key in winning, so that’s what we’re looking forward to is just taking care of the football.”

On the stakes of this game, with Iowa being undefeated
“It’s just like every other game. Our objective is win the game. Our objective was to win out. We’re two for three right now and we've got to win this last one. We just have to make sure we study as much as we can and practice as much as we can. For some guys this may be their last game, so I know they’re going to give it their all. We’re not guaranteed to go to a bowl game unless we win. That’s our purpose. Go out there and win the football game.”

On being motivated by Iowa’s undefeated record
“It’s Iowa. That’s all the motivation we need. That’s all we can say. We’ve been having this little grudge match with Iowa for the past three or four years I’ve been here. It’s been tough games every year. We went in their hometown and upset them last year. Two years ago they did the same thing here and we’re looking forward to it. I think the seniors are looking forward to it. That’s going to be a great atmosphere with the crowd and our fans and things like that, being in the top two or three in the nation, just like Michigan State was in the past. We’re looking forward to it. It’s going to be a great game. We just have to make sure we take care of the football and give ourselves a chance to win the game.”

On center Ryne Reeves
“That guy. He’s incredible. He calls out everything he sees, before I even get a chance to. He puts me in a great spot to make great reads. Sometimes we make mistakes on certain protections and things like that, but at the end of the day he’s doing a great job. He’s dealing with not being a center for a while to playing a lot, new coaching staff, new terminology when it comes to certain things. Last year we went from one word to maybe four or five words to switch up different protections and he’s doing an incredible job and it shows just his hard work and dedication towards this team to go out there and do as well as he’s doing.”

On the different centers he’s played with
“Probably four or five. Yeah, [the continuity with Ryne Reeves is really appreciated]. We’ve only had to go with one or two [centers] this year so that’s a great thing to have one center the whole entire time. I think if anything else fails, we’ve got guys ready.”

On Iowa creating turnovers
“Defensive-wise, they’re sound as a defense. They break up a bunch of routes by just trying to get hands-on with their linebackers in certain areas of the field, mainly in the slot with those inside receivers, trying to force them out wide. We've got to have our receivers be more physical this game, make sure they’re on their outs and make sure they’re able to shed blocks and shed guys that are trying to get hands on. I think if we do a good job of doing that, we’ll put ourselves in the right situation to limit turnovers, when they get hands on and they get contact with those receivers, that’s when turnovers start to happen. Just because they knock them off their routes and they may run a route where they’re not supposed to, or they may be a little wider than they’re supposed to in certain areas of the field, and that’s when those corners and safeties are able to jump underneath the routes and a pick ball off. Fourteen [Desmond King] is a great player. I think he has eight or nine interceptions this year. His team has put him in a great position to be successful and we just have to make sure we take care of the football and we’re 50/50 when it comes to running the ball hard and making sure we pick up hard yards because we know it’s going to be tough. But if we’re able to run the ball and pass the ball, it’s going to be hard to stop us. That’s what we’re looking forward to is just trying to be 50/50 with that and just make sure that we’re sound with our running game and pass game.”

On running back Imani Cross
“He’s incredible. He came in with my class. I always told him, ‘just look for your chance to shine.’ He’s always one of those guys that’s working after practice, before practice, just to get those exra reps in. Since I’ve known him my freshman year, he’s been that type of person and now that he has the opportunity, you can tell he has the urgency to run a little bit harder, cut, things like that. He runs with a purpose and it shows out there on the field. He earns every yard he gets. He plays with a lot of emotion. When he gets first downs and he moves the chains in certain situations in the game, he lets the crowd know, lets the fans know that he’s here to play for the team, play for them. It’s incredible seeing him out there doing what he’s doing, because I’ve seen him since my freshman year work to this point and him getting his chance to actually go out there and do it and prove it, it makes me proud as a quarterback.”

On feeding off the energy from the Michigan State game
“We’ve been looking forward to it. We wanted them to be undefeated coming in, just like we wanted Michigan state to be undefeated. We want to prove something. We want to prove that our record doesn’t say anything about the team we have. You know, yeah, we lost some close games, a lot of close games. But at the end of the day, we have the talent. We have the talent to be very good. We are a very good football team.  We just have to put it all together and when we do, it shows. We’ve turned over that hill to where we can actually prove to people that we have a team, that we can play four quarters, that we can fight until the end. With a team like this you have to fight to the end. It may come down to the last play, or it may not come down to the last play, but we've just got to make sure that we keep playing each and every second of the game.”

On his injuries
“I’m fine now. I’m good to go. I feel better than I felt two weeks ago. I should tell you that. I’m ready and I’ve been rehabbing and doing as much as I can to treat all of the things I need to. I’m excited about this week just like everybody else. We had a short three or four day span before the game, but I think we’re prepared. We had an extra week to sit down and watch as much film as we can. We feel like we are. We’re going to take it a day at a time and get these guys ready, myself ready and I think the coaches are excited about this game also.”

On what the team does for Thanksgiving
“Usually, we don’t want to have Thanksgiving on Thursday, so I think we’re going to have some kind of dinner all together on Wednesday maybe, right after practice, right before we go to the hotel on Thursday. I think that’s what we’re going to end up doing. Just sitting down all together and just having a dinner with the coaches and the players and everybody that it’s in the football atmosphere downstairs in the Training Table and just sit down all together and eat.”

On who can eat the most
“I can honestly say Tanner Farmer. I’ve heard that he ate a Tailgate by himself from [Raising] Canes, so if you can do that, that’s nasty.”