Nate Gerry Quotes

Nebraska Football
Spring Game 
Postgame Quotes

A big goal for your defense is preventing big plays. How do you think your unit and the second team unit did today?
“I thought we did pretty well. I know the first unit did pretty well eliminating deep balls, but I think throughout the spring all groups have done well doing that. We go up against a real competitive offensive unit with our wide receivers, so we get good looks every day. Overall, I thought that was a big emphasis for us including the D-line with pass rushing. Now that we’ve put it all together in the spring, we’ve improved from night to day from last year.”

How much further along is secondary in understanding who to cover, when to cover them, etc.?
“The difference from last year is night and day. Last year, we were still trying to learn level one of the defense and the fundamentals. Communication has helped us a lot, and that’s one of the reasons we were up and down last fall. I think we’ve done a pretty good job over the spring with communication and eliminating those mistakes.”

How much does the constant competition between your unit and the wide receiver unit fuel you every day?
“Coach fuels the fire every day. The receivers are going to be one of the best groups in the Big Ten as a unit, and that’s great for us to compete against and evaluate how we are as a core unit. It’s nice going up against guys like that because sometimes we’re not going to see anyone better than that.”

What do you think about Charles Jackson sticking through it with his injuries?
“Charles has been sticking with it. He missed a couple of practices this spring because of classes. He’s got a lot of stuff going right now. I think mentally his second knee injury was really tough for him, as it would be for anybody, but he stepped up. He’s playing pretty good football for not being able to practice as much as everyone else. I think he could be a key player for us especially on special teams.”

The defensive line is going to have to play some young guys. What have you seen from them?
“ I know that D-line is going to need a lot of young guys to step up—we are going to need a lot of depth. I think our linebacking corps has a lot of guys that can play. I think Mo Barry had a good day today, and I think Giff (Luke Gifford) has been making a lot of plays over spring. (Marcus) Newby is also a really explosive player, and that’s three guys that maybe didn’t play as much last year that we can throw in there to make our defense more stout. In the back end, Eric Lee had a really good spring. The corners had low depth, so they had to take a lot of reps, but those guys stepped up. I think Reid Karel had a really good spring as well.”

Did you get a chance to talk with Greg McMullen about his decision?
“Greg talked to us today before the game. It’s going to be tough for the team because Greg is one of those senior leaders that everyone looks up to as a good role model to everyone on the team. He’s a veteran player that when you get down in the fourth quarter, you can count on him. Having him gone is going to be tough, but like I said, we will need a lot of young D-linemen to step up. I think the Davis twins and Peyton Newell had a pretty good spring.”

Tell me about the end of the game when you guys made the interception.
“Having a coach that is an offensive guy now, any time the defense comes out on top is a positive for us. It’s one of those things we can use to fuel the fire going into fall camp because last year wasn’t a year that we wanted as a defensive unit. I think we have a lot to prove.”