Nick Gates Press Conference Quotes

Nebraska Football
Weekly Press Conference
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Monday, Sept. 12, 2016
Pre-Oregon

Nick Gates
Sophomore, Offensive Lineman

On the chemistry of the O-line
"I think it’s a lot better than what it was a few weeks ago in fall camp. I think we’re all on the same page and communicating a lot better on the line, so I actually think we’re a couple steps ahead from where we thought we’d be."

On Oregon recruiting him
"They were in my top five when I came out and took an official there. I liked the school and all of the coaches, it just wasn’t a fit for me."

On the absence of Jerald Foster
"It’s gone great. It was a little hit to me when Jerald got hurt. He’s one of my good buddies. Playing next to him would have been nice because me and him are physical and we have to play like that. But me and (Sam) Haan have done a great job together. Haan has stepped in and has done a good job, so he’s picking up the spot pretty well."

On Oregon
"I saw a couple plays, not too many. They’re quick, they’re athletic, they’re a good team, good coach so it’ll definitely be a good football game come Saturday."

On the idea of being taken out for personal fouls
"I probably shouldn’t have done what I did, but I was just trying to play physical, play aggressive, play the whistle but sometimes I play a little bit after the whistle and they got me that time. I’m not going to stop doing what I’m doing or stop playing the way that I play, but I have to watch it. I have to hear the whistle and stop after that."

On the 10 personal fouls in two games
"We’ve got to cut down the penalties as a whole, all together. I kind of like the way that we’re playing. We’re playing mean, aggressive, it kind of shows you. We probably shouldn’t get those penalties or anything like that, but we’re playing football here. We’re playing aggressive. It’s a contact sport so things happen."

On the “punishment” for personal fouls
"We usually get yelled at on the sideline, things like that, after our team meetings. It’s not too bad. They just tell you not to do it again."

On his performance
"I thought it was decent. I thought I could’ve played a little better. There were a couple plays where it didn’t make me feel like I played that great, but I graded out pretty well so that kind of boosted my morale a little bit."

Difference between week one and two with having Coach Cavanaugh on the sideline
"Getting yelled at a lot more, getting a couple spit balls in the face, but it’s definitely nice for him to be down there. He tells you exactly what to do instead of talking on the headphones. You can take the headphones off."

On Tommy Armstrong Jr.'s reaction to his pick
"I thought he handled it pretty well, I went up to him and I said “you’re good, we got you, you’ll come back and score on the next drive.” So I think he handled it pretty well, and I think we scored on the next drive we had down, so he handled it pretty well. He’s doing a good job this year and throwing the football pretty well as we saw last game."

On the pressure the quarterback gets at Nebraska
"I feel like they analyze like that everywhere. Being the quarterback, they’ve got to be the captain and the leader of the team. If the game is going good, they’re going to get the shine and if the game is going bad they’re just going to rain on him, so it comes with the job."

On the big fourth quarters
"I think a little bit of both. We definitely start fast and finish fast, too. It would definitely be nice to score a couple more points in the first half, the first three quarters than we do in the fourth quarter. Oregon isn’t going to hang around like the last couple teams we’ve played."