Brandon Reilly Press Conference Quotes

Nebraska Football 
Weekly Press Conference
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Monday, Nov. 14, 2016
Pre-Maryland

Brandon Reilly
Senior, Wide Receiver

On if he bought the jersey with senior wide receiver Jordan Westerkamp’s name that he wore to the press conference
“I stole it from him last night.”

On if he thought he caught the controversial pass against Minnesota
“Don’t remind me. I thought so, but I didn’t even watch it, so I guess there was an angle where it showed it hit the ground, but I am not sure.”

On what Senior Day will mean to him
“It is going to be a pretty neat feeling. Especially from that Shrine Bowl group. We are one short there, but it is pretty crazy seeing the strides we have made over the years and how our group stuck together. I don’t know how many walk-ons we have, but for this many to still be around and still stick with it, I think it is pretty incredible.”

On how his hamstring is
“It’s all good. No setbacks or anything, finally.”

If there is a moment as a walk-on where you realize you really want to play
“Kenny Bell kind of got to me early and was like ‘Dude, don’t let this walk-on thing fool you. You can play here for sure.’ Just hearing that from a guy like him, coming in obviously looked up to a guy like Kenny, and to hear that from him, I took it and ran with it. It was just a little conversation to him but it meant a lot more to me.”

On when former Nebraska wide receiver Kenny Bell told him that
“Going into my second year, redshirt freshman year.”

On if he ever doubted himself before that
“I knew I could probably play a little, I just didn’t know how much. I came in and I was pretty scrawny and weak. I came in and saw all these other older guys and was like ‘Wow, I got a lot of work to do.’ I kind of just put my head down and put the work in and I am happy the way it went.”

On if he has a favorite moment from his time at Nebraska
“I would say the day I received my scholarship. Just because me and Sam Foltz, we got the same day in the summer and that was kind of different. They usually did it after fall camp, and to get it a little early in that summer, it was a pretty cool feeling.”

On if another favorite moment of his was when he caught the winning pass against Michigan State last season
“Yeah I would say that is pretty high up there. Yeah, I would probably say that. That one probably takes the cake.”

On what he thinks the seniors have passed on to the younger players
“I would say the work ethic and how we bond. A lot out there, when you are together and you don’t want to let down your teammates. You’re close to those guys and it goes a long ways. Last year there might have been doubts about this whole staff. I think this year, our senior class, we really bought in and got the younger guys with us and I think we have proved that this staff is great and they know what they are doing. If everyone buys in, what can stop you?”

On his relationship with senior wide receiver Jordan Westerkamp
“He has been great. I always joke with him. The very first time I saw him on some visit, he had something cut off on and a hat backwards, like ‘who is this kid?’ But he is definitely one of the nicest kids ever and his family too, they have brought me in like one of theirs and I can’t thank them enough. He is a friend. I never really planned on it and he is one of my best friends. He is still a weird kid, though.”

On what he thinks about the team fighting for 10 wins this season
“It is something we talked about in the offseason. This senior class, we don’t want to go out like that. We have got to kind of make a statement, especially our walk-on class. People say we might be the best walk-on class, but they can’t say that if we have five wins our senior year. So I think that is pretty special. If we get to 10 wins, bowl game's 11, I think you can’t complain with that.”

On senior wide receiver Jordan Westerkamp’s competitiveness
“He stays quiet a lot to himself. When it is time and something needs to be said, he steps right up. Whether it’s the meeting room or on the field or pre-game, usually right before the game he always says something to the wide-out group. He should be more cocky, I think, for how good he is.”

On if senior wide receiver Jordan Westerkamp shows that he knows he is good
“No, not at all.”

On how senior wide receiver Jordan Westerkamp will feel when he learns that he wore his jersey during the interview
“I don’t know. I sent him a picture before, he has hasn’t responded. He is probably sleeping or something.”

On his thoughts on senior linebacker Josh Banderas
“I have known it all along. He struggled for a little while there, and I am like ‘Guys, just wait. Bando is an animal.’ I think these last few weeks it has really shown. He has been through a lot. I know growing up in football, he got hurt every year for about 13 years straight I think. So hopefully he keeps staying healthy this year. It is fun to watch him, and I am sure I will be watching him more in the future, too.”

On what Senior Day means to him, being from Lincoln
“It is going to be pretty big. Growing up here, I remember selling pop during Husker games and I would get in trouble because I wouldn’t sell, I would just watch. Being on the opposite end there, it will be a pretty special feeling that I will probably remember for a long time.”

On what it would mean to finish this season undefeated at home
“It is big. Especially just coming off of those two losses and still seeing all our fans show up and how into the game they were, there is no better feeling than that. They come and support us and we better put a good performance on and keep the undefeated home streak going.”