Pre Iowa Press Conference - De'Mornay Pierson-El

Nebraska Football
Weekly Press Conference
Monday, Nov. 20, 2017
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Pre Iowa

Wide Receiver De'Mornay Pierson-El
On his final game
“It’s tough to swallow that one. It’s coming to an end. It sucks, but we still have one game left so just go out there and do the best you can. Hopefully they kick a few to me and we’ll see what happens.”

On if he’s emotional
“No, I don’t think I’m going to cry. It’s just one of those things that happens. The criers in my family are not coming out so I think I’ll be good this weekend. I’ll be fine. It’ll sting. I’ll think about it for a long period of time, but it is what it is. Everything comes to an end.”

On the onside kick
“We practiced it. We practiced it every Friday. Drew [Brown] lined up. We kind of knew either [Joshua] Kalu or possibly me was going to get it, just depends who gets it first. It got a good bounce and went 10 yards and fell into my hands…No [I didn’t think I’d have to go over No. 84 for Penn State to get the ball]. I was actually planning on sticking my whole helmet and in his chest. It just didn’t work out that way. Glad it didn’t. It came out a lot more easier. I thought I was going to have to run into somebody, but it didn’t turn out that way, so we’re good.”

On Tanner Lee’s resilience and success in the second half
“That happens. It’s a part of who he is. He’s not just going to get knocked down and not get back up. He puts his pants on like everybody else and comes to work. You see how relentless he is and it showed up. That’s what happens, that’s how he is.”

On Coach Riley’s demeanor and consistency this season
“It’s been the same for everybody. We have to come in every day to do our work. It’s not anything that we don’t know. You’re given the cards you’re dealt and you just come to work and try to get the next week after.”

On coaching speculations
“You can’t be worried about what everyone else is saying. At the end of the day, you have to be worried about what’s in the building. At the end of the day, whoever makes speculations, isn’t God. It’s not the final say, so we worry about us and that’s that.”

On what a win against Iowa would mean
“It’s the last step. That win would mean everything. It’s my last time playing in Memorial Stadium and it sucks, but you’ve got to go out there and try to get one more.”

On if Iowa is rival
“Come on now, who really likes Iowa? Of course it’s a rivalry. It is what it is.”

On his favorite play of his career
“I’d have to really sit down and think about that. One doesn’t really come to mind honestly. I’d have to take some time to think about it. I’m not too sure right now.”

On Stanley Morgan Jr.
“He’ll get [the record]. I’m not remotely surprised at all. Stanley is a hard worker. We knew that was coming. It happens. I’m happy for him. He deserves it. He’s going out. Hopefully he gets the record. I want him to get it, so that’s something for him. We’ll see. [We haven’t really been tracking it]. I think maybe this past week, somebody said him and JD [Spielman] having 800 [receiving yards] or something like that, so outside of that, no not really. In the game, I’m mentioned, ‘hey, you trying to go for 200 [receiving yards] tonight,’ and he started laughing or whatever. We kind of knew he was close. He’ll probably get it this next game. We’ll see.”

On Stanley Morgan Jr.’s personality
“He’s an energy ball that’s just him. He’s a kind-hearted person. You know what you’re getting from him every day. He’s a work horse. He puts in the work, he puts in the time. He’s very passionate and I think all of you all see that.”

On Coach Riley
“It was a change, you kind of have to grow on him. I’ve grown to have a lot more respect for him and everything. Going through my injuries and everything, he’s just been a consistent person, just being there, making sure I’m OK, making sure everybody day to day a lot of people are fine. That’s just what it is. He’s just a kind person.”

On players growing on Coach Riley
“Of course it takes time. A new coach comes in and everybody just falls in love with him? No. You have to build chemistry.”

On how Coach Riley built chemistry
“Time. It just comes. I can’t tell you what exactly what it was. It just comes with having a coach. It just happens. It’s player-close personnel. It’s supposed to happen. It just happens on its own.”

On watching the Penn State film
“[We watched it] a little bit, the other day we did. In the big room with the whole offense and a little bit with Coach Dub (Keith Williams), but not too much. We’ll probably watch a little more today, but that’s about it. Probably the one-handed catch (got a better reaction than the stiff arm).”

On his favorite color
“Not red. Green.”

On where he gets inspiration for his celebrations
“We kind of look at celebration stuff the whole year, like what to do. I know Ameer [Abdullah] did something my freshman year with the ‘U,’ with Miami, but the first time we played Oregon I know somebody – I think it might have been Kieron [Williams] – did something with breaking the ‘O’ or something like that so it comes with the territory. It just happens.”

On how often he was asked about his health
“No clue, but too many times.”

On the senior class
“The whole senior class. Our class together as a whole has kind of been through a lot. To just go out with a bang, just playing for everybody, it’s one last time putting on the ‘N.’ It sucks, but it is what it is… I think we were really tight before [the Bo Pelini coaching change] happened. We kind of came in, I think our class was a bit of a rebel class. If you can remember, a lot of people that were in that class that actually left. Our class was a lot of knuckleheads. You’ll miss those guys.”