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Nebraska Football
Pre-Spring Press Conference
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Senior Defensive Lineman Mick Stoltenberg
On the learning process
“As far as the coaches go, with the defense, it is kind of just a step-by-step approach. Obviously, we start from the ground up, and we are kind of just learning the basic stuff. We are stoked for this first day of practice on Friday where we can get out there and feel the defense and what we need to do- know all of the basic techniques and alignments, gap responsibilities, and things like that. It has been pretty good so far.”
On the player’s priorities
“Obviously, number one is to learn the new system. And obviously, we want to go out there play around and have some fun with it as well. I think it has been good. We have been getting in a week early, we started out position meetings already and kind of learning them. We have done some walkthrough and stuff like that. So, like I said, by Friday we can kind of know what we are doing and we are not just learning, we are actually going hard and taking real reps. With that, I think there is also an emphasis on flying around, having fun, and making a good impression on the new coaches. I think there are a lot of young guys that are doing their first spring ball, and a lot of older guys too so I think it will be fun to see them go out and give them advice to the new guys, too.”
On the strength and conditioning program
“Day one was very intense. Obviously, there were a lot of guys throwing up and stuff like that. It was kind of a crazy experience. But, we have developed already great relationships with Coach (Zach) Duval and his staff. It was nice, every different exercise they presented to us- some of them might have been unique or similar to something in the past or completely different. They always explain how it is going down in football, you’ve got defensive linemen doing defensive lineman specific drills, offensive line doing offensive lineman specific drills. Which is fun, kind of seeing how it is going to translate into the football field. It has been a great process. I was in the 6 a.m. group, the O-line, and D-line, so that was 6 a.m. every day but it ended up being a blast, you know? Getting up with those guys was a really fun process.”
On waking up early
“You know, you learn it and use it as a badge of honor. We are group and we want to be the best group out of the lifting groups. We want to come in there and be ready to roll at 6 a.m. when the other guys are still sleeping. It is fun, you know we always saying it starts with the trenches. So definitely the D-line lift groups should be the best and should be the hardest working. So, it was something we wanted to emphasize.”
On Central Florida’s season and the new coaches
“Guys should buy him (Scott Frost) regardless of who he brought in. You are responsible as a player to buy into the new system. But, it is nice that they have various tips on what we should be doing in order to play at a high level and to play on a championship level. You are definitely going to listen, you know? These guys have been there, they have turned a school around, obviously pretty drastically. That is something that is exciting for us, with what happened last season. We are excited to get the same result. We learn from their experiences changing the culture at UCF and hopefully kind of doing the same things here.”
On Coach Dawson
“It is cool that he’s got a lot of experience. He worked with Philadelphia, we watched some film of the Eagles and some of their D-lineman and how they run the 3-4. It is kind of similar, the nuance of their system. It has been really fun to learn from them and to kind of see the kind of stuff he’s done. It is a lot different than the old defense, just in terms of responsibility and stuff like that. Not every defense is the same. It is fun learning a new system and kind of getting experience from Coach Dawson.”
On the players
“I think there has been a big change as far as accountability. Obviously, with what happened we know last season didn’t work. We had to change, otherwise, we would see the same results. As I was just saying, the buy-in has been pretty great. It needs to be in order for us to get this thing rolling. I think guys are realizing how hard we do have to work. It is great we have new coaches and all that stuff is changing but at the end of the day, we still have to work really hard to be successful. It is not an easy process, it doesn’t just happen by being there and showing up. You have to put in the work yourself, and I think guys are starting to realize that.”
On Coach Frost’s advice
“Don’t be afraid to compete. We have competitions all throughout the winter. There are videos of us out there of us doing tug-of-war and stuff like that. If he wants to call someone up there to do that, everyone should be raising their hand, running up there wanting to compete. We all want to compete, we all want to win, and don’t be afraid to fail, if you fail you fail. But, give it all your heart. It is the same thing with spring ball if you’re a young guy and you have never done it before and you don’t really know what to expect, just go 100 miles an hour and do your thing and try to excel, try to make plays. If you mess up something simple it will get fixed. But that mentality, that competition mentality is something we are trying to get.”
On Spring Break
“I am sure guys will be taking it easy, or at least they should. I am just going back home to beautiful Gretna, Nebraska. So, that’s what I am doing for Spring Break, those are my plans. You know, I am going to spend time with family, hang out, and kind of take it easy but definitely keep my mind in the playbook and looking through things. We are really learning a new system, just making sure things are kind of dialed in for when we get back here.”
On patience in his final season
“Absolutely, it is a crazy thing to think about, I only have one season left. I am blessed that we are staring this change now. This is a patient process, you have to take your time with it. Things aren’t just going to happen, don’t just happen quickly. All I want to do, the impression I want to leave on these guys is that I got the change rolling. Depending on how much success we have on the field or not, I definitely want to be a catalyst for that change and I want to be part of that and some of these younger guy’s careers here.”