Jerald Foster Quotes

Nebraska Football
Weekly Press Conference
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Monday, Nov. 12, 2018
Pre-Michigan State

Jerald Foster
Senior Offensive Lineman
On Senior Day coming up
“It is crazy, sad. I am happy I got to experience all that I did. I feel like I had an interesting career here, it has been wild, but I’m happy to be able to finish with these guys.”

On how fun it has been these past few weeks
“It has been great. Definitely, we were frustrated when the year started. Just a couple things just weren’t going right, finally we have been able to smooth that out and you can see our offense. When we all know what is going on and when we all stick to our jobs, we can do great things. I am happy to see everything moving along.”

On Michigan State’s run defense
“We have heard this is the best run-stop defense in the nation, so that is fun. It’s going to be a whole lot of fun to be able to play against a stout group like that. I don’t see us changing up anything in our game, we are still going to work and try to get the run accomplished. You saw what Devine (Ozigbo) did last week and him being the Big Ten Player of the Week, I think we will be all right on the run game, as long as that guy is running like he usually does.”

On his confidence during the post-game press conference after the Troy game
“I was frustrated because I could see the talent, the scheme and the plan. It was all there, it just wasn’t matching up completely. When you've got all the pieces to the puzzle and just can’t figure it out, that is when it is frustrating. We have figured it out and we have put it together on this offense. We are in our stride right now. I am happy to see Adrian (Martinez) getting all the stuff that he has and the same with Devine (Ozigbo), you know, with the guys that have really been putting in the work and pushing forward, just giving that last bit of effort. I am really am happy to see them in our backfield. I forgot Stan (Stanley Morgan), I think he is somewhere close to trying to break his own record. Hopefully over these last two games we will be able to get it for him.”

On Stanley Morgan and what he means to the team
“He is Captain Morgan, you know that is kind of sweet. Not only the little pun there, but Stan is somebody that comes to work every day with a smile. He is somebody who is energized and wants us to do their best. Not only himself, whenever we are on the sideline. He is the one that is pumping everybody up from the defensive side to the offensive. That is something that is special and is just him. I am really excited to see these last two games because I know he is going to give out all of his effort, just like the rest of us. Hopefully he will be able to break his own record and be able to go on with a big bang for his last couple games here at Nebraska.”

On Devine Ozigbo’s speed
“The only thing that has amazed me is that I feel like he has gotten three steps faster. It is kind of wild. He has played like that all of his years, how quick he is and just reading the right holes… Devine, I don’t know how he got faster, but he did. I guess you got to give a shout out to the strength staff for what they did with us this winter, summer and into fall camp. They have been able to keep us nice and healthy. I am happy to see him pushing forward. He is a player that deserves it and we are all excited for these last two games.”

On scoring on the opening drives
“We are all ready to attack and ready to go after them. I think the offense, we enjoy being the ones to go first out there. The pace is going to get set by us and when you are allowed the ability to make the game. Either you are up or you are going to be the ones trying to pull yourself out of a hole. I think that being on your shoulders makes you just want to work a little bit harder. I think our offense, we strive for it. We really do. We are all really excited when we get to do the first drive. I think we scored in like a minute this last time, so that was kind of sweet. We really do, we go for it. To make it even simpler, we just go for it every time we get one.”

On laying the foundation for the future
“I think we have. We have great players and a lot of talent. Young guys will step in for us after we’re gone, but the whole foundation on what they are going to believe and what this program is looking for, for players. I feel like that was something that us seniors really took charge of and we really told guys that this is the way it is going to be. I am happy to see that the young guys have their minds so focused on the games. When we are doing our warm-ups, doing things like that. You can tell that they are really for it. That is going to be how it is for however many years it is that Coach Frost is going to be here.”

On playing for three different coaches and what allowed the seniors to buy into Coach Frost’s message
“Well we’ve gone through a lot of coaches with this senior class. A good amount of us, we were Bo [Pelini] guys, so we had Bo Pelini, Mike Riley and we understood the transition from coach to coach that there can be some hardships that if the guys that are older don’t go for it. We took it upon ourselves to not be that problem, we took it upon ourselves to be the solution and really to push forward. Really we knew that Coach Frost was going to be a great coach everybody had been talking about him, the team had been talking about him and his success at UCF, weeks prior to the whole announcement. We knew that whoever came in we were going to go for it, and then when it was him, the way his culture was so in tune with how Nebraska has always been, I felt like that just made it that much easier for us.”

On Zach Duval and seeing a physical difference in the team now compared to last year
“I never want to talk down at staff, we had a really good staff before, but I feel great. I’m still walking around, not limping everywhere which is great. I feel like a lot of the guys in the same boat as me we were just talking about it. Coach [Frost] was saying everybody looks like we’ve got enough juice left in the tank for these games and some more, and I believe that as well. I think that we’re all still ready to push forward. It’s nice to see everyone up and moving around still.”

On seniors that might not be as well-known that, but are admired
“First one would be Matt Jarzynka. Matt is somebody that has been a part of this program as long as I have. Jarzynka not only this summer had an internship that’s going to lead to the job he’s going to have after he’s done here. They told him he needed to work over the summer, he said ‘that’s fine let me talk to Coach Frost’ and he was like ‘hey I’m not going to be here for the summer, but I’m going to come back because I want to finish this out the right way.’ Coaches, they obviously respected him for the person he is and the man that he is, and they allowed him to do that and I really feel like that just shows you how important this is to all of us, why this place is so special and you can really see it in guys like him. Another one would be Austin Rose. I didn’t know that that was his first carry (Saturday vs. Illinois). I’ve always admired him, with him being at North Star just down the street, I’ve always heard about him before we got here and just being able to know him as a person, being able to know the kind of spirit he is. He’s somebody that goes to work every single day, does the right thing, if they need him on scout team he’s there, when he gets moved out he doesn’t complain about any kind of reps or anything like that and he goes hard on special teams. Two of those guys that are seniors that deserve the praise as much as the rest of us. I’m so excited for this last game, it’s going to be hard with this being the last one, I can’t believe it’s already here. It’s truly an honor to be around guys like Jarzynka or Rose when we get these last cheers.”

On recalling his brother Trey Foster’s senior day
“I remember I was out on the field with my brother and my parents and maybe one of our aunts was out there as well, but that was a hard moment. Having him not being on the team with me anymore, you know that kind of made me see reality that there is always an end. Now that it’s here for me it’s kind of sad, but again one door closes, one door opens. After being done here I’m definitely coming back to be able to see my boys. I can’t wait to see what they do in the years coming, but I’m going to be able to more on and hopefully do crazy things somewhere else.”