Nebraska Football
Preseason Press Conference
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Aug. 1, 2019
Lamar Jackson, Cornerback
On if the secondary feels like they are taking steps back after the loss of last year’s seniors
"No steps back. I feel like there is an upgrade. In the secondary room I feel like there is a lot of confidence and we are ready to take it to the next level. We are all our personal motivators. For the most part, I think we have grown up as people. For me, seeing guys like the seniors going get drafted and getting fall ball. Everybody is trying to recreate their destiny in a positive way and just make sure they do everything they can do on the football field to help themselves and help them get to the next level. A lot of guys have NFL dream, and we are just trying to push each other and make sure we give our best."
On how much takeaways have been emphasized this season
"We play DB, so we know that the ball is the most important thing. When the ball is in the sky, we all want it whether it is a pick or deflection. A pick is the money. We always talk that if you drop a ball, even in a drill it is 15 push-ups.That’s just trying to emphasize that its just natural. When the ball hits your hands you have to take it. It can change everyone’s life. If we get a whole lot of picks in the season, you can lead the whole country in picks. You can lead the conference in picks. It doesn’t really matter. At the end of the day, picks and takeaways are important so we can get the ball back to our offense and put some more points on the board. Picks and turnovers are going to help us win games."
On if leading the team in interceptions in the spring is a confidence booster
"Confidence boost? Yeah, I feel like its just natural. I want picks. I am trying to get picks. Doing it in practice is one thing just being able to show your coaches. The coaches believe in me. My teammates believe in me. At the end of the day, I am not the best in the country. I am not leading the country in picks. At the end of the day, I don’t feel like it matters. At the end of the day, they are just motivators. Taking it from practice and putting it on the field this fall.
On Marquel Dismuke
"Hopefully Marquel can come through. He is taking reps as the one right now so hopefully he can hold on to that spot. It gets pretty interesting because we compete. On one side, the left side, me and Marquel compete, which we both from California. On the other side, Deontai (Williams) and Dicaprio (Bootle) compete and are both from Florida. Me and Marquel always tell each other that we can’t let them outplay us. We can’t let them do this. It’s just natural competition. We just go out there and do our thing. We out there having fun. We trained and worked out all summer. We all feeling good. Our body is feeling good. We are as confident as ever. We just going to go out there and drip confidence and just let that flood the defense and flood the practice all fall and into the season and week one."
On Dicaprio Bootle potentially being one of the best lockdown corners in the conference
"We definitely do. Just seeing the outside accolades and the completion percentage. Dicaprio led the country in PBU (Pass Breakups), but he got zero picks. We just pretty much know at the end of the day we did some stuff, but I’m not satisfied. I don’t really care for it because I don’t feel like I have done anything yet that I am really capable of. Personally, I feel like the most capable I’ve been in a while. I’m the most confident I have been in a while. I feel like I have figured it out. Now I have to take this stuff that I have learned and put it on the field and put on display for the world and set myself up for a great future as well as Dicaprio. We're going to both ball, including the safety. At the end of the year, if everybody does what they say they're going to do and do what they need to do, the numbers will speak for themselves. We are the best because we can be."
On how watching the freshmen defensive backs transition
"Those guys come into a good situation. Like I said with the guys taking reps with the first team, we got a pretty close group. A group that works. A group that takes no days off. A group that wants to be better. A group that talks about the League and winning everyday. We push each other. We want to be the best, so the young guys just see and it becomes natural. They just fall right in line. If they step out of line, instead of just me, it’s four people. We all on their head. We all want this. We all tell them that this isn’t what you do. For example, me and Dicaprio were both from the leadership council so we got a hold of our young guys in our room and keep them accountable. For the most part, keeping people accountable for me is just being me. Just going in there and having fun. Always going in there and being positive and giving it my all. So hopefully they hop right in line and do the same right behind me."
On potentially needing more depth at the corner position
"That just makes me mad. I've got to make more plays. I can’t play that many snaps without more production. If I play anything close to that, I just have to make sure my production way higher, and that I am doing way more on the field."