Senior Linebacker Mohamed Barry Quotes - 8/26

Nebraska Football
Weekly Press Conference
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Monday, Aug. 26, 2019
Pre-South Alabama
 
Mohamed Barry
Senior, Linebacker

On what it means to being voted a captain by his teammate
“It’s a tremendous honor. I look back from my freshman year and the development that I had to undergo to become the guy that I am right now. I look back, there’s a lot of things I had to fix, a lot of growth needed, and I was blessed to have a position coach like Coach [Demeitre] Brim who pushed me to not only improve on the field but [also] off the field. To have my teammates give me this honor, to have them vote me to represent them day in and day out is a tremendous honor and means the most to me. I don’t think anything will ever mean more to me than this.”
 
Describing what it was like to receive the Blackshirts and have former Huskers come speak to the team 
“It was neat how they did it this year. In the past, [the Blackshirts] were awarded to you in your locker. You would come in and see a Blackshirt and almost faint. This year, you had the people that actually wore that shirt and did something with it. Now, the shirt is not just a shirt; it comes to life. It’s a real thing, with the person whose worn it, a representative of all that went into that shirt and he’s giving it to you, telling you, ‘You have to earn it every day.’ So, it meant a lot how they did it this year.”
 
On learning new philosophies and schemes 
“Our defense, we’ve gotten way smarter. Every position, from the linemen, the linebackers and the defensive backs, we’ve improved our intelligence and understanding of our defense. What that does is now, we can do a lot of checks, check a lot of things during the games. You can combat issues with your own tools. [The coaching staff] has given us more things to do on the field. We can make changes when we feel it’s needed and that’s a great thing because now we can fix stuff before it affects us. We’ve gotten smarter. [The coaching staff] has given us tools to combat issues that offenses are giving us.”
 
On his relationship with running back and fellow Georgia native Dedrick Mills 
“Anyone from Georgia is close to me because I love where I’m from and I believe in the brand of football there. For [Dedrick] to have another opportunity to prove himself and how hard he works in practice, he wants it. I think it’s a tremendous opportunity to play in front of 90,000 fans, for this university which has [produced] so many great running backs. I think he has a great opportunity for him to prove himself...[Dedrick] is a one-cut back, straight in your face. He’s trying to run you over. He’s not trying to figure out a way to go around you, he’s trying to go through you, and that’s what he wants to do. When we do [pass-protection drills], he always comes up and points me out, and I say, “You sure you want that?” He’s a competitor, and that’s what you want. That’s what I do. Whenever we do 1-on-1s or anything like that, I want to go against Maurice [Washington], I want to go against the best of them. Whoever can run the best route, I’m trying to face them.”
 
On facing the Husker offense day-in and day-out in practice
“Coach Frost, he’s always putting in new things and always experimenting. He knows defensive schemes; he was a defensive coordinator before, so he knows what [the defense] is reading and how to mess [the defense] up, so facing [the Husker offense] is never normal and never something I’ve ever gotten comfortable with. There’s so much speed [on offense] and I would say the biggest difference this year is if your eyes are wrong, they’re going to score a touchdown on you.”    
 
On how the Blackshirts have fared against their offensive counterparts 
“We come out there and we dominate. That’s what we do. It’s been so consistent that I can say that. We feel hyped up about it because that’s what we’re supposed to do every day. We’ve proven that and the guys have bought in, and it’s crazy because now I can say that, and I’m talking to you and I know what’s going to happen on Saturday because we’ve been doing it over and over again [in practice].”
 
On what’s he heard about South Alabama 
“They’re similar to Troy. If you watched the game against Troy [from last year], [South Alabama] is very similar to them. The OC (offensive coordinator) from South Alabama came from Troy. Teams like (South Alabama), they have athletes and they try to mess with your eyes with weird motions, but the way to beat them, if your eyes are right, you’re really going to give it to them. Again, you’ve got to watch a lot of film because if your eyes are wrong, they’re going to give it to you.”
 
On the importance of starting the season on a good note after the 0-6 start in 2018 
“We have a lot of momentum right now, a lot of belief, a lot of buy-in. It’s emotional; everything is so high right now. If we come out there--when we come out there--and we do what we’re supposed to do, you’re going to see everyone actually believe in the process. You might say ‘OK, buy in day-by-day’ and stuff like that, but when it results in a ‘W,’ people won’t doubt it anymore. There’s no doubt in what we need to do.  [In the past], there was that little voice in your mind telling you, ‘Maybe not,” but when you back it up with a ‘W’, and then you back it up with another ‘W’, that’s what matters. So, we have to win [the first] game. We have to play our best football [the first] game.”
 
On what he has seen out of Caleb Tannor and his growth over the past two seasons
“Physically, he’s put on some weight, he’s really ripped. This guy is really fast, like, extremely fast. He has that type of speed, he doesn’t get tired of running fast. The speed, the endurance. He can hawk people from the other side of the field. It’s easy for him to come back to the line and do that over and over again. He’s going to make a lot of plays behind the line of scrimmage. He’s also going to make a lot of effort plays that we need.”

On how defensive lineman Darrion Daniels was named a captain in his first year with the program 
“Since the first day he came (into the program), he worked. He didn’t just talk, he worked. He was in the gym, he was in Hawks (Championship Center) running extra sprints. He came here to prove something. I was in Hawks three days in a row [in the offseason], working on footwork, and I [saw] (Darrion Daniels) running sprints. That’s what you want in a leader, you want him to be the hardest worker. He proved it to everyone and earned their respect and now everyone loves to follow him.”    

NU Athletic Communications