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Nebraska Football
Weekly Press Conference
Monday, Oct. 26, 2020
Pre Wisconsin
Press Conference Video
Does this game take on any added meaning for you as a veteran player in this program?
“No, they’ve beat us the last couple of times that we played them. They got a little streak going right now against us. I've never beat them in my time here. Obviously, that would mean a lot to me to, in this year, to go out there and give it my best shot give, give it my all. Just getting the guys ready to go out there and change the narrative on what this game has been. It's going to be hard nose, physical football. We understand that. We know that. That's what Wisconsin brings. We just have to match their physicality and just play hard. But definitely trying to go into this game and make it happen.”
What is your level of confidence in the younger players who may need to step in early on Saturday and where they're at right now?
“All of them have to step it up. It's a team game so when one guy goes down, it's not just one guy that has to step up. Multiple people have to step up. We don't just go into the game with just four DBs that play. You might see five, six, seven, eight of us play in one game. So the group has to be deep that way. It has to be a tight knit, deep group. When one of us falls to the wayside, you know we got you. We are going to make it right. A couple other young guys have to step up, bring it this week in practice and at the end of the week my coaches will make their decisions based off of the week of work that we put in. But right now they're all working hard, and that's all we can ask for.
Where did Saturday rank in terms of the physicality you saw the linebackers and lineman play with and how well guys stuck to their fit to their assignments?
“I think it's a unique group, a group that's going to fight, claw, scratch nails at the game completely. I mean the front seven just continuing to be physical, not backing down from any challenge. That’s going to go a long way for us this year. Collin down there being the vocal guy, leading the guys and really getting them rallied up again and getting them ready to go. As far as being physical and stuff, I thought they did their thing.”
What unique challenges does a talented tight end present to a defense and what is difficult about the versatility with which players like that can be used?
“I mean both ways. In the passing game, just being able to stretch the field, stretch vertical, expand the field on out routes, be able to box out guys. Just having a big frame like that. He has been able to work his way around the field and in the run game. Guys like that you just have to play true to what you know. True to what you're taught to do, true to your coverage, true to your skill set and just, you know, let it work for you. He has a unique skill set that that he's going to use to try to elevate his game. We have to do everything we can do to slow him down and stop him. You have to give him his respect. He’s worked for that over the years to have that respect and you know he's just continuing that so we're very aware of it.”
How difficult is it to be a defensive back in today's game with the holding penalties, the targeting calls and the pass, interference, and everything?
“Any real defensive back isn't going to complain about all that type of stuff. Whether you get a holding call, whether you get a pass interference, targeting, any of that, you just continue to play ball. Whether they're good calls, bad calls, refs are human just like us. They don't make all the right calls and sometimes they make mistakes. Sometimes they see things differently then they how they actually happened or if you were just slow something down in real time, it really didn't happen the way they thought they saw it. As a defensive back you just have to live with that. That's just the game that you play. You just got to find a way to make a play without drawing a flag.”
What were the biggest differences you saw from Wisconsin running the football without Jonathan Taylor?
“I mean anytime you have a record setting back leave, it's going to be a little bit different. The O-line is still good. The running backs are still good. We have respect for who they are and just know that we have to go in there and play our football.”
Are you playing any safety just as a precaution or do you expect to be straight corner all week?
“I'm always working safety. I'm always working everything, whether it's corner safety, nickel, dime, wherever the coaches need me. I played a whole series last game at safety but spent most of my time at corner. But whatever coaches want me to do, I'm going do that. At this point I always prepare myself to play anything.”
How do you think the team can grow from the first game against a really good team to the second game also against a really good team?
“I think I think we draw a lot of lessons from that game. What to do, what not to do. Just like if you were going to play a group of five team, there's always lessons to be learned from every game. This time it was just a top five team in the nation. Even though the scoreboard wasn't favorable, wasn't what we expected, wasn't what we wanted, there is still a lot to learn and a lot to feel from that game. Just understanding where we were at, where we went wrong, what we did good, what we did bad and just be able to grow off of that. So honestly, playing a team like that first game might actually be good for us.”
NU Athletic Communications