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Nebraska Football
Pre-Illinois
Monday, Aug. 23, 2021
Press Conference Video
On stakes with big game coverage
“Yeah it is exciting. This is Nebraska. This is why you come here to play so we are ready for the stage we are ready to just hit somebody else.”
On getting a Blackshirt
“Getting a Blackshirt kind of puts things into perspective every time just because it just reminds you of the rich history of this place and all the people that came before you and all the people that will come after you and how really we are just here in this moment and we have to maximize it and optimize it and I do not take that with a grain of salt. I am excited and we want to show that tradition proud.”
On the Blackshirt linebackers
“(Nick) Henrich and (Luke) Reimer. (Garrett) Nelson (Caleb) Tannor and myself.”
On receiving a Blackshirt for the first time
“I can only speak on myself the first time I got mine it was dream come true. It was like that moment that I felt accepted into the brotherhood. It is big time for those guys they earned it. I am really excited to go keep them and earn them on game day.”
On Illinois offense
“We just have to win the line of scrimmage set good edges keep everything in the box and win up front. Just plain and simple. They want to run the ball down your throat and we got to get push back and create those allies for linebackers to run through make tackles make turnovers punch the ball out pretty simple.”
On improvement throughout last season
“I thought we got better each and every game for the most part. Obviously there was a little lull there for the Illinois game but you just want to get your feet underneath you. Week zero we do not get a warm-up game we do not get a tee-up game. This is good on good off the rip so it is about who plays fundamental football who is disciplined and who makes the most turnovers.”
On third down defense
“When we make it easy on ourselves and it is third and longer. We are getting our nickel and our dime packages on the field and we are going to have a better chance to get after the quarterback force quick throws and cover down. I think early in the year we did not do a great job of getting them in third and long. It was more third and medium third in shorts and statistically speaking they are going to have better odds of converting on those first downs so just doing a better job on first and second down and making them really beat us on third down and getting off the field.”
On balancing the pressure of the first game
“It is like playing for a championship or a conference championship. You understand what is on the line you want to win the game so you got to stick to the script. You got to trust yourself. You got to trust the process and all the preparation that you have put in and that is what we are doing.”
NU Athletic Communications