Football Video & Report: Nov. 6

Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule met with the media to preview Saturday’s game at UCLA. He discussed Dylan Raiola and Gunnar Gottula’s surgeries.

“Everything went well,” he said. “Gunnar Gottula got out of surgery yesterday as well. He was in good spirits, he was in the training room this morning. Both surgeries were successful, and we’re hoping and wishing those guys speedy recoveries.”

He talked about the impact that Raiola had on the team while being injured. 

“He is a great teammate,” he said. “He talked to the team in the team meeting. He’s hoping he can get back here tomorrow. Our travel plans are very up in the air right now because of the government shutdown and how that might affect air travel so we’re in some meetings right now trying to figure out when we can fly out there. I know he wanted to be back here if he could before we took off just to say goodbye to the guys.”

Rhule discussed the support that TJ Lateef has received from the team.

“Any time you’re going to undertake something big it’s nice to know that you don’t have to do it alone,” he said. “When you feel like you’re doing something on your own, it puts tremendous pressure and strain but when you feel like you’re a part of a group that’s going to go do something it provides joy that you get to be a part of it. Even out there at practice today we were out there in helmets and spiders and Dane (Key) made a diving catch in the endzone. I’m not used to seeing guys dive in spiders and not in pads, but I think there is a focus around making sure everybody does their job at a high level. I think we all are excited, not just like hey we’re going to support TJ (Lateef), but we’re excited for TJ and we want to see him go out there and play. Eric Crouch was at practice today and was talking to TJ and said let it rip man. We’re excited to see what he can do.”

He also spoke on playing true freshman quarterbacks.

“I played a freshman quarterback at Temple my first year. I played a freshman quarterback at Baylor. I played a freshman quarterback here last year. Part of it is as a coaching staff, doing the things that they’re most comfortable with. Maybe not the best play for this coverage, but the best play for this person. TJ is unbelievably adept in this offense. Thankfully he was here in the spring, he has a really good feel for it. We’ve given him reps all year long. He’s played in a couple games. You can go out there and say ‘Don’t turn the ball over, don’t do this, don’t do that’ and then he’ll play a game of ‘don’ts’. We’re going to go play. To me this is an amazing opportunity for our team to let it rip and go play. I’m excited for him.”

Kickoff between the Huskers and the Bruins on Saturday, Nov. 8, is set for 8 p.m. (CT) and will be televised on FOX. The game can also be heard on Huskers Radio Network.