Nebraska Interim Head Coach Mickey Joseph met with the media on Tuesday afternoon at Memorial Stadium to discuss Saturday’s game against Purdue at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind.
Kickoff between the Huskers and Boilermakers is set for 6:30 p.m., with live national television coverage on Big Ten Network and radio coverage from the Huskers Radio Network.
Opening statement
“I’m proud of our players. They responded in the last two games and found a way to win. Hats off to the coaches also. You can preach staying on course, working hard and making things happen. You’ve got to practice that way. You’ve got to practice to make things happen. We have to make sure we are finishing on every play and every drive. Today at practice the kids flew around. They got after it. It was a straight tough Tuesday practice. We appreciate the way they came out today. We are going to take a step in another direction because we have to play well on all three phases to win this game. This is an explosive offensive team and the defense is top-10, top-20. It’s a really good football team. It’s a mature football team. They have done a really good job of keeping the kids in the program. That’s part of the reason why they’ve been successful.”
On what needs to happen to improve the play of the offensive line
“We’ve got to get them some help with the play-calling and the protection. All of that. And we have to make sure we have our best five are on the field.”
On the status of Quinton Newsome and Luke Reimer
“They both looked good today, but they are both day-to-day.”
On how he feels about the backups for both Quinton Newsome and Luke Reimer
“I have no choice but to feel comfortable. Like I said when we were in New Jersey you can’t play with 10. I have to feel comfortable with those guys. I can’t not feel comfortable with them and then they hear what I say in the press and then they go out and play. You all are going to print it. My kids read this stuff. I got to make sure that they know that I have confidence in them. They know I do because we always say next man up.”
On Tommi Hill’s position change and if it’s permanent
“It can be. We need to get Tommi (Hill) on the field. He struggled at corner so we wanted to get him on the field. He was a high school receiver so we decided to just move him over and see if he can help us.”
On how to get his team to have a short-term memory
“In the locker room at halftime they were kind of coaching us. They were saying that we were going to be ok and we were going to come back and win the game. We were doing corrections and getting the game plan on the board they said everything was going to be okay and we are going to come back and win the game. They had a short memory. They know we are going to get it to the fourth quarter and we are going to finish. They did it on their own.”
On if there was thought of moving Tommi Hill back to fill Quinton Newsome’s position
“That was not in the equation. Not this week.”
On the running back play
“We tried to save Gabe (Ervin Jr.). He’s got that toe injury. He didn’t look good in pregame. One of my rules here is that the trainer doesn’t tell me. I don’t say the kid is ready to go. The position coach doesn’t say the kid is ready to go. The fans don’t say he’s ready to go. That kid tells me when he’s ready to go and he said he wasn’t ready to go. That’s the way it’s going to be as long as I stand afront this team.”
On if there is a possibility of rearranging the offensive line again
“Yes. 2019 at LSU we had a different five every week. With the injuries and everything that’s going on right now it could be a different five. We will have our best five though.”
On the strength of the offensive line
“It’s really week to week and what we need to do to win the game. They just have to continue to work. I think that they are really good run-blockers but they can also pass-block. We’ve been getting a lot of blitzes. They’ve been hitting us up a lot the last two weeks. We’re going to do a better job this week of ironing out the protection and give them some help.”
On how important it is to rotate guys up front
“We always talk about rotating them early and getting them to the fourth quarter so they can be fresh. Coach Dawson did a really good job of rotating them. I think he played five edge rushers. You’ve got to play that. When there’s 80 snaps in a game and you get a kid in for 10 snaps that speaks volumes.”
On the feeling after two wins
“We have a 24-hour rule. We celebrated for 24 hours and then we came in Sunday and we get back on it Monday. It’s about preparing. I know we all talk about momentum but there really is no such thing as momentum because you can have momentum and get your butt whooped. Our job is to come back today and start prepping ourselves to go 1-0 this week. You understand that there’s value to it. They haven’t done this since 2018. There is always value to it.”
On how Purdue’s coach leads his football team
“I don’t know him personally, but I know he’s a really good football coach. He’s a really good play caller and he’s doing a really good job at Purdue.”
On if the change in the practice schedule has helped their preparation
“The number one thing they need to do on Mondays is get ready for school. That’s the reason we took it off. The coaches can game plan. The number one reason we took Monday off is so they can get their week started with school. Remember we practice in the morning so they can use Monday to really catch up on homework and go to class in the afternoon. They are doing really well with it and I think they enjoy coming in on Sundays and Monday having off where they can get their schoolwork out of the way.”
On if the change has been good for the coaches too
“It’s a veteran staff. They can do it on Sundays. They do a lot of work on Sundays. Monday they put the practice schedule together but they do a lot of work on Sundays. It helps them. You have to ask the assistant coaches but I think it helps them.”
On if he sees Jaquex Yant as an option along with Anthony Grant
“Yes. We like Yant. We want him to drop his pads and find a hole. If there’s nothing there use the 230 pounds to make a hole in it. We look for big things when Yant goes in the game. We need Yant to pick it up a bit and move the pile.”
On what he thinks of Purdue’s quarterback
“He’s a six-year kid so he has to be 23 or 24-years-old. He don’t make mistakes. The ball is always in the area code. It’s always around the body. He runs that offense well. He’s been there for six years. He’s a really good quarterback. He gets them going.”
On how the team handled the away atmosphere
“I think the boys did a great job at Rutgers in front of the so-called sellout crowd because it wasn’t a sellout. Let’s be real about it. It wasn’t a sellout. We are hoping Purdue has a sellout because at the end of the day we embrace playing in a hostile environment. We embrace chaos and the kids really get their focus.”
On the stakes of the weekend
“We talked to them about how nobody is going to win the West on October 15th, so it’s the next game. The job is to go 1-0 this week. Nobody is going to win the West this week. We aren’t looking down the line. We are looking straight at Purdue. The most important thing is Wednesday practice.”
On Casey Thompson’s health
“Casey is a tough dude. He’s going to take shots when he plays quarterback. I played option quarterback. I took shots. Casey is a tough guy. He was on the ground. He said it was his left shoulder. I asked him you throw with your right shoulder right. I said ok get up. He got up. Casey is tough.”
On Kevin Warren’s comments to him post-game
“He just said congratulations and just keep working. He’s a good guy.”
On how Mark Whipple is doing
“Whipple is fine. He’s dealing with some things but it’s not getting in the way of him working. Whipple has been coaching for 40-some years. He should get a cart if he wasn’t dealing with something. Whipple is okay. He is tough. He is probably the toughest dude on the staff. Nobody messes with Whipple. Whipple is okay. I want you to ask him that question too and then let him get after you.”
On the ability to create turnovers
“Coach (Bill) Busch and Coach (Travis) Fisher are doing a great job with that backend. They really cleaned up the kids’ eyes because you are going to get more picks in zone coverage. They are doing a really good job working together. The kids are trusting what they see and they are making plays.”
On the overall defensive play in the second half
“We made a change at defensive coordinator. That’s the change.”
On the wide receiver group as a whole
“It’s still a strong room. Isaiah (Garcia-Castaneda) has that right. He wasn’t happy and wanted to be the number one guy. We couldn’t do that for him, but Isaiah is a good kid. He’s done everything we asked him to do. That’s the reason we have the portal. Coaches leave all the time. When a kid leaves you can’t sit back and be angry with him. You have to say if I can help you in any way let me know because that is being real. Not yelling and screaming at them and saying that I want you to stay here. If they want to leave they have the right to leave.”
On Janiran Bonner’s play
“Ceiling is high. He’s a really good football player but we are going to put him out there when he is ready.”
On Omar Manning’s health
“He’s day-to-day. He got tackled on an over-route and he got his ankle caught up in the turf. We will see how he is at the end of the week.”
