Checker here for live updates from Nebraska’s weekly press conference this afternoon at Memorial Stadium, as the Huskers get ready to take on Northwestern this week.
Head coach Mike Riley is set to meet with reporters around 11:30 a.m.
***Mohamed Barry is up.
***Asked to evaluate his game vs. Purdue, Barry said his performance was “piss poor” and not close to his own expectations.
***Barry said running back Justin Jackson is obviously the feature player on Northwestern’s offense, but quarterback Caleb Thorson was the heart and soul of the team who made everything go.
***On the final drive by Tanner Lee to beat Purdue, Barry said: “It was magical.” He said everyone on offense clicked and knew exactly what to do. Barry said that was the Lee he’d seen all offseason, and told fans and media they just needed to give Lee a chance to come into his own in this offense.
***Barry said Jackson was a running back who wasn’t the biggest player but still played “like a 260-pound back.” He said Jackson runs very hard with high knees, and tackling him was tough.
***That’s all for Barry.
***Riley is up.
***Linebacker Luke Gifford (hip) did not play vs. Purdue and is still listed as questionable.
***Safety Antonio Reed re-injured his knee and is considered questionable.
***Safety Aaron Williams re-aggravated a soft-tissue injury in his neck and and is questionable.
***Cornerback *Eric Lee is going through concussion protocol and is questionable.
***Center Michael Decker is out indefinitely, “probably for the season” an injury he suffered at Purdue.
***Guard Tanner Farmer is out “for an extended period of time” with an ankle sprain.
***Running back Jaylin Bradley is also dealing with an ankle sprain but is questionable for this week.
***Linebacker (foot) Tyrin Ferguson is now expected to be out “for an extended period of time.”
***Holder/receiver/quarterback Zack Darlington missed the Purdue game with the flu but should be back this week.
***Riley said he and Danny Langsdorf had a long conversation this morning about how to improve the run game going forward, especially this week against a “stout” Northwestern run defense. He said they need to simplify the running game to a few effective plays and win the one-on-one matchups on the line better.
***Riley said they’ll continue to talk about Bradley’s role this week, but they fully intend to keep playing him the rest of the year.
***Riley said Cole Conrad will play at center and Matt Farniok will be the right guard in place of Decker and Farmer.
***Riley said a lot of the red zone struggles for the offense have stemmed from the inability to run the ball effectively. Because they can’t run, their play-action game has really suffered. Those two elements are big parts of their red zone offense.
***Riley said despite the success Nebraska had late against Purdue with an up-tempo pass-heavy offense, Riley said they will always strive for balance with the run and the pass. Riley said they have thought about mixing in more tempo offense, but not really anything in depth.
***Riley has mentioned a couple times he was not pleased with Nebraska’s tackling vs. Purdue. He said missed tackles led to nearly all of Purdue’s explosive plays in the game. Riley said the tackling has been "better" for the most part this season.
***Riley said they got no response from the Big Ten after submitting a request for further explanation on the pass interference call on Purdue’s fake punt. He declined to give much detail on his thoughts but essentially made it clear that it was the wrong call.
***Riley said they are looking at junior college prospects “a little bit more” now, but noted that a lot of times you have to get “lucky” with the right guys and the right timing on taking jucos. They have to be the right fit personality wise and you have to have a role for him. He said they’ve had little success with offensive linemen, but they’ve had some success with skill position guys.
***Riley said he’d never heard anything from the Big Ten as far as urging teams not to take jucos. He said there’s always been an understanding that teams need to be “aware” of the issues in taking jucos and having them fit in academically, but he’s never heard that from the Big Ten specifically.
***Riley said he’s thinks they have a good relationship with Iowa Western and they just went up to the scout a couple IWCC players recently.
***Riley said with a guy like Chris Jones, it’s important to know that it’s not “like just getting back on a bike” when it comes to guys coming back from major injuries. He said Jones has done a great job with his recovery, but still had work to do to get back to his old self.
***Riley said they still really like Boe Wilson and John Raridon, it was just a matter of getting them to the point that they’re ready to play when called upon.
***That's all for Riley.
***Freedom Akinmoladun is now up.
***Akinmoladun said Northwestern's experience with Jackson and Thorson really made their offense a tough challenge.
***Akinmoladun said after a win last Purdue they look at the good things they did but also have a lot to evaluate with what they did poorly.
***That's all for Freedom.
***Tanner Lee is now up.
***Lee said he's obviously still excited about the win, and it should help get the team ready to get ready for Northwestern this week.
***Lee said he's always known Tyler Hoppes was capable of the type of catches he made vs. Purdue, and he loves having Hoppes out there as a go-to guy. He said they focused on ways to get Hoppes more involved during the bye week, and that paid off on Saturday night.
***Lee said after the game-winning touchdown they only had "like six guys on the field" because everyone was still celebrating.
***Lee said Nebraska "had to find a way" to improve its struggles in the red zone, because they've missed too many touchdown opportunities this year.
***Lee said Northwestern's defense was really focused on fundamentals and a hard-nosed, physical group that would challenge NU's offense.
***Lee said he's made it a point to utilize the running backs more in the passing game, especially with finding them more on check-downs like he did vs. Purdue.
***Lee said he met Thorson at the Manning Passing Academy and immediately formed a friendship. He's excited to go up against Thorson this week.
***That's all for Lee.
That wraps up the up-front portion of today's press conference. We'll have much more up later today, plus full coverage from tonight's practice.
Head coach Mike Riley is set to meet with reporters around 11:30 a.m.
***Mohamed Barry is up.
***Asked to evaluate his game vs. Purdue, Barry said his performance was “piss poor” and not close to his own expectations.
***Barry said running back Justin Jackson is obviously the feature player on Northwestern’s offense, but quarterback Caleb Thorson was the heart and soul of the team who made everything go.
***On the final drive by Tanner Lee to beat Purdue, Barry said: “It was magical.” He said everyone on offense clicked and knew exactly what to do. Barry said that was the Lee he’d seen all offseason, and told fans and media they just needed to give Lee a chance to come into his own in this offense.
***Barry said Jackson was a running back who wasn’t the biggest player but still played “like a 260-pound back.” He said Jackson runs very hard with high knees, and tackling him was tough.
***That’s all for Barry.
***Riley is up.
***Linebacker Luke Gifford (hip) did not play vs. Purdue and is still listed as questionable.
***Safety Antonio Reed re-injured his knee and is considered questionable.
***Safety Aaron Williams re-aggravated a soft-tissue injury in his neck and and is questionable.
***Cornerback *Eric Lee is going through concussion protocol and is questionable.
***Center Michael Decker is out indefinitely, “probably for the season” an injury he suffered at Purdue.
***Guard Tanner Farmer is out “for an extended period of time” with an ankle sprain.
***Running back Jaylin Bradley is also dealing with an ankle sprain but is questionable for this week.
***Linebacker (foot) Tyrin Ferguson is now expected to be out “for an extended period of time.”
***Holder/receiver/quarterback Zack Darlington missed the Purdue game with the flu but should be back this week.
***Riley said he and Danny Langsdorf had a long conversation this morning about how to improve the run game going forward, especially this week against a “stout” Northwestern run defense. He said they need to simplify the running game to a few effective plays and win the one-on-one matchups on the line better.
***Riley said they’ll continue to talk about Bradley’s role this week, but they fully intend to keep playing him the rest of the year.
***Riley said Cole Conrad will play at center and Matt Farniok will be the right guard in place of Decker and Farmer.
***Riley said a lot of the red zone struggles for the offense have stemmed from the inability to run the ball effectively. Because they can’t run, their play-action game has really suffered. Those two elements are big parts of their red zone offense.
***Riley said despite the success Nebraska had late against Purdue with an up-tempo pass-heavy offense, Riley said they will always strive for balance with the run and the pass. Riley said they have thought about mixing in more tempo offense, but not really anything in depth.
***Riley has mentioned a couple times he was not pleased with Nebraska’s tackling vs. Purdue. He said missed tackles led to nearly all of Purdue’s explosive plays in the game. Riley said the tackling has been "better" for the most part this season.
***Riley said they got no response from the Big Ten after submitting a request for further explanation on the pass interference call on Purdue’s fake punt. He declined to give much detail on his thoughts but essentially made it clear that it was the wrong call.
***Riley said they are looking at junior college prospects “a little bit more” now, but noted that a lot of times you have to get “lucky” with the right guys and the right timing on taking jucos. They have to be the right fit personality wise and you have to have a role for him. He said they’ve had little success with offensive linemen, but they’ve had some success with skill position guys.
***Riley said he’d never heard anything from the Big Ten as far as urging teams not to take jucos. He said there’s always been an understanding that teams need to be “aware” of the issues in taking jucos and having them fit in academically, but he’s never heard that from the Big Ten specifically.
***Riley said he’s thinks they have a good relationship with Iowa Western and they just went up to the scout a couple IWCC players recently.
***Riley said with a guy like Chris Jones, it’s important to know that it’s not “like just getting back on a bike” when it comes to guys coming back from major injuries. He said Jones has done a great job with his recovery, but still had work to do to get back to his old self.
***Riley said they still really like Boe Wilson and John Raridon, it was just a matter of getting them to the point that they’re ready to play when called upon.
***That's all for Riley.
***Freedom Akinmoladun is now up.
***Akinmoladun said Northwestern's experience with Jackson and Thorson really made their offense a tough challenge.
***Akinmoladun said after a win last Purdue they look at the good things they did but also have a lot to evaluate with what they did poorly.
***That's all for Freedom.
***Tanner Lee is now up.
***Lee said he's obviously still excited about the win, and it should help get the team ready to get ready for Northwestern this week.
***Lee said he's always known Tyler Hoppes was capable of the type of catches he made vs. Purdue, and he loves having Hoppes out there as a go-to guy. He said they focused on ways to get Hoppes more involved during the bye week, and that paid off on Saturday night.
***Lee said after the game-winning touchdown they only had "like six guys on the field" because everyone was still celebrating.
***Lee said Nebraska "had to find a way" to improve its struggles in the red zone, because they've missed too many touchdown opportunities this year.
***Lee said Northwestern's defense was really focused on fundamentals and a hard-nosed, physical group that would challenge NU's offense.
***Lee said he's made it a point to utilize the running backs more in the passing game, especially with finding them more on check-downs like he did vs. Purdue.
***Lee said he met Thorson at the Manning Passing Academy and immediately formed a friendship. He's excited to go up against Thorson this week.
***That's all for Lee.
That wraps up the up-front portion of today's press conference. We'll have much more up later today, plus full coverage from tonight's practice.
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