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Football Live updates from Nebraska's weekly press conference

Robin Washut

Nebraska Legend
Jun 17, 2008
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Follow along here for live updates from Nebraska's weekly press conference this afternoon at Memorial Stadium.

Players are scheduled to speak with media first at around 11:15 a.m., and then defensive coordinator Erik Chinander will follow at 12:15 p.m., with head coach Scott Frost to follow at roughly 12:30.

Garrett Nelson will start

***Nelson said it didn't matter what Iowa's record was or where they stood in the division, Nebraska would be ready to play just like every week.

***Nelson said Blaise Gunnerson "reminds me a little bit of myself" and that the two are roommates, so "it was awesome" to see him grow and play that much at Wisconsin. "He's been growing up in front of our eyes, I guess you could say."

***Nelson said "I don't think anybody would be playing through what" Adrian Martinez has this season and commended his toughness for handling everything he'd gone through.

***With Senior Day, Nelson said Nebraska's seniors were "a bunch of fighters" that had been through a lot of adversity. He said it would be hard to see some of them move on after Friday's game, even though a few still had decisions to make on whether they would come back next season.

***That's all for Nelson.

Levi Falck is up

***Falck said he was really grateful to see a second year at Nebraska after coming here as a grad transfer, especially getting to experience playing in front of fans this season.

***Falck said beating I was "obviously doable" and the whole team believes they can end this season on a high note.

***Falck said playing two seasons "on the biggest stage" at Nebraska helped him move closer to his goal of playing at the next level.

***Falck's advice to future transfers was to "get in right away" at your next school and hit the ground running from Day 1. "You have to be all-in."

***Falck said the offense gained a lot of confidence with how they were able to be aggressive and move the ball against one of the best defenses in the country at Wisconsin. He said NU would continue to be aggressive "and we have all the confidence in the world that we're going to be successful."

***Falck said Mike Cassano wasn't in all the receiver meetings before his promotion but led some of his own meetings with the group to help Matt Lubick during the week.

***Falck said everyone was "amazed" by how Martinez has fought through everything he's gone through. He said Martinez's shoulder was hurting most of the Wisconsin game, and he's playing through "multiple injuries" right now.

"We're really proud of what he's accomplished this year," Falck said.

***Falck said Samori Toure's impact was obvious despite only being here one season.

***That's all for Falck.

Austin Allen is up

***Allen said he planned to go through the Senior Day ceremony on Friday but still hadn't decided whether he will return in 2022 or move on after this season.

***Allen said NIL is definitely factoring into his decision while spending another year getting bigger, faster, and stronger.

***Allen said the feeling on Friday "will be a little weird" not knowing if that will be his last game or not, but he's just going to treat it like every game and play like it's his last.

***Allen said "being Iowa in anything is always great for Nebraska" and "hopefully we can get the job done for the fans."

***Allen said his big performance at Wisconsin was a combination of a more aggressive game plan and how the tight end could be used vs. UW's scheme.

***Allen said his 38-yard catch on fourth-and-2 was him "making something happen" and wasn't how the play was designed. He said it was an RPO where he broke off his route and ran up the field and Martinez found him.

***Allen said Martinez was "a warrior" with how he's battled through everything. "He's the leader of this team."

***Allen said the senior class was "guys that have seen it all" at Nebraska. He said "toughness" was another word he'd use to describe the group because of how they've fought through so much adversity.

***That's all for Allen.

Turner Corcoran is up.

***Corcoran said it's been a "blessing" to start for a power conference team as a sophomore, but added it's been a physical and mental grind. "It's been interesting."

***Corcoran said the entire offensive line was "pretty emotional about the whole situation" after Greg Austin was let go. But they rallied together and got ready to play at Wisconsin.

***Corcoran said he hadn't been able to really experience the Iowa rivalry since the only time he played in it was without fans. He said the veteran guys treat Iowa like a different game, but in the end

***Corcoran said, "it's no secret" that he needed to get better with his pass protection. He said his fall camp injury set him back, but he's steadily gotten better every week since.

***Corcoran said NU's seniors had "inspired me more than they'll ever know" with their leadership.

***That's all for Corcoran.

Ben Stille is up

***Stille said there was "a little more that goes into" a rivalry game like Iowa. You prepare the same, but on game day "there's a little more juice... You'd be lying if you said you didn't."

***Stille said there was "a little more hatred that goes into it on both sides of the ball" when Nebraska and Iowa face off.

***Stille said Nash Hutmacher's "jump" has been evident to everyone on the d-line. He said Hutmacher's "coming out party" was the spring game "and he's never looked back since."

***Stille said the future of the defense would be in good hands with a good core coming back that had spent the last three years in Chinander's defense.

***Stille said coming back for an additional season needed to be "something that you have to want to do." If you do it and aren't 100-percent bought in, "it's going to be a miserable year for you."

***Stille said of the seniors, "resiliency" would define "those of us that are still here." He said there wouldn't be a lot of things in life harder than what they'd gone through at Nebraska, so they'd be prepared for anything.

***That's all for Stille.

Erick Chinander is up

***Chinander said Iowa was a lot like Wisconsin with how they run the ball and work play-action passes off of that.

***Chinander said the tackling had to get better than it was vs. Wisconsin. He said another issue was guys hitting their run gaps too fast, which he blamed himself for having the guys too amped up.

***Chinander said not having so many starters on defense impacted them, "but that's football." He said the guys that were on the field were the guys that would be playing next year, so they needed to be ready to step up.

***Chinander said the tackling had been pretty good all year, but at Wisconsin amplified every mistake because of how they ran the ball and the small margin for error for missed tackles.

***Chinander said Gunnerson took a big step forward after the first bye week after getting a chance to get reps vs. the first-team offense. Chinander was happy with how Gunnerson responded to his opportunity on Saturday.

***Chinander said Hutmacher had been coming along for a while now, but snaps have been hard to come back with the older guys ahead of him on the depth chart.

***Chinander he didn't anticipate many guys that go through Senior Day ceremonies would come back, though there might be a couple of guys still on the fence. He said it would be a day of "mixed emotions" for him because of everything that the group had gone through.

***Chinander said Caleb Tannor had become a good teammate, leader, student, and person over the past year, and that's led to a big step forward for him as a player.

***Chinander said Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum was a great player, but the look the defense gets every day from Cam Jurgens would carry over well to Friday.

***Chinander said the Iowa rivalry "means everything." He said the guys want to win, and they really want to win this one. Personally, Chinander's ties to the program "adds a little fuel to the fire" for him.

"This one is kind of earmarked for everyone all year because this is the battle for the border right here... This game is super important not only for the rivalry but just for the aftermath of what a win could do for the program."

***That's all for Chinander.

Scott Frost is up

***Frost said the short week won't have an impact on getting the team up to play Iowa, but they would have to balance the workload this week to get prepared while also managing injuries, etc.

***Frost said NIL could be "potentially big" in decisions for guys to come back door leave. He said they would let some guys go through Senior Day and then "put their toe in the water" and make an informed decision for what to do next.

***Frost said Martinez would not play vs. Iowa due to a shoulder injury. He will have to have surgery after the season.

***Frost said he didn't expect Martinez would come back to play in the second half at Wisconsin but he toughed it out to finish the game.

***Frost said Logan Smothers and Heinrich Haarberg were both taking reps this week and there was a scenario where both could play Friday. He said Smothers had earned the right to be the starter right now.

***Frost said he would "encourage" Martinez to walk on Senior Day, "but I hope it's not his last one."

***Frost said Smothers and Haarberg would be able to run the offense effectively.

***Frost said, "one thing you can say about this team is we never stopped fighting, and we're not going to stop fighting this week."

***Frost said Allen was an all-conference player who could do anything you needed from him. "He's turned himself into a really fine player... and he's one of the heart and soul of our team."

***Frost also said resiliency would be the word he'd describe this year's seniors.

***Frost said Rahmir Johnson's status was still TBD but there was a chance he might miss Friday's finale.

***Frost said Jaquez Yant didn't play vs. Wisconsin because of a coach's decision. "He'll be available and ready to play this week."

***Frost said he thought the offensive line pass protected very well vs. Wisconsin.

***On Gunnerson and Jimari Butler, Frost said it was just a matter of those guys starting to figure it out as the season has gone along.

***Frost confirmed that Pheldarius Payne would miss the Iowa game with an injury.

***That's all for Frost.
 
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