A few Nebraska players met with the media Saturday night following the Huskers’ 34-7 loss to Minnesota. It was a tough game in the trenches for the Huskers who looked overmatched all night. We heard from sophomore quarterback Noah Vedral, senior defensive lineman Darrion Daniels, sophomore tight end Austin Allen and junior defensive end Ben Stille.
Here’s the transcript from his question-and-answer session postgame.
Senior defensive tackle Darrion Daniels
On what went wrong on the defense
“Out of position. I felt like we were out of position a lot of the time. We weren’t in our fits. We have to get that fixed.”
On if it had to do with physicality
“Yes and no. It’s one of those things where once you get out of position it messes up everything. It messes up what people see. People get knocked out of position and it messes up everything. I feel as if, if everyone was in their proper fits it would have minimized a lot of the movement and we would have made a lot more plays.”
On Frost saying they got pushed around
“The eye in the sky doesn’t lie. So we’ll throw on the film, look at it from up top and I can give you a better observation.”
On how disappointing the loss is
“It’s a loss. Nobody came here to lose. We didn’t work hard all week to lose.”
On goals for bye week
“I think recover is huge. We have guys beat up. I think that’s the most important thing. Just take this time not just to recover physically but also mentally. We need to take some time to ourselves and relax. Recharge for the second half of the season.”
Sophomore quarterback Noah Vedral
On how things looked out there on first three drives
“Things were good. The guys and the rest of us would have like to finish those. It might have helped change the game. Things looked clear and we had a good game plan. It was working. You can’t shoot yourself in the foot. You have to make things count especially in their territory.”
On if he felt comfortable
“Yeah, I felt really good. We had a good week of practice. I felt prepared. They gave us a lot of what we expected so we were ready. Again, we have to avoid shooting ourselves in the foot and be more efficient when it matters most.”
On the blitz after JD’s 51-yard catch
“They dialed up some heat after an explosive play which was one of their tendencies. They do a good job of disguising it. I take that on me. I have to get that ball out of bounds and take that sack. They got us on that one.”
On being able to run the ball consistently
“There are a lot of things. It’s a complex game with a lot of moving parts even when it seems like a simple run play. We’ll dial that stuff in. We have a bye week to rest up and heal up. We need really good work on the fundamentals to dial some stuff in.”
On advice from Adrian Martinez
“Adrian gave me some good advice. He said do you and be yourself like you always are. That was really good advice and that’s what I tried to do tonight. As far as how I feel, I’ll be all right.”
Sophomore tight end Austin Allen
On more pressure than last year
“Not really. They came out more physical than us. Coach Frost said this next bye week later in the week we are going to get after it. He doesn’t care if he has to run 50 plays of inside zone live, we are going to get after it. We’ll come back.”
On when first practice this week is
“He said Sunday and Monday don’t come to the stadium but I’m sure we will get a schedule tomorrow.”
Junior defensive end Ben Stille
On guys being out of position on defensive line
“Yeah, I mean, a lot of our issues were self-imposed. I don’t know how much because I haven’t seen the film. That’s a lot of it I’m sure.”
On what guys say in the locker room after that
“Coach Frost talked a lot longer than normal. Just challenging us. When tough times happen you can use them to keep going or pack it up. There is still a lot of season left and progress to be made.”
On being on the wrong side of a game won at the line
“We have to play better up front. We have to stay in our fits. That’s why they killed us. We have to do a good job of staying where we are supposed to be.”
