Nebraska players met with media following the 37-27 win over Purdue on Saturday. Wide receivers Levi Falck and Wan’Dale Robinson, defensive end Ben Stille, defensive back Cam Taylor-Britt and quarterback Adrian Martinez all spoke.
Here is the full transcript from the players:
Wide Receiver Levi Falck
On the feeling of getting over the hump after being so close:
“I mean, nothing’s better than winning. We worked super hard during the week and it finally paid off. I think this is going to give us confidence to move forward in the future. I think this can be a very good team in the near future. It’s going to be tough to beat.”
On playing with the early lead and what that did for the team:
“I love that. I kind of have a preference of the defense getting a three and out right away, Then us going to get that lead. I think we play a little different when we have that lead, we can do our thing. We kind of get like five or six yards a play. So I think it’s advantageous for us to play with the lead. I think we showed that today.”
On what he saw on the blocked punt:
“So that was our goal. We had a block called and I was lined up right over the ball. So I had the shortest path for the ball. It was snapped and I just sprinted and no one touched me so it was pretty easy. Then got to give Simon a shout out for jumping on the ball at the one to give our offense a touchdown.”
On if Simon Otte should have picked the ball up and ran for a touchdown:
“There was a lot of people, a lot of Nebraska jerseys coming. I think he heard footsteps. If you hear footsteps, it’s probably the smart thing to do is jump on it. His back is turned so he’s not going to see what colors jerseys are behind him. If it’s on the one, I don’t think it really matters.”
On Adrian Martinez settling in and the passing game picking up steam:
“Our schedule was pretty tough at first. We went up against some tough defenses and I think it’s also getting better. He’s settled down and he’s move we’re moving the ball and we have a ton of confidence in him.”
On the wild drive with lots of penalties by both teams:
“It was pretty chaotic. We had a two-touchdown lead when they threw that long touchdown. I think Cam went up for it. I can’t remember if it was Deontai, he went up for the ball and he actually hit Cam. It gave that guy an easy touchdown. But they’re both trying to make a play, can’t blame him for it. Then that long drive when we had a bunch of penalties, it was pretty chaotic. I mean, we knew we had the chance to burn the clock out and win the game. I think we did a really good job of overcoming those penalties and to get the win.”
On if the offense has tweaked anything to pick it up the last two weeks:
“I don’t think we really adjusted much, we’re just executing a lot better. I don’t know maybe sometimes that happens at the beginning of the season, you’re not executing as well. We all know the plan or we all know our assignments now and I think we’re all executing well. It seems like we’re moving the ball really well the past couple of games.”
On the improved chemistry with Adrian Martinez:
“The game reps definitely help. He knows what we’re going to. He has a better idea of what we’re going to do. If we see that zone, we’re going to sit there and I think the past couple of games it’s been on us a little quicker than normal. That’s led to more completions.”
Defensive Lineman Ben Stille
On the defense’s mentality once the game tightened up late in the game:
“We’d been playing pretty well all day on defense. So, it really wasn’t doing anything different than we had been doing all day. We just had to stick to our job, keep doing our job to the best of our ability and plays were going to come to us.”
On comparing last year’s game to finishing this year’s game against Purdue:
“It’s really not close. We let one slip away from us last year. Last year we know we should have won. This year they kind of started to creep back in and whatnot, but we were able to close this one out.”
On why they could close it out this year versus last year:
“We got a lot of veteran guys on defense. A lot of guys that have been in a lot of tough close games. A lot of guys just are able to execute their job on a play in and play out basis. Everyone just doesn’t panic and does their job, it’s going to turn out well for you.
On stopping Purdue on three consecutive plays including fourth down:
“We knew what was coming. That obviously helped us out. Up front we felt like we had an advantage for sure. So, we were just doing our job. Everyone stayed in their gaps. It definitely shows this improvement we’ve made it over the past years.”
On Purdue getting frustrated by pressure Nebraska was generating:
“Yeah, for sure. You could definitely tell Plummer didn’t like having pressure in his face all day. I was proud of the whole the defensive line and outside backers working together today. Being able to rush together and collapse the pocket.”
Wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson
On the difference between getting a win to go 2-4 instead of 1-5:
“It’s really good for us. I think this helps us to build some momentum, especially going into next year. But just today, it was just really good to get that win and have some confidence, especially going into next week. So that was just a really good overall win.”
On what has changed with Adrian Martinez the last two games:
“It’s a little bit of everybody. Part of that goes on us with receivers and running backs and tight ends moving in practice the way we should be to make sure that Adrian’s confident whenever we get out to the games. This week was probably our best week of practice with that. It showed out there on the field this week.”
On his increased production and playing against Rondale Moore:
“It was good to finally just kind of get going again. Defenses have kind of just really been taking everything away from me. Then to play with Rondale that was one of the best things. We almost played together in high school but that didn’t happen. So, it was just really nice to play against him.”
On if they tweaked anything to spark the offense:
“We just kind of simplified things. Then again, it goes back to practice and how we practice and prepare every week. So, this week we had a really, really good week of preparation. We just have to continue to do that and every week can look like this.”
On if he thinks the coaches told the quarterbacks to look for him more:
“I mean, probably. There’s a couple of times that it’s like, if there’s nothing there, just dump it down and let me get what I can get. But at the end of the day, our quarterbacks have to stay true to their reads and do what they’re supposed to do.”
On the first drive of the third quarter:
“It was really good especially coming out in the second half and previous games we hadn’t come out like that. So, it was really good to see us just go right down the field and march the ball down the field and score. We just have to start doing that more often.”
Defensive back Cam Taylor-Britt
On the pass breakups he had at the end of the day versus David Bell:
“I just know they want to get him the ball. That’s one of their playmakers besides Rondale Moore. I just knew with me playing on the outside, they’re just going to test that one on one. That’s their second best player on their team.”
On the emotions of getting this win:
“Man feels great. We just preached through the whole week to finish. Just play for 60 minutes, even more than 60 minutes if we go into overtime. Just play all out, give everything that you got. With Collin down and some other teammates we just want to give them our all because we know they would do the same for us.”
On how the defense has come together through the season:
“Everybody can get better. There’s always room for improvement. We want to keep zero on the board and not what they had on the scoreboard. We made some little mistakes that can be fixed. We just have to go back there out there and fix it”.
On the special teams helping contribute to the win:
You know I’m the punt returner. You know I just tell the guys go get back there so I don’t have to run up and get the ball. When they got the block they were just running down at me and I told the guys that were running down at me to turn around because it’s not coming to me. But we just preached it the whole week. Just coming off that Iowa game and them returning the ball like nobody’s business. We just want to go down there and give them everything we got.”
Quarterback Adrian Martinez
On the weird drive with lots of penalties on both teams:
“Yeah, it was definitely bizarre. But a point of emphasis for us this week was focus. We weren’t going to let it slip. Regardless of any penalties whether it was on us or on them. I kept encouraging the guys. Our line was talking to each other, our receivers were into it. Continuing to stay the course regardless of whatever penalties. Let’s dial in, let’s continue to be efficient and find a way to score points.”
On why the passing game has been better the last two weeks:
“I would say Luke and I pushing each other and practice. Coach Lubick, Coach Verdu, we have just all really been honed in on the details. Our receivers are really starting to come into their own. That’s Betts, Levi, Oliver, our tight ends. I mean, they’re all helping us out a tremendous amount. I feel really good about those guys. I know Luke does as well. We just been chopping at it.
On how the second half went with him getting dinged up:
“We have a tremendous medical staff and trainers. I have a lot of faith in those guys, so just getting some things cleaned up. A little banged up but that’s football everyone’s a little banged up. So just had to get right and get back out there.”
On playing with the lead the entire game:
“It feels great. I would say it’s something that we haven’t done a ton of in my time here and it’s a good feeling. It’s always nice to win. It’s nice to win on the road. I think this team is proving that we are capable of winning in a style like that and it is huge for us moving forward.”
On getting Wan’Dale Robinson more involved over the last few weeks:
“Well, he’s one of our best, if not the best playmaker on our offense. That’s a big point of emphasis for myself, Coach Lubick and Luke McCaffrey, obviously Coach Frost. We know the type of player he is and I think we kind of came to the conclusion that he deserves more opportunities. I was going to take it upon myself and the rest of us in the quarterback room to try and get him some more touches.”
Greg is the Recruiting Analyst for Hail Varsity and has covered Husker athletics since 2013. He has always had a passion for sports while growing up in the Chicago area. As he got older and had to hang up his cleats and sneakers, he realized his passion for sports went beyond just watching and attending games. He has covered many events from the Rose Bowl to championship boxing matches. If he’s not talking sports, he’s hovering over his grill. He is married to an amazing woman, Kim, and they have a dog that barks when Greg yells at the TV during games.
