Notable quotes from Nebraska’s 2017 spring game.
Coach Mike Riley on the day:
“It was a great day, great crowd and for me it was a good day of football. For me, it was a vanilla day. You saw that with what we did defensively and that was the plan. We just wanted to let the kids play and make an assignment check day, and we wanted it to make a team and there’s a bunch of different ways to make a team, so we went the first stringers and the next guys after that, and I thought that even though the score didn’t look like it there was some nice drives by the second group and some good plays, and I thought overall the efficiency of the quarterbacking was good. I’m proud of that because none of them have played in a game. They’re still learning. So it was pretty good that way. There was some good running, some good plays, some turnovers made by the defense. I liked it because it was efficient-looking football. I don’t think there were many penalties. We had a couple of false starts early, but overall it was pretty clean.”
On the quarterback position:
“I really don’t know. I haven’t thought about it. This week for our staff, prior to going out for the evaluation time is part of April and then all of May. This week will be kind of a summary time for us and a planning time, and we will have discussions about our team and I’m sure that will be one of the talking points. We will have talks about our team and we will also have a lot of talking about our next team and the recruiting that’s coming up.”
On Patrick O’Brien getting the first series:
“What do you guys think, was that a coin flip or was that a sign? It was a coin flip.”
On the nice weather for the recruits visiting:
“That was a pretty good picture and I’m so thankful for all of this. It was a nice day, but also, just for this. For the crowd, for what this is, I think that until you’re right in it, for these recruits and the people that are visiting, you can talk about it but that’s why it was just perfect. It was pretty good football. Its a’ great bunch of athletes that are here visiting. It’s a nice day, our fans were our fans, it’s a great picture. I love it and we just got to keep it going.”
Quarterback Tanner Lee on playing in Memorial Stadium:
“It was a lot of fun. I was joking with some of the guys that it was the first time I’ve played in front of a big crowd that was on my side. It was a lot of fun. I felt comfortable.”
On the fans:
“I’ve never signed that many autographs at one time, that’s for sure. It was a lot of fun meeting the fans and seeing how excited they were. It was a lot of fun. I’m glad I’m here.”
Quarterback Patrick O’Brien on how he thought he played:
“I thought I performed well. I executed the offense the best I could, and I thought it was at a high level. All of the coaches have said that I’ve done a good job, so I just have to keep it rolling and bring it into the fall camp.”
On if the coaches have said anything about who will start:
“No. They haven’t said anything really to us. They’ve both said that we’re playing well. We flipped a coin in the locker room today to see who goes first. They’re keeping it even right now. I called heads, and I won it.”
On his relationship with Lee:
“We’re teammates first. We’re going to be supportive of each other in everything we do. Every single time either of us threw a touchdown, we were the first people to give each other a high five. He’s a great guy. He’s a great quarterback. It’s just making us both better. We’re both competitors, and we’re both just good people. We’ve got a good relationship.”
Defensive back Chris Jones on transitioning to the new defense:
“The transition was smooth. Working with a new defense is going to have its rough edges in the beginning but as it goes on it gets better and better. You start to feel comfortable, you feel the players get comfortable with it so the more comfortable we are as a unit, it’s just better for us.”
On Joshua Kalu moving to safety:
“Whatever he needs to do to help the team, he’s down for it. Everybody else is going to go for it. Whatever it takes to help this defense win a Big Ten Championship or a National Championship. If I have to change a role, I would do the same thing.”
Erin is the Deputy Editor and Digital Marketing Strategist for Hail Varsity. She has covered Nebraska athletics since 2012, which has included stops at Bleacher Report, Cox Media Group’s Land of 10, and even Hail Varsity (previously from 2012-2017). She has also been featured on the Big Ten Network, NET’s Big Red Wrap-Up, and a varsity of radio shows nationwide. When not covering the Huskers, Erin is probably at Chipotle.
