Opening Statement: “Probably the only new information to give you guys is Jaivorio Burkes won’t be out there probably for at least the first few days. He’s got a couple of medical issues he’s working through. Kevin Dixon, due to a violation of team rules, will no longer be with the football team. Other than that, everything is pretty much status quo and I’m open for any questions.” On the loss of Kevin Dixon: “We move on. We move forward.” On why Kevin Dixon is off of the team: “It was a violation of team rules. I’m not getting into it any more than that. We want guys that do things the right way, do things with the rules we set forth. I’m not going to get into why or how and that’s it.” On the depth in Kevin Dixon’s position (Defensive Tackle): “We’re fine there. We’ll be OK. There are good football players on this team. We’re OK. We’ve lost players in the past, we’ll move forward.” On Baker Steinkuhler: “Baker Steinkuhler is starting off as a defensive lineman. As with all the freshman and newcomers, that could always change but that’s where he’s starting, and right now Ricky Henry is starting off on the offensive line.” On the team’s energy: “Very good. I think they’re excited. They put in a good summer – a lot of work and I think they’re excited, ready to go and looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead. I think they’re all anxious to get back, get on the field and get back to work.” On Khiry Cooper: “Khiry Cooper is here. I thought I’ve addressed that before, but we are expecting him to come in and he’s here. He came in last night. He actually had car trouble on the way up. His mom brought him up and he got here last night and he’s ready to roll.” On the goal for the first three weeks: “To continue what we started in the spring. There’s a lot of teaching to be done, there’s a lot of learning to be done by the players and really I don’t approach this camp any different than any other camp I’ve been a part of. You start off and you continue to build a foundation. You start over and you move forward. You have your way of installing on both sides of the ball and on special teams and you get a chance to look at a lot of guys and move forward and continue to progress as we’re ready to move on. Really it’s just a continuation of the approach we took in the spring, and I’ve been around a lot of fall camps and approach it the same every time.” On revisiting practices from the spring: “No matter what, whether you’ve been together six months or six years, you always start over. You start over again, you re-teach the things you’ve already taught and you continue to progress. That really doesn’t change no matter how long you’ve been together, at least in what I’ve been exposed to.” On being physical in fall camp: “Well we want to be physical. I don’t know what they’ve done in the past. I really can’t speak on that. I wasn’t here, but we want to be physical on both sides of the football and to play physical you have to practice that way. Obviously we’re not going to be out there hitting each other today because you have to have that acclimatization period, so we’ll be out there in helmets for the first few practices. There’s still a lot of teaching, a lot of fundamentals, a lot of technique that needs to go on and there’s still a lot you can accomplish.” On entering his first football camp as a head coach: “It’s no different than it’s been in the past. I have a job to do and there’s a lot to be done. It’s not about me, it’s about the players. It’s about getting them taught. I’ve been through it before and I’m really not approaching this year any different than I did last year or the year before that. I have some different duties obviously, but other than that I know what has to be done and I know what we have to do to get this football team ready to play and that’s all I have my mind focused on.” On leaders of the team: “I think guys are stepping up and I think instituting the Unity Council helps because guys are taking charge. That’s something that continues to develop and work itself out over time. We were together for 15 practices in the spring, but these guys have been together for a while now, and the bottom line is that the guys want to be good and there is leadership on the football team. There are guys that have played a lot of snaps around here and you see them start to step out and that needs to continue to happen.” On his message for the team: “That’s between me and the team.” On Anthony Blue’s injury: “He’s not on the 105. He’s not quite ready to go. He had a tough injury. It takes time and you can’t rush those things because he has a bright future ahead of him. It’s just something that’s going to take time. It’s an injury where you can’t rush it. He’s progressing, but he’s not ready to go out and go through a camp and go out there and get cut and do the things necessary to play. Everybody heals at a different rate and that’s up to the medical staff when you’re talking about knees. He’s got a bright future and a lot of playing time ahead of him. When it’s right it’s right. I don’t know if it’s going to be a month from now or six months from now, but he’ll come back. I think the medical people – everyone is confident he will come back 100 percent. But with the time frame and all that, I’m not quite sure yet.” On Nebraska’s offense: “I have very capable offensive coaches. I’m not going to be out there calling the plays if that’s what you’re asking. We’re going to be very multiple on offense. There are going to be some things you’re going to see that are going to look similar and there are going to be some things that are going to look different. The offensive staff has been meeting. I do know this – we’re going to be physical and we’re going to want to run the football on people. But you have to be multiple. You’ll have to be able to throw, you’re not going to be able to run on every down. In a best-case scenario, you’re 50-50. That means you’re able to keep defenses off balance and you’re going to be able to take what they give you. We’re multiple enough and the scheme is there. I have a lot of confidence, but am I going to be calling plays? No, but I am going to know what’s going on on that side of the football.” On the importance of summer: “It’s huge. You can make a lot of gains. I believe from what Coach (James) Dobson did in the summer time and through the spring that we’re a better football team now than when we ended the spring. They’re in better shape, they’re more athletic, they’re stronger and they’re developing in every aspect of being a football player. That’s a lot of time you can use to get better, and I believe we are a better football team now than when we started, but that has to continue and we’ll continue to do that aspect. We’ll continue to lift weights through the fall camp and on from there. You have to lay a groundwork and foundation going into a season and that’s been done. I think the players have responded well to the change down there and I think it’s headed in the right direction.” On the common factors between his former championship teams: “Effort and attitude and a willingness to learn and an eagerness to understand not just what to do, but how to do it and why. A lot of getting turnovers is getting the right people at the right places at the right time and getting there with an attitude and a tremendous amount of effort. Getting a lot of people around the ball so you can take advantage of opportunities. We don’t talk about turnovers, we talk about takeaways – to have an attitude to go take the ball from the offense. That’s something that will always continue as long as I’m associated with this football team.” On the defense getting takeaways: “I think we’ve always had success in that aspect because we emphasize that. You get what you ask for. We emphasize it and that will always be characteristic of defenses all around because the first thing we talk to our guys about is effort first, and that’s the first thing you need to get takeaways.” On if everyone from the last recruiting class made it to Nebraska: “Yes. There are still a couple of guys out there, like Antonio Bell. There are some clearinghouse things, but we believe he’s going to make it and be here eventually, but it hasn’t happened yet. Pretty much it’s kind of gone as expected.” On the runningbacks: “Fortunately we have a lot of good football players and a lot of stable running backs. I think obviously Marlon Lucky has proven he’s a heck of a football player. Roy Helu showed us in the spring that he’s a guy that’s going to be deserving of carries, and Quentin Castille is getting better. (Marcus) Mendoza is a guy that can add some things in a lot of areas. So we feel pretty good about our guys. We don’t get caught up in depth chart, who is listed as number one and number two and so forth. We’re a football team and whoever the starter is the guy who is in on that play. That’s the way we approach it. I know one thing, whether it’s Marlon Lucky or anybody, you have to have capable guys. Somebody can’t run the ball and carry the load every single play. It’s not the right thing.” On running backs getting 70-75 percent of the carries: “We’ll see how that plays out. I can’t look into the future. I don’t have a crystal ball, but we’ll see how that plays out.” On running back Roy Helu: “He’s a good football player. He can do a lot for you. He runs the ball hard, he’s physical, he’s tough, he’s smart, he’s a leader. He had a good spring, which we needed a guy to step up. Once again, Marlon’s (Lucky) played a lot of football, a lot of snaps, but he can’t do it every down. I know this – the more guys you have the better you are. You have to have depth, especially at that position with the amount of hits they take and the amount of running they have to do. Fortunately, we feel good about that position even beyond those two guys. We have good football player.” On the backup quarterback situation: “It’s about the same. There’s going to be a good competition there. Fortunately we have a lot of good football players there. We’ll see how the competition plays out. At every position we’re looking for guys that can compete. At the end of the day, the best guys are going to play. Hopefully that’s a lot of guys. We don’t want just 11 on offense and 11 on defense, we want to have 22, 23, 24 guys. We want to play a lot of guys because it’s good for the attitude on your football team, it’s good for their legs, it’s good for every aspect of the program. So the more depth you have and the more guys you can play, the better off you’re going to be because more guys will grow with that sense of ownership in the program. That really helps your football team. The deeper you are, the better you are.” On the number of home games: “We like playing at home. There’s not as much travel. We feel like we have the best fans in the United States and a great place with a lot of tradition, so obviously I feel real good about that. I think it’s a big advantage for us. I’d like to play 12 at home, but they won’t let me.” On Ndamukong Suh: “To be honest with you I haven’t coached him yet. I don’t know that much about him. I think physically he’s in good shape. He really came back well from the injury, and he’s worked hard. I think he set himself up to have a good fall, but I haven’t seen him in action yet. I’ve watched him on tape a little bit, but there’s a big difference between watching somebody and actually working with him and working him into your scheme. I think he’s a good football player and I hope he has a breakout season.” On the impact of the freshman class: “Everybody has a shot. Time will tell what kind of impact they have. We wouldn’t have recruited them if we didn’t think they were talented guys. But how that plays out I don’t know, we’ll see. Guys develop at different rates, but we’re going to coach them all and get them out there and get them a chance and try to find out where they fit best, how they can help our football team and go from there and make some decisions as we move forward.” On open positions: “They’re all open. I don’t know specifically a certain spot, but if a guy is a good football player we’re going to find a place for him. Not saying that guys aren’t, but like I said, if a guy is ready to play then we’re going to find a way to get him out on the field so he can help us.” On his expectations for quarterback Joe Ganz: “I think he’s looking forward to having a big year. He had a good spring. He followed what he did last year with a good spring and he’s continued that throughout the summer. I think he’s excited, and we’re excited for him. I think he’s a guy that’s going to be a leader on our football team. I think he’ll have a heck of a year.” On his emphasis on the backup quarterbacks: “Depends how many they earn. We want competition there. We want them all to compete. Whoever that number two guy is, whoever steps out there and wins that job, depends on how the games go. Are we going to look to getting a guy snaps in the first quarter of the first game? Probably not. We’re going to do what we have to do to win football games and if that means giving the number two guys some time because he’s earned it, we’ll see how that plays out. Our focus is going to be on doing what we need to do to win football games.” On interacting with the fans from Western Nebraska: “I think people are excited and passionate about football and passionate about the University of Nebraska and our football program. Obviously I’m the head coach, so I’m kind of the face out there. There’s excitement right now. I just kind of do my thing. I enjoy going out and meeting people. It’s really my first time out in the western part of the state for any significant amount of time. I haven’t even been to a couple of those places before. It was a great experience for me to get to meet the people. We try to give back to them because a lot of people make a lot of sacrifices in that area of the state to drive a long way to our football games. The least we can do is try to get out there. I’d like to try to make that an annual thing. I talked to Chris Anderson about trying to make that an annual thing because it was a great reception out there.” On knowing his team: “It’s an ongoing process. I feel a lot more comfortable. I think they’re a lot more comfortable around me. I think they’re getting a better feel for myself and the staff and the guys they didn’t know previously. Obviously you get into the season and the stakes get hot and you learn about people. Things aren’t going to go smooth all the time. There are going to be times where we’re going to get hit in the mouth, we’re going to face adversity, and at that point is when you really get to know people. That’s part of it. As this camp gets hot, it’s hot out there today, so we’ll learn about some guys today. That’s just an ongoing thing and something that, once again, is one of my strengths. I’m able to relate to the guys and what they’re going through. At the end of the day they've got to understand that the trust must continue to build – our trust in them, their trust in us. That’s a process that takes a little bit of time and it continues to evolve as you’re together. I know this, the players are going to respond to you if they understand at the end of the day, no matter what you’re asking them to do, you have their best interests at heart and it’s for their best. As long as they know that, we can move forward together.” On the damage from last season: “I know that I’m not a psychologist. I’m not a guy who can just get them into a room and wipe out any bad feelings or bad memories they’ve had. As they’re taught and they get comfortable in our system and they develop confidence, then those things go away. It was a damaged psyche when I got in here in 2003. That’s not something I address, it’s how we approach things, how we build, what we’re doing, how we move forward. You look ahead, you never look back. Whether it’s good or bad, you don’t look to what happened, you look to where you’re going. As long as you focus on the process to get there and you have a vision of where you’re going, what happened in the past becomes something for the fans and the media to talk about. The players will forget about it. It’s nothing we concern ourselves with. That’s why I’ve never watched the tapes. I don’t know what was being talked about or what they were being taught. I can’t even speak on that, but I can speak on what we’re asking them to do now and how we’re going to move forward with it. That’s all we concern ourselves with.” On addressing the team on Western Michigan: “I really haven’t thought about that. I just focus on what the process is now – the here and now. I know as coaches we have a pretty good handle on Western Michigan, but now is not the time to be talking about that with the players. Once we progress far enough eventually we’ll start getting the scout teams and start getting a scouting report, but that’s pretty far down the line in camp. Honestly, I don’t really have a time table on that yet. I can tell you that on the 23rd, we’ll be pretty Western Michigan oriented.”
Western Nebraska? I never knew such a place existed. CoachSpeake!! "“We like playing at home. There’s not as much travel."