ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Mickey Joseph took the postgame podium shortly after the Huskers fell to Michigan on Saturday.
Here is a transcript of everything the interim coach said:
On the status of Chubba Purdy and Mark Whipple:
“Chubba has a high ankle sprain. Whipple came back and he called the second half from the box.”
On what happened to Mark Whipple:
“I didn’t see it. I guess he got wiped out but I didn’t see it.”
On managing the team at halftime after losing Purdy and Whipple:
“Well we have some really good offensive coaches. They do their normal routine adjusting without Whipple. When Whipple got back we just let them know that adjustments that they made. It wasn't different than any other time. We had to get Logan ready but Logan was ready because he played a little bit in the first half.”
On Logan Smothers’ health:
"He's been banged up for two weeks but he's a tough kid and he's going to play. We had some kids down sick but I don't think Logan was one of them. We had about three or four down a with stomach virus.”
On what makes Michigan a tough opponent:
"They're really good on the o-line and defensive line. That's what really good Big Ten teams look like. They move people and they get push back on defense. It was a really good football team."
On what he saw from the run game:
"I thought it was better. I thought he (Anthony Grant) was better but it wasn't much room in there. We weren’t getting much push off the line of scrimmage so just telling the backs one you see it, you have to go because it's not going to stay open very long. Credit to Michigan."
On what he saw from the defense:
"I think overall the kids are playing hard right now under the circumstances that they're under. They are coming out, giving their all, playing 60 minutes and not quitting. I thought the defense gave a great effort today."
On Blake Corum:
He’s probably one of the best backs in the country or the best back we've seen.”
On where the team goes from here:
"We got to have some variety. We got Wisconsin and Iowa left so we got to have some variety. We got to continue to just come to work tomorrow and try to get a game plan to help us be successful. We can execute the game plan but we got to keep going. We're not going to quit."
On closing the gap with the upper-level Big Ten teams like Michigan:
"Recruiting. We have to recruit better. Every position, we are 3-7. Every position we have to recruit better as a staff. And we will."
On Casey Thompson coming back:
"It's up to Casey, he still has some nerve damage in his pinky. We'll see how Casey feels tomorrow. I'm sure if I look at my phone he's probably already texted me and called me that he's ready to play next week. We'll take it day by day with Casey. We won't put Casey out there unless he can play at a high level.”
On how much more they can do with Casey:
"Well, Casey is they starter so you get more offense when Casey's out there because he's a starter."
