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Everything Mickey Joseph said at lightning-round presser ahead of Purdue

On Thursday, Mickey Joseph gave his final preview of the Huskers' matchup with Purdue.

Here's a rundown of everything Nebraska's interim head coach said at his lightning-round press conference:

Opening statement:

"Great week of practice. Great week for the kids. Great week for the coaches. We're excited about this opportunity to play a top-notch football team. I think they're like seven points from being undefeated. They're really good on all three phases of the game. We have play well when we go there."

On what stands out about Purdue:

"Like I said before, they have a lot of experience. When you can play college football with seniors and juniors with that COVID year, that's why some of them are fifth-year juniors and sixth-year seniors. So that's the maturity level. They're a very mature football team. So that means they won't panic under distress. It's a team that you're gonna have to execute against."

On the team bouncing back in practice after last week:

"Whip's really hard on practice, he's really hard. What we don't do, we don't keep secrets from our kids. If they didn't practice up to our standard, we let them know. But we thought they bounced back this week. They have to practice well. The way you practice is the way you're going to play on Saturday. So you have to practice well."

On the defenders (Quinton Newsome and Luke Reimer) that were banged up last week:

"Well, they both will travel and then they will be a game-time situation with both of those kids."

On Rahmir Johnson’s availability:

"He's available. We are still going to use him in both roles. We still want to use him in both. He's a really high football-IQ kid. So you can do that with him."

On how the team responded to the coaching shuffle in the secondary:

"The coaches are more comfortable. Because like I said, everybody in the country has a corner coach and a safety coach. You know, some people have a nickel coach, because it's two different positions. When you have one guy coaching them all, we had to do it at LSU. We had to in bring Bill (Busch) and Bill coached our safeties and Corey (Raymond) coached our corners. So I think it's a great idea. I think that's what the NFL does. I think you have to do that because it's two different positions. It's hard to see all four, that's why you see more spread teams on offense that have two receiver coaches — an inside and outside, because it's hard to see all four. But they're comfortable with it right now."

On Purdue’s efficiency in the red zone:

“Well, they are really consistent and they do what got them down there. They have a really good quarterback. He doesn't make many mistakes. He knows where to go with the ball before the ball is snapped. So we have to be tightened up when we get down there. We really have to play good defense when we get down there. Because you're right, they are a really good team in the red zone."

On managing Anthony Grant’s workload:

“Anytime you have a running back like Anthony, when you get to this part of season you have to be smart with him. He has a lot of mileage on him right now. So we have to be smart with him at practice. So we're doing that. Coach (Bryan) Applewhite understands what he needs to do with AG, and because Whip understands also, I'm comfortable with how they handle him at practice and how they handle him in a game."

On getting to know the players on defense and adjusting to being head coach:

"I knew them (the defensive players). I'm trying to get inside of them and figure out what gets them going, what gets them to tick. So yes, I have individual meetings that I continue to have with everybody on the team because I want them to feel comfortable. The ones that don't know me, they feel comfortable to just come in my office and speak with me if they have something to talk about, or if they just want to talk. Sometimes they just come in there to hang out. That's good with me because sometimes it gets boring as a head coach because you're not in meetings all the time. So sometimes I just pop into meetings and the position coaches always say, 'You got a problem?' No. I'm just bored. You need some friends sometimes. When you're the head coach, nobody wants to be your friend. They try to still kick me out of the locker room. I'm not going anywhere."

On if it’s been strange adjusting to being the head coach:

"No, the staff's been great. The administration has been great. The kids have been great. Everything's been great. Everybody's just finding what we want to do. So no, it's strange the way it happened. But now you just settled in with it now.”

On momentum as a head coach:

"I learn a lot every day. Every day, I learn a lot on the job about this position. It helps that I have coach Whipple with me, who's been a head coach. Bill Busch, who understands me, who knows what I want. Coach (Sean) Beckton and coach (Travis) Fisher and Applewhite, the ones who can to keep me in my place to say 'Hey, you probably shouldn't do that.' I'm still open, I'm still not the guy that has all the answers. I think when guys think they have all the answers, you know nothing. So I'm still open to suggestions from my staff, because that's why they're here. To help me. They're doing a wonderful job of helping me in this position."

On the status of tight end Thomas Fidone II:

"I don't think he's going to come back this year. I don't want to take a chance with him. But he's really moving well right now. He's in a good spot right now. But he understands that we're not going to put him out there until he's ready. He's gonna say he's ready. But we got to be we got to be smart with Fidone."

On if he’s seen any step back in confidence with the team:

“No, because they're gonna take on my mentality, they're gonna take my makeup. My makeup is to be aggressive and to get after people. They're believing that they can do it. What they have done, they have bought into what I'm asking them to do and what the coaches are asking them to do. So, you see smiles on their face. You don't see doubt in their eyes. You don't see doubt in their body language. They feel like, 'Hey, we're in a game.' We know it's gonna be a slugfest. We know they're gonna be tight football games. But we're not scared to be in those situations anymore.”

On potential changes on the offensive line:

“No, we have to get our best five out there. You'll see our best five out there. I totally trust what Donnie (Raiola) is doing. So whatever Donnie figures he's comfortable with, I'm comfortable with."

On what it says about the players sticking with it and buying in:

"First of all, they love Nebraska. They love Lincoln. They love being here. We appreciate that. I think it's also the relationships they have with their assistant coaches and the relationship they have with me. The relationship they have with the guys in the weight room, the guys in academics, Dennis (Leblanc) and his crew. It's the relationships here. This is a great place to play football. Lincoln is a great city to live in. I think they understand that, sometimes it's bigger than football. I think the mature kids, they can see that. We're happy that they are buying in and that they want to stay because it is a great place."

On the challenges of back-to-back road games:

"We say it's a business trip. We're going for business and business only. I think it's just to get them ready to play again. I think that they stacked days. They got themselves ready again. The coaches are gonna get the best game plan. We'll solidify the game plan this afternoon and we'll have it ready for when they get back from meetings. I think they're going to have confidence, but we have to make sure that when adversity hits they bow their neck and say, 'OK, let's fight through it."

On the importance of one extra day of rest:

“Getting that day off, remember now — we've been going at this thing since the beginning of August. Coach Busch usually keeps me in tune about what week we are in. We're in like week 12 right now, so it's damn near in an NFL season. It was a good day for them to have off. Some of the coaches stayed at home. Really, I think all of them came in because I came in and they were in here. I wanted them to stay home with their families, but some of them didn't. They came and got their work done. The kids were able to relax a little bit, enjoy their families, enjoy each other and came back Monday for massages and everything like that just to get their bodies back. We appreciate the way the kids are working and the coaches are working right now."

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