Five things we learned on Tuesday
Each Tuesday during the fall Huskeronline.com will sum up the weekly press conference with a "five things we learned" feature.
Nebraska held their first press conference of the year today and here are five things we learned heading into the Western Kentucky game week, along with the quote of the day and the funniest moment from Tuesday.
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1 - Why no quarterback decision this week
NU head coach Bo Pelini said on Tuesday the biggest reason why he won't announce a starting quarterback before Saturday's WKU game is he doesn't want to create a "circus environment" around the decision.
Meaning Pelini doesn't want the 25 to 30 media members that cover Husker practice each day breaking down the decision and analyzing why "he did this" before the game even happens.
I think there's a part of Pelini that wants to control how this thing is announced and he doesn't want anybody to have an opinion on it until they actually play their first game. For the record I still stand by my early camp prediction that Taylor Martinez will get the starting nod over Cody Green and Zac Lee on Saturday.
2- David could be this year's Gomes
If there's one potential new playmaker that could emerge on the defense Saturday, it's junior college transfer linebacker Lavonte David.
During Tuesday's press conference both Pelini and defensive coordinator Carl Pelini raved about David's ability. Carl Pelini called him a "natural football player" with great instincts for the game.
3 - No idea what to expect from WKU
One of the more interesting things about preparing for Western Kentucky this week is Nebraska has no idea what they are going to see offensively or defensively from the Hilltoppers.
Willie Taggart has never been a head coach before, but more than likely WKU will run a power based West Coast offense similar to what Jim Harbaugh ran at Stanford. What that means is NU has watched film of Stanford to look at possible schemes, along with take of the Hilltoppers to learn about their returning personnel.
Defensively, Western Kentucky has switched from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defense under first-year coordinator Clint Bowen. The interesting thing about Bowen is he was at Kansas under Mark Mangino for the last several years, so he will have a pretty good handle on the Huskers and what they do offensively.
Those things aside, Carl Pelini said the Huskers have to be ready to see everything from the Hilltoppers and they can't go into this game expecting to see just one thing.
4 - Stats don't always tell the story
When talking about Nebraska's defense everybody wants to always compare stats and numbers. Pelini said on Tuesday that numbers are obviously an important thing, but they are by no means the end all and be all of what describes a successful defense.
Pelini said that some of the best defense's he ever coached were at LSU under Les Miles and they didn't lead the nation in every category like the Huskers did in scoring defense a year ago.
5 - Plenty of motivation
Over the off-season Nebraska has been reminded more than enough about their 13-12 loss to Texas in the Big 12 Championship game.
It seems like every time you flip on the TV to ESPNU or ESPN Classic that game is being replayed. Junior wide receiver Brandon Kinnie said on Tuesday he has a hard time watching that game when it's being re-aired on ESPN.
Kinnie said he usually changes the channel right away because it upsets him with the way things finished. NU's players have worn bracelets that say "0:01" to remind them of the disappointing loss to the Longhorns. On Saturday against Western Kentucky their revenge quest will finally begin.
Quote of the day
"I want the competition to continue and I also don't want it to become a circus. I also don't want (the quarterbacks) to have to deal with the scrutiny and the other things that will go on. If and when an announcement is made we'll handle that so we do the right thing for the kid. Not only for the kid that's going to be a starter, but the kids who aren't going to walk out there for the first time. The competition is ongoing." -Bo Pelini on why he won't name a starting quarterback this week.
Funniest moment of the press conference
"There's a lefty who's a head coach. I might be able to come back and play a little bit for you guys."
-Bo Pelini on who the mysterious 10th quarterback could be for Nebraska.