Press conference notes: Riley staying calm amid uncertain future

As Mike Riley took the podium for what very well could have been his final Monday media session, his overall demeanor didn’t seem to change much from his introductory press conference three years ago.

One of the hallmarks of the Nebraska head coach’s personality is that he’s never allowed outside forces, both good or bad, affect the way he goes about his daily work.

Even as the writing on the wall becomes clearer by the day as to his future with the Huskers beyond this Friday’s regular-season finale vs. Iowa, Riley said he planned to continue coaching and teaching the same way he always has.

“I think we owe our kids the energy of this preparation,” Riley said. “For every coach and player in adverse circumstances, you can do a lot about where you are with what you put in, and the coaches can lead that. So that’s what we’re trying to do… I don’t need to reflect on the big picture yet.”

Speculation continues to swirl about Nebraska’s interest in moving on with a new head coach after the season, and Riley was even asked after Saturday’s loss at Penn State about the rumored top candidate to be his successor, Scott Frost.

Yet even that couldn’t sway Riley off of his even-keeled approach, as he said he’s only concerned about what was within his own control to make the situation better.

“I don’t really see any need in being angry at anyone in particular,” Riley said. “I was brought up in coaching in a way that if it’s not working, then it’s our job to try and fix it, so our focus goes on that. I try not to get into playing the blame game, there’s no need for that.”

Quarterback Tanner Lee said Riley has been the rock within Nebraska’s program all season. No matter how tough things have gotten at times this year, Lee said Riley’s consistency and poise have helped the rest of the team keep the negativity from getting the best of them.

“The big thing I like about Coach Riley, and what I’ve always liked about him, is he’s the same guy every day,” Lee said. “You know what you’re going to get from him, you know what he expects, he’s honest. That’s just something that I really appreciate about him. I think it helps our team. I think we all learn from that, I definitely learn from that, about staying focused on our team and the things that really matter.”

Riley said he hasn’t bothered to make the speculation about his job status a talking point with his team, nor does he plan to do so over the final five days of the 2017 season.

“I don’t bring it up, and I don’t know if ‘ignore’ is the right thing, but maybe it is for me,” Riley said. “I don’t talk about our situation as coaches, my situation. I talk to our team as if I’m going to be here forever, and I approach each day like that.”

- Robin Washut

It wasn’t until after the loss at Penn State on Saturday night that the topic of Lee’s future at Nebraska after this season first came up publicly.

He immediately downplayed the situation, saying he wouldn’t bother thinking about making that decision until after the season was over.

Yet the question came up again on Monday, and once again Lee was quick to put the issue to bed for now.

“To be honest with you, I haven’t put much thought into it,” Lee said. “I don’t really have an answer for those questions right now. I need to talk with my family, my coaches and teammates, things like that.

"Right now, I don’t really feel like thinking about that. I want to enjoy my college experience and I want to enjoy playing Iowa this week. I think I’m just going to leave it at that for now.”

Riley said he still hadn’t had any conversations with Lee and called the situation totally hypothetical at this point. Riley also reiterated that based on past experiences with players weighing making an early jump to the NFL, it usually was a decision made entirely by the player and his family.

But Riley said he would advise Lee in any way he could, adding that more often than not another year of college can do wonders for preparing players to make the massive jump to the professional ranks.

“The advantage for a quarterback coming back is the chance to play in more really, really competitive games and grow in a system and really enhance both your opportunity - which means your draft pick - and also your ability to play,” Riley said.

“They may not play right away (in the NFL), so the more playing time they actually get in can be helpful to them in the long term of their career and put them in a better place as they go.”

- Robin Washut

Riley opened his Monday press conference with a relatively shorter injury report than usual. But while there were fewer names on the list, it still included some valuable players.

Riley said redshirt freshman wide receiver J.D. Spielman re-aggravated a shoulder injury early on against Penn State. While he was able to come back and finish the game, Riley said Spielman would be limited early this week.

“We’re hopeful that he feels better,” Riley said. “I doubt that he’ll do much today. I’m hoping he can do something tomorrow, but I know him, he’ll stay right in with the game plan, and if he’s healthy enough to play, he’ll play. We’re going to remain positive about that.”

Riley also said junior safety Aaron Williams suffered a setback to a soft-tissue injury in his neck that had forced him to miss several weeks before returning at Penn State.

“He played in the game, but he’s sore right now,” Riley said. “So we’ll re-visit his neck as we go through the week. I’m hopeful he’ll feel better to play. That’d be great for us, obviously.”

Lastly, Riley said junior running back Devine Ozigbo sprained his ankle vs. the Nittany Lions, and his status for Iowa on a short week was unknown at this point.

“I’m hoping that comes along and he can play,” Riley said.

- Robin Washut

Since Nebraska’s move to the Big Ten in 2011, much has been made within the Husker program about viewing Iowa as just another game.

A trophy game from the start, some fans even pushed back on the idea of the “fabricated” rivalry in the beginning, especially after the first three matchups were generally sloppy.

The past few years, however, blood has begun to boil between the two vocal fan bases as the schools embraced the rivalry. Monday, Husker players and coaches pivoted on the anti-rivalry stance from previous years.

“Come on now, who really likes Iowa?” senior wideout De’Mornay Pierson-El said. “Of course it’s a rivalry. It is what it is.”

The circumstances surrounding the last two matchups between the Huskers and Hawkeyes likely contributed to a change of heart from NU’s camp.

In 2015, Nebraska was riding an undefeated November before an eight-point home loss to undefeated and fifth-ranked Iowa. Last year, the Huskers were 9-2 before a 30-point shellacking in Iowa City.

As the chirping between fan bases gets louder and the Heroes Trophy remains at Kinnick Stadium, Riley said he has no problem with the players viewing Iowa as a rival and even addressed it in Sunday’s meetings.

“I love the idea,” Riley said. “Don’t you guys think that’s what it should be? I mean, it feels right. With the amount of time we’ve been in the Big Ten, with the proximity … it feels like it should be embraced (as a rivalry).”

Husker seniors Drew Brown and Chris Weber, who are 1-2 in their careers against the Hawkeyes, said some of their fondest memories came in an overtime win on Black Friday of 2014.

Even though Brown doesn’t view Iowa as a standalone rival, he said the Huskers need to see every team as having that significant label.

“I think every single (conference) team we play is a rivalry, especially in the Big Ten West,” Brown said. “You have the Iowas, Wisconsins and Minnesotas of the world who, sure, are pretty close geographically to us, but they’re always good teams and always good games.”\

- Matt Reynoldson

***Riley said receiver Stanley Morgan was a player they’ve been high on since they got to Nebraska, calling him a strong, physical and fearless receiver who has gotten better every week. That consistency is what’s led to him having such a big season this year.

***Riley said the biggest challenge for Nebraska’s defense this week will be to answer Iowa’s physicality on offense. Given the Huskers’ injuries and recent run of awful performances, the defense will have to rise up and answer the call this week.

***Riley said he’s going to reflect on his decision not to call plays this season after the year. He said he hasn’t called plays at all this year and didn’t want to talk about how that might change in the future at this point.

***Riley also said he’d need to go back and review everything that happened to answer the question of if he would make all of the same changes to the defense again if he had the chance to do it all over again.

***Brown was asked if there was ever a point after Pelini was fired that he debated if he wanted to stay at Nebraska: "Oh God, no," Brown said. "This is the place I’ve always wanted to be.”