Quick nuggets from Mike Riley's Big Ten Media Days interviews
Here is a quick recap of what Nebraska head coach Mike Riley had to say following his up-front interview at Big Ten Media Days on Tuesday…
***Riley was asked about the Elijah Blades situation and what exactly happened, and he said Blades could not have come to Nebraska as a partial qualifier, despite Blades saying that was an option.
***Riley said he never “places” players at junior colleges, he instead tries to advise them on the best situation for them. He said it always needs to be the players who make those decisions, which is why they let Blades go where he wanted.
***Riley said it “was a very similar situation” to what happened with Deiontae Watts. “The exact (same) situation with Watts.”
***Riley said there have been no final decisions made on potential discipline for receiver Stanley Morgan, who was arrested for possession of marijuana earlier this summer. Riley said they have “taken some great, giant steps” with Morgan and safety Antonio Reed (who was with Morgan during the arrest) since the incident. Riley said he’s been very proud of the work they’ve put in since then.
***During the main podium interview Riley said there were no final decisions made yet on what NU planned to do to replace injured cornerback Chris Jones. Riley later said they have a few options to think about, adding that the “next men up” at cornerback (Eric Lee, Dicaprio Bootle, etc.) are “definitely an option” to move up into the starting lineup.
Riley also said there’s an option of moving Lamar Jackson to Jones’ “field” cornerback and putting one of the other corners at the “boundary” spot.
***Joshua Kalu is still an option to move back to cornerback from safety, but Riley said “you have to be careful” not to weaken yourself at multiple spots by shuffling guys around too much.
***Riley said losing to key members of the secondary in Jones and safety JoJo Domann “is not good. I cannot spin that in a positive way. That is not a good thing.”
***Riley said linebacker Alex Davis is recovering well from a stress fracture he suffered in his foot this offseason and think he’ll be fine heading into camp.
***Riley said linebacker Avery Roberts (foot) will be ready to play as well entering fall camp.
***Defensive end DaiShon Neal is dealing with an unspecified nagging injury that NU will keep an eye on during fall camp.
***Riley said one of the biggest things Tanner Lee did to get to this point was immediately "become a good teammate" from the day he set foot on campus. By bonding with his teammates, he was able to earn respect in the locker room.
***Riley said losing Bob Elliott has been "one of the hardest things" they've had to go through, and that his time working with Elliott "was far too short." Riley confirmed that Nebraska will honor Elliott "through our season" this year.