It was a rough ending to the 2015 regular season for quarterback Tommy Armstrong. The Texas native ended the year by throwing nine interceptions in Nebraska’s final three games.
Against Iowa during NU’s season finale Armstrong threw four picks, and the Huskers still had a chance to win the game despite those mistakes.
About a week after the Iowa game junior wide receiver Brandon Reilly said Armstrong met with the entire offense and apologized for his poor decision making in the Iowa game and wants to move forward from that performance.
“(Armstrong) met with the offense separately after that and he said ‘that’s on me. I have to watch more film and just make better decisions.’ He took it like a man,” Reilly said. “He took all the blame himself. It’s good to see and him to show his leadership. I look forward to playing with him.”
Armstrong has not talked to reporters yet since after the Iowa game, but is expected to talk later this week on Friday.
Offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf said he hopes Armstrong can learn from his late season mistakes and use them to get better going forward.
“Just the constant preparation going forward,” Langsdorf said when asked what his message has been to Armstrong. “Really making good decisions and taking care of the ball is vital at that position – whether it’s decision making like checking the ball down or throwing the ball away. We just talked a lot about not being able to live with turnovers. That’s just something that’s a huge indicator in a win or a loss.
“We have to do a better job of taking care of the ball. He knows that. We looked closely at carrying the ball when running with it and decision making and who we are throwing to and if they are open and the timing of it, the ball placement – all of it. There’s more and more work to do and we just have to keep growing and learn from the mistakes and play better the next week.”
Reilly added the he and the other players on the offense have a lot of respect for Armstrong with how he has moved forward from the Iowa game.
“(We just said) it’s not all you, we all had missed assignments and errors,” Reilly said of what his response back was to Armstrong. “We just said ‘we are going to back you; we are not going to dog on you to other people. We are going to have your back and let’s just go finish this year on a good note.’”
-Sean Callahan
Rose dismissed, Stoltenberg injured
When head coach Mike Riley addressed the media following Nebraska’s first bowl practice in preparation for the Foster Farms Bowl last week, he hinted that at least one member of the Huskers’ 2015 roster was no longer a part of the team.
After declining to reveal the player’s identity then, Riley announced on Tuesday that it was senior cornerback Jonathan Rose who had been dismissed from the program.
“Jonathan Rose is no longer with the team and will not be playing in the bowl game against UCLA,” Riley said. “A violation of team rules is the reason.’
Riley gave no further detail on what Rose did to earn his dismissal, but considering the former Auburn transfer had already been suspended on two separate occasions during the regular season, it wasn’t a total surprise that the coaching staff opted to cut ties with Rose following his latest transgression.
Rose only played in nine games because of his suspensions, making five starts, and he finished seventh on the team with 42 tackles to go along with one interception and seven pass breakups, which tied for the team lead.
Riley also announced that redshirt freshman defensive tackle Mick Stoltenberg suffered a knee injury that would force him to miss the bowl game. The Gretna, Neb., will hold off on surgery until after the bowl so he can travel to Santa Clara, Calif., “as comfortably as possible” and join his teammates.
Riley said he expects Stoltenberg to make a full recovery by the start of the 2016 season. Stoltenberg saw action in nine games and registered two tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery.
“That’s really unfortunate for us and for Mick,” Riley said. “But he should be back and ready to go for next season.”
-Robin Washut
Davis excited to make Bay Area homecoming
Nebraska's trip to San Francisco next Monday will be a homecoming in some ways for running backs coach Reggie Davis.
Before coming to Nebraska Davis spent the last four seasons coaching in San Francisco for the 49ers under Jim Harbaugh. In 2014 Davis was able to be a part of the opening of Levi's Stadium before coming to NU.
"I think they did a magnificent job with it," Davis said of Levi's Stadium. "It's a pretty incredible facility now. They've got everything that you could want in a stadium from technology wise from the different clubs and venues that they have in there and places that you are able to eat at. They did a great job with it. It's going to be a beautiful, beautiful setting. I think the weather is going to be a little bit overcast, but that's pretty much normal. It will get cool in the evenings because you are closer to the bay. It won't be as cold as it used to get at Candlestick (Stadium), but it will still cool off in the evening."
Davis added that for his wife and five children they are also looking forward to going back out to their former home.
"The kids already have some stuff set up to do with their friends," Davis said. "They keep telling us they can't wait to get back out there."
-Sean Callahan
Quick hits
***Davis said that Jim Mora "has done a great job" at UCLA and has "built the thing up" to where they are a contender every year in the Pac-12 every year.
***Multiple different players talked about how intense practice got over the weekend. On Saturday there was evidently a pretty good scuffle between the offense and defense that involved safety Antonio Reed and offensive lineman Alex Lewis.
***As for Reed, defensive back Chris Jones said he has the chance to be pretty special going forward at the safety position.
***Linebacker Marcus Newby, defensive tackle Kevin Williams and tight end David Sutton all sat out of Tuesday practice with various injuries.
***Cornerback Joshua Kalu was not wearing his Blackshirt, instead sporting a regular red practice jersey.
***The good news was linebacker Dedrick Young, who missed the start of bowl preparations with an injury, was back in pads and practicing on Tuesday.
***A University spokesman confirmed that Nebraska has sold 2,700 tickets from their 7,000 ticket allotment for the Foster Farms Bowl.
***The Huskers will practice again on Wednesday, take Thursday off, before coming back again on Friday and Saturday. Tuesday was their fourth bowl practice overall. They will have four more in Lincoln.
