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Frost Hits: Have the guys capable of doing it but 'we've got to do it'
ByBRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON 22 minutes agoHusker head coach Scott Frost offered his final thoughts to the media on Thursday before his team's collision with Ohio State
"We have to prepare well. We've done that. And then we have to play well. I think we've played well, but we've been talking for a few weeks now about making the key play that matters the most. If you're ever going to win a game like this, you're going to have to make some key plays."
Some Quick Hits:
– What about Adrian Martinez trying to bounce back? "I think it's the same thing I talk about with the team. He plays such good football most of the time, and it's some of the key situations, key plays, where we haven't done it as a team. Sometimes that's been him. I felt bad for him Saturday. He'd done a good job with turnovers and interceptions this year until that game. If you do that in a game you're not going to win it often. So that was tough. But it's decisions, and execution in key situations. We've got a lot of guys capable of doing it. We've got to do it."
– Zavier Betts and Omar Manning seemed to be more central in everything coming out of the bye. "They've both got bright futures if they stay on a good path. With guys like that it was just a matter of repetitions. Through the COVID year, those guys missed most of every practice and just hadn't gotten enough reps to be consistent enough, to be in shape enough, to know what to do well enough. They've both been doing a good job of showing up, being there, working hard in practice. When you do those things, talent usually shows itself."
– How do you balance aggression against C.J. Stroud while also knowing he can be trouble outside the pocket? "Yeah, these guys have elite talent everywhere. Offensively, they have elite talent. I think they have three NFL wide receivers, a huge offensive line and a really good tight end, and a freshman running back that right now is playing about as well as anyone in the league. So if you try to stop something, they're going to beat you with something else. You just have to play a sound, solid game."
– The Huskers excelled at playing good complementary football against Oklahoma. Yes, that's a subject matter in preparation this week. "Absolutely. We'll have a plan as a team going into the game in how we handle clock management on offense. A lot of it depends on situations. In different situations you can stick with it or have to do something else. This is a game where we probably want to limit the reps on both sides if we can."
– Frost said this is the best player-led team he's had. "Austin is doing a great job and JoJo's doing a great job. Damion Daniels and countless others. These guys, they love each other and they're going to keep fighting for each other." Frost included Travis Vokolek, Adrian Martinez and Cam Jurgens as others with big voices. "You have to do things the right way first before you can step up and show everybody how to do it, and expect the same of them. We have a lot more of those guys."
– The Huskers announced the facility project two weeks ago on the eve of the Ohio State game. Now more than ever before there's signs of it going up, with giant cranes catching your eye. "The talk all week has been the guys up on this giant crane. It looks like they're 300 feet off the ground. No chance I would be up there. I'm not scared of a lot, but heights don't do it for me. It's just so good to see the progress. There's going to have to be a lot of things come together here for Nebraska to be elite like everyone wants it to be again. That's a big part of it, and I know we're grateful to the people who have contributed to make it happen."
– Chase Contreraz will still be the guy at place-kicker after going 1-for-1 on field goals last week. "He did a great job of earning it last week. I really liked the look he had in his eye. He had a confident look in his eye and that gives me confidence."
– Nebraska has put Nouredin Nouili on scholarship this week, Frost said. "We kind of had one in our back pocket, and you guys keep asking me. He's done a great job. He's been one of the best guys we've had up front ever since we inserted him. He's a great story: foreign-exchange student that went to Norris, went to Colorado State, decided he wanted to be back here and walk on. He's a great story about a Nebraska kid, and also walk-ons. It's been such a big part of this program, and anytime we have someone that is playing and earning it, we want to take care of those guys. He's another one in a long line of guys that have earned it and are helping Nebraska."
– Does Frost worry about his players feeling added pressure with the outside noise? "At Nebraska there's always pressure. There's so much interest in (it), and so many people with opinions and talking. And it's hard to not notice any of that. But our players have done a great job of locking in and being prepared. We're going to go give it our best shot against an elite team."
