Zack Carpenter • InsideNebraska
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@Zack_Carp
Nebraska WR coach
Garret McGuire and TE coach
Bob Wager got their first opportunity on Thursday to stand at the Memorial Stadium podium and speak with the Nebraska media.
Here are some quick hits from the press conference:
Garret McGuire
>>> There are questions about whether or not McGuire, who turns 24 years old this month, can be as effective of a position coach as someone who's older or has more experience. McGuire believes that being around so many high-quality coaches throughout his life and young career can help alleviate some of that inexperience.
>>> Joe Brady and Ben McAdoo are two of the coaches he named, and he says
Matt Rhule and his father, Joey McGuire, have been his two biggest coaching influences: "They've taught me from a young age how to coach and how to treat people. I'm a little bit ahead of the curve being younger."
>>> McGuire says that he's known since second grade that he likely would not have a significant career as a player and knew he was going to "go right into coaching" and mentioned that he was grinding through film in third and fourth grade alongside his dad.
>>> On his experience with the Carolina Panthers, where he spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons as an assistant, McGuire says it helped him prepare for this position at Nebraska.
>>> Those experiences gave him two years helping coach players who were almost all older than him: "I was around the best of the best – D.J. Moore, Baker Mayfield, Laviska Shenault Jr."
>>> McGuire's father, Joey, has decades of experience – at both the high school level in Texas and now as the Texas Tech head coach – and Garret says he talks with his dad "every day" to ask him questions, and one of the best pieces of advice he got was "talk to your players, talk to your players' parents" and get to know them better.
>>> McGuire has been putting that advice to practice, including earlier on Thursday when he had "six guys" in his office watching film with him and just hanging out and talking.
>>> McGuire says his mantra and the phrase he wants his room to live by is to get "one percent better," which he wants to emphasize "every single day."
>>> On the players in Nebraska's receivers room: "They're hard workers, and they're competitive. You can see that on tape. ... That standard's already set with how hard they wanna play."
Bob Wager
>>> Nebraska's emphasis on attacking the state of Texas in recruiting took an extra big step with Wager's hire. Wager spent over 20 years as a high school head coach in the state and has a stellar reputation there.
>>> Because of that reputation and the time spent there, Wager says it has been a "homecoming" each time he goes into Texas to recruit.
>>> He feels close with those coaches because "I'm still their peer. Guys, I'm always gonna be a high school coach."
>>> Houston and Waco are two Texas areas that Wager says the Husker staff has spent an extensive amount of time recruiting. Wager's main area, so far, has been in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro.
>>> "We've made a great effort" to recruit Texas," Wager says, and "we're banking on" establishing a long-term presence in the state.
>>> Wager says he will be working in tandem with special teams coordinator
Ed Foley and special teams analyst
Josh Martin to establish a consistent unit.
>>> On the importance of special teams: "It's an area you can create some separation. We made a living off of that in high school."
>>> Wager said he's been good friends with McGuire's father, legendary Texas high school coach and current Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire, for years. So, Wager says, he's known McGuire since he was "a boy" and knows McGuire's potential in the coaching industry.
>>> McGuire, Wager says, "doesn't need any looking out for" despite his youth and inexperience in college coaching. "He's very well prepared."
>>> Joey McGuire and Wager have had "dozens" of conversations since Wager moved to the college level. He has gathered plenty of advice from Wager about making that jump from the high school ranks and feels prepared for what the job entails.
Quick hits from Garret McGuire and Bob Wager's first press conference as Nebraska coaches.
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