Joe Dailey quotes from Presser

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Sophomore Quarterback Joe Dailey

 

On his readiness for the first start:

 

“I’ve been waiting for this all of my life. I’ve had all the time in the world to perfect this, so I think I’m well prepared, both myself and the team.”

 

 

 

On his excitement for Saturday’s season opener:

 

“I don’t even want to talk about it right now. I’m trying to stay focused and not get too excited. I’m trying to concentrate on the task at hand and that’s practice today.”

 

 

 

On his desire for showing the full offensive arsenal on Saturday:

 

“I don’t think we need to. The plays we have drawn up for this week are designed for this defense, and we don’t have to get too intricate. The plays that we have in for this week are going to attack the defensive weaknesses.”

 

 

 

On how the West Coast Offense fits his playing style:

“You guys got a chance to see me in the spring game, and I did pretty well. I went against the second-string defense, but that’s not a knock against anyone. They’re a great defense, and we’ve got a great offense. I say we wait until Saturday, and we’ll see how our grasp on the offense is, and we’ll go from there.”

 

 

 

On Willie Amos’ switch from safety/cornerback to wide receiver:

 

“He’s played defense his entire career. I think he should have been on offense when he started out, because now he has an opportunity to go forward with his speed, run past people and make moves on people. It’s going to be great to watch Willie run past a few of these corners and throw the ball deep to him.”

 

 

 

On his confidence level:

 

“You have to be your biggest fan. You have to believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself, then who is going to believe in you?"

 

 

 

On the Huskers’ cracking the top 25:

 

“We’ve got all the talent in the world. We’ve got a great bunch of guys and just like anyone who takes over a new stable, you have to go with the horses you have. You have to make adjustments, and that’s exactly what Coach (Callahan) has done. He’s made adjustments, and he’s tailored the offense and defense to the players that he has. I think we’ll be in the top 25 relatively soon.”

 

 

 

On freshman wide receiver Terrence Nunn:

 

“He’s a young guy like a lot of the guys playing in this offense. The repetitions that he gets this week and in the future will help. He’s got great athletic ability, he’s very fast and he’s got great hands. If you ever need a big play threat, that’s who you go to.”

 

 

 

On the speed of the game:

 

“You play the game in the mind 100 times before you actually go out and play. It’s a matter of understanding each play. The more you understand each play when you go out there and see it against a certain defense, it makes more sense. I think that’s what’s been very important for me these past three weeks. I’ve come a long way, and I still have a long ways to go, but I’m happy with where I am right now in the process.”

 

 

 

On his favorite play:

 

“I like every play we have in the playbook, to be honest with you.”

 

 

 

On his one thought for this Saturday:

 

“All my preparation that no one knows about, come Saturday or Sunday. Once people see how we played, they’ll start to take us seriously. Right now, I don’t think they’re really taking us that seriously.”

 

 

 

On reaching his dream of being a starting quarterback:

 

“I really haven’t had time to think about it. I’ve been more concentrated on preparation and what we have to do at practice today. It’s just a matter of being prepared every day. I really haven’t been thinking about how big of a deal it is. Maybe it might hit me when I step on the field on Saturday. Until then, I really don’t expect to be thinking about it.”

 

 

 

On how many plays he has learned:

 

“What’s a number, to be honest with you? You guys won’t understand it. I can say ‘300’, but that’s just a number. You really have to see it to be able to comprehend it. It’s not just me that has to learn it, it’s everyone else on the offensive side of the ball. If you could only see, you’d be surprised, believe me.”

 

 

 

On offensive lineman Kurt Mann:

 

“He’s doing really well. I like all of our guys up front. They’re all great guys, they’re all big guys and they all know what they’re doing. It’s just a matter of getting repetitions and being experienced. Kurt’s come a long way. We were both No. 2s last year and we’ve both come a long way.”

 

 

 

On what he knows about Western Illinois:

 

”They’re not going to back down. They always put top-15 teams on their schedule because they want a challenge. They want to be the best and that prepares them for their conference. I know they’re going to come in here ready to play, and that’s good because we need competition like that.”

 

 

 

Fabian Washington:

 

On Willie Amos as a receiver

 

“He’s amazingly fast. Anytime he lines up on my side, he’s somebody that when he comes out you look for them to throw the deep ball to him.”

 

 

 

On who’s faster between him and Willie:

 

“That’s a good question, but I’d say him.”

 

 

 

On Western Illinois’ offense:

 

“They’re mostly going to pass the ball around. They’ll run the ball on first down, but after that the ball’s going to be in the air. As for their personnel, they have a lot of little guys, but they’re fast and shifty.”

 

 

 

On Western Illinois’ inexperience at quarterback:

 

“We’re going to take advantage of their inexperience at quarterback. We’re going to blitz them and try to intercept them a couple times.”

 

 

 

On Western Illinois:

 

“They’re good. I looked at them last year when they played LSU. They pushed LSU until they took over the game in the fourth quarter. I think they’re going to come in thinking that they are going to beat us.”

 

 

 

On this year’s defense compared to last year’s defense:

 

“We’ll just have to wait and see. I think we can be a better defense than last year.”

 

 

 

On freshman Cortney Grixby:

 

”Cortney has been learning the defense fast and coach has been throwing him in there with the No. 1s and 2s to get him some good repetitions and some realistic repetitions. I think he’ll get a nice amount of playing time on Saturday.”

 

 

 

On Nebraska having the third-most all-time victories in Division I:

 

“That’s nice, but I’ve only been around for two years. This year, we’re just trying to add 13 more wins.”

 

 

 

On being omitted from some preseason watch lists:

 

“I know at the end of the year my name will be on all the lists. I know I’m one of the best cornerbacks in the country, and I think I’m the best cornerback in the Big 12.”

 

 

 

On the Bullocks twins at the two safety positions:

 

“When you have safeties like that, you can take some risks and they’ll back you up in case you get beat.”

 

 

 

On if the team will play more man or zone coverage:

 

“I think it will be a lot of man, but there will be some zone. They have a rookie quarterback, so we will try and mix it up. We will try to confuse him a little bit and try to pick off a few balls. You can’t just play all man.”

 

 

 

On where the secondary ranks in the nation:

 

“I think we have the best secondary, by far, in the nation. We bring back a lot of experience from last year. A lot of people say Lornell McPherson hasn’t played a lot, but he’s played in 38 games and is very experienced.”

 

 

 

Junior Wide Receiver Ross Pilkington:

 

On the emergence of freshman Terrence Nunn:

 

“I think Terrence kind of caught us all by surprise. He’s a young kid that came in from out of state, and right when he got here he wasted no time in starting to make big plays and that has really gotten everybody’s attention. He’s been a blessing for us, and he’s just going to continue to make big plays.

 

 

 

On a top 25 ranking:

 

“We definitely weren’t given anything at the beginning of the season. We’re going to have to earn that respect with the nation with our new offense and new coaching staff. I think after a few strong games and strong performances, that will happen.

 

 

 

On the receiving corps:

 

“We’ve got a lot of depth and a lot of different type of guys. We’ve have guys that can go across the middle, a lot of guys that can go deep and a lot of guys that can catch the ball. I think that’s really going to be beneficial in our offense. With Joe back there firing it around, it should be fun to watch.

 

 

 

On Joe Dailey’s throwing abilities:

 

“Joe throws a great ball. His velocity has gotten a lot better over the summer and through camp. His accuracy is unbelievable. Once people get a chance to see what Joe can do, a lot of eyes will be opened, and a lot of people are going to be surprised. He’s coming out of nowhere, and he really didn’t get a chance to show off his arm last year. This year, in this offense, he’s really going to have a chance to show what he can do.”

 

 

 

On Nebraska’s history:

 

“I think that we’re going to continue to rack up the wins. Even though it’s a new era, we’re going to be able to keep winning consistently and keep that tradition alive.”

 

 

 

On the possibility of a 1,000-yard receiving season:

 

“I don’t really want to look at that right now. I just want to take it one game at a time. We haven’t played a game yet, so I don’t know how many times we’re each going to touch the ball. As the season goes along, I think it will be a little more of a fair question to ask.”

 

 

 

On excitement surrounding the season opener:

 

“We’re all excited. We all got together and watched the USC game this weekend. Everybody is itching to get out on the field this weekend. Everyone is kind of sick of practicing and sick of hitting each other and wants to hit somebody else. Everybody is really looking forward to this weekend and getting back onto the field and into the stadium.”

 

 

 

On Western Illinois:

 

“I know they have a lot of great athletes, and I know that they’re not going to be scared of anybody. They went into LSU last year and gave them a game all the way into the fourth quarter and that’s what we’re expecting. We’re not expecting them to hand us anything, and we’re not going to take them lightly. Anytime you have a team that is going to come in and not be intimidated by Husker Nation, they’re going to put up a good fight. We’re going to try and just play our game and knock them out early.”

 

 

 

On what it takes for the offense to be successful:

 

“Pass completions. I think as long as we go down the road and complete passes, avoid turnovers and march down the field one or two times and have some success, I think that’s really the key.”

 

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