Bo first talked about the fact that eight guys are graduating tomorrow, two of whom (Roy Helu Jr. and Prince Amukamara) graduated in three and a
half years. Both are Sociology majors.
The focus for the team
has obviously taken a direct turn toward Washington, the team they will
face in the Holiday Bowl. It's a team Nebraska thumped earlier in the
year, 56-21. Some would say that if it's not broke, don't fix it. But
common sense would tell you that not everything that worked before will
work the second time around, even if it's in the same season. "There
will be somethings similar. There will be some things that are
different," Head Coach Bo Pelini said.
One of the key pieces
Washington no doubt hopes is considerably different, is the success
quarterback Jake Locker has this time versus the 4-of-20 performance he
had against Nebraska earlier in the year. "He's a good football, and
they've gotten better as a football team. They are a much better team
than they were in September," Pelini said.
Washington is not
only better, but they are riding a three-game winning streak, while
Nebraska comes off the tough loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game.
"They have momentum going, so it will be a big challenge for us," he
said.
Senior wide receiver Niles Paul continues to rehab the
foot, but he is now wearing regular shoes for the first time since the
injury. Pelini said that he still thinks Niles has a "good" shot of
playing in the bowl game, and he's hopeful he'll make it back.
One
player who will obviously be there and that's good news for the
Huskers, is junior linebacker Lavonte David. Pelini said that from the
last time they faced the Huskies to now, it's a completely different
player you are saying. "He's come light years since then. He was put in a
tough situation, and he had to grow up in a hurry," he said. "it's a
credit to him and how he was coached."
On another note, Pelini
said that he is pretty sure that there will be a couple of juniors will
submit their names as part of the evaluation process for next year's NFL
Draft. But Pelini also said that he believes the entire group will be
back for their senior campaigns.
On a funny note, and this will
tell you how dialed in Pelini gets to what he's doing and is almost
oblivious to the outside world, a question was asked about how Bo felt
about the names given to the new Big Ten divisions, that being "Legends"
and "Leaders."
The naming has caught a bit of a firestorm, as
Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney said that he was estimated a 90 percent
disapproval rate for those names, which may prompt them to reevaluate
that decision. When asked how he felt about the names and the idea that
they might already change, Bo didn't even know the divisions were named
in the first place. "I don't know anything about that. I don't care what
they call it," he said with a chuckle.
Click the following link for the full post practice audio with Bo Pelini
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