Spaulding Report: UCLA Football Nebraska Week Media Interviews
As you wait for tonight's game to kickoff, we've gathered all of this week's UCLA Football interviews for you in one place.
I’m going to start off today a little different. Normally, I begin with video of the week’s UCLA head coach interviews and I don’t include any videos from the Bruins’ opponent.
Well, earlier this week, 24-year old Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland committed suicide following a confrontation with police. That prompted Nebraska head coach to talk about the importance of mental health in his press conference on Wednesday.
Here’s Rhule’s media interview from Wednesday, courtesy of Nebraska Huskers on YouTube. Rhule’s remarks about Kneeland and mental health begin at the 10:47 mark if you wan to skip right to them.
Given the recent history of UCLA and Nebraska, which began with the tragic death, albeit under different circumstances, of Nick Pasquale back in 2013. It seemed appropriate to start with Rhule today.
Now, let’s get UCLA’s media interviews from last week and this week and see what’s been getting said at UCLA football’s press conferences. As usual, I’m just going to share this week’s videos here all in the same place to make it easy for you to watch them if you haven’t already. The videos in this article are courtesy of UCLA Athletics on YouTube, unless noted otherwise.
We’ll start with Tim Skipper from last Monday. Ben Royer from the LA Daily News and Southern California News Group asked about the difference between UCLA’s first bye week and the second bye week. Skipper responded:
“This is definitely a totally different from all kinds of different levels, but the main level is the first one. We only played three games. So, you’re able to still do a lot of the physicality stuff that you need to do.
This one now is a lot later. We’re creeping into the fourth quarter of the season now and you’re eight games in, and now, your bodies are starting to feel the wear and tear of the season and things like that. So, we’re going to just concentrate on getting the Bruins better and healthy and playing fast and still with the focus of this is how we want our style of play to be and this is how we need to be all the time. So, it’s not going to be a just take the week off type mentality, but it’s also not going to be freaking scrimmage time all day. So, we’re gonna have to balance out getting better and also getting healthy. So, that’s gonna be the challenge for this one.”
That was the only time Skipper met with the media last week. So, the next time we saw him was this past Monday. Coach Skip discussed some of the things I touched on in our Nebraska previews. Offensively, he spoke about how good of a running back Emmett Johnson is. Skip called him a “legitimate baller.”
Later, he was asked about Nebraska’s “Top 15” defense. Skip spoke about the Husker defense:
“So they are they use multiple fronts and they have a lot of hybrid players that could play like outside backer. They could be outside rushers. They’re going to create a lot of havoc that way with the people that they use. They create a lot of turnovers. They’re very good on third down. They don’t give up big uh plays in the passing game. They’re really good at keeping people in front of them. So, we’re going to have to do what we always do. We’re going to have to win in the trenches. We’re going to try to win the time of possession battle, control the ball and then take what they give us.”
Moving over to the players, last Tuesday saw punter Will Karoll and Isaiah Chisholm meet with the media. Karoll was named to the Ray Guy Award watch list on Monday. Among other things, he spoke about why he thinks Australia has been turning out so many good punters.
Meanwhile, Chisholm spoke about the changes which have taken place with Kevin Coyle calling the defense.
This Tuesday, linebacker Jalen Woods and Garrett DiGiorgio met with the media. Woods spoke about how the defense used the bye week to hone in on the details, especially tackling since the team struggled with that against Indiana.
DiGiogio called tonight’s game a “trench game,” suggesting that this game is going to be won by the team which is better able to control the line of scrimmage both offensively and defensively. He added:
“It’s going to be a battle between our O line and their D line and our D line versus their O line. I think that they they do a good job of moving and they’re they’re very good at pass rushing, I believe, too. So, we have a good competition week and I’m looking forward to getting to go against guys like that of that caliber, too.”
Finally today, we have Wednesday’s interview with linebacker Donavyn Pellot and Jalen Berger.
With TJ Lateef starting his first college game this week, there isn’t as much game film available of him. Earlier, Tim Skipper mentioned that the Bruins would be using some old high school game tape of Lateef to supplement what the defense knows about him. Pellot was asked if that made things challenging. He said:
“I don’t think so honestly. Just trusting our preparation, trusting in the game plan the coaches are giving us. Obviously, watching that film is different but I mean it’s just preparing like any other team.”
Berger was asked about going up against a Top 15 defense. While he credited their defense for being very good, it didn’t really seem to phase him—and it shouldn’t because Nebraska’s defense really stands out more against the passing game than against the running game.
Go Bruins!!!
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Bad news I'm at the game...
...Defense, apparently still in Westwood. How do you not focus on their running back? D line must show up and step up