Scott Frost press conference transcript with his thoughts about facing Iowa
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Nebraska head coach Scott Frost met with the media on Monday and that’s when he shared the news that senior quarterback Adrian Martinez would miss Friday’s game against Iowa due to a shoulder injury.
Here is the entire transcript of Frost’s press conference:
On the challenges of a short week
“I do not think getting up is going to be an issue. I think getting prepared for a good team is going to be an issue. The kids are excited to play. We aren’t going to grind them this week and do a ton of hitting. We are just going to get the best game plan in we can and let it rip.”On sending the last play of the Wisconsin game to the conference for review
“The right protocol is to send any plays we have questions or concerns about into the Big Ten. We have done that before. There is nothing they can say or do that is going to change anything. I will leave it at that.”
On how important it is to have a clean game
“It is important. Playing a complete and clean game matters. I compliment them all the time but they don’t beat themselves. They create turnovers and play well on special teams. I think they do a good job in all three phases. Kirk and Brian do a great job. You go to beat them. They aren’t going to lose the game.”
On how big the NIL piece is for the juniors who are deciding what they are going to do
“Potentially big. We have a bunch of guys getting ready to walk for senior day and we are going to let some walk who are still going to make a decision after senior day whether they are going to get two senior days or one. A lot of guys we would love to see come back again. I think it’s smart for those guys to celebrate senior day and then put their toe in the water and check and see what their status would be and make a good decision. Potentially being able to make a little money and have some other benefits through NIL opportunities here certainly doesn’t hurt for an opportunity to get kids back for another year.”
On quarterback Adrian Martinez
“You guys know I don’t really talk about injuries unless it’s season ending. We have one game left and Adrian won’t be available. He has a shoulder injury that he is going to have to get addressed after the season. It happened in the first half Saturday. He is such a tough kid. I didn’t expect him to play in the second half and he came up to me right before the second half kick-off and said he wanted to go. He played well and tough. I feel terrible for him but appreciate him and we are going to be without him Friday.”
On the possibility of Martinez returning next season
“I think he needs a little time and space. This has been a challenging year. We made a lot of progress. He’s played really well most of the entire year. The team has played well the entire year. We haven’t got the results we wanted. I think we can talk about all those things after Iowa. We need to focus on Iowa right now.”
On who will start at quarterback for Iowa
“Logan (Smothers) and (Heinrich) Haarberg are both taking reps and we will get them ready. They have both done some really good things in practice. Logan has done some really good things in the game. I have confidence in them. I think there is a scenario where both could play. Obviously Logan has earned the right to be the guy now, but I can see a scenario where they both could get a chance.”
On how Adrian Martinez was injured
“He was rolling right and threw one and kind of got hit as he was throwing. It wasn’t much of anything at all. I think he just braced his hands out to kind of catch himself. We didn’t know the severity of it at halftime until we got back and examined everything. I think he told us he had some clicking in his shoulder and didn’t know if he could throw with the same velocity that he usually threw with. Like I said, I didn’t expect him to play in the second half. He came up to me and said he wanted to go, and I said I will let you play if you feel good enough.”
On if Martinez will walk on senior day
“I would encourage him to. I haven’t talked to him about that. I’m kind of talking to each of those guys individually. I would encourage him to walk. I certainly hope it’s not his last one, but if it is, he needs to be honored.”
On the offensive game plan
“You want me to tell you what we are running? We did some unique things but also a lot of those things were kind of in our catalog and menu of things we can do. We had some new things. These two have been in quarterback meetings all year and taking reps all year. They are familiar enough with what we do that there are plenty of good things we have available.”
On Adrian Martinez’s career at Nebraska
“I do not want to talk about him like he’s gone so I do not want to get into the speculations. Playing quarterback here is tough. Being head coach here is tough. I’ve said it a bunch. You get more praise than you deserve when things are going well and more blame than you deserve when things aren’t. I’ve lived that as a quarterback and he’s done a ton of really good things at the University of Nebraska. Sometimes it’s been great and sometimes it hasn’t, but I admire and respect him. He and I have been battling through a lot together. I appreciate who he is.”
On how much belief the guys have in winning
“One thing I can say about this team is that we aren’t going to stop fighting. This team won’t stop fighting Friday. I can guarantee that. We are playing a really good team. They have a lot better record than we do but we are going to give ourselves every opportunity we can to try and win the game.”
On tight end Austin Allen’s growth
“In my opinion he is an all-conference player. He’s reliable. That’s the best thing I can say about him. Anything you need him to do or get done he’s going to get it done. He’s turned himself into a really fine player at that position and great leader. He’s one of those guys that’s the heart and soul of our team.”
On what characterizes this senior class
“I pick the word perseverance. These guys have been through a lot with coaching changes and ups and downs and heartbreak in some of these games this year and continued to work and fight through all of it. Some of them I hope aren’t done but the ones that are deserve to be sent off the right way by our home crowd and our fans.”
On if running back Rahmir Johnson will be back this week
“We will see. It’s kind of been day to day with him. I would say most likely not, but he’s fighting to get back. Same with quite a few other guys.”
On where Jaquez Yant was for the Wisconsin game
“That was a coach’s decision to go with the other guys. He will be available and ready to play this week.”
On quarterback Logan Smothers
“He had a great day of practice today. Both of them did. I think he’s been looking forward to this moment. You guys have seen it. He’s done really well when he’s gone into games and operated well. This is a good defense we are playing obviously. It’s going to be a big challenge. He’s really sharp. He’s not the fresh-faced kid that’s going to get surprised by a bunch of things or pressures or different looks. He is really smart and knows our offense and can operate it. We are going to give him the ball and let him do it. He has come in in several games and looked really good. He made a really good throw I think it was Buffalo game and led us on a drive led us on a drive against Michigan State I think we had two false start penalties on the drive and he was leading us down the field, so small sample size. Big sample size at practice but feel good about him being ready to play on Friday.”
On where he sees the offensive tackles
“Lot of room for growth. I thought we protected really well Saturday, especially considering the defense we were playing. We put them in a lot of protections that I think helped a little bit. He did get sacked at the end but other than that, I think we kept Adrian pretty clean throughout the game. It’s ironic that happened to Adrian in that game because I think he got hit probably less in that game than he has in almost any game this year. The guys are fighting and scrapping. A couple of them are playing through nicks and cuts. That’s football. Still lot of room for growth and a lot of talent in that position.”
On putting together the roster for next season
“Yeah there is going to be a lot of change. I do not really want to think about that too much until we get through this game. We are going to fight and claw to try to get this one. Again I have a ton of respect for them and what they do. It is going to be a tough game. They are a good team, but that is where our focus is right now and right after the game there is going to be a lot of work to be done.”
On Jimari Butler and Blaise Gunnerson
“Just steady growth. Blaise is a kid that came in and was just nagged by injuries for a long time and we did not really know what we had there because we did not get to see him do much. Jimari we always thought had a bunch of talent and has really started to figure it out this season, so I think those guys have bright futures. Pheldarius (Payne) is out, was out last week and out for this game too, so we are a little thin there. When guys get their opportunities we want them to grab it with both hands.”
On football finals in Memorial Stadium
“Yeah it is awesome. I am jealous of these kids. I never got to play in a state championship. We got beat my sophomore year bad in the semis and then my junior and senior year both got beat by a team up north with a chubby full back, and I did not get to play in one of these. Great to see these kids out here on Memorial Stadium field and congratulations to them and good luck to everybody.”