Big Red Diaries: Sam Keller
Senior quarterback Sam Keller may not be a team captain, but he certainly speaks and acts the part, especially for the offense.
Keller on Tuesday spoke with the media about Nebraska’s recent problems, about staying positive through a rash of negativity, and about the Huskers’ upcoming schedule.
On the field, Keller is more than halfway to the Nebraska season passing record of 3,197 yards, set by Zac Taylor last season. With at least six games remaining, Keller has thrown for 1,720 yards, currently seventh on the school’s season passing chart.
“We need to start over. We need to start over and get back on the right foot. We’re 1-1 in conference. Everything is wide open. Things are going really weird this season, as far as games and what’s happening. But we’ve got to take care of business. We’re fortunate to have these next two games at home to right this ship. Every game is huge. We are in the thick of our conference schedule right now.”
“We have to really right this thing and get this thing going. And we will. Because guys have the right attitude. Guys are upbeat. They put this thing behind them and we’re ready to go. We know what we can do. We’ve just got to do it.”
“We can’t get caught up in negativity. Sometimes as players we create negativity on our own part … just letting things get inside their heads. It’s not necessarily creating negativity, where it affects a locker room, because nobody’s doing that. Everybody’s staying positive and wanting to right this ship. It’s just when you let doubt creep into your mind. … We can’t do that. Sometimes we let things get to us, and this week we can’t. We just have to play. We just have to be college football players and enjoy this team, because this is the best time of our lives. … We need to have fun and fly around and be enthusiastic and really show that we can be a dynamic football team.”
“Playing bad is part of football. You don’t want to do it, but football is a game of ups and downs. It can make you feel so good one day, and then the next day you’re just beating yourself up. You just have to keep going. If you’re any kind of football player, you can deal with adversity. You’ve got to take the good with the bad, you’ve got to take the praise with the criticism. If you can’t do that, you don’t have very thick skin.”
“It was a horrible performance (at Missouri), and I take a lot of the blame for the offensive struggles on my own shoulders. That’s what you have to do. You have to look at it, be a man and move on. This week, we have to have a lot of fun playing. We just have to execute and do the things we know to do rather than shoot ourselves in the foot.”
“I think in that whole entire game against Missouri, we were playing on our heels. They were in attack mode, both offensively and defensively, and we were trying to figure them out, and when you have that kind of situation, you can’t afford to be hesitant or worried about making a mistake. You just have to go out and play. I think a lot of guys might have that worry, or doubt, maybe, but that’s part of playing. You just have to look at that and say, ‘Hey, I can make one of two decisions. I can choose to keep doing what I’m doing and maybe not play, or I can just forget it and just fly around and do what I love to do.’ A lot of guys this week are going to kind of shed that and just go after it with all effort.”
“You have to give credit to the other teams. Missouri came out and they played with their hair on fire. They played so well. But we know we’re a good team. We know we can hang with them. So we obviously know that we’re better than what we showed. A ton better. But you have to respect the way they played.”
“You can’t get caught up in external factors. We’re all one family, coaches and players alike. We have the coaches’ back. I have every single coaches’ back until this thing is over and done with. I don’t like to see them get roasted, and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen. But I’m going to do everything I can for my teammates, too. When I touch the ball every play, I hold a lot of peoples’ fortunes, and I hold that very dear to heart.”
Keller on Tuesday spoke with the media about Nebraska’s recent problems, about staying positive through a rash of negativity, and about the Huskers’ upcoming schedule.
On the field, Keller is more than halfway to the Nebraska season passing record of 3,197 yards, set by Zac Taylor last season. With at least six games remaining, Keller has thrown for 1,720 yards, currently seventh on the school’s season passing chart.
“We need to start over. We need to start over and get back on the right foot. We’re 1-1 in conference. Everything is wide open. Things are going really weird this season, as far as games and what’s happening. But we’ve got to take care of business. We’re fortunate to have these next two games at home to right this ship. Every game is huge. We are in the thick of our conference schedule right now.”
“We have to really right this thing and get this thing going. And we will. Because guys have the right attitude. Guys are upbeat. They put this thing behind them and we’re ready to go. We know what we can do. We’ve just got to do it.”
“We can’t get caught up in negativity. Sometimes as players we create negativity on our own part … just letting things get inside their heads. It’s not necessarily creating negativity, where it affects a locker room, because nobody’s doing that. Everybody’s staying positive and wanting to right this ship. It’s just when you let doubt creep into your mind. … We can’t do that. Sometimes we let things get to us, and this week we can’t. We just have to play. We just have to be college football players and enjoy this team, because this is the best time of our lives. … We need to have fun and fly around and be enthusiastic and really show that we can be a dynamic football team.”
“Playing bad is part of football. You don’t want to do it, but football is a game of ups and downs. It can make you feel so good one day, and then the next day you’re just beating yourself up. You just have to keep going. If you’re any kind of football player, you can deal with adversity. You’ve got to take the good with the bad, you’ve got to take the praise with the criticism. If you can’t do that, you don’t have very thick skin.”
“It was a horrible performance (at Missouri), and I take a lot of the blame for the offensive struggles on my own shoulders. That’s what you have to do. You have to look at it, be a man and move on. This week, we have to have a lot of fun playing. We just have to execute and do the things we know to do rather than shoot ourselves in the foot.”
“I think in that whole entire game against Missouri, we were playing on our heels. They were in attack mode, both offensively and defensively, and we were trying to figure them out, and when you have that kind of situation, you can’t afford to be hesitant or worried about making a mistake. You just have to go out and play. I think a lot of guys might have that worry, or doubt, maybe, but that’s part of playing. You just have to look at that and say, ‘Hey, I can make one of two decisions. I can choose to keep doing what I’m doing and maybe not play, or I can just forget it and just fly around and do what I love to do.’ A lot of guys this week are going to kind of shed that and just go after it with all effort.”
“You have to give credit to the other teams. Missouri came out and they played with their hair on fire. They played so well. But we know we’re a good team. We know we can hang with them. So we obviously know that we’re better than what we showed. A ton better. But you have to respect the way they played.”
“You can’t get caught up in external factors. We’re all one family, coaches and players alike. We have the coaches’ back. I have every single coaches’ back until this thing is over and done with. I don’t like to see them get roasted, and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen. But I’m going to do everything I can for my teammates, too. When I touch the ball every play, I hold a lot of peoples’ fortunes, and I hold that very dear to heart.”
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