Nebraska head football coach, Mike Riley, held a press conference today at 3:30. The presser was meant to talk about the new coaching hires. Read about Reggie Davis, Hank Hughes, and the rest of the coaches here. (at the time of our article on coaches 4 weeks ago Trent Brennan was expected to be WR coach) Coach Riley did let some anecdotes into the conversation with the media. He is very comfortable in front of the microphone.
“One of the most important parts about having a job in college football is who you surround your team with. It’s a big, big deal.” That’s certainly true. Riley’s common denominators for hiring his staff is that they have to have “expertise; have to know what they’re doing” and “be the right person.” It translates into how they treat the young men that they are bringing up.
Nov 15, 2014; Madison, WI, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers mascot Herbie Husker performs during the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Wisconsin won 59-24. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
All great coach speak without it sounding like it yet. When Riley speaks about his coaches you can tell there is a familiarity there that makes him comfortable. “I know these people. I trust them. They’re extremely diligent, hard workers.” He went on to say, “We are just about done, I have 1 spot open. Looking at 4 or 5 people and will interview them in the next few days as we go forward.” He also mentioned there might be an intern spot available. (sign me up!)
The next phase is to finish the recruiting class. He mentioned he appreciated the work Pelini did. He said he “still had some new guys being recruited and we want to finish strong.” Coach Riley then gave an outline as to the plan going forward and made the staff coaches available to the media. He mentioned Spring practice and that they practiced in the morning at OSU, but he would have to see if that was feasible here.
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When asked about returning Coach Charlton Warren, Riley stated, “Coach Warren had made a good impression on the parents and the recruits. It’s not hard to understand why people like him.” When asked about the culture of Husker football he joked saying, “we’re undefeated which is good.” He went on to say he appreciated the expectations and the interest. I doubt he has any idea just how big the fanbase really is and how involved we like to be. But he will learn, quickly.
Words I liked best about today from Coach Riley is when he said we will “enhance the talent you have through coaching.” So things continue to flow along. As always, GO BIG RED!!!