Big Red Diary: Prince Amukamara
Print
digg it!
Facebook
del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit
By the Lincoln Journal Star
Sophomore Prince Amukamara made his first career start at cornerback in Nebraska’s victory Saturday over Western Michigan. Starting in place of injured senior Armando Murillo, Amukamara was second on the team with eight tackles, broke up a deep pass and had a quarterback hurry. Amukamara played on both sides of the ball in high school, but Saturday was his most extensive action on defense in college. He spoke Tuesday with the Journal Star’s Brian Rosenthal; the conversation began with Amukamara talking about his fourth-quarter blitz of WMU quarterback Tim Hiller, who threw a pass Anthony West intercepted.
“We actually called the play two times in a row, so the play before, I was supposed to go (blitz), but I didn’t know. I forgot. Then Coach Pelini kept saying, ‘Prince! Prince! You have to go! You have to go!’ He was jumping up and down being animated, and I was like, ‘Oh, shoot, I have to go,’ then I started going, and they false started, then it was the same play, and then I guess the quarterback went to a different check, and I then went. And then when I was running, I was like, ‘Does he see me?’ and I guess he did. I think I let up a little bit. I know I saw the play on film, and the hit could’ve been way worse. As soon as I hit the quarterback, the quarterback fell, and I just saw like the flow going toward me, so I was just looking for somebody to block.
“I knew Armando was a little dinged up. I was a little surprised but coach prepped me pretty well so I was ready. At first I was very nervous because I never played a game at cornerback, really. It’s different from offense to defense, because defense is way more demanding, but I felt comfortable out there after a while. I definitely didn’t want to get beat deep or anything, but I really wasn’t worried about that. I was definitely confident in my God-given ability.
“Rickey (Thenarse), Major (Culbert) and Armando are definitely major assets to our defense, and they all three have experience, especially Armando. But I think guys like (Eric) Hagg and (Matt) O’Hanlon, we all filled pretty big shoes. We all prepped pretty good.
“Our defensive backs are definitely going to get a big test because San Jose does run a lot of spread. We’re just going to have to put our heads on a swivel and look for the ball. We’re going to use a lot of defensive backs and get more of that dime and nickel personnel and just go find the ball. It is a good practice, because Missouri runs a lot of spread.
“Coach Pelini was definitely fired up in his pregame speech. He was just excited. It was his first game as a head coach back at Nebraska where he used to coach, so he was definitely excited and amped up. He just wanted us to get out there and play.
“I like the captain idea (selecting captains week by week) because it gives different people a chance to show their leadership. We do have a lot of players who do have the characteristics to be a captain. I think it gives them a chance to show their leadership skills. We vote this week, and my defensive pick for this week is definitely Ty Steinkuhler. He’s not very vocal but he’s a leadership dude, just through how he plays. I don’t know. I like his style.
“It does seem like we have more of that brotherhood title. Especially after the game and at halftime, it felt like the atmosphere in that locker room just felt different. The offense kept saying, ‘Good job, defense, keep it going, keep holding them,’ and then the defense was yelling, ‘Keep it up offense, keep putting points on the board and keep moving the ball.’ It’s just little stuff like that. It shows that we’re coming a long ways. I didn’t see that last year. I know last year’s in the past and stuff, but I didn’t see that last year.
“Coach (Marvin) Sanders, all of us can relate to him and he knows when to have fun and he knows when it’s time to coach and when it’s time for business. He actually brought in his Blackshirt one time and showed us. He’s very proud of it. I never really heard any of the players talk about (Blackshirts), but yeah, other people keep asking about, ‘When you guys going to get your Blackshirts?’ and stuff like that. I just say whenever Bo gives them to us — whenever we earn them.
Most Commented Football