Five things we learned from NU’s weekly press conference

Here are five of our biggest takeaways from Nebraska’s weekly press conference on Monday afternoon…

In the wake of a tumultuous bye week and the firings of four offensive assistant coaches, Nebraska enters its final road game of the season at Wisconsin surrounded by distractions and seemingly little motivation.

But each player that spoke during Monday’s press conference insisted that the Huskers hadn’t given up on the season whatsoever and that there was still plenty left on the table over the final two weeks.

“It’s about pride,” quarterback Adrian Martinez said. “It’s about pride for us as players. These games mean a whole lot to us. I mean, shoot, it’s Wisconsin. It’s a rivalry game, and the same goes for the next week with Iowa. Those are big games for us regardless of where we’re at in the year. Those games will always mean something.”

Martinez is one of several upperclassmen who will have a decision to make regarding their futures at Nebraska after the season.

Senior tight end Austin Allen is among those, but he and Martinez said their only focus over the next two weeks would be finishing out this season the right way as team captains.

“It’ll say a lot about our character, how we compete these next two games, how we lead our team,” Allen said. “There’s an opportunity for somebody to throw in the towel and say, ‘I’m going to glide through these and get to where I’m going next.’

“And there’s an opportunity to show the guys what it means to finish and show the guys what it means to be a leader on this team and show them what needs to be done when they’re leaders someday.”

Running back Sevion Morrison was not with the team the last time Nebraska took the field against Ohio State. On Monday, Frost said the freshman had likely played his last game as a Husker.

While head coach Scott Frost wasn’t sure if Morrison had officially entered his name into the NCAA Transfer Portal, he did not expect the Tulsa, Okla., native to return to the program.

Morrison had 30 carries for 116 yards and three touchdowns, along with three catches for 13 yards in six appearances this season.

Morrison issued a statement via social media announcing his decision to leave the Huskers on Monday afternoon.

“After discussing with family and long deep thought I have made the decision to enter the transfer portal,” Morrison wrote. “I want to thank the program, the community, and my coaches for my time being at the University of Nebraska. I am very thankful for my brothers, the lessons, and the relationships I’ve built along the way. I wish my brothers and this program nothing but success.”

Frost also gave his thoughts on Morrison’s departure:

“I love all these kids,” Frost said. “I love Sev. Not everyone can play. This is the way college football is going to be. I’ll certainly bend over backwards to try to help anybody that’s been here and does things the right way. We’re going to lose some; we’ll get some back. That’s the way it’s going to be every year.”

As expected, second-year freshman Isaac Gifford has been promoted to the No. 1 hybrid outside linebacker spot previously filled by JoJo Domann on this week’s latest Nebraska depth chart.

The 6-foot-1, 205-pounder from Lincoln Southeast has played 26 defensive snaps over three games this season, posting four total tackles.

“He’s a grownup,” Frost said of Gifford. “He’s tough, and he’s done a good job of coming in and learning, and he’s a good athlete. He’s got bright days ahead of him in football, and some are going to have to start now.

He’ll be tasked with replacing Domann’s 51 games of experience, 209 career tackles, and rare skill set that will be almost impossible to replicate. That’s why Frost said it would likely be more of a collective effort.

“Probably multiple guys,” Frost said. “Depending on what personnel group the other team’s in, too, it could change depending on what type of body we need in there. But there are several guys that are going to have to be ready to go.”

There has been plenty of adjustments for Nebraska’s players and staff alike with the introduction of four interim full-time assistant coaches.

But to the credit of new quarterbacks coach Steve Cooper, offensive line coach Frank Verducci, running backs coach Ron Brown, and wide receivers coach Mike Cassano, Frost said the transition has gone about as well as could be expected.

Frost said all four coaches were on the road recruiting over the bye week, and he also shed some light on their respective roles on game day.

Cooper and Cassano will call the games from the coach’s box, while Brown and Verducci will be on the sideline. Frost also noted that offensive quality control coach Steven DeMeo had helped more with the game planning for Wisconsin.

“We’ve got to try and piece it together,” Frost said. But we’ve got a good enough team to get ourselves in the right place for Saturday.”

Running back Markese Stepp, who transferred from USC and was expected to have a significant role at Nebraska, said this season had been “very frustrating.”

“But you find out who you are, and it’s been a dark time,” Stepp said. “I feel like when you’re down, the only way to get you out of the position you are in is to continue to attack it the same way every day and continue to work.”

The sophomore was asked what former running back coach Ryan Held told him he needed to work on to earn more playing time.

“If I kept it real with you, I don’t want to do that because they don’t really mess with that,” he said. “But I don’t want to lie to you, so I really don’t want to answer that.”

Brown, who coached running backs and other offensive positions at Nebraska for 25 years, is temporarily taking over the running backs group. Brown was previously a senior offensive analyst and has built relationships with the players.

Stepp said Brown’s resume and who he has coached, like current NFL players like Ameer Abdullah, Rex Burkhead, and Andy Janovich, spoke for itself. He said Held’s coaching was geared more around NU’s offensive system, but Brown was more of a skills coach.

“With coach Held being gone, it’s not a bad replacement,” Stepp said. “(Brown’s) always been there for us, so he’s going to continue to coach, continue to work as hard and push us to be great every day.”

Frost said Stepp and Marvin Scott were to running backs who could see more playing time over the final two games with Morrison now out of the picture.