Nebraska coach Scott Frost said Thursday evening during an hourlong radio appearance that he couldn't say more about the NCAA's investigation into his football program, but that he's confident his group remains focused.
"We’re always going to do things right around here in this program and this athletic department," he said. "This is something we’ll work through and get past and move on. I look forward to a time when we can discuss it in more detail."
Frost reiterated that he's looking forward to providing more context to what the investigation centers on once it's cleared up, but that he can't discuss any of the details while it remains an ongoing matter.
He has no worries about his team with nine days to go before a critical season opener at Illinois.
"It's certainly nothing that's going to distract us or alter our course," Frost said. "… I think the players are locked in on what we're trying to get done, and this won't affect that."
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Frost knows what kind of challenge Illinois is likely to provide next weekend, even if he doesn’t know what Bret Bielema’s first team there will look like schematically.
The Illini have left quite the impression on Frost the past two years, first with a near-upset in Champaign in 2019 and then in a physically dominating victory last year in Lincoln.
“And they’ve got those guys back. Those guys will hit you, no question,†Frost said on "Sports Nightly." “They knocked the snot out of us a few times in the past couple years. The big thing is we’ve had too many turnovers the past couple of years. We were lucky to win one with the turnovers we had and we put ourselves in a really bad spot with turnovers in the other one.â€
Frost is expecting across-the-board improvements on offense, but he spoke highly about his defense in particular and said he's willing to put more of the game on their shoulders, including right from the start.
The fourth-year head coach likes to take the ball first if Nebraska wins the coin toss, but he said the combination of a veteran defense and a couple of kickoff specialists who can improve on NU's paltry touchback percentages the past two years could allow him to alter his thinking a bit.
"If we think we're going to go score, we'll take the ball," Frost said. "But I will say, when you talk about improvements we've made, our kickoff unit right now looks a lot better. The biggest part of that is we have some guys that can really hit it. We haven't in the past.
"If I feel like we can put it through the end zone and get a touchback and have the other team start on the 25 and put the Blackshirts out there, that's going to make me more likely to do that."
Speaking of Blackshirts, Frost said the announcement on which of his defenders has earned that designation could come "soon."
"We’ve got some decisions to make," he added. "I think a lot of guys are deserving and we’ve got to figure out who’s getting one.â€
Perhaps not surprisingly, that veteran-laden side of the ball has played well overall during preseason camp.
"You can just tell calling offensive plays, I spend more time on the offense, it’s hard to find holes in what they're doing right now," Frost said. "We don’t scheme for our defense, but we run our stuff and man, it’s tough sledding against those guys right now. … I’m excited to let those guys go out and actually let them play a game."
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* Frost said he “would love†to have recently retired Ohio coach and former Nebraska coach Frank Solich back to Memorial Stadium this fall.
“I think the world of Frank. I played for him. There’s always on any coaching staff a couple of guys you’re really close to and obviously Turner (Gill) and Tom (Osborne) for me, but (Milt Tenopir) and Frank were like fathers to me. That’s a guy that I respect and look up to and I hope he can make it back.â€
* Nebraska is moving back to the east sideline this fall. Last year in the empty stadium, Frost moved Nebraska to the west side because he thought it was too easy to see their signals from the coaches’ boxes in West Stadium.
“When fans are in the stands, we want to be where Nebraska fans are used to seeing us, so we’ll be on the east side.â€
* Frost confirmed that Nebraska will wear its alternate uniforms for a Sept. 11 home game against Buffalo.Â
He also chimed in on a brief social media hubbub that centered around a fake alternate uniform that was jokingly made to look like Lil' Red.Â
"Sometimes people in Nebraska need to be a little less gullible," Frost said with a laugh. "I clicked on Twitter and saw some overalls thing that I had never seen before in my life. All of a sudden it became national news. I don't know where all of that comes from, but, so people know, we have to make the decisions on those like two years ahead of time so Adidas has time to get us what we need."Â
* Junior quarterback Adrian Martinez is still picking up preseason recognition.
Th Fresno, California, native, who enters his fourth season starting for the Cornhuskers, was named Thursday afternoon to the preseason watchlist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.
The Golden Arm is given annually to the country's best senior or upperclassman quarterback. It's the second straight season Martinez (6-foot-2 and 212 pounds) has been named to the preseason list.
Only one quarterback in Nebraska history has won the Golden Arm. That was Tommie Frazier in 1995.