Mickey Joseph says Chubba Purdy should be 'much better' if needed

Nebraska starting quarterback Casey Thompson left the Illinois game with an injury. In his place came Chubba Purdy, who struggled during the game. Now, with Thompson considered a game-time decision against Minnesota, Interim head coach Mickey Joseph gave Purdy a vote of confidence if he is needed.

While speaking to the media, Mickey Joseph was asked if he had seen Chubba Purdy bounce back this week in practice.

“I thought Chubba had a really good week of practice,” Mickey Joseph said.

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“I thought, you know, Chubba’s a rep kid, so I think with the reps that he’s gotten this week he should be much better on Saturday if he has to go.”

Against Illinois, Chubba Purdy went three for eight passing for 15 yards and an interception. However, even with that poor performance, Mickey Joseph is still confident in going with him over Logan Smothers.

“I’m confident in him,” Mickey Joseph said. “But I think that you know, if we want to go with Chubba because we think Chubba throws it a little better, let’s go with Chubba.”

Mickey Joseph on his message to Chubba Purdy

After being put into a difficult situation and playing poorly, it can be easy to lose confidence. However, that’s where it’s the job of coaches to keep a player’s confidence up, which is exactly what Mickey Joseph was trying to do with his message to Chubba Purdy.

“Chubba just has to settle down. He has to breathe at that position. He can’t let his emotions take over. He has to be a true leader out there. I thought he was trying to make plays, but he’s got to understand the situation we was in at that time when he threw the pick. We already had three points, so let’s make the score 20-12. You throw a pick and they go and kick a field goal and now they’re up 23-9. So he’s got to understand situations,” Mickey Joseph said.

“I thought he had a really good day today just talking. Chubba’s a kid you’ve got to talk to every play. Sometimes you don’t wanna do that with quarterbacks, but it’s a little different with Chubba. He’s young. Chubba’s a young quarterback without a bunch of reps. So we’ve got to make sure this week we do a really good job with him reminding him what situation he’s in. If it’s not there, throw it away. If it’s not there, run.”