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Exclusive Q&A with Nebraska Football's Tristan Alvano
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Mar 4, 2024
Tristan Alvano joins the Husker Big Red Podcast for a question and answer session that covers getting his scholarship offer, Matt Rhule, Ed Foley, and much more. Husker Big Red: https://huskerbigred.com/ Great Cornholio: https://greatcornholio.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/huskerbigred Husker BR Twitter: https://twitter.com/HuskerBr Great Cornholio Twitter: https://twitter.com/NebCornholio
View Video Transcript
0:00
Hey, folks. Welcome back to another episode of the Husker Big Red podcast with Chris Peterson
0:06
of Husker Big Red dot com and joining me as always is my co host, Danny Gillette of the
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great cornholio dot org and today we have a special guest 2023 Nebraska football sign
0:15
e Tristan Alvano. So hey, Tristan, how you doing today? I'm good. How are you? Doing
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good, man. Doing good. Just get out of school or what do you got going on today? Yeah, I
0:26
just got out of school. Probably gonna hit the gym right after. So yeah, right on. Nice
0:32
Like to hear that. So Danny, how are you? You did today, man. Good. And Tristan, thank
0:37
you for responding to my random DM. I know it. I know it's out of the blue and I realized
0:41
that but we're just fans ourselves. So we just take our shots and hope we can get some
0:47
good guests on here. So I'm thrilled to have you on here. And thanks for thanks for taking
0:51
time out of your day to do this. Oh, yeah. No problem. Thank you. And so I guess I guess
0:58
I'll ask my first question and then we'll kind of rebound from there and rotate. I'll
1:04
rotate between Chris and myself. So my first question here was, you know, what was it like
1:12
You know, you had a big performance in the state championship game and then according
1:16
to reports, you got offered by Nebraska shortly thereafter, pretty much the morning after
1:22
What was it like that that high of, you know, performing so well in the state championship
1:27
game and then being offered by your home state team? Yeah, no, I think. Well, obviously
1:33
I had a I had a preferred walk on offer. I got that during like pretty much like pregame
1:40
of the Nebraska Minnesota game and I was down there. That was my first time down there
1:45
ever. And then just kind of went on, you know, had had some good contact with the coaches
1:53
and everything. And then obviously the state championship game right the day after at the
2:00
time, Coach Joseph was was internment coach. He called me the next morning. Yeah, just
2:09
he said that, you know, after that performance, he just he didn't want me to leave the state
2:13
that I just I got to be on scholarship. And so he kind of just upped his offer to a scholarship
2:20
and I was just blessed to have that. And just honestly, that was just a crazy, just crazy
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night, crazy morning, too. It was just an unbelievable feeling. How good did that feel
2:34
just to, you know, have him call and, you know, say, hey, we want to make sure you don't
2:37
leave the state of Nebraska. It felt good. I mean, I'd been I'd been kind of overlooked
2:45
by the previous previous staff there. So I think just hearing it from hearing it from
2:51
his mouth while I mean, he was while he was in the head man at the wheel, I think it was
2:57
just it felt really good to hear. Just know that I was appreciated that, you know, they
3:02
saw that potential in me, you know. So so what's your take then on all of these, you
3:09
know, state players committing to the program? We have a huge group of in-state kids coming
3:15
in and you know, what's your take on that? I know that you mentioned that, you know
3:20
maybe you and some others got overlooked by the previous staff. What do you think about
3:24
all the in-state talent coming to the program? I think what we have with this class and all
3:30
the in-state guys is phenomenal. I think that I think the coach rule and the whole new staff
3:35
did an amazing job and one or two months they've been here not only assembling the whole
3:42
recruiting class, but really just keeping the in-state guys home. And I mean, I've seen
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something I don't know the like official thing, but it's like this is the biggest this is
3:52
the most in-state scholarship guys Nebraska's had since like in the early 2000s or
3:58
something like that. I don't know the exact stat, but I saw that on Twitter at some time
4:03
and it's just it's just crazy. It just shows like I think we have a really good recruiting
4:07
class and a really good group of in-state kids and I'm just I'm excited to get started
4:11
with them. So what were like your first what were your first impressions or I guess what
4:17
was your first interaction with coach rule? It was my first interaction with him was over
4:23
the phone. I think it was Keith Williams one of the player personnel guys down there
4:32
texting me that night and introduced himself and he asked me if I got some time to talk
4:37
to talk to coach rule and and coach Foley actually was right there to the special teams
4:43
coordinator. So I got a really got to really talk to them for probably like 10 minutes
4:47
each. It was just good to get to know him. They seem like great guys over the phone and
4:52
we just we just talked a small talk and then just talked about how like obviously my my
4:58
scholarship and stuff still stands and everything which is good to hear. You know, it was just
5:02
they're going to honor that and everything and so it was good to hear and then get me down for a couple visits before early signing day and they kept their word did that and
5:11
just meet them in person was great and just developed a really good relationship with
5:16
them over the next few weeks. What's the energy of this coaching staff like? I mean, we've
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seen it all all over the place on Twitter coach rule with his, you know, emojis and
5:27
things like that. He's generating a lot of excitement around the program. What's it like
5:32
you know, when you're with him and with the coaching staff does that excitement kind of
5:35
translate over to you know, real life interactions and situations? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I don't
5:42
even know what his emojis mean, but I think they're whenever I see him on Twitter. I just I mean, I think they get all Husker Nation fired up and I think it's just I think it's
5:50
really good to see and I think there's definitely kind of a new vibe and energy down there even
5:57
I mean, I think even current players feel the same way like the practice the practices
6:03
and energy is just different now and I think there's kind of just kind of a new chapter
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and in the football program and I think everyone's just really really starting to get going and
6:13
obviously I think the fans are the most fired up just best fan base in the country just
6:18
doing what they do and supporting us as always. Yeah, I know whenever Coach Rule puts out
6:24
his emojis. I'm like, you know, the National Treasure people trying to decipher, you know
6:28
what they mean and everything. So but I wanted to ask you Tristan, when is like the moment
6:34
that you made that decision? Like I'm going to be in Nebraska corn husker if you don't
6:39
mind sharing that with us. Yeah, no, I think well, okay. So I had a really good official
6:44
visit and I was that that kind of sold me on it. Just being able to spend that much
6:53
time with the staff that weekend and you know, seeing all the facilities and just just really
7:01
doing some thinking with my family. I mean, just just getting the chance to get down there with both my parents and they're just just known that they were happy and just really
7:09
enjoying it showed that you know, if they're happy then I'm going to be happy too. And
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I mean, it's close to home. I mean, I'm 45 minutes about from my house. I mean, I can't
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get any closer and just know that my parents can just drive to every game. It's great
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I mean, I just yeah, it's it was the right place and I'm happy with my decision for sure
7:37
Now switching back to kind of the kicking aspect of things. Do you have any sort of
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routine that you go through before a game or anything to help your leg kind of get warmed
7:48
up and also like yourself in the right frame of mind before a game
7:53
Yeah, I I'm really big in the mental piece of kicking. So I do a lot of I really work
7:59
on my meditation visualization for games. I think my program at Westside's done a really
8:07
good job of working on the mental piece and they've kind of instilled that in us. It's
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just it's translated translated for me into soccer and football and just everything I
8:19
do really. So it's that's a huge piece. So I'll do that a couple times before game and
8:25
in terms of warm-ups. I mean, I try to warm up like the season. I try to warm up the same
8:29
way every time and I mean I did it the first game and really liked it and just stuck with
8:35
it the whole year long and I didn't change a thing for it. It was great. And yeah, I
8:42
mean, I don't have a crazy routine. I just I love love getting fired up some music and
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just let all skin calm down by some meditation and just walked in and doing my job
8:57
So yeah, you were you were mentioned that you played soccer. I was curious. It's like
9:00
on the football field. Are you are you just a kicker or do you play, you know, any other
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positions and also I guess expand on your soccer ground or soccer background a little
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bit. What's it kind of your position in your history there? Yeah. So for football, I'm only kicker and then soccer. I'm a I'm a forward. I played
9:19
that my whole life. Started when I was probably six and then just stuck with it all my whole
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life obviously and then freshman year. I tried football and just want to see what it was
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like just, you know, my my parents and my family just kind of suggested. Yeah, I give
9:40
kicking a try and so I was just like, all right. Well, it's freshman year. Let's give it a try. Why not? Had some success doing that and then get hurt a little bit playing
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soccer and then sophomore year comes around. I get I'm about half a season because I was
9:59
coming off of that injury and just it just wasn't as wasn't as strong as I wanted to
10:06
in the junior year. I kind of had a breakout year. I feel like and just kind of kind of came out of nowhere. I think really good season was for see him all stay and we lost
10:14
in the state final 73. So that was that was really heartbreaking loss and then in the
10:20
postseason, I just start working on going out to camps and everything and that's how
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I kind of got my recognition and ranking by Cole's kicking and then just kept working
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at it and really just really just fell in love with the grind and I mean, I've I was
10:35
a soccer guy and I've always wanted to play college soccer, but I fell in love with kicking
10:39
and that's where my passion is now and I love it and I think I've made the right decision
10:42
for myself. Was there a moment where you where you realized, okay, maybe I can take this
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this kicking thing to the next level and be a college football player a big time college
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football player at that was there a moment or you know a situation where the light bulb
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kind of popped off in your head and you thought maybe you can make you know a career out of
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this. Yeah, I think after kind of that light bulb moment like you're talking about I think
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that was after probably the first game of my junior year against our rivals Crate and Prep
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I hit I had three field goals that night and I was that was the first first three attempts
11:21
on first three times for us that season and just just knowing that after the game here
11:29
for my some coaches like a I don't know a couple weeks later that Northern Illinois
11:37
was interested in me and they they'd watch the game because one of our coaches sons was
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went out and is playing for him right now D-line, but just knowing that you know, they
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they're interested in me and they will be staying in contact with them. Just that was
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kind of the first school that was interested in me. And so just just knowing that I I mean
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that I had a school that was maybe wanted me to kick for him at one point like that
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was that was really cool because I was just at that point. I was just a soccer player
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you know, just just playing football, you know, I wasn't really trying to go play college
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football and that kind of I don't know kind of flip the switch made for me and just maybe
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realize like, okay, maybe I have a future in this, you know, let's let's keep working
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and see what happens. So I just have a simple question, you know, we all know that you're
12:27
very accurate with your kicks. Obviously, you know, you made all the kicks in the state championship game. But what's like your what's your distance? Where do you feel comfortable
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from, you know, on the field at this point? I obviously I made a I made a 57 yarder this year in the first round of playoffs, but I
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honestly feel like I'm I'm good from I think I'm good for 60 in game. I just with all the
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adrenaline and everything like I just like I tell our offensive coaches just, you know
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try to get to the try to get to the 30. No, it was 6040 get to 43 yard line. Sorry, math
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was x enough there. Yeah, I get to the 43 yard line. And I know we got we shot a field
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goal. And that's, again, West Side is really they're good about them to field goals. You
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know, they don't. I mean, obviously, they could do go for some four downs and I don't blame them. But just, you know, they're they love to send us out there and they trust the
13:25
whole unit, which is great as a kicker. Just know you have a high school that does that
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So yeah, just get to 43. Do you have any goals, maybe short term or long term if you want
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to say that you have as you kind of embark on your college career
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Well, I think just I want to I want to be a finalist at least or maybe even when the
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thing who knows, but I want to win the Blue Cross Award. I mean, that's the like the almost
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like the national kicker of the year. Like that's that'd be quite the honor and just
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probably the almost like the cherry on top of a college career. I mean, one guy a year
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wins that. So just knowing that you were the guy that year is just that'd be special. And
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then I think just a really just great memory that I'd love to make in the time of her and
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my time in Nebraska would be in the game winner at home or away. It doesn't matter. But I
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just want to hit a game win field goal. I just I think having a celebration with the
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team and just knowing and just just see the fans go go crazy. I think that'd be I mean
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obviously I ended my high school career with the game winner. So I want to kind of get
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another attempt to do that in college. I think that'd be that'd be special. Well, if you can kick from 57, then my guess is that you'll have a shot at some point
14:57
Hopefully. Yeah, you know, I was just gonna say, I mean, obviously, you know, the last few years
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Nebraska's, you know, struggled a little bit with kicking, but it's had a pretty strong, you know, tradition like Alex Henry and, and some of those guys, like, did you kind of
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grow up like watching those guys at all? Were you like, would just say you were a Nebraska
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football fan? Or just you kind of picked up the game like later in life? Oh, yeah, I grew up. I grew up a Husker fan, for sure. I mean, I've been going to games for
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four years, my grandpa's had season tickets since for almost probably almost four years now
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And I think just I mean, back then when I was a little kid, I would not watch
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kickers as closely as I do now, just because I wasn't one back then. Now I'm certainly
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in a game, I watch them, watch them closely. But back then, I mean, yes, I'm from the likes of
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Drew Brown to Barrett Pickering or Connor Culp, you know, I mean, I was I was always watching
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watching the guys for sure. And, and, yeah, I mean, now it turns out, my, my junior year
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my, my holder was Colby Brown, and he's the son of Chris Brown, who's obviously a Husker legend
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and I think what 12 year career in the NFL. So I mean, I got the chance to work with him
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throughout my career. And that's an insane resource to have as a high school kid in Omaha
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So just I'm very fortunate to have him and that that whole family's great. And I mean, just
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yeah, it's just, just special. So I kind of want to go off the grid a little bit here and kind of shift gears. Who's your
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favorite NFL team? Who are you root for on Sundays, if anybody
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I'm a Packers fan. Obviously, we had a tough end of the year and didn't make the playoffs
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but we won't talk about that. Who's your favorite player? Oh, Aaron Rodgers. Easy, but I mean, I don't know if that's, I don't know his future there
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I mean, he's definitely had a good run. I mean, there's no complaints about that. I'm a Patriots
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fan. So I witnessed the Tom Brady run and now I'm kind of witnessing a Mac Jones run sort of
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but it's not going so hard. So we'll see. But Chris, you got anything else you want to ask him
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Well, hey, I'm glad you're a Packers fan. I'm a Packers fan too. So hopefully, you know, you can
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emulate Mason Crosby most of his career anyway. He's been a pretty good, pretty good kicker over
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the years. I don't know. We'll see. I did have another question, but I got kind of distracted
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there. But I guess one thing here I wanted to ask you, you know, as with a lot of out-of-state
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recruits and obviously, you know, you're an in-state recruit in Nebraska, you know, and Nebraska is obviously a little bit different, you know, than other places. So how do you kind of
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you know, tell the newer kids about Nebraska or like, you know, what they need to know about
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Nebraska, like places to eat or like things to do or what about, you know, what about Nebraska is
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like interesting that you try to tell these guys about, if anything? Well, I mean, growing up in
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Omaha, I mean, that's the biggest city in the state. But everyone who, like whenever you go
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to a state or everyone that comes here, it's like, well, what is there to do here? Well, I tell them
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let's sneak up to the CWS, which is a huge attraction. And even if you don't like baseball
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like, I mean, it's a great environment. And just, I mean, it's just, it's cool to see that. And then
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we got Henry Doorly Zoo. And then obviously, like the sports here are huge. I mean, you got
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minor league soccer and baseball teams, obviously, you got Nebraska, and then you got Creighton and
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UNO. I mean, there's just a lot of things to do here. And then in Lincoln, I mean, I feel like a
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lot of people think it's just some small town with a school, but I really, I think it's more
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than that. Haymarket's just such a cool area. And it's just a great community that's growing
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And there's a lot of things to do and food's great. And yeah, I mean, I just, I think it's
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more than just a school, you know. There's a ton of in-state talent coming up in 2024
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Caleb Benning, David Hall, Pi from, you know, those guys, like, have you reached out to them
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at all? Are you connected with them in any way? Or do you know of them? Like, do you have any
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advice for them? Yeah, I mean, I've been talking to some of the, some recruits. I mean, obviously
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all the guys at Westside are my teammates. So, I'm trying to work them as much and trying to
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promote them to some of the Nebraska coaches as much as I can. And then, you know, I think just
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I'll say when I was going through the process and any commit or any player at one of those schools
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would reach out to me, I think it meant a lot. So, I think me being able to do that for
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some of the recruits going through the process, I think that would help them out. And I think
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they'd appreciate it because I know I would for sure. And so, yeah, definitely going to keep
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recruiting for us. I know we have a great class in the 23 and got to start working on 24s and 25s
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for sure. There's a lot of talent coming up for sure. So, I'm going to be excited to see who
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you know, the program can land from in-state. Oh man, yeah. There's so much talent around
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the whole state and those classes. I mean, the amount of youth we got, it's just a
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just a pack of talents and phenomenal. And especially at Westside too, man
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we got a lot of guys that can play. And so, we got to lock those guys up and keep them at home
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I wanted to ask you, how cool is Coach Ed Foley? He seems pretty cool from his Twitter
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interactions, like a cool guy to hang out with. How have you got to interact with him a whole lot
20:57
Man, Coach Foley's awesome. I think it's funny. Obviously, he's a commit too. And one of my
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teammates, Jalen Lloyd, he was just like, man, Tristan, you're a kicker, but you might be one of
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the luckiest guys you get to work with Coach Foley every day because he's just such a cool guy. And I
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mean, he's right. Coach Foley's awesome. I mean, he knows he's been doing this for a while. So
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he just knows everything about every place and can work up a conversation about just
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any school or anything you want to talk about. He's just a great talker and just, I don't know
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you just feel really comfortable talking to him. And I mean, just overall a great guy
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I know you've only got to work with him for a couple of months, but what have you learned
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from Coach Foley? Is there anything that he's really taught you that's really stuck out so far
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I just think he's a really genuine guy. He's a big player's first guy. So, he's always going to
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work with you and just make sure you're taken care of over himself, honestly, at some points
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I haven't got the chance to work with him yet in a coaching setting, so I'm excited for that
22:18
opportunity. But just talking with him in person or over the phone, when he's been recruiting me
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or up at Westside or whatever, or even over for dinner that one time he was over, I think he's
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just a great guy. Yeah, he can really talk to anyone. I wanted to ask you, you know, kickers
22:36
everybody focuses on the PATs and the field goals and stuff, which are obviously important. But
22:40
another thing is being kind of a kickoff specialist and handling those kind of duties. And that can
22:46
be important for field position and that type of stuff, too. So, how do you kind of train
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yourself for that as a kicker? And how would you kind of evaluate yourself as a kickoff specialist
22:58
Obviously, it's either for sure field goals and kickoffs are two different things. But I think
23:03
just, I mean, in high school, I know that me being able to start with me being able to hit
23:11
a touchback and make my defense start at the other team's 20, I mean, that's huge. Like knowing
23:20
that every opposing offense has to go 80 yards to score touchdown, like that's a big deal. And
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especially in high school football, like that's tough. In college, same way, going 75 yards. I
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mean, that's, I just, it's important. And I think it's underappreciated. And I think the defense
23:36
really helps, I think it really helps out the defense. I think they really appreciate it. And
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yeah, and then just, I think it all starts with, you know, putting points on the board and, you
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know, whether it's a touchdown field goal or whatever, you know, just getting those points
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And then you got to, as a kicker, if you hit a field goal, you got to come back, come back right
23:57
around and hit a kickoff and set your defense up for success. And that starts by hitting touchbacks
24:03
for sure. Complimentary football, man. We need more of that at Nebraska in the future
24:10
Yes, sir. Absolutely. Well, all right, Tristan, well, I think we'll wrap it up there. I really want to thank you again
24:16
for joining us today. And then I guess before you go, is there anything else you want to add or
24:21
anything you want to say to all the Nebraska football fans out there? I don't got much
24:26
just go big red, go big red works. Yeah, that's perfect, man. And for everybody out there
24:32
make sure you guys, you know, get into the comment section, you know, like this video and
24:36
hit that subscribe button to the Husker big red YouTube channel. And we will see you guys around
24:40
Thanks again to Tristan. We can't wait to see you hitting some field goals at a Memorial stadium in
24:44
the future. So as always go big red, go big red, sir
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