Exclusive Q&A with Nebraska Football's Brice Turner

Hey, Husker fans. Welcome to the Husker Big Red YouTube channel. I'm Chris Peterson of

Husker Big Red dot com. And with me as always is my co host, Jannie Gillette of Great Corn

Jolio dot org. And we're a special edition here as we've got future Nebraska corn Husker

Bryce Turner with us. Three star recruit in the 2023 class signed with the Huskers was

the first commitment of head coach Matt Rule. So Bryce, thanks for joining us. How you doing

today? I'm doing good. Thank you all for having me. Of course, of course. So I guess I'll

start off right with my first question. What was the major selling point about Nebraska

to you? Why did you want to come up here? Oh, they had a great coaching staff. Looking

back on Coach Matt Rule's story about how he coached in the NFL and all that. I just

looked into it and it's like, I feel like I can trust them to get me to the next level

And you know, it's just a great program, great school, great fans. Everybody is just

great all around. So what was it? Evan Cooper that reached out to you originally? Yes, sir

So just how did that how did that kind of interaction go? Take us back to that, I guess

if you can. So I was in second period, just chilling, doing some work. And he just texted

me and my phone talk about do I want to come play for Nebraska? And I'm like, yes, sir

of course. He said, well, what's the latest he could sign? I'm saying like, let's do it

right now. So he calls my coach, my coach calls me out of class, they chop it up on

the phone. And before you know it, my coach is walking downstairs and Coach Cooper calls

him back and tells him to go right back upstairs and tell him to come right and come get me

and tell him that he's our ball, that he's offering me. So Coach, Coach, came and got

me right out of class. And he told me that he had offered me and that I was the Nebraska

buster. So then after that, I had posted it on social media and it just went crazy

Nebraska fans are very, very strong on social media. They have a great social media presence

So anything you post Nebraska related, we'll be sure to retweet it and like it. I can go

so far to say almost that Nebraska has one of the best Twitter fan bases. And so that's

exciting to see. And, you know, I can't imagine just being in second period in high school

just chilling. All of a sudden, all of a sudden I get a text that says, Hey, can I come play

Can you come play for Nebraska? That must have been surreal. Was it? Was it surreal

I love it. It was the best moment of my life. That's awesome. And so and so what were your

initial, you know, impressions of your visit? You know, what was the visit like in December

Oh, when I first came up there, it was, you know, it was, of course, it was very cold

But after, after that, it was just, I love the school. Everything was nice. I mean, they had

food everywhere I turned left and right. And it was like, the facilities, the locker rooms

everything was just nice. I really loved it. And just, yeah, it was a nice, cool experience

and a nice visit. I can't wait to come up there in May or June

How was it, just to kind of piggyback on that question, because people have, you know, like

their image and their mind of what Nebraska is, and then they get to Lincoln and, you know

it's sometimes a little bit different. So was it, was it, was it more kind of exciting? Or

did it kind of exceed your expectations from what you thought it would be? I was, I was really, very excited when I first seen it. Because it was like, I've never been

this far up north before in my life. So it was just a crazy experience. And I really loved it

It was a great atmosphere to be in. Was that also the first, was that the first time you got to meet

Coach Rule? Or? Yes, sir. No, actually, he came down to the school first. Then we talked it up

Yeah, that's pretty cool, man. What's Coach Rule like, just from your perspective

and your one-on-one interactions with him? He's a cool guy. Funny dude. And I like his

personality. And he's just, I mean, he's just a great coach overall. I see why a whole lot of

people like him. I can't wait for him to teach me, coach me up once I go down there. But overall

he's just a great guy and a great dude. And I'm pretty sure this whole football team in Nebraska

is just excited to have him. Absolutely. And, you know, obviously, we've heard a lot about

the new coaching staff and their enthusiasm, whether it be for the game of football or in

terms of recruiting. Was that something that stood out to you as well? Because I listened to

some of Matt Reel's press conferences and I'm ready to, you know, go play for him. I'm ready to

run through a wall for him. Is that something that translates, you know, when he's talking to you

Yes, sir. He's just, the guy is cool. You know, he makes you just want to go on the field and

just play for him immediately. It just makes you want to sign, just like that. Because

you know, you've got to trust the dude, man. He's just, he's just that guy, that dude

Love it. Chris, you got anything? You know, on the, you know, I guess one thing is, you know, recruits, obviously

you know, usually want to have an idea about like their position coach and stuff. And you were able

to sign and, you know, weren't necessarily sure, I guess, who the position coach was going to be

So was that kind of a leap of faith with you in that that wasn't kind of announced until

you know, just recently that, you know, Garrett Maguire was going to be coaching wide receivers

will you be playing? Yes, sir. I mean, yeah. I'll talk to him the other day, too. He called me the other day

We talked it up. Cool guy as well. Can't wait to see what he has in store. I just want to learn

from him immediately. Just learn from him. Is he as smart as everybody says he is? I know

you only talked to him once, but. Yeah, he's pretty smart. He's pretty cool. Yes, sir

So in terms of your skills, like, what do you think is one thing that you're really good at

Like, what is one thing that you can, you know, say if I was recruiting you, you could say to me

I'm really good at this. What would it be? Oh, burning DBs. Burning DBs, that's what I just like to do. But yeah, I know when I go to college

it's going to be a whole different level. So I'm not really trying to cocky anything. So

you know, I know it's going to be different. I know I'm just going to have to learn some more, do some more to my technique, because, you know, I'm really

I still have a lot of learning to do. So I'm not going to say that we're trying to be cocky, you know, but, you know, but that's high school level. So

I love it though. I love, I love the confidence and the enthusiasm. And Chris, do you have anything

Yeah, I was just thinking, you know, do you think that people are, you know, like scouts or recruits

just fans, whoever, sleeping a little bit, like on your receiving ability? I mean

sleeping a little bit, like on your receiving ability. I mean, there's people get caught up on your speed, but do you think that they don't appreciate just, you know, how good of a route

runner and like, you know, your ability to make plays on the ball? Do you think that's being underrated a little bit? I would say so in my opinion, but

I mean, at the end of the day, it is what it is. I can't do nothing about it, but I'm just glad

Nebraska took a chance on me and took a shot with me and just offered me that full route scout

license. So that's what I think. You know, on that same, just to build on that, you know, not that

I've never been good enough to be ranked or anything, but what is that like to see, you know

like one day you're, you know, unranked and the next day, you know, you get your three star from

24 seven sports and all the others. Just how is that, you know, how does that feel to, you know

kind of be ranked and rated like that? I mean, it feels really good to finally be ranked other

than being down talked all my life from everybody, you know, you would say I couldn't do this

couldn't do that, but when I actually got three stars, it was just a true blessing because

you know, I know that I'll be in that position, you know, because, you know, it was a tough spot

tough spot for me where I was at the time until Nebraska offered me. So when I got the three

stars, got the notification about it, I was just very excited. Matt rule has a lot of ties to Texas

as we've talked about, as everybody knows, you know, what is it like seeing him kind of bring

that Texas flair into the program in between the players that have committed and all the recruits

visiting from the state? And, you know, what is it like seeing that, you know, a Midwestern state

really kind of trying to establish a stranglehold in terms of recruiting, you know, a little bit

more in the Southwest? I mean, in my opinion, I think it's really good to recruit in Texas

because there's a whole lot of talent in Texas that gets unseen every single day

And for him to just go and recruit to do what he does, it's really cool because, you know

Texas is where it's at. You don't get no better than Texas, man. It's a great, great atmosphere. Texas high school football is one of the best in the state, in the country

You don't get no better than Texas high school football at all. What level of a ball did you play at in Texas? Was it 5A or

4A. 4A. So who are some of the best guys that you've kind of come up against? Like any talented

defensive backs or just guys that, you know, are going to be studs at the next level? Oh, probably the only one I know is probably Reuben Owens from El Campo. He's a pretty good

running back. I like how he runs the ball. And he's just, he's a good person, a great athlete

And I ain't going down talking. He's really good at what he does. He's a great athlete

He's just that guy as well. Who, you know, when you look at your own game, is there like, you know, receivers in the NFL

or like guys that you try to, you know, look or model yourself after or, you know, guys that you

kind of, you know, want to aspire to be, you know, as a player? I like Tyreek Hill because I like how he's just using his speed to just get open in the open

field and just come just burn by plenty of guys without even trying. So I think I really admire

him for his speed and just what he can do on the field. What type of routes do you like to run when you're in a game? Do you like catching the

you know, slam passes, the deeper routes? Do you like taking bubble screens? Like

what's your favorite type of play that you would like to run in a game

Oh, my favorite type of play would probably be a go-around, post-route. Just anything that I

can just beat the BB deep by because, you know, they're already going to be like trying to back

up and all that. So I'm just going to run past them because I really like those routes. And it's

just, you know, it gets the crowd going, gets the crowd active and everybody gets excited when you

see the quarterback throwing the ball deep. Oh, absolutely. And I think this Nebraska offense

will have the potential to do that. So I think you're in luck, although Big Ten defensive backs

are tough, but speed is also an important part of the game. It's something that, you know

has really been a focus. You see it in college all the time, but also in the NFL. You know

speed guys are becoming more important. So I think your style of play in particular could

definitely help you get to that next level. Chris, do you have any other questions

Yeah. So when, you know, like when Nebraska was recruiting you, obviously, what did, you know

they kind of tell you about, you know, the offensive system and how you might kind of

you know, fit into that, you know, being as this kind of a new coaching staff and

you know, that's, there isn't that kind of that previous year to draw on

like at some other schools, I guess. They told me how I would fit in, you know

because like the new, the new office coordinator, he likes to run like a whole lot of just sweeps

and all that. So he told me I'll probably fit in right there, you know, with the deep ball

because like they like to throw the ball a lot. So I'm pretty sure I'm going to fit in where, wherever they just want me to fit in. What's, you know, what's your mindset going into

you know, your first year? I mean, obviously I know it's a big jump and not to put expectations

or anything, but are you hoping to, you know, get a chance to get out on the field and make

some plays or what was kind of your mindset going into your freshman year? Oh, my mind says get up there, learn to play, but immediately, immediately as best as I can is just

hopefully get on the field as a true freshman and, you know, just try to show out what, you know

at the end of the day, you know, I know I got to work hard, do my thing, study, pass all my classes

and just stay focused, stay on the right path. That's the only thing that matters right now

because without that, I'm just nothing. Have you, have you done much like kickoff

return, like special teams work in the past? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Is that another area where, you know, Nebraska could, you know, potentially have you

you know, contributing in the future? Is that something they talked to you about? Yes, sir. Kickoff return. One of the other dudes asked me if I wanted to do part return. I'm like

I'm like, yeah, I don't know about that, because I ain't never done a part return like that

But I would, I wish I did a kickoff return about this. Do you, did you have any kickoff returns for touchdowns in high school

Oh, yes, sir. I had a couple last year, I think, and yeah, but this year

they wouldn't kick the ball to me at all. They'll kick it to me like once or twice, and you know, that'll be it. I'm like, kick the ball my way, man

They know not to do that. They know, they know they're in trouble if they kick the ball your way

Yes, sir. But so on the topic of the wide receiver room

you know, in the 2023 class, you have Malachi Coleman, Jalen Lloyd, these big time names

as well as you. Do you look at these guys as competition, or do you see it more so

as just trying to gel together as a class? I see it more as an advantage for the whole offense, for the whole team, because you know

we all need that type of speed, we need that type of people on our team just to get us to where we

need to be. So I don't really see it as competition. You know, those are my teammates, and I'm going to

compete every day if I have to compete. But at the end of the day, it's just something that's

going to help us get further and further with the football team. I was just thinking, like you mentioned, Jet Sweeps has a possibility in this offense

with a guy like you, Malachi Coleman, you know, boy, that could work out pretty well

Yes, sir. Real well. So what's, I know you still have, you know, your high school track season coming up, or like

what's next in your kind of sports schedule? What's your next, like, season or whatever

Oh, like, I have to track with them. Well, when do you, when do you like start competing in track, I guess, for high school

Oh, my first meet is February 24. And is that outdoor? Yes, sir. Outdoor, outdoor

Okay. So what's like your goal for, you know, track this season

For the 100 meter, I'm going for 10-1. 10-1, 10-0, 10-something. You know, I have, I feel like

I really feel like I can get that. And I was going to work hard and just do my thing. And

for the 200, it's a 20.5, 20.4, something like that. Because I have the ability to do that

Have you, I mean, have you ever thought about, like, could you possibly see, like, you know

potentially, you know, make it run at, like, the Olympics or whatever in the future

Yes, sir. I can most definitely do that as well. You know, I have the talent, and I have the mindset to get it done and just do it. But at the end of the day, you know

it's just, it takes hard work and just a lot of time to get where, to get there

How do you go about, you know, sorry, Danny, if you had another question, but

you know, because I've never been, you know, that fast before. How do you go about trying to get

you know, to say where, hey, I'm at a 10-3, to try to shave that down to, like, 10-1 or 10-flat

Like, how do you, how do you get those last couple tenths of a second off

Oh, me, I try to, I run the 400 to try to get stronger because, you know, it's just

just an inch of a second, and the stronger you get, the stronger you come at the blocks. And

you know, it really helps to run the 400 and just also just work on your blocks

work on your start because that start is just, it can just be like that, and you'll get the time

Just an easy 10-1 goal. No big deal, right? No, but so as far as, you know, and I guess this is

kind of like Chris's question, just piggybacking off of it. What do you do in terms of, like

nutrition and things like that to make sure your body maintains that speed? Because I've

tried to go on a couple diets and let me say they're not working out so well

Well, me, I try not to eat. I try not to eat. I try not, I ain't even gonna lie, see, I don't

even have no, nothing like that. I just eat. I just eat. So, yeah, I really just

is eat and just hoping to miss. Hopefully, I try not to eat a lot, not too heavy before

me or anything like that because I know it's gonna hurt my stomach afterwards. But I really don't have a diet or like a nutrition or something like that. I just really just eat

I have an important question though. So, since you're moving, you're gonna be in the Cornhusker

state. Are you a big fan of corn, Bryce, or not so much? Or what's the deal there

I don't really eat corn like that. I just eat it sometimes. My mama make it, but that's pretty

much it. What do you know about the, go ahead, Chris. Oh, no, nothing. Go ahead. What do you

know about the history of the program? Obviously, this is one of the blue bloods of college football

Do you know anything about the history of the program from past years or is this all kind of

new to you? It's all really much kind of new to me. It's all hitting me all at once. I'm still

learning, still trying to take it all out. It's just new to me at the moment

When did you start playing football, Bryce? I started playing football in seventh grade

Seventh grade. Have you always kind of, were you involved in track before then? Was it like

track and then football? Or how did that kind of work out? Yes, sir. It was always track

That was always football, then track. From seventh grade till now, I just never stopped doing it

Wow. Go ahead. I was just going to say, I mean, so was playing major college football

like being a Division I football player, was that kind of a lifelong goal for you? I guess not

lifelong, but is that something that you kind of first saw happening when you started playing in

middle school? Yes, sir. I always wanted to just play on TV, be on screen, and just

hopefully get a Division I offer soon. But that's happened and I'm really blessed to be able to

that's happened and I'm really blessed to have that. And it was really

a lifelong dream that just finally come true. Are you familiar with kind of the current players on the roster? Like, have you got a

chance to talk to any of them at all? Or have you asked them for any advice moving forward

No, sir. No, sir. Not yet? No, sir. Go ahead, Chris. Oh, no, I didn't have any questions about

that, I guess. So just to give people kind of a background about yourself, Bryce, what's like

do you have any, like outside of like running track and playing football and doing all that

stuff, do you have any outside hobbies? Just like any other hobby. I just stay in the house all day

lay right here in my bed. If I'm not practicing, I just try to stay in the house, try to stay away

from everybody as possible. I like to be with myself most of the time, every single day

Honestly, it's kind of encouraging that me and a D-1 football player have the same hobbies

I do stay in my bed a lot as well. No, but I think it's good because it probably helps you

stay single focused on what you want to do, right? Yes, sir. Always. Good. So what's like, obviously, is your long-term goal like hopefully to make a big splash in

Nebraska and play in the NFL someday? Is that like the big dream or? Yes, sir. That's the goal

I'm going for right now. And with Matt Ruhl, I mean, he's had kind of a lot of success taking

players to the NFL. And obviously guys, I want to say, I'm pretty sure I heard this the other day

but 70% of the guys that are drafted in the NFL participated in track. And I know Coach Ruhl puts

a really big emphasis on that, but how much did kind of his NFL background and his background

developing guys for pro football, how much did that kind of weigh in on your decision

I mean, weighed in by just letting me know that he's that true guy and he's willing to get

everybody he coaches to the next level. And just that next level is NFL. But I really just

believe in him, trusted him because, you know, anybody else come and get him, he came and got

me like he did. So. So did you see that kind of, was he like checking in on you every day or calling

you every day or was he just kind of, you know, that that relentless pursuit during your recruitment

that we've heard so much about? Yeah, I'd probably say they're relentless person because we ain't

really talking about them all. Oh, got anything for us? So what do you think about

what do you think about all of Coach Ruhl's emojis? I was talking, I was literally talking to

my coach about that like a couple weeks ago. I'm like, I think it was my coach, I don't remember

I was like, what do these, what does it mean? Like I just keep seeing it over and over and over

again. I'm like, what do these emojis mean? Cause I'm saying like, I see it today, a couple hours

in the game, the next day I see it again. I'm like, I don't get it. What's the point of like

all the emojis? It's, it's, it's fun for us as, you know, fans and writers and whatever, because

we too have to decipher these emojis and usually it means some sort of recruiting news. So it's fun

for us as well. And, you know, coming to Nebraska, one of the big things that I'm sure Chris knows

what I'm talking about is Runza, right? So have you had any Runza yet? No, no, that is

it always is. You'll find out. I'm pretty sure you'll find out. I know one of the first things

that coach Foley did when he got to Nebraska and he was out on the road recruiting was have some

Runza. So I'm sure you'll be able to find out pretty quickly what that is like. I have personally

never had it either, but I've heard great things about it. They got the best, the best fries ever

You know, that's, that's kind of their claim to fame is the fries. So make sure you, it's like

yeah, it's like kind of Nebraska chain, but check it out, man. It's, it's pretty

that's, I used to live in Nebraska. I don't anymore, but that's one of the things I miss

the most is the Runza. Yes, sir. That's awesome. So Chris, do you have anything else

Just what was your impression? You know, like when you got to see like Lincoln Memorial Stadium

Oh, when I seen that, I was like, God, that's a big stadium. Then I even got to walk inside of

them. Like I'm just looking around and it's like, just huge. It's one of the biggest stadiums I've

ever been in, but it was pretty big stadium. I really liked it. It was, it was really cool to

see it in person. And just another thing, you know, just like with, uh, from your perspective

your social media interactions or whatever, what's been your impression of the Nebraska fan base so

far? Well, I'm just, it's crazy because the moment before I committed, I had 750 followers

and the day I committed, it went to 900, 1000, 1.5. Now I'm currently at like 2000. And it was

just crazy because, you know, like I never seen people get that excited about something like that

And it was just, it was just crazy. I really liked the, I enjoyed that moment because it was

it was a crazy moment, but I really love the fans and that's what I really love about the rest of

the fans. They, I like them. They're cool. I know, I know everything is bigger in Texas and

that football is big in Texas, but Saturdays, a Saturday football game day at Nebraska

there is absolutely nothing like it. And, you know, uh, you know, it's just, it's just absolutely

crazy because I'm not from Nebraska. I live in the Northeast, but when I turn my TV on and I see

the sea of red in the stands and you know, at the games, it's absolutely nuts. I mean, I can't

imagine like when you, when you walked into the stadium, did you get chills? Uh, I did. I really

did. It was cool. Cause every time I, you know, see the stadium on the TV, I just absolutely just

a shiver goes down my spine. So what's been up to this point, like of your high school football

career, is there like a favorite moment or like a favorite play that, you know, kind of stands out

or, or something that you kind of even surprised yourself a little bit? Uh, like for mine? Yeah

Yep. Uh, probably a favorite play to stand out for me was probably when I had about three touchdowns

in one game against Leeville. That was, that was one of the best games I ever had. One of the best

moments, you know, I never thought I could do something like that, but once I did it, it was

just like, it was so surreal, so crazy. Cause you know, it was just a moment to remember and first

play of the game of our offense snagged on his head for a touchdown. It was just one of the best

one of the craziest plays ever. That's awesome. Hopefully we'll see you catch and launch a

touchdowns here at Nebraska. Yes, sir. When, when, when did you kind of realize, or when did you see

you know, scouts coming to your games or your, or your recruitment really start picking up and

you kind of, the thought kind of clicked in your head, you know, Hey, maybe I can be a D1, you

know, college football player. What was that moment? Was there anything specific that kind of

made you think that, or you kind of realized it was an achievable goal? Yes, sir. It was coming

out of my sophomore year, into my junior year, beginning, before I started football, I was like

that's when I started getting all my recognition from all the schools, from all the top schools

in the country. But you know, that's when I realized I really stayed to myself. I could

play Division One football, I had this talent to do what many people told me I couldn't do

But think about it, during my junior season, I really didn't have a good junior season at all

You know, I had some, a whole lot of mistakes, couldn't get the ball, couldn't run the ball. We

was a young team, very young team. So, I mean, I mean, not a very young team, I'm sure, but you

know, but after that, it was just like, that's when all my stuff, just all my school just went down

I started getting texts, I started getting calls, I was just, I couldn't do nothing about it, man

Have you met anybody during the, during the recruitment process? Could be with the Nebraska

you know, football program or somewhere else where you're like, wow, I, you know, you know

I've seen this coach on TV or I've, you know, seen this person before and now I have the chance to

meet him or I am meeting him? I would say, yeah, yes, sir. Can you tell us who that is or? Oh

no, you're good, you're good, man. I would say, I would say, I would say Coach Matt

Because like, I first seen him, like, that's the guy, man, that's the guy I'm just

I'm really playing for in a couple years, actually next year. Yeah

Well, yeah, I guess we're coming up about, you know, 30 minutes here, so we just wanted to

you know, give Nebraska football fans a chance to kind of get to know you, Bryce, I guess. I

don't think I have any more questions. I don't know if Danny does. Do you have any more questions

Danny? I don't. I think we had a really detailed interview, so I got to learn a lot about Bryce

It was good to finally meet you, man. I've heard a lot about you, so it's good to meet you and

we'll probably, you know, have you on again soon if you want. You're always welcome on here

and you're always welcome to talk to us whenever you want and Nebraska is definitely excited to

have you. Yes, sir. Thank you all for having me. It's just too pleasant. Thank you. Yeah

well, we can't wait to see you in your 10-2 speed at Nebraska next year, you know. Kickoff

returns and toasting cornerbacks, so I know everybody in Nebraska and the Husker, that's

the thing, too. Husker Nation extends well beyond Nebraska, as you've probably learned, so. Yes, sir

At any rate, well, we'll look to have Bryce on again in the future. Maybe we can catch up with

you, you know, during the fall or somewhere along those lines, too, see how fall practice is going

for you. But yeah, you know, everybody, make sure you guys, you know, get into the comments section

you know, hit like on this video and hit subscribe here on the Husker Big Red YouTube channel and

as always, Go Big Red! Go Big Red