Indiana University Athletics
Cam Cameron Quotebook
10/5/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
Cam Cameron Quotebook Quotes from Cam Cameron's press conference on Tuesday prior to the Northwestern game:
Opening statement: "Well, obviously we were very fortunate to win the football game against Illinois. We've been in enough of those games the past two years and it is nice to come out on the other end of one of them. I think the credit goes to our football team hanging in there defensively. We had a shutout in the fourth quarter. I think most teams around the country talk about winning the fourth quarter. If you win the fourth quarter you have a chance to win most of your ball games. We were able to shut them out and we were able to score twice to get them to overtime. At that point, anything can happen. We're obviously very fortunate. A lot of young guys learned an awful lot. Now we've got to put that game behind us and get ready for Northwestern because I've always had a great deal of respect for what Randy (Walker) has been able to do at Miami (Ohio) and some of the teams that they've been able to take into North Carolina and Virginia Tech and beat highly-ranked teams. They'll come in here well prepared, they'll be highly motivated and ready to play. They're a little more experienced team than we are. They start twice as many seniors as we do and we've got to be ready for that. Other than turning the football over against Minnesota - and Minnesota, I guess is ranked in the top 25 now - turning the football over six times were really in the ball game despite the fact they were turning the football over. We've got to get this Illinois game behind us, which we've done, and get ready for a Northwestern club which will come in here ready to play."
Cameron on sustaining momentum: "Our focus from this point on is today's practice. We're not going to jump ahead to Saturday's outcome. There will be a real indication of how our team's approaching this week's game after the Illinois win depending on how we practice today. So, to give us a chance to win on Saturday we have to start out with a good week of practice. That's what we're going to worry about today. After today we'll worry about Wednesday. Saturday we've got to play as well as we can possibly play."
Cameron on the Northwestern quarterback situation: "(Notre Dame transfer Zak Kustok who became eligible last week and saw his first action vs. Minnesota) did some awfully good things in the (Minnesota) game. They're going to have to have both guys ready. (Nick) Kreinbrink is a kid we knew about in recruiting while he was in high school. Kustok we don't know a lot about him except what we've seen on film. If they didn't think he'd play well they probably wouldn't have played him (against Minnesota), especially to the extent that they did play him. He does some things awfully well both throwing and running and he hasn't played much so he should be a guy who should keep getting better, and better, and better. The good news for us is that we've already gone against some really good quarterbacks this year and we're going to go against some really good quarterback throughout this season. It will be interesting to see how well this kid we'll play. We anticipated he'd been named the started but he's got to make it through a week of practice healthy. We've got to be ready for both guys."
Cameron on injuries along the offensive line: "Like most offensive lines those guys are getting nicked and banged up and are having to shuffle guys around. We'll see how (center) Chad Miller is in practice this week. He didn't play at all in the game on Saturday. Matt Snyder played. Our initial thinking will be that Snyder will be the center. (Sophomore right guard) Jamarkus Gorman has a banged up shoulder but he's going to practice this week and if he practices well we'll assume he'll play. We've just got to continue developing the rest of the guys - (junior James) Broyles. Enoch played and he'll be fine. He's a tough kid. He likes to play and he wants to play. Six more games. Six more weeks. You've just got to find a way to get through it."
Cameron on sophomore defensive end Kemp Rasmussen: "He's just a solid player. He has a solid approach. He's a very level-headed guy and he takes a lot of pride in playing as hard as he can play every day in practice and every snap in the game. He's probably one of the most consistent players we've had. He's really not concerned about any kind of individual recognition. He just takes a lot of pride in his play and seems to be getting a little better every week. He's gotten better every single day since he's been here. He should do this throughout this season and the next two. He's always had a knack about him. He's not the biggest guy I've ever seen and he's not the fastest guy. He's just got a knack for making plays. He'll got a sack here and there and he's very disciplined. He knows his responsibilities. He doesn't try to play beyond his responsibilities and I think that's what makes him a consistent player. In the Michigan State game, he looked at the tape and he's a bright kid. Illinois does a lot of things in the quick passing game to try to help their pass protection and Michigan State batted down probably six or eight balls so he studied the film and some point at time when you know you're going to get home with the rush get your hands up. I think we batted down two or three balls. He's just that kind of a guy. He studies film and that's what makes him a pretty good player."
On the inability to play well for four quarters: "We've had a quarter, whether it's the second quarter vs. Kentucky or the third quarter against Penn State, and it was the third quarter against Illinois. We've yet this year to put together four quarters of good football. Why that's happening, we continue to address it and turnovers is a big part of that. Defensively, we're getting better but I don't think it showed up that much in this game because of the turnovers and the field position we gave Illinois. They basically scored 18 points on turnovers. But we're just trying to get a little bit better in the kicking game. I'll tell you one thing, one thing that really wasn't talked about in this game was how well the Illinois kickers performed. They kicked the ball out of the end zone almost every time. We had to go 80 yards every time we got the ball except for one turnover. Their punter averaged 47 yards a punt. We won a game in large part because Drew Hagan averaged almost 46 yards a punt and Andy Payne, when he had to, kicked the ball so they had to down the football. The other two times we were able to get enough coverage where they got the football at about their own 22 or 23-yard line. We've won the hidden yardage in two games this year (Ball State and Illinois). You don't think hidden yardage is important? Our kicking game matched their kicking game which gave us a chance. We're working on that (phase). Defensively, we have to continue to evolve. Again, we're playing all sophomores in there and they're getting better. Offensively, other than turning the football over, we've done some awfully good things. But, we're starting a true freshman fullback and we fumbled twice. Jeremi (Johnson) will learn from that. He's the kind of kid, I think, who takes a lot of pride in (playing well). I think that will be a valuable lesson for him."
On the current state of college football: "I know this, college football seems to be getting better, and better, and better, to me. I turn on the television and I look at Alabama and I wonder how Alabama can ever lose a game. You look at this league right now, and it'll be interesting to see how long it can last. Everybody seems like they are awfully good."
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Todd Starowitz, Football Media Relations Director
