Indiana University Athletics
Cam Cameron Quotebook
11/16/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
Cam Cameron Quotebook
Cam Cameron quotes prior to the Purdue game
Opening Statement: "Well, obviously this is an exciting week for all of us. I think the fact that the game is sold out. I think our guys are excited for this game. Obviously, Purdue is a very good football team. We?ve taken, going into this game, the positives from last week?s game and obviously we were very disappointed at the end. We practiced yesterday and our guys are regrouped and ready to play. This becomes a great opportunity for us to go against a very good football team."
On Purdue quarterback Drew Brees: "Well, he?s obviously a great competitor. He has a very good grasp of the offense and what they want to do with the football. I?m just extremely impressed as I watch him play as I?m sure, and what I?ve read, everyone else is when they play against him. (Minnesota?s) Glen Mason mentioned that. He felt that was the difference in their ballgame, the fact that he made play after play. Good quarterbacks do that."
On not having an opportunity to go to a bowl game detracting from Saturday?s game: "The only thing that is taken away is our opportunity to win six football games. Other than that, there is no difference. One thing I?ve told you about this football team is that we are young in some areas, we are short in some areas, but none of the problems, in my mind, has been from a lack of effort or from a lack of character in these guys. I think they are looking at it as a great opportunity to go out and play. The veterans guys have an opportunity to finish on a positive note and the young guys have another opportunity to get better and continue to improve because there are a lot of guys on this football team who are going to play a lot of football these next two, three, and four years."
On what he would do differently in preparation this year vs. Purdue: "We just have to continue to prepare. Last year we gave up some things in the kicking game field-position wise and, really, gave up some big plays. We?ve just got to make sure on focusing on continuing to improve, especially offensively. As you go back and look at the entire year, we?ve had so many missed opportunities. Even though we?ve scored as many points as have been scored around here in awhile, we?ve still missed on too many opportunities. If you get opportunities in this game you?re going to have to take advantage of it. Defensively, you are going to have to keep your poise. You?re going to have to be patient at times. They do an excellent job just executing throwing and catching. You?re going to be have to be careful you don?t overreact to things. With Sutherland and their return guys they are dangerous in the kicking game. You have to be sharp in all three phases in this ballgame."
On the play of the secondary: "You?re talking about just continually showing the things that were good for us last week and continue to challenge guys to improve. It?s simple from a philosophy standpoint how you approach it. Now, getting a guy out to do it and believe it is another. We?ll just try to get guys to go out there and play with great confidence. I felt like Sharrod (Wallace) did some good things but it didn?t look like early in the game he was playing with a lot of confidence. We challenged him a little bit and he responded with an interception, a tipped ball, a pass break-up. He did some good things but we?re going to need to get that out of more than one guy. We?re going to need to get that out of five, six, seven, eight, guys in the secondary."
On Purdue in general: "I?ve been impressed with them the last couple of years especially with their offensive line. You?ve gotta be careful because they run a quarterback keep with the guard pulling who leads. They run a quarterback draw. They run a lead zone play out of the one back. They can beat you in a number of ways. You have to contain the running game because once they get running the football on you their bootleg, their naked-game, complements that extremely well. You?re going to have to do some things to stop the run. And they are clever. They pick and choose when they want to run so we?re going to have to do an awfully good job. They?ve added a few things in the secondary with some coverages and they have some movement in the front. They?ve done a great job this year causing turnovers. I think they?ve caused 24 or so turnovers. If you turn the football over against these guys you?re really going to be in trouble as you will against anyone. They hustle to the ball. They are young on defense. They?re a relatively young defense. They play hard and that will be a challenge for us."
On participating in the Old Oaken Bucket game as a player: "Well, it?s not any different. It?s a great rivalry. Once you?ve held the bucket, and spent time looking at the links that are on the bucket, and the years and the tradition. That?s when it really takes on a lot of meaning. It?s great to be a part of it. Obviously, a team that wins this ballgame should enjoy it because it?s an awfully big deal. If you are around Lee Corso you have to understand that he talked about the bucket every single day of the year. He had a watch with the bucket on it. These guys will tell you. I think those are the memories I have. Then, when you have it, he may have had it in the trunk of his car. When we had it, it was everywhere. I give him a lot of credit. He made it fun and it had a lot of meaning to it. He would ask you in the middle of the summer, ?What did you do to beat Purdue today.?"
