Indiana University Athletics
Selected Cam Cameron quotes from today's press conference:
8/31/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
On being disappointed with this past Friday's scrimmage: "Well, the game of football is meant to be played fast. One of the contributing factors to the lack of the speed that I saw in that scrimmage - and I went into the stands to watch it - was the fact that we took our starters out for the most part, the guys who we know are going to be starting, and played the young guys. I think young players have a tendency to go out while they're learning, and they are in that phase where they are thinking too much, and they've got to understand that they've got to turn this thing loose. You've got to turn it loose and you're going to make some mistakes. If you make some mistakes, make them going full speed and 100 miles an hour. We don't want our guys, at any point in time, to be playing tentative and thinking too much. Football is too physical a game to be caught thinking. You've got to learn to go full speed and then learn to think full speed. I think we got our point across to them."
On one unit being ahead of another: "Well, I think, it's been a pretty even match. One day the defense would get the better of the offense. I think the fact that we have some veteran linemen coming back on offense they were able to regroup and get that turned around. It was really back and forth most of the time through training camp. I thought, for the most part, guys really pushed each other and really competed against one another and were trying to do everything they could to make sure that the other side of the ball continued to get better. It was back and forth.
On junior college wide receiver Jerry Dorsey: "It's an adjustment for anyone, whether you come from high school or whether you come from junior college. He's going through the same adjustments most guys go through when they step up to another level. He will go into this game as our starting split end assuming nothing happens this week during practice. Really, we just expect him to give us everything he can whether it's in the running game when he's asked to block or whether it's catching the football in the passing game. My expectations for him are to contribute to the best of his ability and what that is yet I don't think we necessarily know."
On the cornerback situation: "We're just looking for some people to go out there, turn it loose and play aggressively. Right now you've got Sharrod Wallace and Maurice Tucker with Curtis Randle El, O.J. Spencer and Michael Hanley. Right now we're looking for the guys who can go out there and play within the scheme that we are asking them to play and to play with a little more consistency than we've had in the past. Our corner play has inconsistent. We're not in a position to play as much man coverage as we would like...that's fine because most other teams are in that same position. We're continually looking for guys who can cover a guy man-to-man. As the season goes along, you'd think guys like Maurice and Sharrod, guys who are both sophomores, will get better every snap they play. Curtis and O.J. are the two more experienced guys. They bring something to that group. Michael Hanley is just a guy we're going to have to bring along. Whether Ron Bethel will fit in at corner or safety or Narlin Clancy will fit into one of those two spots will remain to be seen. We've got three or four guys, maybe even five, who we can rotate through there. Last year we pretty much had two and at the most three."
On playing true freshmen: "The freshmen that I would say, assuming nothing happens injury-wise this week in practice, that will play for sure will be Kris Dielman. He will have to play at tight end. Just because Osika and Brandt are both banged up and one play away from being out. He's going to have to be ready and continue to get ready throughout the course of the year. The other guy is Jeremi Johnson who, because Spear has been out over a week, has gotten better every day and he's a guy who is going to have to play for us some at fullback. At tailback, A.C. Carter and, if Brian Lewis can get healthy, I would see both of those guys playing. The freshmen receivers we would like to redshirt all three of those guys and that's really going to be determined by how well the older guys play and whether or not they can stay healthy. Otherwise, they are talented enough to play as freshmen. We'd prefer not to have to play those guys. On defense, the two guys would be Gonzalez and Hanley. The first few games will tell a lot but I just don't see how we can keep them off of the field. They've both done some good things early and they are both in our two-deep on special teams."
On Saturday's opponent Ball State: "You have to game plan for whomever you are playing. You have to also be ready for some of the unknowns. You just go back last year when Ohio University goes down to North Carolina State and basically has the game won and let it got away and North Carolina State went on to beat Florida State. Miami (Ohio) went down and beat North Carolina last year. Obviously we're trying to get better in every phase but we have to prepare for Ball State and not look anywhere beyond Ball State. We've seen them and we have a lot of respect for some of the areas they improved in late in the season. Any time you play a team that has 13 seniors you had better be ready to play."
