Indiana University Athletics
Quotes from Cam Cameron's Weekly Press Conference
10/31/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Bloomington, Ind. -- Cam Cameron addresses the media each Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. to discuss the previous week's game and the upcoming games for the Hoosiers.
Head Coach Cam Cameron's opening statements:
"Well, going back to the Penn State game, I think the tape showed exactly what we thought. You get an opportunity like that in the second half and we don't take advantage of that, number one. Secondly, you get down in there 1st and 10 on the 13 and you know you need to score; we had a couple opportunities and didn't execute. We wound up kicking a field goal and tying the ball game and then Penn State does a nice job of going down and putting themselves in a position with no timeouts to kick a field goal.
Yet, we can't lose focus on what we've got to get done this week because Illinois is obviously very good. They play very well at home. Their record is in no way indicative of the type of football team that they are. They've had some injuries on defense, but have managed to replace those guys and continue to play very well. They keep you off balance with their kicking game. Offensively, they're as dangerous as anyone in the league. Our team is very aware that Kurt Kittner had a game that was very uncharacteristic of him against Michigan State. We have the opportunity to win the ball game. We're going against an excellent Illinois football team. We've got a lot of preparation to get done this week."
On similarities between Indiana and Illinois football coming up on the Nov. 4 matchup:
"They've had a lot of close ball games and we've got three ball games that were extremely close where if you make a play here or make a play there and take advantage of an opportunity, you're looking at a completely different set of circumstances. I think they're in the same position. I think this becomes the next opportunity for both of our ball clubs, which is to go in and win, play as well as we can possibly play, and make the plays that need to be made. That's what the ball game will come down to."
On approaching playoff time and finishing with a winning season:
"We've still got three games to play, no matter how you look at it. It's not a one-game season. Yet, it is from a goal standpoint and one of our goals would be to play in post-season. This game gets you one step closer to that. That's why we're not focusing on three games. We're focusing on one game. A lot of football to be played this season."
On Indiana wide receiver Jerry Dorsey and whether his role has diminished or not:
"Well, people have done a better job of taking him away and he had a couple of opportunities in the Penn State game and one of them was intercepted and the second was a pass thrown a bit behind him. I think it's just one of those cases where he did some things early in the year and now opponents are focusing on taking him out of the picture and now that has opened up obviously, Versie Gaddis, in the past few weeks. And, we'd like to think that over the course of the season, that that will balance itself out a little bit."
On health status of Sharrod Wallace:
"We'll find out in the next couple of days. He improved significantly from Sunday to yesterday. I'm sure he'll practice to some degree today, but we probably won't know until the end of the week."
On opinion of the RCA Dome play and thoughts on future play in Indianapolis:
"From a fan standpoint, I've received a lot of positive responses. Obviously, you can't please everyone. With the attendance figure what it was and the exciting playing environment that was created, I know that our players certainly enjoyed the atmosphere. But, in no way are we looking to Indianapolis to play a bunch of football games. We want to bring more fans into Bloomington."
On whether or not the Purdue/IU Bucket match will be moved to Indianapolis:
"That has been brought up numerous times over the years, but it's hard to convince schools to move their home games to other locations. No matter where we play, the games are sold out. It just remains a debate in the air, but it has been mentioned. I do know that."
On the size of the Illinois line:
"They're the biggest line in the league. If they're that big in August, you can imagine how big they are now. It's a big group. They're big, they're physical. They played very well in the Michigan State game. I think they average 310 pounds across the board, so it's a big group."
On Randle El in the numbers and what makes him a unique player:
"Well, he has great ability, but I think we've all been around a lot of players with great ability that don't do as well as they are capable. This guy, I think he's extremely tough. I think he's gets beat up and knocked around and finds a way to stay in there. He's an extremely hard worker who comes to every practice going 100 miles per hour. So, I think that separates him from a lot of players that I've been around who have ability.
Without question he is as much a leader as he is a performer. I made the comment when we were recruiting him, in just observing him in certain settings as you would in an official visit, that he has the most natural leadership ability of anybody I've seen at his age. And, he just continues to get better and better everyday."
On how Cameron feels that Illinois will attempt to neutralize Randle El:
"Most people, because they don't see our attack that often, still play their base defense. They may adjust something in their secondary, but I think most people will be reluctant to just come in with some magic defense to try to stop any one person. Obviously, that person becomes a point of emphasis, but I think it becomes a point of emphasis within the defensive structure that's being played and that's what we have seen with people flying around, knocking him around, trying to hit him. Like I mentioned earlier, there is no magic defense to stop him because he's an unselfish player. He'll give it to the tailback if he needs to, or the fullback if he needs to, and throw it to someone else if he has to. If you take everybody else away, obviously, he's going to try to create some things, which he has done numerous times."
On any frustration in the season:
"I think if you get to that point and you start feeling frustrated, that's going to carry over to everyone else in the program. So, I guess frustration is not a good tone at least for how we'll approach things because frustration won't help us beat Illinois or get our team ready to play. We've missed opportunities, there's no question about it, but we have to focus on the team that we have to play. I just know that we're disappointed about the Penn State loss, we're disappointed for our seniors who won't have the chance to beat them again. But, you can't let frustration get the best of you. If you do, you don't give yourself a chance. You are who you are. Obviously, this year has been an emotional year and we've been through a lot of adversity. You deal with it. There are a lot of good things. If I chose to focus on the negatives, I would lose sight of all the good things that are being done. We're a few plays away from the perception being that we'd be a very good football team. And, we're still the same coaching staff, same guys and that's why we've got to find a way this week to zero in on Illinois and go to Champaign and win a ball game."
On struggles in defense throughout the year and what problems have been addressed:
"Early in the year, we were just giving up big plays because we've played well in stretches. We've got a young secondary. But, we've played good defense at times and we're getting better. We did some good things against Penn State, made some personnel changes, and just played more and more people. There's some young people in there who are just getting better and better. We've just got to take another step in the right direction."
On Randle El and his future in the NFL in talking with Coach Cameron:
"Well, obviously, you talk with all of your players about what their goals and aspirations and every guy that comes into your office wants to play in the National Football League. We've just tried to convince our guys that if that is a goal of theirs, they need to focus on how they do at Indiana. The guys that do that tend to play at a higher level and tend to give themselves that opportunity so that's the approach we take with Antwaan."
On the play of Marcus Floyd:
"Marcus has had a heck of a year for us, especially in the kicking game. He's guy, as you know, who is a tailback and then moved over to a secondary, hasn't played a lot of corner, but is getting more and more comfortable and has had a real impact in our kicking game. He's still got some areas that he can improve on in defense. And, I think he'll do that. He's got another year left. He's turned out to be a good football player."
On who will punt against Illinois:
"We're going to use all three of our guys: Randle El, Payne, and Hamre. All three guys do certain things well and Ryan, I really believe, as he learns and matures in his approach, he will be an excellent punter. That's why we want to play him this year and give him some experience. He's got a bright future, but at the same time, we need to have a couple other guys ready."
On lineup changes:
"I can't think of any changes that we would make. We've still got three days of practice and Joslin Goodman, we're trying to get him back for the Wisconsin game."
On Cameron's wife and newborn baby:
"Thanks for asking. Everybody's doing good. We got home from the hospital last night. Interesting day Saturday. Kind of emotional extremes."
On Dominique Smith and his play:
"He did some good things Saturday night. He's done some good things, but you could really feel him out there against Penn State. We need him to continue to play that way. Again, he's a junior college guy who comes here with three years of eligibility so he's going to keep getting better."
On the play of Brandonn Baker against Penn State:
"He's like all young guys where you have to be patient, but you can see that he shows up out there, you can really feel him out there. We hope to get a good week of practice in with him. He did some awfully good things in that ball game."
On Kris Dielman playing more:
"We've moved him due to injuries. We've basically moved Dielman back to tight end full-time. We've got a good defensive line. He did get banged up a bit against Penn State, but we anticipate him playing."
