Indiana University Athletics
Football Scrimmages at FCA Camp
8/23/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
August 23, 2000
Indiana Scrimmages at FCA Camp; Team to Arrive Back in Bloomington on Sunday.
Bloomington, Ind. -- The Indiana University football squad, which has been at training camp at the FCA National Headquarters near Marshall, Ind., since Wednesday evening, August 16, scrimmaged from 5:30-6:15 p.m. EST today in temperatures that approached 90 degrees. Thursday's practice will include primarily special teams drills and various walk-throughs and the team is schedule to return to Bloomington on Sunday evening.
Head coach Cam Cameron today announced that junior safety Greg Yeldell has been released from the team for violation of team rules. He has also been released from his scholarship.
Today's first-team units were as follows:
Offense: QB Antwaan Randle El/Tommy Jones; FB Jeremi Johnson/De'Wayne Hogan; TB Levron Williams; WRs Versie Gaddis and Henry Frazier; TE Bobby Brandt; LT A.C. Myler; LG Jamarkus Gorman; C Craig Osika; RG Sione Ohuafi; RT Enoch DeMar.
Defense: DEs Kemp Rasmussen and Derek Barnett; DTs Paul Mandina and Kris Dielman; LBs Justin Smith, Devin Schaffer, Scott Genord; Safeties Ron Bethel, Johnny Anderson; CBs Sharrod Wallace, Orlando Spencer.
Today's injury report was as follows:
DE Stephen Anthony - dehydration (day-to-day)
LB Robert Brown - hamstring (day-to-day)
WR Jerry Dorsey - shoulder (day-to-day)
LB Herman Fowler - broken finger (day-to-day)
LB Joslin Goodman - intestinal virus (day-to-day)
LB Shane Moat - knee (is currently being evaluated)
DT Stephen Williams - ankle (day-to-day)
Notes:
True freshman Herana-Daze Hones has been moved from tailback to safety
CAM CAMERON AT MARSHALL
Cameron on his decision to hold training camp at the FCA National Headquarters in Marshall, Ind.
"One, we wanted to go off-campus, just having talked to some coaches around the country about it. Dick Tomey at Arizona had done if for years. Gary Barnett, when he was at Northwestern, thought it was really good. Barry Alvarez up at Wisconsin had really felt it's been a benefit to them. And then having done it the National Football League every year, you're aware that there are some
real benefits in getting away, especially with the distractions that can be found on college campuses. So, we knew that.
"Secondly was where? We looked at Culver Military, Vincennes junior college, and there are a lot of good places, but Dr. George Rapp in Indianapolis mentioned the FCA Camp, and I didn't realize they
had upgraded the facilities. I went here from my seventh grade year through my senior year of high school, then was a counselor here my freshman year of college at the FCA basketball camp. One of my first experiences here was listening to Kent Benson speak, right over there (at the camp's open-air pavilion). "When I came here to the first time as a camper, there was only the pavilion and these fields. There was no gym. They didn't have the cafeteria - basically, when I came here to camp, you cooked over an open fire. So when I drove back up here and saw the changes, I was really surprised.''
"The night life's not real alluring. We're not real concerned about that right now.
"We've got more field space (for practice). We've got their undivided attention. We've got proximity. Everything's close at hand. We dress right here, shower here eat right over there, sleep there - and
that helps us give these guys the opportunity to maximize their time.
They're not going to and from dorms. It really makes us a lot more efficient.
"It's the teaching experience, with the way we have it set up. We go three-a-days. That's one thing about Marshall that's unique. In Bloomington, we're either two-a-days or one-a-day. We have a
three-a-day schedule, with three practices and three meeting times, and then are also able to spend a lot of time on non-foot ball issues.
"There are so many different issues you have to deal with, with kids today, and this gives us an opportunity to get their undivided attention and talk about those things. Whether it's academics, or social issues, or any of those things - we get it done here.
"They're in bunk beds (in the barracks). I think all those things just bring you closer together. You get to know each other better. "The other night, we had every guy on the team pair up with somebody else
on the other side of the ball, offense with defense. And then we broke down in groups and each guy had to tell the other guy's story. They had to tell the rest of the team about that guy. It can be amazing,
with 105 guys, how little they know about one another. "We want to create an atmosphere where guys understand that this is four years of real worth - this will be the most enjoyable and influential four
years of their lives. And a big part of that is getting to know each other.
"The other thing is that our staff does a great job. We move our weight room up here. Robert Black has to move our training room up here. Marty Clark moves our equipment room up here. Our staff does a tremendous job. Our managers. All our trainers. It takes a program effort. It's not just the coaches and players. It's every body.
"I think it helps. You can maximize your time. You have four practice fields instead of two. You can get more done. When you can minimize the time you spend traveling to and from dorms, it helps. There is no question about it. So staying a little longer is a benefit.
On what the players do in their "free time":
"There is a rumor that some guys caught some fish. We gave them the day off Sunday and a bunch of guys went fishing. And if they REALLY want to do something exciting, they go weightlift ing. "No,
really, I asked them, 'What do you guys DO?' And they said, 'We just chill.' Whatever that means."
"It's gone well. Our guys are giving great effort. I think we're like most teams around the country in that after the first, oh, five or six practices, we've accumulated some bumps and bruises, but we
haven't sustained anything signifcant from an injury standpoint.
On camp to this point:
"We're still in the process of just evaluating personnel. There are some guys, defensively, that we have to continue to look at. And we're still evaluating some areas of our kicking game. But, for the
most part, it's gone extremely well
"We're undecided who our punter will be. There are four guys competing for it. Andy Payne could very well be our punter. Tyson Picken could be our punter. He's had some good days here. Ryan Hamre has had some kind of hot-and-cold days, but he definitely has the talent. Greg Blazak has had a couple of really nice days. So when we get back to Bloomington, we'll start to zero in on a couple of guys as our punter. As you know, that's extremely important. "If we had to play today, it would be Andy Payne. You like the notion of having a veteran guy out there for that first game. That's what we would do - or Antwaan. If we had to play a game today, Antwaan and Andy Payne would be our punters, and they're both pretty darned good.
"Adam Braucher has really improved, and just needs to get more consistent, in terms of kicking the ball off. I think he's really going to be able to help us this year. He's really gotten better. He's
a redshirt freshman from Florida.
"Our returners will be pretty much the same.
"All our defensive linemen are playing the best they've played. Kris Dielman is going to help us. Mandina, Barnett, Tony Brown - and Dominique Smith has really improved. Sean Nelson is out. "Our
linebackers are the one position where we're banged up right now.
We've had some guys miss some action - nothing sea son-ending, though. Smith and Schaffer have been healthy. Joslin Goodman, our middle-linebacker, has been out with an intestinal infection.
"In the secondary, at safety, Johnny Anderson has played well. Gonzalez and Bethel are doing some good things. Our corner positions are still up for grabs. We have A.C. Carter over there, now,
and he made a heck of a play this morning with an interception.
"Offensively, Aaron Halterman has moved up the depth chart to go with Bobbt Brandt (at tight end). Both those guys are doing a good job. We don't know who our third would be. "Our receivers are a
little bit banged up, but Versie Gaddis has done some good things. He and Henry Frazier. Jerry Dorsey is a bit banged up, with a shoulder injury, but I think he'll be back here in the next couple of days.
"The running backs are pretty much the same. Those guys are doing a good job. Our fullbacks are really playing well. The tailbacks are doing good things. Brian Lewis - we have to keep Brian healthy, but we all saw he was a talent a year ago. He's done some good things.
"The scrimmage this afternoon will be our first glimpse of actual game-type situations, and then we'll have another scrimmage Saturday.
"We've moved Enoch DeMar over to right tackle. And we have some really good competition going on at the guard spots between Anthony Oakley, Sione Ohuafi and Jamarkus Gorman. Those guys are doing a real nice job of competing there, and Sione is doing a nice job at center (backing up Craig Osika), too. "Osika is a little banged up right now, but is still getting better every day. He's just such a conscientious guy. He gets a little bit better every day."
On the pace of camp:
"I think we all (need to pick it up). This is the grind part of it. You want it to be. Every guy right now is a little tired, and bumped and bruised. And every single guy needs to pick it up, at this point,
and fight through it.
On the true freshmen:
"There are at least four or five (freshmen) who are going to be real nice additions, but as soon as you say that, they read it and . . . but, yeah, there are some guys in this class, no question, who have
the opportunity to help us. "You really have to wait until they get into that first week of school. Sometimes after a week of school, you look and say, 'Is that the same guy?' Because they have to start going to class every day, and maybe school is a bit tougher than they thought it would be. That can really do things to those freshmen, and you don't want to have to count on too many of those guys.
On the offensive line:
"I would say that we have the talent in our offensive line, butthat our entire offensive line has to pick it up, as a unit. They haveto, those guys. But it is a talented group.
On the defense:
"We had a drill last night where we had three areas of competition - wide receivers versus the defensive backs, offensive line versus defensive line and running backs versus linebackers - and the
defense won all three.
On the dismissal of Greg Yeldell:
"Greg Yeldell has been dismissed for a violation of team rules. Period. He's been released (from his scholarship). Every team and every organization has rules to follow. If you violate those rules, sometimes you have to dismiss someone, and that's what we did. (Was it related to the stuff that happened in the spring?). "We're keeping it in the program. He's been dismissed. Now, he's released and he'll transfer. We wish Greg the best. I think we all know he's a physical talent. And I mean this sincerely: I hope where ever he winds up going, he gets things squared away and goes on to do well.
