Coach DiNardo's Weekly Press Conference Comments

October 7, 2002

Bloomington, Ind. -
Opening Statement: I thought the off week was good. We got some recruiting done. Monday and Tuesday we went to quite a few junior colleges. Myself, Mo and Tim (Kish) went to the high schools. That was productive. Players had Saturday and Sunday off, Monday and Tuesday off. We came back Wednesday and Thursday with Friday off. Saturday and Sunday were off and then we're back at it again today. It's been a good off week.

Q: Can you talk about Enoch a little bit and his contribution this year?

He's been good. He can certainly play better. He's playing okay. He's been a good team guy, good team leader, a good player who can play better.
Q: When you say better do you mean overall or anything specific?

Overall. I think he can play better A through Z. He can get better. He knows that, we've talked about that.

Q: Was there anything specific that you worked on in practice this week?

We took a couple situations we wanted to practice on. All of the kick game we practiced everyday. We practiced almost every phase of the kick game everyday which is unusual, you don't usually do all six phases everyday. We spent a little more time on the kick game than we usually do. There was an emphasis on speed of the game, which means we went IU against IU with no regard to game plan. One of the issues you deal with in an off week, especially with a thin roster like ours, is the tempo of the game. If you're not deep and you don't have a good scout team, it can turn into a walk through and you go out your first couple plays against Wisconsin and they're running by you because you forgot what the pace of the game is. We worked a lot IU against IU without regard to game plan. We took them out of pads. We weren't in full pads at all, except for Sunday of this week. We rested them from contact. In theory none of them were supposed to hit the ground, but we had some of that. I've always felt comfortable with the way we've handled off weeks. I've always felt like we've gotten a lot done and that we've been really smart. We've had a lot of experience with them because you have them every year. I thought it was good. We'll see what it looks like Saturday.

Q: Can you talk a little bit about Wisconsin?

Their offensive line is really outstanding. It's been ranked as high as second in the country as a unit. Ben Johnson at left tackle and Al Johnson - they're cousins and two of the better offensive linemen in the country. (Brooks) Bollinger is the winningest quarterback and most experienced quarterback in the conference and he plays like that. They are talented again at tailback. It's been - I don't know how many years in a row - with a 1,000-yard rusher at tailback. They have young receivers and my guess is Lee Evans will be back this week for us and we all know how good he is. Defensively, pretty typical of Wisconsin, very physical. (Anttaj) Hawthorne is playing extremely well. (Jason) Jefferson is as well, the two ends. (Alex) Lewis is making plays all over the field in special teams and on defense. (Jeff) Mack is their leading tackler and they have some experience in the secondary. It's a pretty typical Wisconsin team.

Q: Have you looked at the tape from last year's game against Wisconsin?

I have not looked at it, no.

Q: You weren't here for that game, but in your experience, when you come back the following year if you are on the short end of the stick like Wisconsin was is that a factor?

I don't think a solid program like Wisconsin gets involved in those sorts of things. Wisconsin's goal is to win the Big Ten this year. I don't know that they need any more motivation to play against us than that. It was two different teams. I don't know that for sure, I'm not in their clubhouse. My guess is they're way above that. I don't think Barry (Alvarez) needs to say anything about that, but you never know. Everybody approaches it differently.

Q: What advantage, if any, do you see in having extra time to prepare for this game?

I've always felt like we've done the right things in most cases in the off week. Experience tells you go lightly instead of heavy, let them get their legs back. You're going through the second half of a season, a Big Ten schedule. I would say regardless of the outcome, I think we've done the right thing during the off week. But you do get to work a little bit, especially with the advent of video and computers, you get to work a little bit more on your opponent. You get a little bit of a jump. It doesn't intensify until Tuesday but you can get a little work done.

Q: You are moving the ball better but aren't generating many points in the red zone. Did you work on that this week in practice?

Red zone was a point of emphasis going into the Central Michigan game and we wound up coming out three-for-three. We need a lot of work in the red zone and when you talk about not getting points, it's stalling in the red zone. We could certainly be a lot better. That will be one of the keys to this game because in a typical situation, if it's a close game you'll have the same opportunities as your opponent in the red zone. You'll have the same opportunities of short yardage and goal line, if it's a good game, if it's a close game. Those are usually the situations that swing the game one way or the other.

Q: When you are in the red zone, the field gets smaller and how do you play that offensively?

Typically you have to have a good running game to be efficient in the red zone because as the field shrinks the defensive backs sit on the routes. What is usually a 17 come back to 15-yard outside break, the defender is going to be at 20 or 21 yards when you make that break. You can get the ball thrown to him and caught by the time he recovers to the point of 15 yards on the boundary. When the field shrinks that defender is not at 21 yards when you make that break. The field shrinks on you, the pass game isn't quite as effective and if you can't run the ball your problems usually manifest themselves in the red zone for that reason. You're not going to be as effective in the red zone throwing the ball and that's what has happened to us.

Q: How do you feel about the offense's progress?

It's okay. I think we can be a lot better. We're not physical enough up front. We don't play with great intensity with our offensive line. We're okay. We don't have the idea yet, what it's like to be a Big Ten offensive line. We're just out there sometimes.

Q: You've had some solid freshman performances and specifically John Kerr. Can you comment on that?

John's positives are that he plays very hard. The game is very important to him. He prepares hard for the games, which is not something that everybody does. He tends to prepare to play in the games which is more difficult than playing in the games. I appreciate that about him. From a technical standpoint he stays square to the line of scrimmage as a linebacker which is a critical trait of a linebacker. He's getting better - that's another positive. You can see his play improving and you always want to see that in a player, especially a young player.

Q: Can you give an update on Kyle Killion?

He's not going to practice today which means tomorrow is the last day he can qualify to play. If I had to guess today, I'd say no.

Q: Could he be out for the remainder of the season?

It's a possibility, yes.

Q: Did (Kris) Dielman get a chance to heal up this week?

A little bit.

Q: Can you talk about some of the biggest problems against Wisconsin?

The biggest problem is pulling the ball down and running and containing. Anytime you have a quarterback who can run like Bollinger does, it puts tremendous pressure on the defense. He's one of those quarterbacks who does that. Matt (LoVecchio) has done a good job simulating him and will continue to and that has helped us some. He's a dangerous quarterback. He's just really good. His athletic ability really makes it difficult to contain him. He's good.

Q: Talk about your receivers and trying to keep them focused.

The best way to keep them focused is to recruit guys and keep it competitive out there so that if they are not focused, you just replace them. That's the best way. The other way is to constantly stay on them if they're not self-motivated.