Indiana University Athletics
Gibran Hamdan Press Conference
9/24/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
September 24, 2002
Bloomington, IN -
Gibran Hamdan's opening Statement:
"First of all I want to say that the whole team is pleased that we were able to win the game on Saturday, and I think that we did a lot of good things that maybe the fans or maybe people outside the organization didn't see. I mean there were times in that game where in the past we might not have pulled that one out. Obviously things went wrong and we did some things that could have hurt us in the game but for the most part everyone found a way to win. I think that the whole team is proud of that and that is something that we can build on. I think that's going to be a staple of Hoosier football in the future. Every team makes mistakes and that is something that we did in the game against Central Michigan, but we found a way to win, and that's big time. So if we can keep doing that, we will be successful.
Also I want to send our thoughts and prayers out to all the people in Martinsville and Evansville. Just our thoughts and prayers to those people who are going through adverse times right now."
Q: Address what you have seen so far about the defense you'll be playing?
GH: "I turned the film on yesterday, obviously they are a talented squad. Growing up I didn't know a lot about Ohio State football or the Buckeyes and to be honest, when I look at the team I try not to think about what they have done in the past or how many fans attend their games. I just look at a football team as a football team. It's going to take a couple more days to find out what really are their strengths and weaknesses but the way I look at it is they are a football team and obviously just like any other football team they are going to have strengths and weaknesses, and it is our job to game plan against those things. I don't know specifically what players are better than others, but I do know that they are talented squad and there is a reason why the are ranked where they are in the country."
Q: IU has been a good second half team - what has gone into that?
GH: "I think that it is a lot of things. One, this coaching staff is really good on the run, they are very good game coaches, they know how to make adjustments, they know how to let the players know what those adjustments are. In football terms and in layman's terms, they are very good at that. They are very composed during halftime. There is not a lot of yelling and screaming going on. There is a lot of game plan and strategy and things like that. I think that that has to do with it. I think that our conditioning has a lot to do with it. We were talking about the shuttle before this whole thing started and you kind of lose sight of the things you did before the season started, but to be a good second half team you have to be well conditioned, and I think that that is something that we are. Coach DiNardo makes an emphasis of conditioning after practice on Tuesday's and that is something that hasn't been done in the past. It is helping us in the second half because that's where ball games are won and I think that you can tell who the better conditioned team is in the second half. And I feel like we are a well conditioned team and I think that that has a lot to do with it as well."
Q: Did you feel like you had more time to throw the ball this week?
GH: "I sure did, it was definitely an improvement over the Kentucky game, but to be honest, I have been able to go through my progressions most of the times. Now, the difference is, against Central Michigan, I was able to go through my progressions with not as many people in my face, which gives you added time, so you can read your progressions more thourouly. At Kentucky I can't say that there were times that I couldn't necessarily go through my progression, I might have gone through it a little faster than normal, but you still have to get the progressions done. And a lot of it has to do with my movements in the pocket. I am learning just like our offensive line is learning to block for a more stationary quarterback than we have in the past. So I think that it would be unfair to ask our offensive line to be experts at blocking for a pro style quarterback coming off the guy that they were blocking for last year. I think that they are doing an outstanding job of adapting and developing just like I am learning to step into the pocket and be able to able to make my re-progressions with people around me. It is a two way street."
Q: Talk a little bit about what you can do and what you have been trying to do?
GH: "To be honest, and a lot of people will talk to me after the games, the way that I explain it is that every athlete or any successful person really has a set of expectations for themselves in whatever they are doing. Whether it be the business world or athletics, you as an athlete has to set expectations for yourself. The expectations I set for myself going into games is extremely high, and my goal in a game are to achieve the expectations I set for myself, it is not to impress other people and it is not to satisfy others, I am out there to meet my expectations, so that's where my mindset is during a game, and obviously my expectations are a lot, it is not only stats, it is an overall feeling that a quarterback gets after he plays a game, that he has done everything in his power to win the game for his football team and help his offense move the ball. I have obviously yet to meet my expectations, but that's were my focus is going into a game. I can't focus on what others think, so that's were my mindset is in the mistakes that I am making, I am going to try and cut down on them because that is what I expect of myself. When I get to the point, which might never happen, because expectations are really high, I can start expecting things from my teammates at the same level."
Q: Where is this offense now?
GH: "This offense now is in a place where it needs to be consistent. We have big-play capabilities, which you saw Saturday, which is something that we desperately need. We also have the ability to move the ball down the field methodically, so it comes down to consistency and being able to be consistent on every drive, being focused on every drive, because there were a lot of times when we had good drives in this game where we didn't capitalize for whatever reason, and that just comes down to focus and consistency. That is something that as a new offense we have to keep working to and becoming more cohesive as a unit, so I would say definitely consistency."
Q: How big of a concern are turnovers, and what do you need to do as a team to eliminate that?
GH: "Turnovers were on me, it is hard to say as a team what they need to do. For myself, it is just something that I need to learn. I don't know that there is one set thing that we need to do. I mean if you turned on the TV last night and one of the best quarterbacks ever to play the game, Kurk Warners, turned the ball over. If there was a magic button that you could push to take turnovers away, every coach would be stamping on it all the time. I don't think that there is one thing that you could do, it just comes down to game experience, and learning that sometimes there is a play that needs to be made, and other times its best to tuck it away. "
Q: Where has the offense made the biggest progress?
GH: "I think that as a whole, the entire unit, from the first string to the second string, to the scout squad that goes against us in practice, they have taken ownership in making this offense better, it is something that coach talks about all the time, taking ownership. There are a lot of things that it takes in making an offense good, for example, how good a look does the scout team give you during the week of practice so when you get into the game everything that you saw in practice it what you will see in the game. I think that on the whole it is a matter of everyone involved in the offense, taking an ownership, to make the offense better."
Q: Have you tried to stress that point to them?
GH: "No, it is more so the coaching staff, I think that it is something that coach DiNardo and coach Borges have stressed, and all the offensive coaches within their certain positions, have stressed, taking ownership and making sure that you are doing everything that needs to be done for us to succeed on Saturdays. The ultimate goal is to the point where late in the game on Saturday, this offensive believed that we were going to win the game for the team."
Q: Is there any adjustments that the offense is making in communication to prepare for the atmosphere at Ohio State?
GH: "I have never been to Ohio State. Before we played Kentucky I had been to Kentucky previously as a freshman and I thought that Kentucky was loud when I was there as a freshman and I thought that it was loud there this year. I think that we are going to go through the same process any team going into a hostile environment takes, you are going to make sure your communication is secure and that you are able to communicate when it is loud. From a standpoint of it being any different than going to any other loud stadium I don't think that that's the case. I think that we are going to have to be sharper than we have when we have played at home. But I was proud of our fans too, because it got loud at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, and I'll maintain that the game we played against Ohio State a couple of years ago when it was packed was one of the loudest places I have ever been to. It is definitely stuff that we are thinking about."
