Indiana University Athletics
Head Coach Terry Hoeppner's Weekly Press Conference
11/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 1, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana head coach Terry Hoeppner met with the media Tuesday, Nov. 1, for his weekly press conference.
On losing John Pannozzo for the regular season:
"One of the great stories I have been involved with as a coach. I can't believe that he has played his last football at IU. John Pannozzo has been an inspiration to me and to the team. He is a guy that I went from not knowing and not having a very good relationship with during the first few days of my tenure, to a guy that I have the utmost confidence in and trust implicitly to where I named him a captain. That was significant for me. The move we made and the way he played. Now, the challenge is for us and for John is that it is part of the deal and part of the game. Life moves on and he is a tough guy. I love tough guys. He will help us however he can. He told me that last night. Coach, whatever I can do. I guarantee you this. Whatever I can do, I will renew my efforts in any way I can so that he can play again. He could be able to play if we go to a bowl game. There is a chance he could play. I know he would love that and I sure would too. I hate it for the team, but I hate it more for Johnny."
On how the linebacker position shakes out with Pannozzo's injury:
"We will play defense with 11 guys. We'll put somebody out there. We will do some experimenting this week. Adam McClurg came in last week and did a pretty solid job."
On how his defense played against Michigan State:
"The point I am going to tell the team today, and you have heard me say this before, I am going to point out that there are four plays that if the outcome were different, the game is 23-16. That is not even talking about the offensive turnovers in the red zone. Those things are so obvious. It is the other things, as a team, we have to number one identify. You can't just say, what happened? We didn't make plays and lost the game. No, we have to be specific and analytical. That is part of the process. You have to identify what we did poorly and what went wrong. A lot of credit goes to Michigan State. They had a lot of preparation both mentally and physically. They were ready to play. We were ready to play, but we took the body blow early. We came back and had a good series on defense and it is 7-2 with good field position. The momentum was there to be seized. We didn't seize it. Third quarter, the same thing. Even though it was only a four-point gain on the touchdown and the extra point. At the time, it was a 10-point game. We moved the ball, and then we lose the ball. We get it right back, and then we lose it again. There are four other players that were significant and are things that can be fixed and need to be fixed. We'll address them this week. We will also point to them and say, 'It is not 76 plays.' It isn't that we had no chance. It is correctable things we can do better with."
On how the team has reacted to the loss to Michigan State:
"I have been encouraged with conversations I have had, not only with players but with former players. I just had a senior and a redshirt freshman in my office. The players, there is a core group, that are going to help me make sure our spirit and attitude are appropriate. I am encouraged by that. We are practicing in the stadium today. I am looking forward to it, and the good news is that they are too."
On his thoughts regarding building the program:
"Guess what? It is week nine, and we are still in position to reach our goal. They are going to have to cut (this Play 12 bracelet) off my wrist. They are going to have to take it off. Someone is going to have to cut it off. I am not going to say cut it off my cold, dead body, because I don't want it to go that far. We are not giving up. No one said it would be easy. The challenge from day one was that we had to reconnect with the students and the alumni. We have to get our season tickets base. We have to travel the state. We have to speak to alumni groups. We have to go play in some golf outings. I said give me something hard to do. I sensed that that part would be doable and we could at least get people excited and get their attention. Then, I also said we have to back it up on the field. We have made great strides. We have won some victories both on the field and off the field. I am confident the Walk will be exciting and the students will be there. We beat this team last year. There is a lot to play for, and I think we will take confidence from some of those things."
On how much carry-over the team can have from defeating Minnesota last year:
"I think whatever you emphasize as a coach is what is taken by the team. We are going to emphasize kickoff coverage this week. We have been emphasizing punt coverage. Some people ask why don't you emphasize everything, coach, and just get better at all of it? Then it wouldn't be emphasis, would it? It is reality. It is not fiction. It is not some myth or something that happened 20 years ago. It was last year in this stadium against this team. Bryan Cupito was the quarterback. Laurence Maroney was one of the backs, and the other guy (Marion Barber III) gained a 140 yards or something with the Dallas Cowboys this weekend. He is not playing. I think you can. Now, is that going to win the game for us? No. Is that going to provide some momentum and motivation for them? Probably, but it is the truth and I am not going to ignore it as a point of reference."
On why he is practicing in Memorial Stadium today:
"We are practicing in the stadium today because of the rain and the grass. It is getting dark early now. It was dark this morning and it is going to be dark at 5:45 or 6 p.m., tonight."
On Halloween with the Hoosiers last night:
"We went out Trick or Treating last night as I had talked about doing. Some things are exactly like you plan, and that was. We had big guys with jerseys carrying flashlights. People noticed them. `Wow. You are Adam Hines!' It was a success. Our guys had a lot of fun doing it, plus it gives our coaches the chance to go trick-or-treating with their kids. It was a good night."
On the word of the week being `Win':
"That is the emphasis. We need to win a football game. We need to do whatever it takes to win this football game. Wow, does that put pressure? I sure don't want them to be casual about it at this point. We are getting down to where these seniors are guaranteed three games. In John Pannozzo's case, we thought he was guaranteed three and he is not. As Floyd Little use to say `I chose not to be an ordinary man, because it is my right to be uncommon if I can, and I will play every play like it is my last play.' I carried that in my wallet until it was so worn and crumbled until I couldn't read it anymore. That is a great attitude. I watched part of the Steelers game last night. You watch Hines Ward and Antwaan Randle El play football. Wow. That is how we need to play football. If we do, we have a chance to win."
On losing John Pannozzo's leadership:
"We all need to tighten our belts a bit and do a little bit more. There is a void right now. Somebody has to step in and fill that void. I need several guys to step in and fill not only the physical void but the mental, emotional and leadership void. That is the reality. We don't have John Pannozzo."
On whether he will follow through on his comment after last game that there could be personnel changes on defense:
"We can't go on the waiver wire and make trades or anything like that. Within the team, we will. I think it will be a spirited day on defense. What happens is missing tackles is not unique. I probably missed one or two in my day. It is not all physical. A lot of times it becomes that you missed the tackle mentally because you weren't aware and in the right position. You don't react properly to the play as it develops. There aren't a lot of guys, but there are some that we can still have competition within positions. By design, there will have to be some new faces because somebody has to take Johnny's place. We made some substitutions the other day. Some because we had to, and some because we were giving other guys opportunities. That is what most people do. We need to do that on a weekly basis. We need guys to compete. I want a lot of guys who want to play and are ready to play."
On his thoughts about the personnel changes on the offensive line:
"I say that was as successful as it could be, and yet still also in the context that we did not win the game. It wasn't a `Wow that was an unbelievable move that we made.' It was a good move. For the most part, we ran the ball a little better and protected the quarterback. We had some good drives. We didn't finish drives. The offensive line, for the most part, played okay and probably played well enough to win the game."
On the increased scoring across college football:
"It is mostly just personnel groupings and formations. I did a quick statistical study about why there are more points being scored and the significance and reason for it. The top 10 scoring teams in the country have a record of 65-14. The top 10 scoring defenses in the country have a record of 60-15. If you score points and don't let the other team score points, you are going to win games. Not earth-shattering there. Why is that? What is the reason? Everyone says the spread offense. Everybody runs a version of the spread offense when you put three or four receivers and the quarterback is in the shotgun. That is a version. What you can't do as a defensive coach at that point is scheme against the run. You can't add eight or nine against the run. In the old I Pro formation that you don't see much anymore, as a defensive coordinator, I was quoted that it should be a rule that every team should have to do that at least two times every series. I felt pretty good about stopping the run from that. When you are crowded in, I can be creative and find ways to get people in that area in the box to stop the run. If you put wide receivers out there, why put a fullback in that can block a guy when you can put a wide receiver out there and you have to put a defender out there. Then, you have blocked him by alignment. That is what happens. When you put wide receivers out, you have to cover them, whether you throw to them or not. Then you add the element of a quarterback that can run the ball. That is one more than you can account for defensively. Those are contributing factors. Then you talk about the speed, skill and size of the modern day athlete. Then you have Virginia Tech giving up 9.29 points per game. Not everyone is getting scored on."
On Minnesota's offensive line:
"Their line averages 6-4, 293. They are the prototype. Glen Mason did a great job. That is what I want to do. That is what I picture our offensive line being like. The athleticism they have is great. You ask Ben Ishola about what memories he had of them last year, the offensive line is very good and can't be breached. He is right. They are very good. They are very athletic. You put that tape on and watch their center run. It is what we are pointing towards. That is what we want to do."
On Troy Grosfield's status:
"Troy made the trip and tried to warm up and couldn't go. I don't make that call, the doctors tell me. They said Grosfield is not playing today. This mornings report was to plan on having Grosfield this week. I am going to hold them to that."
On how a team schemes to defend against James Hardy:
"We talked about defending Randy Moss. We anticipate that every week. Are they going to make adjustments from their base defense? Iowa didn't. They said they were just going to play defense. I not sure what Ohio State said, but I know they paid a lot of attention to him. I think Michigan State had great awareness of him too. When he is on the field, he is going to draw attention. We have to be ready to counter that. If they are going to try to take somebody away, then we need to be ready. I think by the nature of our offense, we by nature throw to a lot of different people. I have said that. When our offense is working, we will have good time of possession. We will be completing a high percentage of passes. We will also be scoring points, and will be throwing to a lot of different people. That is part of the nature of it. That has helped James. You can't adjust and it is hard to roll his way and forget about everybody else. The other part is if you watch some of his catches, there have been two guys there. He just went up and got the ball. Some things are hard to defend. Hopefully, we have just seen the beginning."
On James Hardy making spectacular catches:
"When you go up and make a one-handed catch as high as he can do it, it is pretty hard for anyone to defend. He has made more one-handed catches this year. He has made a career's worth of one-handed catches this year. That is really impressive."
