Indiana University Athletics
Hoeppner Ready For Spring Ball
3/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The 2005 spring football season will commence on Thursday afternoon at the Indiana practice fields. With the first spring practice just a few hours away, Indiana head coach Terry Hoeppner spoke with IUHOOSIERS.com about his transition at IU, his coaching staff and getting the community involved with Cream and Crimson football.
On the start of spring football:
TH: "I have said that there are three special days in a college football coach's life. To me, one of them is the first day of spring practice. This is our first time, for seven of us coaches, to see these players in action. So this is even more significant for us. The excitement is very high right now. We just met as a staff, planned the first practice in detail because we want everything to be very smooth and fast-paced. We are really looking forward to getting a chance to coach these guys."
On why he is excited about spring football:
TH: "I get to see our quarterbacks throw. I get to see out defensive backs pedal and cover. I get to see out O-line, D-line and defensive backs. I have only seen them condition and on film. I have been around the team about four months now, and I haven't seen them play football. It will be very exciting to finally see them in action."
On his initial four months at Indiana:
TH: "In general, there is a level of anticipation that you have, especially when something changes in your life. I'm an optimist, so I thought it would be a positive experience, but it's been more than my family or I thought it could be. The reception in Bloomington and statewide has been truly amazing. I think that the reception is what stands out the most. It's been hectic, busy, but it's something that I have enjoyed."
On the dynamic of the co-defensive coordinators:
TH: "I know my coaching friend, Bob Stoops, at Oklahoma has done it. Jim Tressel is doing it at Ohio State this year. I lost two coaches at Miami-Ohio, a coordinator and a coach who was second in command. I had two veteran guys [Joe Palcic and Brian George] on the staff; both relatively young and it became one of those things instead of picking one of the two I decided on both. I talked to them about it and they were the right guys for the system. You need to have two guys who can work well together that don't have huge egos. You can't get hung up on whose is in charge and they truly have done a great job of splitting the responsibility. It has worked very well and has been a positive for us. These two guys get along well, but they have different backgrounds, and bring a special element to the program."
On how the offensive coordinator [Bill Lynch], passing game coordinator [Matt Canada] and the running game coordinator [Bobby Johnson] all gel together:
TH: "I gave Bobby and Matt those titles before I hired Bill, knowing that he would be the offensive coordinator. Offense is unique to the point where I think someone should be specifically responsible for the passing and running game. We have used that formula in the past and it has worked well. It also gives guys more of a sense of responsibility with the title. It's not just a figurehead title. They are responsible for every aspect of that part of the game. Those three personalities work very well together."
On how the staff he brought from Miami (Ohio) is working with the staff that was retained from Indiana:
TH: "That is always, to me, a big part of it, how well they mesh together. If guys are professional, they can get along, but you can't orchestrate that. You can make people work together, but you can't make people like each other. If they are doing it with a sense of reluctance, then it can affect the job. I think the fact that this group can joke around with each other and that they enjoy being in each other's company is a very positive attribute. You can function without it, but it makes it a lot more fun to come to work with a group of guys you can get along with, like we can."
On the success of his spread offense at Miami (Ohio) and how it will be implemented at Indiana:
TH: "You try to recruit players to fit into the style of offense that you want to run. We have done that to a degree, but we are also inheriting guys that we need to fit into our style. It will be a version of both offense and defense that we adapt to the players abilities. It may not look the same this spring and fall than it does three or four years from now. We are a product of how we recruit, who we recruit, how we train and develop them and how we coach them. That finished product of a player, three to four years into the program is all within our formula. Good coaches get the best players into position on the field to make plays."
On getting the community excited about Indiana football:
TH: "We have already been doing that. We have been recruiting them every day. Whether it was speaking at a high school awards banquet on Monday night, or the High School Coaches Association Clinic on Friday night and the Bedford United Way on Saturday night that is what happened this week. If you look at my calendar, it's all filled up. I don't think that there is anyone that I have said `No' to, in terms of speaking engagements. We have a lot of excitement around the program right now. We need to use that momentum and build on it. My plan is to do whatever I can to expose myself and the program to the community."
On the start of spring football:
TH: "I have said that there are three special days in a college football coach's life. To me, one of them is the first day of spring practice. This is our first time, for seven of us coaches, to see these players in action. So this is even more significant for us. The excitement is very high right now. We just met as a staff, planned the first practice in detail because we want everything to be very smooth and fast-paced. We are really looking forward to getting a chance to coach these guys."
On why he is excited about spring football:
TH: "I get to see our quarterbacks throw. I get to see out defensive backs pedal and cover. I get to see out O-line, D-line and defensive backs. I have only seen them condition and on film. I have been around the team about four months now, and I haven't seen them play football. It will be very exciting to finally see them in action."
On his initial four months at Indiana:
TH: "In general, there is a level of anticipation that you have, especially when something changes in your life. I'm an optimist, so I thought it would be a positive experience, but it's been more than my family or I thought it could be. The reception in Bloomington and statewide has been truly amazing. I think that the reception is what stands out the most. It's been hectic, busy, but it's something that I have enjoyed."
On the dynamic of the co-defensive coordinators:
TH: "I know my coaching friend, Bob Stoops, at Oklahoma has done it. Jim Tressel is doing it at Ohio State this year. I lost two coaches at Miami-Ohio, a coordinator and a coach who was second in command. I had two veteran guys [Joe Palcic and Brian George] on the staff; both relatively young and it became one of those things instead of picking one of the two I decided on both. I talked to them about it and they were the right guys for the system. You need to have two guys who can work well together that don't have huge egos. You can't get hung up on whose is in charge and they truly have done a great job of splitting the responsibility. It has worked very well and has been a positive for us. These two guys get along well, but they have different backgrounds, and bring a special element to the program."
On how the offensive coordinator [Bill Lynch], passing game coordinator [Matt Canada] and the running game coordinator [Bobby Johnson] all gel together:
TH: "I gave Bobby and Matt those titles before I hired Bill, knowing that he would be the offensive coordinator. Offense is unique to the point where I think someone should be specifically responsible for the passing and running game. We have used that formula in the past and it has worked well. It also gives guys more of a sense of responsibility with the title. It's not just a figurehead title. They are responsible for every aspect of that part of the game. Those three personalities work very well together."
On how the staff he brought from Miami (Ohio) is working with the staff that was retained from Indiana:
TH: "That is always, to me, a big part of it, how well they mesh together. If guys are professional, they can get along, but you can't orchestrate that. You can make people work together, but you can't make people like each other. If they are doing it with a sense of reluctance, then it can affect the job. I think the fact that this group can joke around with each other and that they enjoy being in each other's company is a very positive attribute. You can function without it, but it makes it a lot more fun to come to work with a group of guys you can get along with, like we can."
On the success of his spread offense at Miami (Ohio) and how it will be implemented at Indiana:
TH: "You try to recruit players to fit into the style of offense that you want to run. We have done that to a degree, but we are also inheriting guys that we need to fit into our style. It will be a version of both offense and defense that we adapt to the players abilities. It may not look the same this spring and fall than it does three or four years from now. We are a product of how we recruit, who we recruit, how we train and develop them and how we coach them. That finished product of a player, three to four years into the program is all within our formula. Good coaches get the best players into position on the field to make plays."
On getting the community excited about Indiana football:
TH: "We have already been doing that. We have been recruiting them every day. Whether it was speaking at a high school awards banquet on Monday night, or the High School Coaches Association Clinic on Friday night and the Bedford United Way on Saturday night that is what happened this week. If you look at my calendar, it's all filled up. I don't think that there is anyone that I have said `No' to, in terms of speaking engagements. We have a lot of excitement around the program right now. We need to use that momentum and build on it. My plan is to do whatever I can to expose myself and the program to the community."
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