Indiana University Athletics
Practice Report: April 1
4/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Bloomington, Ind. - Over 100 high school coaches attended Indiana's sixth spring practice as the Hoosiers hosted their annual Coaches Clinic on April 1. Due to inclement weather, Indiana head coach Terry Hoeppner moved practice inside Mellencamp Pavilion where the team participated in a variety of position-specific drills along with seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 drills.
While the offensive and defensive lines worked on the inside run, cornerbacks and wide receivers matched up in a one-on-one drill. Sophomore quarterback Blake Powers looked sharp throughout the drill, hitting his receivers in stride numerous times. Wide receivers James Hardy and Rhett Kleinschmidt both were able to make a number of catches.
During seven-on-seven drills, Powers, along with sophomore Graeme McFarland, consistently delivered strong and accurate passes.
Once the team got into 11-on-11 drills, intensity began to pick up on both sides of the ball. The defensive line was able to put a lot of pressure on the quarterback, forcing several rushed passes. Senior defensive tackle Russ Richardson broke through the line multiple times coming up with big tackles behind the line. However, the offensive line soon held their ground, as a variety of running backs broke off long runs. Sophomore Josiah Sears, freshman Dennis Underwood, and senior Chris Taylor all had impressive runs, highlighted by a 55-yard run up the middle and down the right side by Taylor.
The Hoosiers will have their first scrimmage of the spring on Saturday, April 2nd at 11:00 am at Memorial Stadium.
McFarland and Hoeppner had the following comments after practice.
Quarterback Graeme McFarland
On splitting time this spring between football and baseball:
GM: "Right now, I am focusing fully on football. I talk to the baseball coaches pretty often, but right now it is all football."
On the team scrimmage on Saturday:
GM: "Quarterbacks get excited because we don't have to do as much with individual workouts. Just getting the chance to play is exciting too. I think the coaches back off and just let us play as a team so we can see where we are."
Coach Terry Hoeppner
On the intensity of the practice today:
TH: "Today was a high energy day. I was happy with our performance today. We had over 100 high school coaches here. This practice was for IU football, but also for the coaches of Indiana's surrounding states to give them a chance to get to know us better."
On the team goals for the scrimmage on Saturday:
TH: "You get to play football so few times. Tomorrow is not a game, but it is a controlled scrimmage. It gives us a chance to see how we have progressed from day one to day seven. I want to see guys making plays. We need to execute at a game tempo and have our playmakers step up and make plays."
