Indiana University Athletics
Practice Report: April 6
4/6/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Another warm day greeted the Hoosier football team as they took the field for their ninth spring practice on Wednesday, April 6. It was another high-energy practice for the squad as they continued to work on the fundamentals.
"I thought is was a good practice today," Indiana head coach Terry Hoeppner said. "It was not a perfect practice, but it is not a game of perfects. We have made some improvements on things the last couple of days on both sides of the ball."
Following several position-specific drills, the Hoosier offense worked on converting medium and long third downs. They started out with 7-on-7 drills, focusing on the battle between the wide receivers the defensive-backs. The drill was highlighted by a spectacular catch by redshirt freshman James Hardy from sophomore quarterback Blake Powers. With his big 6-foot-7 target streaking down the sideline, Powers lofted the ball high in the air and let Hardy go up and get it for a 40-yard touchdown pass.
The Hoosiers then gathered for 11-on-11 drills, once again focusing on medium and long third down conversions. Senior running back Chris Taylor broke open a big run up the middle on the first play of the drill, to energize the offense. Redshirt freshman Marcus Thigpen continued to play well, with several tough catches through the middle of the defense.
Hardy had another big catch streaking down the sideline for another long touchdown. After that, the defense tightened up by slowing down the run and making it tough to throw the ball down field. Pressure from the defensive line and tough coverage from the secondary forced the quarterbacks to scramble for yards.
They then moved from mid-field to the red-zone to work on converting inside the 20-yard line. Both sides had exciting plays, including two touchdown passes to senior wide receiver Jahkeen Gilmore and Thigpen. Junior safety Troy Grosfield came away with an athletic interception toward the end of practice.
"We are still putting things in on both offense and defense," Hoeppner said. "It was a good day, and I think day nine was a win for the Hoosiers."
The football team will continue with their 10th spring practice Thursday, April 7 at the team's practice facility.
The program will hold Pancakes 'n' Pigskin on April 9. Starting at 8 a.m. on the west concourse of Memorial Stadium, Hoosier fans can enjoy pancakes and sausage breakfast ($5 for adults and $3 for kids 12-and-under), followed by a 10 a.m. controlled scrimmage that is free to the public. The Hoosiers will take the field, and after a series of stretching exercises and individual drills, the scrimmage will begin at 11 a.m.
Spring practice concludes with the annual Cream-Crimson intrasquad game on April 15 at 7 p.m. at Memorial Stadium. Admission is free to all Hoosier fans.
