Indiana University Athletics
Head Coach Terry Hoeppner's Weekly Press Conference
10/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 17, 2006
Head Coach Terry Hoeppner met with the media on Thursday, Oct. 17, for his weekly press conference in preparation for Iowa. He was joined by senior safety Will Meyers, sophomore receiver James Hardy and junior offensive lineman Charlie Emerson.
On the reaction to the win:
"It's been an interesting week in terms of interview requests, but that's obviously good news. I just got off the Big Ten conference call and somebody asked about the significance of the win. You measure it in two ways, in the present and then we'll wait and see down the road how significant it is. Some things take time to really appreciate their significance or to measure their significance. In the present, it's been very significant, especially for the players and the coaching staff, the guys who do the work on a daily basis. It's inspiring to get some confirmation that what you're doing works."
On meeting the challenge against Iowa:
"The challenge to them last week was, you control your attitude, trust yourself, trust your teammates and trust your coaches. It's the story about the two-by-four - if you lay that two-by-four on the ground, we can all walk across it because the risk is not very great. But put that two-by-four up about 100 feet in the air. Now who wants to walk across it? When the risk is greater, when the rewards are higher, that's when you really have to trust yourself, trust your teammates, trust your coaches. Championship teams have this special affection, special trust, special bond that we summarize as chemistry. We're developing this affection, this trust, this bond. In Sunday meetings, we start out with the individual and position group honors, and the first thing we start out with is the scout of the week, from the scout team. The last two weeks, we've had seniors selected as scouts of the week, and that to me is pretty significant. Here are guys in their senior year, their last go-round, and they're not up with the first offense and first defense, they're playing the role of the opponents' offense and defense. That's a thankless, young-guy type of job, but for seniors to stand up and be the best, as a coach you just say, "wow." And that's where the 'together' thing takes on more meaning."
On playing the top team in the nation:
"There aren't many times in your athletic career where you get to play the No. 1 team and we get that opportunity this week. The atmosphere will be special, playing in the Horseshoe. It's one of the top stadiums in the country to play in. The Buckeye fans are enthusiastic, it's a hard ticket to come by, and they will be there supporting their team. This is an outstanding Buckeye team and we're excited about the opportunity to go play them."
On the crowd against Iowa:
"I want to thank our fans - students, alumni, season-ticket holders - it was a home field advantage last Saturday. The crowd actually grew as the game went on. We talked about it. It was inspiring. They got into it and had to have fun. As a part of the program, that was special, because our football program took a step. I hope they understand how much the team appreciates it, to the point that within the department we've issued a challenge. The next time we get together at The Rock, we've issued a challenge to Hoosier Nation - 50,000. I won't settle for less than 50,000, I know they won't let me down. Not 49,999, but 50,000 for our next home game, which happens to be Homecoming. The team needs you - crowds help win games. It's not original, but it's true, and everyone will benefit. Don't forget. I'm soliciting all the help I can get. Fifty thousand for Oct. 28, Homecoming against Michigan State. I'm going to personally count them."
On Ohio State's defense:
"One of the indicators of a top-notch program is that they have quality depth - that their twos are as good as their ones and that their threes are as good as their twos - so it's just a case of the guys who were backups moving in. Great programs have people waiting in the wings and ready to step in. A.J. Hawk and Bobby Carpenter are gone, but the coaches are the same, the scheme is the same. If you combine good coaching and a proven scheme with guys who can run fast and know where they're going, it's always good. It's a great challenge for our offense, but we have a lot of confidence right now in our offense."
On turnovers:
"We've got to eliminate the turnovers, we've got to secure the football. At the end of the play, hand the ball to the official, we need to have the ball. We need to do a better job emphasizing it because we gave Iowa great field position. It's challenging enough playing in the Big Ten without handicapping ourselves and giving the other guys opportunities they shouldn't get."
On the improvement in Kellen Lewis' play:
"It's hard to measure and quantify it, because if you watched the tapes from camp, he made a lot of those plays the way he's doing it. But doing it in a game can be a canyon of difference. He's reduced the negative plays, the mistakes. The game has slowed down for him - all of a sudden the things that were a blur to him, you feel as if they have slowed down. It's the pre-read, it's experience, but it's probably mostly the understanding of the offense and what the other guys are doing. Now that we have a lot of great tape to study, you start getting a feel for what people are going to do. It's just a process that you have to go through, which is why more experienced players play better than those who are less experienced."
On the difference in James Hardy's play:
"Receiver is not as easy as it looks. You'd think receivers just have to go out and run a pattern - unless the defense is rolling the coverage, unless the linebacker is blitzing, and then all those neat lines we draw in the playbook, rarely the plays are run like that. So it's been a gradual process of working him in to be able to play, but it's working. Another part of it is James getting his football legs back under him, but I feel good about him."
On getting Kellen Lewis late in the recruiting process:
"Recruiting, at best, is very unscientific. You don't get the contact with the prospects that we used to get. We're going out this weekend and hitting Ohio pretty hard, but you're so restricted as to really being able to get to know a guy. So it's one of those stories - he was all set to go to a prep school, because he wasn't going to take another offer and go play wide receiver. He could play wide receiver, he's got some of the best hands on the team, but he wanted to be a quarterback. When he got here, it was one of those where I remember watching him throw on the first day and went, `Yeah, we did good. Good for us.'"
Senior safety Will Meyers
On what makes Ohio State great:
"It's a top program with an established tradition and they have great athletes, great players. Their skill guys are going to be the best we've faced all year. They're well-coached, they give you a lot of formations and they find ways to get their best players the ball in good matchups, so it's going to be a difficult challenge for us."
On playing the No. 1 team:
"We're excited, we're glad they're ranked No. 1. We know all eyes are going to be on us to see how we respond. I think everyone's looking at it as a challenge, so we're just going to get a good practice week in and see what happens on Saturday."
Sophomore wide receiver James Hardy
On what he expects from Ohio State:
"They're going to be more aggressive. We have to come in with our scheme and do what we have to do to prepare. They're still the No. 1 team in the country, but if we go out there and play our hardest, I think we'll give them a game."
On the intimidation of playing the No. 1 team:
"If anything, it should give everyone more motivation to work harder. Ohio State is Ohio State, but for the most part I just look at it as another game. We just need to make sure we're cool, calm and poised, ready to give them a fight."
On Kellen Lewis:
"Each day he's getting better, getting smarter. By the time I came in to watch film this week, he was already showing me what he's seen. For the most part, he's getting smarter and making better decisions and is starting earlier in the week and that is carrying over the whole week until Saturday."
Junior offensive tackle Charlie Emerson
On Kellen Lewis:
"At Ball State he was very confident and he's been that way ever since. He's very poised and plays well under pressure. He just looks like he's having a lot of fun out there, just ready to play. He loves to run, and so if he has a chance to gain an extra 15 yards down the sideline, he's going to do it. It's a double-edged sword for defenses. Is he going to throw down the field or is he going to take off and use his speed?"
On the possibility of going to a bowl game:
"I've been here a while and I've seen kids jump on and off the bandwagon. There's been things written about us that are unfavorable. But the only people that really need to believe are inside the locker room. As long as we believe inside the locker room, then anything is possible, and right now that's our mentality. Coach Hep's talked about how he wants 50,000 people for Homecoming. Our confidence is there, we just have to keep going and progressing each week."
On the magnitude of Saturday's win: "It's the biggest win for anybody in the program right now. Beating Oregon two years ago when they were 24th in the country and beating Minnesota when they were 23rd was great, but this is one of the best wins we've ever had."
