Indiana University Athletics
Head Coach Terry Hoeppner's Weekly Press Conference
10/31/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 31, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.- Head coach Terry Hoeppner met with the media on Tuesday, Oct. 31, for his weekly press conference in preparation for the upcoming game with Minnesota at 12 p.m. on Nov. 4. He was joined by junior linebacker Adam McClurg and sophomore wide receiver James Hardy.
Opening Statement
"Minnesota week. When you look at the schedule as a coach, you look at these late season games when the schedule comes out and you hope they're meaningful. You want to play meaningful games in later October, then when you get into November and you're still playing for a lot, they're even more meaningful. Players are excited. We're healthy. except for the normal bumps and bruises. We'll be good to go when we leave on Friday."
Talk about the important role the fans played in the win.
"I think that all adds to it. Just isolated in the present, Saturday was a special day. Weather turned out great, and as I said last night on the radio show, a lot of was made of the 50,000. Set the bar high, then jump over it. It's truly just a number, but the intangible, the spirit goal that I referred to after the game. I'm still getting feedback from fans saying that it was the greatest atmosphere in years, the greatest celebration, we've got to come back just to be a part of that if nothing else. We're winning hearts. I think that will produce the results that we want. That's obvious, that was part of the reason that I was hired. There was this void in the athletic department, and we need to fill that void. I asked Rick Greenspan to speak to the team last season, and he said that basketball is part of our DNA, but football is the heart that pumps the blood for the rest of the athletic department. The players were really impressed with that statement. Hopefully the ripple effect keeps resonating and we keep building on it. That may have been the most excitement, the most electricity, to look at the students after the game and see them excited. It was very rewarding for me and the players. Having the band, it's so much fun, and it should be. These games are memory makers for fans. Hopefully it will have short term and longer term positive impact on the program. Recruiting, high school players see you play and do well, that's priceless. It's good vibrations, as the Beach Boys would say, they've been strong."
Has it been hard to keep things in perspective after a big win?
"Our senior class, not all of them have gotten what they wanted on the field, but I'll give you a great example of a player that I'm so proud of. Casey Nowinski. Casey told me that this is his fifth year, and he's as close as he's ever been. Then you've got Justin Frye, who has started more than 40 straight games. Since you're almost there, you don't slow down, you sprint for that finish line. Turn up the juice, turn up the heat. They're truly hungry and not satisfied. They're still hungry. All this has done is put us in position, and they know that. I don't want to belittle it either and say that they haven't accomplished anything yet, because we have accomplished a lot. This team has grown so much. The seniors have done a great job, and truly a group of unsung heroes. You have a few who are starting and playing a lot, and yet everyone still does their part. We talk about our goals. I challenge them to write down their goals. There's something to writing down goals and keeping them where you can see them, and when you accomplish them, it really feels good to check those goals off. I asked them to write their individual goals down, and to dedicate the season to someone. If you need inspiration, look at that. I feel good about the mindset going in."
Have you had a chance to enjoy your success?
"I think that you feel rewarded and invigorated when you get calls after the game from old friends and coaches, sure. You also have to keep it in perspective. One of the old coach's adages is that after you sing the fight song, the celebration is over, now lets get ready for next week. Because of the nature of our week, that's literally the case. I can't go to sleep on Saturday night until I see what really happened during certain plays."
What do you expect out of Minnesota?
"They're very solid, funamentally sound, well-coached, and they want to run the football. Last year I said that I thought they was the best offensive line we've played against in the Big Ten. They have a history of producing running backs, and there are several of them in the NFL that recently played there. They've got a great tradition of that. For whatever reason, they haven't gotten it done, but they're probably close to, their backs are against the wall. We'll get their best shot, there's no doubt about that. We beat them two years ago here, then they came here and we were ahead at halftime and they really got after us in the second half. A number of those same guys are still playing. Also, the home field advantage for them becomes the obvious. I've coached up there, but this will be the first stadium all year that we've gone in on Friday. Talking to people who've been in there, the biggest issue is the lights, punt returns, and passes. We're going to go in and have a light workout so that we don't go in and become overwhelmed. There are a lot of guys who have never played indoors."
Junior linebacker Adam McClurg
The defense seems to have been making real strides as of late.
"Last game against Michigan State, I feel like we were really prepared. The coaches got us prepared. I felt like I was more prepared for that game than I was any other game this year. We played with a lot of energy this whole year, and once we get a lot of energy, we play better. With the crowd and everything, it energizes us a lot more."
Talk about the linebacking corps.
"We have a young, smaller linebacker corp. I feel like we have a lot of speed, and with guys like Will Patterson stepping in, he's making a big impact on our defense. I feel like they have him in the right spot, and he's really helping us. He brings a lot of energy to our team. That's what we need out of our young guys, is to come in and make an impact wherever they can."
Have all of your accomplishments taken you by surprise?
"No. The first part of the season I still had a feeling that we were going to come together. I think that we're just improving more and more every day, getting guys in the right spots, and coming together as a team."
Was it difficult to maintain that attitude through the early losses?
"Not as much for the older guys, probably more for the younger guys. A lot of the older guys said that this was it for them. We can go one way or the other way, and obviously we chose the right path."
Have you talked at all about the fact that you are one game away from being bowl eligible?
"We don't set it there. Everyone knows that we're one game away, and everyone's playing for that one goal that we had in the beginning of the season. Once we get this one game, I think we can play with nothing to lose. Once we've got our goal, why don't we go get more? That's the main thing, we've got to get to the point first, then we'll worry about everything else."
Sophomore wide receiver James Hardy
Talk about this team's resurgence.
"Everyone has the same goal. We're trying to get to a bowl game, especially with our head coach and leader going through what he's been through. We just want to go out there and work hard for him. Coming in, he was put in a very tough situation, and he's turned it around in a single season. We just want to go out there and work hard for him, and for ourselves and our families. We want to go to a bowl game, and we're not satisfied until we get there. I want to send these guys (the seniors) off the right way. I know it'll be something they can show their kids."
Is it difficult to put the thoughts of a potential bowl game aside?
"I'm not thinking about it. I've still got the same motivation, I'm still going to do the same things I do any other week, which is go out there and try to do my best, make plays, and help the offense. Everyone's just excited, because it's right there for us to grab, and they haven't had that around here for a long time. Everybody is eager to get it. It doesn't put added pressure on us, we'll just go out there and play our game. We're starting to have the chemistry, we're starting to get down, and we're starting to gel as a whole offensive group. "
