Indiana University Athletics
Cream and Crimson Game Quotes
4/15/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 15, 2006
Cream and Crimson Post-Game Quotes
April 15, 2006
Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Ind.
Head coach Terry Hoeppner
On the overall offense today:
TH: "Today, I thought the offense took advantage. We pass protected, and if we do that, we have some players - quarterbacks, receivers and running backs - that can make plays. We didn't have James Hardy out there today, so we can get even better. We have a lot of room for improvement, but overall I am pleased with the effort, and I told the team that. Overall, I am pleased with the spring, and we are light years ahead of where we were last spring. I think that's evident."
On James Hardy's absence:
TH: "James Hardy has had a great winter and spring so far. We decided to hold him out today, because he wasn't full speed. Even though you like to see him out there, we need to get every rep we can get."
On Bryan Payton's performance
TH: "Bryan Payton is nothing but a blue-collar, work-horse kind of guy with a tremendous heart and a lot of ability to go with it. You saw him make plays today, and I think you'll see him make plays in the fall."
On the defense:
TH: "I think the defense has played really well. If you had told me that the final score was going to be 31-27, I would have been real surprised because the defense has been really stingy, both the first and second team. We've intermixed them quite a bit. I'm optimistic that the defense will be much improved from where it was last fall. The errors that we made today are very correctable."
Running back Marcus Thigpen:
On making the transition from wide receiver to running back:
MT: "It's going really well. It's kind of easy, because I feel like I'm back at home. I like this position way better than wide receiver, because that was something kind of hard for me, it was something new."
On the depth at the running back position:
MT: "It's tough, we have a lot of people fighting for the position. There's a lot of talent. I'm just going to do what I have to do."
Quarterback Blake Powers:
On how the offense execution
BP: "I think we did a really nice job executing. I think the receivers did really well and the Cream defense also played really well. I think all the guys were out there making plays, and we looked really good. With James (Hardy) sitting out, who's obviously our go-to guy, we really needed the other guys to step up. Jahkeen Gilmore and James Bailey played a really nice game, and that's what they are both capable of. Our receivers are definitely getting a lot better."
On the running back situation so far:
BP: "I think they are all talented. They all bring a different aspect to the game and play really well. They are all so young, so it's a really bright future on that part of the team."
On comparing the offense to last spring:
BP: "I think we are head over heels from where we were compared to last spring. We obviously have some new starters on the offensive line and the running back position as well. People seem to think that that's going to be our weakness, but if you look back at last season, people thought the quarterbacks and receivers were going to be the weak part of our game."
