Indiana University Athletics
Bennett Looking to Earn his Reps
8/15/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 15, 2006
With Indiana football, it's all about the rock. Head coach Terry Hoeppner urges his players to "Defend the Rock" and have success at Memorial Stadium. Players touch "The Rock" and crowd around it prior to game-time. Now, senior wide receiver and kick returner Lance Bennett is urging his teammates to "Rep the Rock."
"It's called `Rep the Rock' - represent the rock," Bennett said of his newest song. "[Sophomore defensive tackle] Greg Brown and [senior wide receiver] Jahkeen Gilmore came up with the title. It's not just about when we're in the stadium - we bring the rock on the road with us. Everywhere we go we have to represent the rock. We have seven home games this year, and if we `Defend the Rock' like Coach Hep says, and rep the rock every time we get a chance to play at the rock, then we're going to play 13 [games]."
Superstitious people may be afraid of the number 13, but for Bennett and his teammates, it is a beautiful number. It represents something that the Hoosiers have not been able to accomplish since 1993 - game number 13 in 2006 means a trip to a bowl game.
"We feel really good," Bennett said. "The energy is ridiculous. In comparison to last year, the energy is crazy. I can feel the confidence and I can feel the belief in this team."
Now into the second week of training camp, the Hoosiers' first home game is fast approaching - it looms just two and a half weeks away. And for the players, the summer is quickly coming to a close and the reality of fall is just over the horizon. Just in case they need a reminder of that, a clock hangs on the wall of the Hoosier locker room, counting down the time until the first game of the season, on Saturday, Sept. 2, against Western Michigan.
"We've been looking at the clock all summer," Bennett said. "The fact that it's under 20 days now, we're ready to play. I just remember that saying 80 days on it. You realize that it's right here. A couple of us were talking about it on the way over to the stadium this morning how it's right here in just a couple of weeks."
Though they are just over a week into official practices, Bennett and his fellow receivers have already developed a strong connection with the quarterbacks. That chemistry will be crucial to the Hoosiers' success as a team in 2006, as Indiana enters year two of Hoeppner's offensive system.
"I feel like the receivers and the quarterbacks are getting a better chemistry in terms of reading coverage," Bennett said, "knowing where the ball's going to be and when the ball's going to come depending on the coverage. We meet together with the quarterbacks, so we know what the quarterbacks are going to do, the quarterbacks know what we're going to do, what defenders are going to run under so there's no gray area. We know exactly why the ball came when it came, or why it didn't come at all, so the chemistry is really good."
Bennett's greatest attribute as a football player is most likely his speed and agility, something that has led to tremendous personal success as a kick returner. For the Brooklyn, N.Y., native, the formula for kick and punt returns is simple.
"I just think about catching the ball," Bennett said. "Punt returns and kick returns aren't like everything else. When you're playing receiver, you line up and are standing there for three or four seconds. You see what coverage they're in; you know you're going to make this break at 10 yards.
"But punt returns and kick returns aren't like that," Bennett continued. "It's just catch the ball, look up and whatever is there is there - this is what it is, this is what you have to do. So there's no thinking, it's just catching the ball. Once you've caught the ball, you do what you have to do from there. You have to be spontaneous with your moves and where you go."
Though Bennett's size is not often associated with wide receivers - he stands just 5-6 - he knows that his quickness and creativity on the field give him the ability to be a successful receiver in the Big Ten.
"I play inside receiver, so I'm running against a lot of safeties," Bennett said. "The only time height matters is when you are throwing high balls - when you're going over the middle and [the quarterbacks] have to get the balls over linebackers sometimes. For me, height doesn't really matter because I'm running routes in wide-open space, so I have to get open. And if I'm open, there's enough space where my height doesn't matter."
As Bennett and his teammates work toward a bowl bid in 2006, he takes some other lessons from his career as a musician onto the football field.
"It's all about balance, controlled aggression," Bennett said. "You can't scream all over a song, just like you can't be so hyped during a game where you're not focused to make your play. You have to have a balanced attack on both of them. When you're writing a song, you have to be balanced enough to where you're not so emotional that people don't hear the words and don't know what's going on with the content. And in football, you can't be so emotional to the point where you forget plays or run wrong routes and let your emotions get the best of you."
If Bennett and his teammates can master that controlled aggression and "Rep the Rock," 13 will be a lucky number for the Hoosiers this season. And that will be something that Bennett and all of Hoosier nation can write about.
