Indiana University Athletics
Player Quotes
9/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 12, 2006
Senior offensive lineman Justin Frye
On hearing the news of Coach Hoeppner's condition:
"The first time around, a lot of us were not in Bloomington because of Christmas break. We got text messages and phone calls from the coaches. Now, it's nice to have the team here, but at the same time, your thoughts go straight to Coach Hoeppner. There is nothing that can really prepare you for this, but you just have to take and go, like he said, with no distractions and no excuses. Just take it and run with it. `Hep' is my coach, and we all look up to him. We just have to keep going and not use this as a crutch and keep fighting harder and stronger so that when he does come back, he knows we did our part and he can do his part in recovery."
On finding motivation in the situation:
"You have to keep it in the back of your mind all the time, but you have to use it as fuel and motivation. It's a reality check that makes you put your priorities in place. The stuff that we're doing is not so important in the big scheme of things, so this is motivation to go a little harder, play a little faster because you never know. Like he said, it's day-to-day and you have to have fun with it at the same time."
On what everyone is feeling:
"My dad went through this for seven or eight years. From an insider's aspect, I know a lot of what they're going through and at the same time I don't. I know what Jane (Hoeppner) and the family are going through, and I know what you have to do to be the rock and the support system. Coach Hep realizes that his captains are going to take care of things here and Coach (Bill) Lynch and the rest of the coaching staff are going to handle this. So if it is four weeks instead of two, Coach Hep knows that we have `the rock' handled here. We're going to that for him, and he just needs to handle his part."
Senior defensive end Kenny Kendal
On his reaction to Coach Hoeppner's news:
"It was a little bit of a shock when Coach Hep told us, but he's been really upbeat and keeping us upbeat. He makes it seem like it's going to be okay, so we're going to pray for him tonight. Coach Lynch is a great coach, and from that aspect, I know we will be okay."
Senior wide receiver/return man Lance Bennett
On his initial reaction:
"Obviously, it's unfortunate. Coach Hep addressed the team and told us, and it was just silent. Everybody just started talking and thinking about what really matters in life. A couple of players came up to me on the field and said, `This really shifts your focus to what really matters in life.' It was an upbeat practice, because Coach Hep had that talk with us, telling us he doesn't want it to become a distraction. He doesn't want us to feel sorry for ourselves or feel sorry for him or the situation. We went out and had an enthusiastic practice despite the down mood.
On the mood of the team:
"As upbeat as he is, it doesn't make it feel as bad as most people would expect. I know everybody was shocked by it, but as upbeat as he is, and the way he talks about it, it doesn't make it as bad as what you'd expect."
On leading the team in a prayer:
"That's a part of my everyday life. It was spontaneous - I lead the team in prayer before games and before meals, but some of the guys look to me for spiritual guidance, and I am glad I am in that position. There's power in prayer, and I felt that I had to do that."
On how to do what's best for Coach Hoeppner:
"Doing what he wants would be paying tribute to him. What would be easy for humans to do would be just lose focus, feel sorry, mourn and get down. Obviously, we want to keep him in our prayers and we want to make sure that's an important thought, but at the same time focusing on his words - don't let it be a distraction. So whether it be in practice or going into the game, that's the focus, that's what Coach would want."
Senior safety Will Meyers
On football and life:
"It does put things in perspective. Football isn't the most important thing. In a situation like this, it just helps you appreciate that all the more. Coach Hep's a great guy and we're just keeping him in our prayers."
On Saturday's game against Southern Illinois:
"We're putting our full focus on this game, and we're not going to let what's happened here affect us at all. We owe it to him to go out there and do everything we can, so we're definitely excited for this weekend."
On Coach Hoeppner telling the team before making the announcement:
"That just shows how much of a family we are. That means a lot to us as players that he wanted us to find it out from him. It was a tough meeting, very emotional, but the biggest thing he said is that he'll be back in two weeks. He'll be back in a couple weeks, it's not that big of a deal, and we're excited for this weekend. He already implemented a great gameplan for this week, so we're ready to go."
On what Coach Hoeppner's words of inspiration were:
"Three words - fast, physical and smart - that's our slogan this weekend. We're just trying to improve on the first two games. They always say that between the first and second game you improve the most, and we really didn't have that, so we're just trying to come out here this Saturday and be more efficient."
On losing the energy Coach Hoeppner brings to the team:
"He does carry a lot of energy, and he's a great coach. As captains, we're going to have to step up and try to provide some of that energy and some of that boost. I thought we had a great practice today, there was a lot of energy, everyone was live, moving around and talking a lot. We're just trying to do what we know that he would want us to do and play the way he would want us to."
