Indiana University Athletics
Head Coach Terry Hoeppner's Weekly Press Conference
9/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 26, 2006
Head Coach Terry Hoeppner met with the media on Sept. 26 for his weekly press conference after returning to the team earlier this week. He was joined by sophomore wide receiver James Hardy and senior safety Will Meyers.
Head Coach Terry Hoeppner
Opening Statement:
"I want to start out by thanking the hundreds of people across the country, not only the college football fraternity, but high school football coaches, NFL coaches, and also Athletic Director Rick Greenspan, President Herbert, my staff. We didn't get the results we wanted from the last two weeks but it wasn't because of any lack of effort on their part. I've said it before and I challenged them again, it's comforting from my perspective to have guys willing and capable when I'm not there. I observed the last two games as a spectator. I didn't want them to think I didn't have confidence in them, or that I was trying to jump in at the midnight hour and take over. I was a spectator. As of Sunday, I'm back and good to go for practice today. I have absolutely no restrictions. As I tell the team, don't be soft, but don't be stupid. I think that, along with my able assistant and nurse (wife Jane), I'll be smart with it. But I feel great, and I can't wait to get to practice. I've said it before, I love coaching football games. I enjoy the preparation, I enjoy recruiting, but my passion is being on the sideline coaching football games, and I haven't gotten to do that for a couple of weeks. Where is the team right now? You have certain things where you can measure the team's response throughout a typical season, let alone an atypical one. They didn't sign up for this. As a college player, who anticipates at the start of a season, the head coach walks in one day and says 'hey guys, I'm not going to be around for awhile.' I told them not to use it as an excuse, and I'm not saying that my absence had anything to do with the way we played, but we didn't play very well these past two weeks. But, you get back together after games. One of the best lifting sessions this team has had was on Sunday. I complimented them on that on Sunday evening, and that's a good indication that the team is ready to go. No one is sitting around feeling sorry for themselves. And I came up with a great plan for this week, and I revealed it to the team on Sunday. We're going to coach better this week, and you're going to play better this week, and we're in the Big Ten. Now lets go do it. We have to get back to playing, on offense especially. I thought we gained a level of confidence and execution on defense. Two weeks ago, we probably played well enough on offense to win games, but we didn't play very well on defense. We reversed it this past week. I think that it is something that is fixable. We've got to do some things better than we've been doing, no doubt about that. On that note, James Hardy is back. There's not really anything to talk about there. It had nothing to do with the incident in May. Sometimes young people in general need to step aside, and in his situation, it was some personal issues. He and I talked with the other coaches, and we decided it was best for him to just step aside for a couple of weeks. We had lunch on Sunday, and we've been in frequent conversation throughout this two-week period. He's eager to get back to the team, and I'm sure he'll reiterate that. Pretty simple goal this week, we need to Defend the Rock."
On being a spectator:
"It's really hard, because you're such a part of a group of guys for such a long period of time. There's no way I could have stayed away week one. The surgeon said I could go, if I didn't get too excited. In week two, I felt like since I'd gone in week one, I didn't want the team to feel like I wasn't there. It was a different perspective to the game. I haven't been in the press box for a game for 20 years. It did give me a big picture sense of things that I'm going to try to take advantage of, and watching from a different perspective, but I'd just as soon not have to do that again."
On the results of the surgery:
"There was an element of unknown with this surgery. They told me after the first surgery that there might be an element of scar tissue. It happened to be Jane's birthday, and she got scar tissue for her birthday. Right now, I'm good to go. The scan after the surgery was clear. We've had so many people praying for me all over the country. Former players, coaches, everyone in the Big Ten. We care about each other, and we empathize with the demands of a season, then getting thrown a big curveball in the middle of the season. The surgeons and nurse said they'd never seen anyone heal so quick. There's a reason for it, and it's not me."
On playing two quarterbacks:
"We got forced into that situation due to not only one quarterback injury, but two. Ideally, what you would like is for your quarterback, who's kind of an extension of the head coach and the leader symbolically on the field, be the guy who's playing well and running the offense and being productive. I also don't think you want to box yourself in and say we're going to play this quarterback forever. I've challenged them both. Blake (Powers) is 100 percent, Kellen (Lewis) is talented, and Graeme (McFarland) is getting close. We might have three available this weekend. I would anticipate making a decision and going with a starting quarterback this week. Both the head coach and the quarterback get too much credit and too much blame. There have been a lot of instances in the last two games where it wasn't the quarterback's fault. There are 10 other guys out there, and we need to get them all playing with confidence. It's a team game, and we've all got to get clicking, and on the same page."
On the first meeting with the team on Sunday:
"I tried not to make a big deal out of it. I'd been looking forward to it, but I also went in and challenged them right away. I went in and told them hey, I'm back. I've got a plan for the week, here's the plan. We're going to play better, we're going to coach better, we're going to have a great week of practice, and no one is feeling sorry for themselves. I also had some personal things to add. It was just great to be back with them. I appreciate the players so much, their concerns."
On the facility enhancement plan:
"It is a great victory for the IU football program. I've got to thank the Board of Trustees, and the vote of confidence that they gave to the project. I told the seniors that they wouldn't benefit from this new facility, but they will always be a part of the football family and part of the legacy. Our administration, President Herbert, Rick Greenspan, everyone did a fantastic job. We can show recruits this dream we've been talking about. Everyone who had a vote, the Board of Trustees and the Faculty Athletic Committee. The Student Government endorsed the project. That was a huge victory for the program."
On Wisconsin:
"The good news is that we're playing in the Big Ten, the reality is that we're playing Wisconsin. It looks like the same football team that we played last year. They were a few plays away from beating Michigan at Michigan last week. This will be a tremendous challenge. It's hard to find many, if any, weaknesses on their team. We need to have a great week of preparation, and we need to come out and play our 'A' game. I think anything less than our 'A' game will be good enough. We need to really play well. I'm confident that that can happen. We're going to be flying around out there today at practice. I'm going to be demanding. Players wouldn't want anything less. The defense had a good week of practice last week, it carried over into the game. I think that it will carry over this week. We've got to put it all together."
James Hardy
On returning to the team:
"I'm just excited to be back. The two weeks is over, I've dealt with the personal issues, and we're going into the Big Ten, and hopefully we can get these victories to go to a bowl game."
How tough was it to sit out?
"I had it in my mind that I couldn't be there, so after watching the games, I'm just trying to help my fellow receivers so we can come out for the Big Ten. The two weeks is over, and I'm just excited to be back."
How can you go about helping the other receivers?
"Leading by example. They look at me to see what I'm going to do, and I'm just going to do my best to lead by example, in practice, on the field, off the field and in the games."
How do you plan to help the team this week?
"I try to work on every aspect of my game. I feel that at least being there to help them, especially the freshmen. This is their first season playing, they didn't really have any experience, and I'm just out there calming them down and bringing them along."
On having Coach Hoeppner back:
"It's amazing to see him come back after two weeks after going through what he went through. My problems were minor compared to his. I just wanted to see how he was doing and see if he was alright. I really didn't want the focus on me. He's more than just a coach to me, he's a friend, and I look at him as the one I can sit down and talk to. He's the leader of the team. Everything goes as he goes. It's a blessing to have him back right now, and now we're just looking forward to the game. He's the leader, so everyone is going to follow him. Now that we're both back, I'm just looking forward to Wisconsin on Saturday."
Will Meyers
On Coach Hoeppner returning to the team:
"It's huge. With his charisma and the energy that he brings, you can just feel it in the meetings and at practice. I think that's definitely going to be a big boost for us."
On the play of the defense last week:
"I just think we had an intense practice week. I know that sound cliché, but we got after it during practice. Everyone looked within themselves and at what they were doing. I think we tried to focus on our jobs, not someone else's job, and not try to do too much. I think that turned out pretty well for the defense. We'll be ready this week. Like Coach said, it's going to take a good week of practice, a lot of preparation to get ready for Wisconsin."
