Indiana University Athletics
Signing Day Press Conference Transcript
2/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Feb. 7, 2007
On Wednesday, Feb. 7, head coach Terry Hoeppner and the football staff met with the media to discuss the signees for the incoming class of 2007. The following is the transcript of the conference:
Head coach Terry Hoeppner:
Opening statement:
"This is one the three great days in a coach's life and I want to start off by congratulating my staff for an incredible job of recruiting. I am proud of them and I'm proud of this class. The staff did a great job, they do all the flying and driving, really all the leg work. Recruiting is truly a team effort because you have the recruiting coach and then the position coach, and then I either go in and close or blow the deal, depending on how it turns out.
"There is so much to be optimistic about and I can't wait for tomorrow because I wake up excited every day. With the end zone renovation we have going on and the leadership we have. One of the first people to come over this morning was Rick Greenspan and one of the first calls I received was from Dr. Herbert. That is so important to me, the staff and the team because we have not only support, but involvement. It shows sincere interest and care.
"Sometime in the near future we will have this function on the third floor of the North end zone, looking down on to the field. We have a great offseason and winter going and I'm inviting the media to come to the 'winning edge,' our morning workout, and you will be impressed. I would like for you to come and watch what we do and I promise you that you will be impressed and it will give you a real feel for behind-the-scenes action. It's one highly organized intense hour and it's a team-building, football conditioning change of direction. Some of the freshmen looked at us and thought we were insane, but I said we'll come back on Thursday and get better.
"This is part of the reason for our optimism and it is a combination of either further developing our quality depth or in some cases, for those who are physically and emotionally equipped to handle it, will get an opportunity to participate early, to play soon, but not too soon. It's a mistake you can make, carrying the youth movement a bit too far, but I also ask them a question, `are you going to be better as an 18-year-old freshman or as a 23-year-old fifth-year senior? We played a number of freshmen last year and my target is to play four because the flip side of that is that the future is now and the best players play. Youthful enthusiasm can carry a long way and experience is hard to replace. I don't guarantee anybody anything, but if they are the best players they will be out there. They will be better as second year sophomores for having played in a game. That is an absolute, but you want to make sure you use that judiciously.
"I always say that I am not going to talk at the head coaches meeting at the national convention, but the subject came up and I raised my hand. The straws passed and it came up to at least explore an early signing date in football. We already have a date we could use in December, the date we use for junior college players. That Wednesday before Christmas is already built in and we wouldn't have to change anything. It has not gotten much traction because of two reasons, the element of the unknown and the feeling of recruiting year-round, which we do now, but what it would do is clean up recruiting and put some teeth back into commitment. Right now a commitment is a reservation. A lot of sports have an early signing date and we have talked about as a staff whether it would help us or hurt us. And that is part of the unknown. But it would definitely clean up football recruiting.
"I wouldn't change anything I did or the staff did in the last six weeks. We are going to continue to be the guys with the white hats on, and do things the right way, and if that doesn't work, then I'll be disappointed in the system, because we are going to do it the right way, recruit young men with character who can run fast. The character of our coaching staff is revealed on a daily basis by the feedback I get from parents and high school coaches. It convinces me that I've done a couple things right, and putting this staff together is one of them.
Indiana assistant coaches on the Hoosier commits:
Billy Lynch on cornerback Chris Adkins:
"Chris is one of three guys from Warren Central High School in this class and he is known as somewhat of a sleeper mainly because he played running back his first three years of high school and then switched to cornerback this year. He is a taller guy that can certainly run from a cornerback position and is good at playing the pass. He is physical and the biggest thing is that his ceiling is so high strictly because of the fact that he has only played that position for one year. Each day he will learn more and more, but again he is an athletic guy that will cover the pass and hit you in the run game. He will be a physical corner for us and we are excited about him."
Billy Lynch on defensive lineman Jeff Boyd:
"Boyd is a defensive lineman from Warren Central and the biggest thing that stands out about Jeff is his versatility. Coach George got a chance to watch him at a combine this summer and he's a big guy that is good against the run. He is explosive off the ball and creates havoc."
Coach Hoeppner on Boyd:
"He's one of those guys that because of our needs and his physical and emotional maturity, that could be on the field. His nickname is `Game-changer.'
Billy Lynch on defensive lineman Kevin Burrus:
"He is originally from Indianapolis and went to Ben Davis High School. He's the brother of current Hoosier Keith Burrus and they are twins. Keith is more of a three technique defensive lineman and Kevin is a true hard-spot nose tackle. He signed early and is here with us now working out. He is very athletic for his size and will be a good hard spot for us on the defensive line."
Brian George on linebacker Dane Conwell:
"He came in as a junior a little bit under the radar and we had a chance to watch him on tape. We liked him on tape and then we saw him at a camp. We really liked him at camp and decided to offer him even though at the point in the process he didn't have a lot of offers. It turned out to be a good decision as his team went 16-0 this season and he was the AAAA player of the year. He is one of those guys that we made a good evaluation of and he blossomed as a senior. We envision him as an outside linebacker for us."
Matt Canada on running back Zach Davis-Walker:
"He's an explosive guy, he's not the tallest but he is a powerful runner with good hands and will be a good addition to our program."
Billy Lynch on tight end Max Dedmond:
"Max is a character guy who runs fast, he played linebacker, tight end and fullback. He did all those different type of things and is just a very good quality football player. We see him as a tight end for us and we feel he will add a dimension for us that we can use. He is a guy that can help us in the run game and create matchup problems for the passing game."
Matt Canada on safety Jarrell Drane:
"He is a fly downhill safety that broke his arm this year and only played in the last few games. But we were fortunate to see him in the spring and Jarrell will be physical for us. He comes from a good family and we are excited for him to be onboard with us."
Bill Lynch on wide receiver Matt Ernest:
"Matt came with Crown Point to our camp and we had a chance to work with him for a week at a time. As a junior he broke his collarbone, so that might have hurt his recruiting radar, but we did not overlook him because of his two summers at camp. He is a great baseball and basketball player and will be a great wideout for us. He is the one guy we really decided early on that we wanted."
Brian George on quarterback/safety Mitchell Evans:
"Mitchell is another guy from camp. He is a quarterback at a small high school in Ohio and he throws the ball well and runs really fast. He is a versatile guy and we will probably give Mitchell the opportunity to play quarterback, but obviously he has the speed and size to play other positions as well."
Brian George on offensive lineman Josh Hager:
"Josh is a big kid that is going to fill out, he is about 260 pounds right now and looks thin. We are fired up about Josh coming in, he has worked with Bobby for two summers, and he will be a good player for us as time goes on and he continues to fill out."
Matt Canada on punter Chris Hagerup:
"He came to camp too. He is a punter that has a big leg. He hasn't played a whole bunch of football and he was a punter and quarterback up in Wisconsin. He is already here on campus, he came in early at mid-year. We are impressed with his ability and his work ethic, we are going to have him out there in the spring to work with Coach Hep.
Coach Hoeppner on Hagerup:
"We have speed groups and the faster you are it determines which group you are in. He has already been moved up, he was too fast for the group he was in. He also is a pretty good quarterback, he's an athlete."
George Ricumstrict on linebacker Darius Johnson:
"He is versatile and he played running back and linebacker. When we look for linebackers we look for guys that are athletic and all four of the guys we signed really fit that field. As the recruiter and the position coach, our relationship has already formed and I'm very excited about Darius as a part of this class."
Mike Yeager on defensive lineman Fred Jones:
"He did a heck of a job this past year to win defensive player of the year since he missed the first four games after a knee injury. He is a young man who has just gotten bigger and bigger. He loves the sport of football. He flies around and is a pass rusher. He is a big guy that can move."
Billy Lynch on offensive lineman Andrew McDonald:
"He is another guy we have had a chance to work with in camp and as soon as we got the senior tape on him, we saw how athletic he was. He has only played one year of varsity football, but he is aggressive and the ceiling is really high because of his size and his athleticism. He is a great student and football is very important to him."
George Ricumstrict on linebacker Ian Reeves:
"Once I got tape on Ian I saw that he was the most physical kid on tape this year. He is a beast and he will absolutely hit you. He is also a very good rusher and he fits the mold of a very athletic player who can play any of the three linebacker positions."
Brian George on linebacker Tyler Replogle:
"Tyler is from a football tradition rich high school that produced A.J. Hawk. The head coach at Centerville compared Tyler to Hawk and said he is every bit the football player that A.J. is. We watched him on tape and he is what you want at linebacker. He has a nose for the ball, he's a great tackler and he loves the game."
Bill Lynch on quarterback Teddy Schell:
"Teddy had a great year and he is a lefty. The interesting story about Teddy is that when we were watching tape on him, Coach Hep tinkered with the projector, so we saw him as a righty because that's how coach wanted to evaluate him. It worked and we offered him. Teddy has a very accurate arm and threw very few interceptions."
Coach Hoepnner on Schell:
"You don't see many left handed quarterbacks and it's not fair because they look so different. He is a good football player and we will rep a couple of these guys at the quarterback position."
Bobby Johnson on defensive lineman Eric Thomas:
"Head coach Ted Ginn of Glenville came to camp with 50 members of his high school program. Eric became the 14th member of the Glenville program in the last few years to sign with the Big Ten and we have been fortunate to sign two. He is a versatile kid, a very athletic kid with good grades and character."
Billy Lynch on offensive lineman Dennis Zeigler:
"He is the biggest guy we have coming in and is a kid that was in camp. Bobby got a chance to work with him and as evaluators we liked him for his athletic ability with his size. He is a guy who always thought of himself as a basketball player and is the starting center at Pike. He runs the basketball court with a bunch of wideouts and running back type of guys. He is a guy that for his size has a great amount of athleticism and is a strong kid. The ceiling is high for him having only played two years. We think he will be a dominant offensive lineman for us."
Coach Hoeppner on whether or not he was happy with the class:
I talked to every one of these guys after their paperwork came in and it's a group that has already made friends within the class. I am pumped up and excited when I talk to them.
On whether or not IU filled its needs:
"You target your needs going into recruiting and here is who we have, the numbers we wanted at each position. The abilities we try and determine. We got versatility and more offensive linemen."
On his disappointment about the players that didn't come:
"I wouldn't change a thing. You do everything you can. You can analyze what you could have done differently. We aren't going to dwell on the ones that got away, we are going to keep recruiting these guys and make sure they finish off their schoolwork and get here for orientation. To talk about the ones that got away at this point is a waste of words. With the number of offers we put out there and the signees we got, the ratio is incredibly high and if we were in sales, we would take that. I don't know how some places do it, but if we offer you, we want you. Again, I give the staff credit for bringing this class to Indiana."
