Indiana University Athletics
Indiana Player Quotes - Spring Game
4/14/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 14, 2007
Cream & Crimson Spring Game
Player Quotes
Junior running back Marcus Thigpen
On what to expect from the running game next season:
"I don't know what the game plan is right now, but I know we stepped up a lot in the backfield and our offensive line came together. We'll probably do a lot more running, but we just aired it out more today."
On the offensive chemistry this spring:
"We really have some chemistry now, so we are all coming together and getting it rolling. I think it's helped out a lot this spring and it's going carry over to the season. Last year we were real young, but we really have a feel for what to expect now."
Junior wide receiver James Hardy
On his development this spring:
"I go in with the same mind frame, keep working hard every day and give 100 percent in the weight room, on and off the field, studying film and watching players. As of right now I have been watching Calvin Johnson the entire spring. That is what I do at home when I leave practice to study him and see what he does. I just watch the players that are better than me and see what they have that I don't and try to put it into my game."
On Kellen Lewis being the number one quarterback this spring:
"We know he is our number one guy. We know he is the number one quarterback coming in and he's the focal point of our offense. We are on his shoulders for the most part, now we know that, we just have to go out there and perform."
Sophomore wide receiver/safety Nick Polk
On the overall spring as a team:
"I feel great. I think we got a lot accomplished and we are a better team than we were when we started on day one. After practice 15 and the spring game, we saw a lot of big plays and how playmakers can make things happen."
On his personal progress:
"I am very encouraged with everything. I am just trying to get the challenge of stepping over to the defense and actually learning new things on offense and defense. It is a lot."
Sophomore quarterback Kellen Lewis
On the team's performance today:
"We had a pretty good outing. During the earlier scrimmages we pretty much worked on our running game. Coach Canada kind of said enough is enough so we kind of aired the ball out quite a bit today."
On the quarterback being more of a running threat:
"There are just some different options. We read the defensive end and in a lot of cases the way they are blocking up front. In a lot of cases when we hand off the ball, the quarterback is going to bootleg and pretend he has the ball, making sure the defense knows that the quarterback is a running threat."
On the trick plays:
"They had a few. The one the Crimson team ran, we kind of had a hunch it was coming. A couple guys gave out some information they probably shouldn't have. We knew it was coming. Nick Polk played quarterback in high school and many other positions. We ran that play last year off a bubble screen and it didn't work. We knew they were going to run it but we weren't for sure when."
On comparing this spring to last:
"I am a lot more confident. I felt a little better with sitting in the pocket and throwing the ball. Last year I did a lot of running around and scrambling. It kind of hurt me a little bit today. I should have thrown the ball away instead of taking the sack. Other than that, I am pretty happy."
On his connection with James Hardy after a full spring as number one:
"Just having a connection now. Last year, everyone tried to say you can build a relationship over a season. The relationship with him and Blake Powers had built up through the season before that. Being number three on the depth chart last year, I might have had gotten three of four reps with him in a week. I'm not throwing to those guys, so I didn't know how he ran routes or where he wanted the ball. Coming into this year, being with him and kind of leaning about him, just throw the ball higher than you think you should and he'll go get it."
