Indiana University Athletics
IU Wades Into Bowl Preparation
12/11/2015 2:53:00 PM | Football
By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana football finally earned an opportunity to do something the Hoosiers haven't been able to do since the end of July—rest.
Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson intentionally lightened the practice load as his team waded into bowl preparation over the last two weeks. Wilson's plans were based around giving tested veterans a chance to recharge mentally and physically between the end of the regular season and the Pinstripe Bowl all while affording younger players more opportunities to take first team snaps in practice.
"You've got to practice hard and smart," Wilson said. "Every year, every team, every scenario is going to be different. So what are you trying to get accomplished with your program? You can overdo things. You can underdo things."
The coaching staff began postseason preparation with optional practices, allowing veterans the chance to take a load off their bodies and rest.
Indiana, like many teams around the country, was relying on players who were dealing with aches and pains down the stretch. The opportunity to take a step back and focus on getting healthy was a welcome change of pace for redshirt sophomore Marcus Oliver, who leads IU with 102 tackles.
"Our training staff does a really good job with recovery. It's huge," he said. "Shoot, this is the best I've felt since the summer. It's just nice to be able to go out there and feel good."
Wilson can trust veteran players like Oliver to take advantage of their time off without getting stale. With each passing day, practices are starting to get more and more intense as Indiana creeps closer and closer to game week.
Even so, senior offensive lineman Jason Spriggs admitted it still felt odd to slow down.
"It's definitely a little bit different," Spriggs said. "But we all know we can hit. I don't think anybody's worried about that. I think that's why the coaches are okay with taking some of that physical load off of us, especially the guys that played a lot."
While veterans are resting, younger players are getting some of the best opportunities of their careers.
Guys lower in the depth chart are earning more opportunities in early practices as starters take their rests. For some, it's the first opportunity to get off the scout team and start playing in Indiana's own system again instead of simulating an opponent's defense.
Returning back to IU's own defense can be a rewarding experience for a scout player, Oliver said, because they can get a sense of why Indiana's coaches are planning individual workouts the way they do. Under the instruction of defensive coordinator Brian Knorr, the younger defensive players can see the fundamentals they've been working on in action.
"The young guys, guys that haven't been playing, they haven't really gotten a chance to learn the defense because they're giving our offense a really good look," Oliver said. "It's good for them to come over and start understanding why we do the things the way we do it."
Coaches who have been out recruiting are making their way back to Bloomington to revamp practice again. Indiana will return to a more conventional schedule next week as best it can with players finishing up finals before game week in New York.
Wilson said Sunday there's going to be sloppy play, turnovers and other issues as a result of the layoff. It's the unavoidable downside of giving a team rest, but he didn't want to over-practice and receive diminishing returns.
Now just more than two weeks away from playing Duke at Yankee Stadium, Wilson will start cranking up practice again soon.
After all, he isn't just taking his team to New York for a holiday vacation.
"We need to have a good show and we need to play well because we want to keep building," Wilson said. "Like I say, we're not just happy to be there. It's a great opportunity to keep building and we want to max that out."
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Indiana (6-6) will face Duke (7-5) in the 2015 New Era Pinstripe Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 26. The game will be held at Yankee Stadium with a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff on ABC. Student tickets for the Pinstripe Bowl are just $10 and can be purchased by clicking here. Tickets for the general public can be purchased by clicking here.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana football finally earned an opportunity to do something the Hoosiers haven't been able to do since the end of July—rest.
Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson intentionally lightened the practice load as his team waded into bowl preparation over the last two weeks. Wilson's plans were based around giving tested veterans a chance to recharge mentally and physically between the end of the regular season and the Pinstripe Bowl all while affording younger players more opportunities to take first team snaps in practice.
"You've got to practice hard and smart," Wilson said. "Every year, every team, every scenario is going to be different. So what are you trying to get accomplished with your program? You can overdo things. You can underdo things."
The coaching staff began postseason preparation with optional practices, allowing veterans the chance to take a load off their bodies and rest.
Indiana, like many teams around the country, was relying on players who were dealing with aches and pains down the stretch. The opportunity to take a step back and focus on getting healthy was a welcome change of pace for redshirt sophomore Marcus Oliver, who leads IU with 102 tackles.
"Our training staff does a really good job with recovery. It's huge," he said. "Shoot, this is the best I've felt since the summer. It's just nice to be able to go out there and feel good."
Wilson can trust veteran players like Oliver to take advantage of their time off without getting stale. With each passing day, practices are starting to get more and more intense as Indiana creeps closer and closer to game week.
Even so, senior offensive lineman Jason Spriggs admitted it still felt odd to slow down.
"It's definitely a little bit different," Spriggs said. "But we all know we can hit. I don't think anybody's worried about that. I think that's why the coaches are okay with taking some of that physical load off of us, especially the guys that played a lot."
While veterans are resting, younger players are getting some of the best opportunities of their careers.
Guys lower in the depth chart are earning more opportunities in early practices as starters take their rests. For some, it's the first opportunity to get off the scout team and start playing in Indiana's own system again instead of simulating an opponent's defense.
Returning back to IU's own defense can be a rewarding experience for a scout player, Oliver said, because they can get a sense of why Indiana's coaches are planning individual workouts the way they do. Under the instruction of defensive coordinator Brian Knorr, the younger defensive players can see the fundamentals they've been working on in action.
"The young guys, guys that haven't been playing, they haven't really gotten a chance to learn the defense because they're giving our offense a really good look," Oliver said. "It's good for them to come over and start understanding why we do the things the way we do it."
Coaches who have been out recruiting are making their way back to Bloomington to revamp practice again. Indiana will return to a more conventional schedule next week as best it can with players finishing up finals before game week in New York.
Wilson said Sunday there's going to be sloppy play, turnovers and other issues as a result of the layoff. It's the unavoidable downside of giving a team rest, but he didn't want to over-practice and receive diminishing returns.
Now just more than two weeks away from playing Duke at Yankee Stadium, Wilson will start cranking up practice again soon.
After all, he isn't just taking his team to New York for a holiday vacation.
"We need to have a good show and we need to play well because we want to keep building," Wilson said. "Like I say, we're not just happy to be there. It's a great opportunity to keep building and we want to max that out."
#####
Indiana (6-6) will face Duke (7-5) in the 2015 New Era Pinstripe Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 26. The game will be held at Yankee Stadium with a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff on ABC. Student tickets for the Pinstripe Bowl are just $10 and can be purchased by clicking here. Tickets for the general public can be purchased by clicking here.
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