Indiana University Athletics
Rayner Eying Successful Senior Season
6/24/2015 11:59:00 AM | Football
By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
Indiana's most improved player has no intention of slowing down any time soon.
Adarius Rayner, a fifth-year defensive lineman, was named Hoosier Football's most improved defensive player by head coach Kevin Wilson at the conclusion of spring practice.
The offseason honor was humbling, Rayner said, but being named most improved only means he's getting better. It doesn't mean it's where he wants to be.
"To me, that means I need to keep working harder," Rayner said. "Most improved is just what it sounds like—most improved. I've got a lot to keep working on to get to the next level and keep playing."
Rayner's aspirations of playing professionally after college highlight how far he's come in his eight years of playing organized football.
A basketball player growing up in Largo, Fla., Rayner didn't pick up football until prompted by one of his aunts as a sophomore in high school. She thought his size and athleticism would give him a chance to be pretty good.
Her intuition paid off.
Rayner was a four-year basketball letterwinner, but his versatility and skillset on the gridiron ultimately brought him to Indiana to play football. In his time since, he's gone from being relatively new to the game to earning a spot in the rotation on a deep, experienced defensive line.
"Even in some high school camps, I felt like I was a little behind just because I started playing late," Rayner said. "I feel like now I've learned all of that and just need to make plays this year to where I can be able to take it to the next level and help this team as well."
With summer workouts in full swing, Rayner said he's looking to build on his spring honor. He's keying in on being a more consistent playmaker in what will be his final season with the Hoosiers.
In years past, Rayner has had his fair share of highlight plays, but he's expecting more this season.
He's been studying off the field, watching film to where he said he has a much stronger conceptual understanding of what second-year defensive coordinator Brian Knorr is trying to do. At this point, it's a matter of going out on the field and making the plays he's capable of.
"I just need to improve more on production," Rayner said. "We've learned the basics. Now it's knowing when to strike and where to strike in the right spots to be able to be more affective for the defense and more affective for the team."
With everyone back in Bloomington for summer practice, Rayner said the Hoosiers have begun an important stage of developing chemistry between veterans and the new additions to the team.
Players young and old are learning each other's physical limits and personalities. Rayner said it's important for teammates to know these things so they can lift each other up and perform better during games in the fall.
From what he's seen so far, Rayner likes where the Hoosiers are at.
"With the way that everybody's coming along, I feel like we can be as good as we want to be," Rayner said.
Of course, it's only natural that Rayner sets the expectations high. But just how good can IU's defense?
Rayner senses another case of being most improved.
"I feel like this year, we should be one of the top defenses in the Big Ten," Rayner said. "We just need to attack every day."
