Indiana University Athletics
#IUFB is Back! Hoosiers Open Fall Practice
8/6/2015 6:07:00 PM | Football
By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
How Indiana handles adversity will go a long way toward determining the Hoosiers' success in 2015.
With that in mind, Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson wasted no time in giving his team its first challenge.
The Hoosiers spent part of their opening practice on Thursday in the rain, which surprised senior tight end Anthony Corsaro. He said the wet practice was an unexpected challenge on day one, but ultimately he believes it's exactly the type of test that will make Indiana better off.
"Coach threw us a curveball there by throwing us out in the rain, but that's good," Corsaro said. "You've got to be able to handle adversity. That's a big theme for us this year is when things hit the fan, how are you going to respond? How will the team respond? It tested us a little bit, but we held our own."
Contact was mostly limited in the team's opening practice, which senior defensive lineman Nick Mangieri said is a nice way to ease into the swing of playing again.
Thursday was the first time Indiana had an entire team on the field together since last November.
"It's exciting to be able to finally knock the rust off," Mangieri said. "We've been kind of cooped up all summer long just working out on our own. It feels god to be back out on the field with the coaches and everybody trying to get back after it."
Although Indiana's opening game against Southern Illinois is still 30 days away, Corsaro stressed the importance of being able to come out of the gate strong in the initial practices.
The sooner Indiana gets up to speed, he said, the quicker the Hoosiers can begin fine tuning their team and making significant strides.
"It's all part of the process," Corsaro said. "A lot of the times, people spend too much time thinking about the end result, and they don't focus enough on the journey. That's how you get caught up sometimes. You can't take anything for granted. You've got to come in maxed out, juiced every day and not leave anything in the tank when you walk off the field."
That's the type of effort Corsaro put in Thursday, and he'll try to do the same tomorrow.
Football is back in Bloomington, and the players are excited for what the season will bring.
"It's here, man," Mangieri said. "It's finally here."
Taliaferro shares some wisdom
A special guest speaker joined the Hoosiers on the eve of Indiana's first practice.
George Taliaferro, a three-time All-American and the first African American drafted into the NFL, spoke to the players and coaching staff Wednesday before practice officially began Thursday.
Corsaro said Taliaferro's message to the Hoosiers was that life goes on after football, and that who you are off the field is more important than the player you are on it.
"His talk was unreal. It was short, but sweet," Corsaro said. "I thought it was a really good message for us because we're trying to spend this month trying to get better at football, but if you approach it every day with the right attitude, it's going to make you a better person and you'll be a better football player as well."
The Hoosiers also spent Wednesday doing a few team bonding activities away from football. Players gathered onto the field in teams to play bean bag toss to loosen up before practice got serious.
But the most impacting part of the day was Taliaferro's speech, Mangieri said. It was a conversation he won't be forgetting any time soon.
"Hearing George talk—that was impressive," Mangieri said. "He's a super impressive guy. I think everybody was touched by that, and his message definitely went a long way for us."
