Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Had a (Hender)shot at OSU
10/12/2018 12:29:00 PM | Football
By: Andy Graham
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - It almost served as a formal announcement, just three snaps into the game, that Indiana was not the least bit intimidated by playing undefeated and No. 3-ranked Ohio State on the Buckeyes' own turf.
Hoosier redshirt freshman tight end Peyton Hendershot set up to the left side of the backfield and, at the snap, moved quickly to his right.
Standout OSU sophomore defense end Chase Young, who had haunted Penn State the week before, and junior linebacker Malik Harrison simultaneously saw IU true freshman Stevie Scott take the handoff.
But they never made it to Scott.
Because Hendershot came right down the line and nailed Young with a block that he maintained until Scott was safely by, at the same time shielding off Harrison. In so doing, Hendershot basically denied the Buckeyes' any back-side pursuit.
Coupled with right tackle Brandon Knight and the rest of the Hoosier offensive line blockading the Buckeye defensive front to the left, Scott galloped through a gigantic hole and didn't stop till Buckeye defenders finally corralled him 45 yards later.
"That was an explosive play and, whenever you get explosive plays in the run game, that's always important," IU offensive coordinator Mike DeBord recalled this week. "That was a very well-blocked play.
"Peyton Hendershot did a great job of cutting off their defensive end – and not only cutting him off, but he did a good job of finishing that block off. That created a great seam there and Stevie had a nice run out of it."
Hendershot, a former multi-sport star at Tri-West (Hendricks) High School, came into IU with a clear skill-set as a receiving tight end, but DeBord noted that Hendershot's emergence this fall is due largely to improved blocking technique.
The sort of stuff that allows Hendershot to stymie a defensive end who out-weighs him by about 30 pounds.
"We knew that D-end was going to crash down hard, and he's a big, physical guy," Hendershot said of Young on Scott's big run, "He's like 6-6, 265. So I knew I was going to have to have low pad level and run my feet afterward. Because if I didn't get a good hit in …
"That's a big thing … I'm lighter – really light in weight – so I really have to emphasize my technique to still win blocks in the Big Ten."
Hendershot acknowledges he didn't allow that message to sink in right away, even though the man delivering it was IU's associate head coach and had coached NFL tight ends for both the Seahawks and the Bears.
"That's how it is when you first come in, you don't really like (to hear what you don't want to hear). It just took me a while for me to trust him, to like … he's a genius," Hendershot admitted.
"He helps me a lot. He's improved my game so much. He's such a good tight ends coach. He's a great coach and I believe in everything he does.
"He's been around the game a long time. I finally just listened to everything he said, because he knows what he's talking about. I'm a young teenager. I tend to think I'm always right. But everything he says – he knows why it's better, why it's the best technique to do it … I trust everything he says. Whatever he says, I'll do it."
Hendershot did more than block Saturday. He hauled in a 32-yard pass for IU's first touchdown in a game that saw the Hoosiers stay within single digits of OSU till the Buckeyes pulled away in the fourth quarter.
That brought him up to nine catches for 112 yards and two TDs on the season, though the degree of difficulty didn't quite match the circus catch Hendershot made a week earlier during the win at Rutgers.
With the Hoosiers starting a third-quarter drive on their own 12, quarterback Peyton Ramsey found Hendershot on a crossing pattern – even if Hendershot didn't immediately find the ball.
The pass ricocheted off Hendershot's hands and flipped onto his back but, remarkably and at full stride, he reached to pin the ball on his back and then pulled it forward where he could secure it. He then sped on to complete a 23-yard gain.
"It just happened spur-of-the-moment," Hendershot said. "I thought I'd dropped it, at first. It took so long to get there – my first real catch of the season – and I took my eyes of it, but somehow still came up with it, thank God.
"I can't believe how long it was back there (on my back) and nobody hit me. I didn't know I was that open."
Hendershot later elevated over a defender for a clutch 25-yard catch on fourth down to clinch the victory.
That play displayed the sort of vertical leap he exhibited while averaging a double-double (12.9 points and 10.5 rebounds, along with 4.3 assists and 1.3 steals) as a versatile senior center for Tri-West's basketball team.
"I think that helps more with the passing game," Hendershot said of his basketball background. "Going up to catch balls and route-running , just like when I was in the post (for basketball). It's like I'm more smooth doing that stuff.
"And football helped me in basketball, to overcome being skinny."
Hendershot had to overcome more than that early in his IU career.
First he had to go through a redshirt year.
"Just the everyday grind and staying focused," he said of that year's challenges. "In high school, I was so athletic, everything just came easy to me. Here, everybody's athletic. Everybody was 'The Guy' (in high school)
"So you've got to work hard every day. You can't take any day off. If you have a bad day, the other guy is going to have a great day and eliminate you (from playing-time consideration).
"I had a real bad spring … my parents were real big on talking to me about staying focused, taking it one day at a time. Spring ball is so long before the season, I think I'd gotten lost thinking big picture rather than just focusing on the day-by-day stuff, the grind.
"So that was a big emphasis (for me) in fall camp. Just no matter what happened – I knew (DeBord) would put me in bad scenarios to see how I'd react, to see how mentally tough I am, to just strive through it."
The fall brought additional competition for playing time, too, even though fifth-year senior tight end Ryan Watercutter has missed the first half of the season with injury. Austin Dorris, a redshirt junior, had a tremendous off-season. Shaun Bonner, a redshirt sophomore, was in the mix. Then true freshman Matt Bjorson promptly got into the playing rotation.
But Hendershot knew there was still a chance to play, and that multiple tight ends would get utilized.
"Yeah, that's what we always knew, and I don't think anybody has been very selfish with reps," Hendershot said. "Whenever Matt (Bjorson) or (Austin) Dorris goes in and makes a play, I'm really happy for them. And when I come out they'll tell me things I need to work on. I think we're all in this together.
"The first couple of weeks in fall camp were tough. I wasn't getting any 1 (first-team) reps. I talked with my parents and they said, 'Just stay, keep going hard and good things will happen. Buy in.' Everything worked out. Now I'm playing and I'm just so thankful for it."
Hendershot has started all six games, continuing to emerge as a burgeoning weapon in Indiana's offense. And he now carries the sort of confidence that comes with playing well against the nation's No. 3-ranked team.
"I think that was a big thing, playing against Ohio State," he said. "Those bigger-name programs. You get a big block or catch a big pass and say, 'I'm made for this type of environment.' It builds the confidence that I can do it against anybody."
And he'll try to do it Saturday, at Indiana's Homecoming, when 4-1 Iowa comes calling for a noon kickoff.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - It almost served as a formal announcement, just three snaps into the game, that Indiana was not the least bit intimidated by playing undefeated and No. 3-ranked Ohio State on the Buckeyes' own turf.
Hoosier redshirt freshman tight end Peyton Hendershot set up to the left side of the backfield and, at the snap, moved quickly to his right.
Standout OSU sophomore defense end Chase Young, who had haunted Penn State the week before, and junior linebacker Malik Harrison simultaneously saw IU true freshman Stevie Scott take the handoff.
But they never made it to Scott.
Because Hendershot came right down the line and nailed Young with a block that he maintained until Scott was safely by, at the same time shielding off Harrison. In so doing, Hendershot basically denied the Buckeyes' any back-side pursuit.
Coupled with right tackle Brandon Knight and the rest of the Hoosier offensive line blockading the Buckeye defensive front to the left, Scott galloped through a gigantic hole and didn't stop till Buckeye defenders finally corralled him 45 yards later.
"That was an explosive play and, whenever you get explosive plays in the run game, that's always important," IU offensive coordinator Mike DeBord recalled this week. "That was a very well-blocked play.
"Peyton Hendershot did a great job of cutting off their defensive end – and not only cutting him off, but he did a good job of finishing that block off. That created a great seam there and Stevie had a nice run out of it."
Hendershot, a former multi-sport star at Tri-West (Hendricks) High School, came into IU with a clear skill-set as a receiving tight end, but DeBord noted that Hendershot's emergence this fall is due largely to improved blocking technique.
The sort of stuff that allows Hendershot to stymie a defensive end who out-weighs him by about 30 pounds.
"We knew that D-end was going to crash down hard, and he's a big, physical guy," Hendershot said of Young on Scott's big run, "He's like 6-6, 265. So I knew I was going to have to have low pad level and run my feet afterward. Because if I didn't get a good hit in …
"That's a big thing … I'm lighter – really light in weight – so I really have to emphasize my technique to still win blocks in the Big Ten."
Hendershot acknowledges he didn't allow that message to sink in right away, even though the man delivering it was IU's associate head coach and had coached NFL tight ends for both the Seahawks and the Bears.
"That's how it is when you first come in, you don't really like (to hear what you don't want to hear). It just took me a while for me to trust him, to like … he's a genius," Hendershot admitted.
"He helps me a lot. He's improved my game so much. He's such a good tight ends coach. He's a great coach and I believe in everything he does.
"He's been around the game a long time. I finally just listened to everything he said, because he knows what he's talking about. I'm a young teenager. I tend to think I'm always right. But everything he says – he knows why it's better, why it's the best technique to do it … I trust everything he says. Whatever he says, I'll do it."
Hendershot did more than block Saturday. He hauled in a 32-yard pass for IU's first touchdown in a game that saw the Hoosiers stay within single digits of OSU till the Buckeyes pulled away in the fourth quarter.
That brought him up to nine catches for 112 yards and two TDs on the season, though the degree of difficulty didn't quite match the circus catch Hendershot made a week earlier during the win at Rutgers.
With the Hoosiers starting a third-quarter drive on their own 12, quarterback Peyton Ramsey found Hendershot on a crossing pattern – even if Hendershot didn't immediately find the ball.
The pass ricocheted off Hendershot's hands and flipped onto his back but, remarkably and at full stride, he reached to pin the ball on his back and then pulled it forward where he could secure it. He then sped on to complete a 23-yard gain.
"It just happened spur-of-the-moment," Hendershot said. "I thought I'd dropped it, at first. It took so long to get there – my first real catch of the season – and I took my eyes of it, but somehow still came up with it, thank God.
"I can't believe how long it was back there (on my back) and nobody hit me. I didn't know I was that open."
Hendershot later elevated over a defender for a clutch 25-yard catch on fourth down to clinch the victory.
That play displayed the sort of vertical leap he exhibited while averaging a double-double (12.9 points and 10.5 rebounds, along with 4.3 assists and 1.3 steals) as a versatile senior center for Tri-West's basketball team.
"I think that helps more with the passing game," Hendershot said of his basketball background. "Going up to catch balls and route-running , just like when I was in the post (for basketball). It's like I'm more smooth doing that stuff.
"And football helped me in basketball, to overcome being skinny."
Hendershot had to overcome more than that early in his IU career.
First he had to go through a redshirt year.
"Just the everyday grind and staying focused," he said of that year's challenges. "In high school, I was so athletic, everything just came easy to me. Here, everybody's athletic. Everybody was 'The Guy' (in high school)
"So you've got to work hard every day. You can't take any day off. If you have a bad day, the other guy is going to have a great day and eliminate you (from playing-time consideration).
"I had a real bad spring … my parents were real big on talking to me about staying focused, taking it one day at a time. Spring ball is so long before the season, I think I'd gotten lost thinking big picture rather than just focusing on the day-by-day stuff, the grind.
"So that was a big emphasis (for me) in fall camp. Just no matter what happened – I knew (DeBord) would put me in bad scenarios to see how I'd react, to see how mentally tough I am, to just strive through it."
The fall brought additional competition for playing time, too, even though fifth-year senior tight end Ryan Watercutter has missed the first half of the season with injury. Austin Dorris, a redshirt junior, had a tremendous off-season. Shaun Bonner, a redshirt sophomore, was in the mix. Then true freshman Matt Bjorson promptly got into the playing rotation.
But Hendershot knew there was still a chance to play, and that multiple tight ends would get utilized.
"Yeah, that's what we always knew, and I don't think anybody has been very selfish with reps," Hendershot said. "Whenever Matt (Bjorson) or (Austin) Dorris goes in and makes a play, I'm really happy for them. And when I come out they'll tell me things I need to work on. I think we're all in this together.
"The first couple of weeks in fall camp were tough. I wasn't getting any 1 (first-team) reps. I talked with my parents and they said, 'Just stay, keep going hard and good things will happen. Buy in.' Everything worked out. Now I'm playing and I'm just so thankful for it."
Hendershot has started all six games, continuing to emerge as a burgeoning weapon in Indiana's offense. And he now carries the sort of confidence that comes with playing well against the nation's No. 3-ranked team.
"I think that was a big thing, playing against Ohio State," he said. "Those bigger-name programs. You get a big block or catch a big pass and say, 'I'm made for this type of environment.' It builds the confidence that I can do it against anybody."
And he'll try to do it Saturday, at Indiana's Homecoming, when 4-1 Iowa comes calling for a noon kickoff.
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