Indiana University Athletics
Media Wednesday: Penn State
10/21/2020 1:30:00 PM | Football
Below are partial transcriptions of Zoom press conferences with Indiana RB Stevie Scott III, DL Demarcus Elliott, DB Jamar Johnson, CB Tiawan Mullen and CB Reese Taylor on Wednesday, Oct. 21.
RB Stevie Scott III
Q. On getting back out on the field…
SCOTT: It feels amazing to get back out on the field with my teammates. I am just trying to help everyone get better so we can keep improving as a team. Missing those last two games [last season] was a bummer for me, but I am definitely blessed and happy to be able to get back on the field and get our season started.
Q. On the leadership of Marcelino McCrary-Ball…
SCOTT: Marcelino has been here for a while and is a veteran when it comes to a lot of different things, like dealing with the locker room. He has a big voice. Everyone respects Marcelino. He does a great job of being respectful and showing the younger players the right direction to becoming successful. I feel that he definitely deserves a captain's job. He demonstrates it every day, he is a great leader even being out with the injury, he still comes out to practice every day with a smile on his face. He still pushes everyone to be the best versions of themselves.
Q. On Nick Sheridan…
SCOTT: I definitely love Coach Sheridan. He comes every day with energy. He looks up to Whop Philyor and me to keep the offense flowing. He knows that we are the two vocal guys on the offense. Coach Sheridan and me have been building a bond together ever since he became the offensive coordinator. It has been getting stronger and stronger every practice. Every day we build up. I am loving it and I cannot wait for him to showcase his ability for being an offensive coordinator for us. He is going to show the world that he is a great coach and he is coaching some great players. I am definitely excited for Coach Sheridan and what we have coming this week.
DB Jamar Johnson
Q. On his adjustment to playing backend safety…
JOHNSON: I like the position. I learned it pretty quickly and then also it ties in to husky, and just the whole defense ties together, it is like the opposite. I feel like I will have more plays coming to me because I am back behind everyone, the last line of defense. I am just excited to see really.
Q. On the defense's confidence going into the year…
JOHNSON: Definitely. We are definitely way more confident this year. A lot of us on that team were sophomores and we are juniors this year. We are taking the initiative. We want to come in with a hungrier attitude. Everyone is just ready to showcase what we have.
Q. On being a more mature secondary…
JOHNSON: We definitely feel like we are more mature. Less mistakes. We are getting better every day. We are just learning fast, everyone is learning fast, everyone is picking up a good pace and everyone is flying around. I think we are going to be ready. I think we are going to be ready for this game one in all aspects.
DL Demarcus Elliott
Q. On the depth of the defensive line…
ELLIOTT: I think we have got a lot of depth at the D-line. Every position, from end, to nose, to tackle. Having that depth, like you said, with very aggressive teams allows us be able to get fresh guys in and get that rotation going. No matter who we put on the field they can do what they do and they are fresh.
Q. On the impact Jovan Swann has had…
ELLIOTT: It definitely has to be his work ethic. He works crazy hard, probably one of the hardest workers I have ever seen. In the weight room he gets crazy strong, so it is just him bringing that mindset, it really elevated most of the guys on the D-line, too.
Q. On what his offseason was like…
ELLIOTT: I went back home to just work out. I have a coach there, a DB coach, so he worked with my footwork a lot on our high school field, when we could because of the COVID-19 situation. Having him be able to help me there was tremendous and all of the weight rooms were closed. So, I had to do the old-fashion country workouts with the hay bales and stuff.
CB Reese Taylor
Q. On the growth and maturity of the secondary…
TAYLOR: I feel like everybody is a lot more comfortable, a lot more patient with the coaches actual detail that they are giving us. We are actually good to go full speed, full throttle. We are allowed to play at 100 percent and never doubt what we are doing, doubt our assignments. I feel like the secondary, I feel like we have all gelled together, got the relationships and everything is good to go 100 percent every game we play.
Q. On studying his individual position…
TAYLOR: I feel like because of COVID-19 that was how to really get in detail and get in the small work to getting individualized with each little small thing in the position. I feel like as a whole defense, when COVID-19 came that was for us to really lock in and really focus on what we really need to focus on for this season and make sure that we all had gelled together. Make sure that we all came together as a defense to make sure individually we all worked to study the film. Make sure we watched the film every single day, make sure we were right together.
Q. On his own personal confidence…
TAYLOR: I am a lot more comfortable. I am good where I am at but I still have a lot more room to improve. I feel like my freshman year I just came in, had to get my mind right, it was just a learning experience. It was just for me to set my feet in. Last year, when I got injured a couple times it was just basically, I feel like everything happens for a reason. It was me to just focus in, tomorrow is not guaranteed, me playing this game is not guaranteed. It made me think I have to take care of my body more, I have got to do the little things right. I have got to stretch more, but this year I am a lot more comfortable what I am doing. Coach Brandon Shelby and Coach Kane Wommack, they have talked to me about getting the small things done and make sure that I am focused in a lot more. Make sure that I am good to play every day.
CB Tiawan Mullen
Q. On finally getting to the opener and what Penn State looks like on film…
MULLEN: They have a pretty good offense and I feel that we have a great defense. We all feel great being back out there and knowing that we will be back out there on Saturday. It is a great opportunity with my brothers out there and we are getting ready to fly around. It is a great opportunity.
Q. On Bryson Bonds…
MULLEN: He is a very focused guy. He pays attention to the little details. He is coachable and ready to fly around. If he does mess up, he does it going 100 percent. He is willing to get coached up. He is a trustworthy guy. I feel like we can have him out there in a big situation. If he is on my side of the field, I feel like we will be able to communicate and get a good understanding of what is going on out there on the field.
Q. On Marcelino McCrary-Ball…
MULLEN: He means a lot. You can tell that he is down, but he still shows up to the meetings on time and he shows up to practice. He does everything that he is supposed to be doing. He is still trying to make plays on the ball, like when a player runs out of bounds, he will try to create a fumble. It is fun to see him out there still trying to make plays while he is on the sideline.
RB Stevie Scott III
Q. On getting back out on the field…
SCOTT: It feels amazing to get back out on the field with my teammates. I am just trying to help everyone get better so we can keep improving as a team. Missing those last two games [last season] was a bummer for me, but I am definitely blessed and happy to be able to get back on the field and get our season started.
Q. On the leadership of Marcelino McCrary-Ball…
SCOTT: Marcelino has been here for a while and is a veteran when it comes to a lot of different things, like dealing with the locker room. He has a big voice. Everyone respects Marcelino. He does a great job of being respectful and showing the younger players the right direction to becoming successful. I feel that he definitely deserves a captain's job. He demonstrates it every day, he is a great leader even being out with the injury, he still comes out to practice every day with a smile on his face. He still pushes everyone to be the best versions of themselves.
Q. On Nick Sheridan…
SCOTT: I definitely love Coach Sheridan. He comes every day with energy. He looks up to Whop Philyor and me to keep the offense flowing. He knows that we are the two vocal guys on the offense. Coach Sheridan and me have been building a bond together ever since he became the offensive coordinator. It has been getting stronger and stronger every practice. Every day we build up. I am loving it and I cannot wait for him to showcase his ability for being an offensive coordinator for us. He is going to show the world that he is a great coach and he is coaching some great players. I am definitely excited for Coach Sheridan and what we have coming this week.
DB Jamar Johnson
Q. On his adjustment to playing backend safety…
JOHNSON: I like the position. I learned it pretty quickly and then also it ties in to husky, and just the whole defense ties together, it is like the opposite. I feel like I will have more plays coming to me because I am back behind everyone, the last line of defense. I am just excited to see really.
Q. On the defense's confidence going into the year…
JOHNSON: Definitely. We are definitely way more confident this year. A lot of us on that team were sophomores and we are juniors this year. We are taking the initiative. We want to come in with a hungrier attitude. Everyone is just ready to showcase what we have.
Q. On being a more mature secondary…
JOHNSON: We definitely feel like we are more mature. Less mistakes. We are getting better every day. We are just learning fast, everyone is learning fast, everyone is picking up a good pace and everyone is flying around. I think we are going to be ready. I think we are going to be ready for this game one in all aspects.
DL Demarcus Elliott
Q. On the depth of the defensive line…
ELLIOTT: I think we have got a lot of depth at the D-line. Every position, from end, to nose, to tackle. Having that depth, like you said, with very aggressive teams allows us be able to get fresh guys in and get that rotation going. No matter who we put on the field they can do what they do and they are fresh.
Q. On the impact Jovan Swann has had…
ELLIOTT: It definitely has to be his work ethic. He works crazy hard, probably one of the hardest workers I have ever seen. In the weight room he gets crazy strong, so it is just him bringing that mindset, it really elevated most of the guys on the D-line, too.
Q. On what his offseason was like…
ELLIOTT: I went back home to just work out. I have a coach there, a DB coach, so he worked with my footwork a lot on our high school field, when we could because of the COVID-19 situation. Having him be able to help me there was tremendous and all of the weight rooms were closed. So, I had to do the old-fashion country workouts with the hay bales and stuff.
CB Reese Taylor
Q. On the growth and maturity of the secondary…
TAYLOR: I feel like everybody is a lot more comfortable, a lot more patient with the coaches actual detail that they are giving us. We are actually good to go full speed, full throttle. We are allowed to play at 100 percent and never doubt what we are doing, doubt our assignments. I feel like the secondary, I feel like we have all gelled together, got the relationships and everything is good to go 100 percent every game we play.
Q. On studying his individual position…
TAYLOR: I feel like because of COVID-19 that was how to really get in detail and get in the small work to getting individualized with each little small thing in the position. I feel like as a whole defense, when COVID-19 came that was for us to really lock in and really focus on what we really need to focus on for this season and make sure that we all had gelled together. Make sure that we all came together as a defense to make sure individually we all worked to study the film. Make sure we watched the film every single day, make sure we were right together.
Q. On his own personal confidence…
TAYLOR: I am a lot more comfortable. I am good where I am at but I still have a lot more room to improve. I feel like my freshman year I just came in, had to get my mind right, it was just a learning experience. It was just for me to set my feet in. Last year, when I got injured a couple times it was just basically, I feel like everything happens for a reason. It was me to just focus in, tomorrow is not guaranteed, me playing this game is not guaranteed. It made me think I have to take care of my body more, I have got to do the little things right. I have got to stretch more, but this year I am a lot more comfortable what I am doing. Coach Brandon Shelby and Coach Kane Wommack, they have talked to me about getting the small things done and make sure that I am focused in a lot more. Make sure that I am good to play every day.
CB Tiawan Mullen
Q. On finally getting to the opener and what Penn State looks like on film…
MULLEN: They have a pretty good offense and I feel that we have a great defense. We all feel great being back out there and knowing that we will be back out there on Saturday. It is a great opportunity with my brothers out there and we are getting ready to fly around. It is a great opportunity.
Q. On Bryson Bonds…
MULLEN: He is a very focused guy. He pays attention to the little details. He is coachable and ready to fly around. If he does mess up, he does it going 100 percent. He is willing to get coached up. He is a trustworthy guy. I feel like we can have him out there in a big situation. If he is on my side of the field, I feel like we will be able to communicate and get a good understanding of what is going on out there on the field.
Q. On Marcelino McCrary-Ball…
MULLEN: He means a lot. You can tell that he is down, but he still shows up to the meetings on time and he shows up to practice. He does everything that he is supposed to be doing. He is still trying to make plays on the ball, like when a player runs out of bounds, he will try to create a fumble. It is fun to see him out there still trying to make plays while he is on the sideline.
Players Mentioned
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