Indiana University Athletics
Mindset Matters – Marcelino Ball Finds His Hoosier Reward
10/21/2020 9:03:00 AM | Football
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Marcelino Ball knows it's not over, life's unfairness be darned.
The fifth-year senior husky will make a difference on this Indiana football team. He will help the Hoosiers to victory, perhaps starting with Saturday's season opener against No. 8 Penn State.
And if it won't be by the excellence of his play, courtesy of a season-ending torn ACL, well, consider this approach steeled by pandemic anxiety:
"Hey, man, fear nothing, take everything," he says. "That's what we're going to do."
Ball is a team co-captain by virtue of a players vote, and a player-coach due to his intensity and caring.
"Helping the team out and watching them achieve has been the highlight," he says of these last few weeks. "It is either helping your teammates out by being a resource or being nothing."
If you haven't noticed, Ball isn't nothing.
"I would rather be a resource and a reason why we improve and win games from the sidelines than moping around because I am not playing."
Losing what loomed as a special season could have broken Ball. Instead, he tapped into an inner peace achieved during the pandemic separation, when he asked himself deep questions, such as what do I want? Why am I playing football?
Answers came down to this – "I want the rewards of having teammates and building relationships and winning and competing. I love that. That made me get back into my zone."
It was, in some ways, reminiscent of a Bruce Lee-like internal journey to nullify external hardship, and if that sounds like wacky martial arts philosophy (one of Lee's many insightful quotes was, "If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus. You must not stay there. You must go beyond them."), well, wacky works.
"I feel like I got my confidence back," Ball says.
"The injury has not been that difficult. Throughout this COVID-19 year, I have found a space of relaxation as far as my mental health goes, so when the injury came, I was good mentally that it did not affect me too bad.
"Once college games started earlier in the fall, it was okay, as well. I am sure once the Big Ten starts playing it will hit me more, but I am keeping my mind free with trying to communicate and stay close to the team.
"I am trying to keep improving mentally and help out my teammates."
So there you go.
A week or so after Ball was hurt, IU held a scrimmage. Afterward, Ball went to linebacker Cam Jones' house for what turned into an impromptu coaching session.
"I ended up staying for an hour or two just watching film and telling him how I would get by a blocker or what I see in the offensive concept."
Then there was teammate Bryant Fitzgerald, who is taking over Ball's husky role.
"He has this confidence about him," Ball says. "His redshirt freshman year he played as a free safety and he brought this confidence to him where he came off three interceptions. To me, he is like a (Seattle Seahawks DB) Jamal Adams, just his fearlessness, ability to attack blockers and to get down in coverage.
"He is going to pick up where I left off. Getting into coverage, being a run stopper, he is going to do it all. I have no worries with (him).
"What was crazy is when I got hurt, I called him and told him to be ready and he said I am already here. He already knew that it was his time."
Ball could return for a sixth season.
Will he?
That announcement will come later. He has a different priority.
"I am focused on this year. We have eight games, eight Big Ten opponents including Penn State this Saturday, which is all I am worried about. I get surgery Friday, but I am still planning on being at the game on Saturday."
Despite the loss of Ball, IU projects to have a formidable defense. It returns nine starters from a unit that posted two shutouts, and held two other teams to three points each.
"We have a lot of players coming back and that just means our defense has more experience where we can help each other out," Jones says. "We know exactly what we need to do and when to do it. We just have to make the plays. Everybody knows what everybody needs to be doing. It is a good feeling to know that the whole defense is on the same page when 11 people step onto the field."
IU was one or two key plays away from beating Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State and Tennessee last season. It burned then, linebacker Micah McFadden says. It burns now.
But perspective goes beyond those key plays.
"This year we've brought a focus to it that it's not just one or two plays that's going to make the game," McFadden says. "It's each and every play, and each and every person on the defense. It's each and every person doing his job and trusting each other."
Every team in America talks about owning the fourth quarter, but not every team pays the conditioning price to make it happen.
The Hoosiers under new strength coach Aaron Wellman did, McFadden says.
"It was a huge emphasis this offseason and over the summer working with Coach Wellman. They put an emphasis on the fact that we were going to be running more. They got our conditioning up to a certain level and said, 'This is how much you are going to be running in games and throughout the week this is how much you are going to run'.
"We did sprints or long sprints to get our conditioning up and experience the heavy breathing so we are ready for that fourth quarter."
Add defensive depth to that conditioning.
"An important thing about our defense is the depth that we are going to have at all of our positions," McFadden says. "We are going to have a lot of guys that can play. It's that emphasis of keeping the standard once those guys get on the field and make those type of plays."
Through it all, there will be Ball.
"I didn't think I'd be in that captain role, which I appreciate even more," he says.
"Sometimes we go through little situations that seem hard to get out of. For me, it was just getting my mind right."
So he has.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Marcelino Ball knows it's not over, life's unfairness be darned.
The fifth-year senior husky will make a difference on this Indiana football team. He will help the Hoosiers to victory, perhaps starting with Saturday's season opener against No. 8 Penn State.
And if it won't be by the excellence of his play, courtesy of a season-ending torn ACL, well, consider this approach steeled by pandemic anxiety:
"Hey, man, fear nothing, take everything," he says. "That's what we're going to do."
Ball is a team co-captain by virtue of a players vote, and a player-coach due to his intensity and caring.
"Helping the team out and watching them achieve has been the highlight," he says of these last few weeks. "It is either helping your teammates out by being a resource or being nothing."
If you haven't noticed, Ball isn't nothing.
"I would rather be a resource and a reason why we improve and win games from the sidelines than moping around because I am not playing."
Losing what loomed as a special season could have broken Ball. Instead, he tapped into an inner peace achieved during the pandemic separation, when he asked himself deep questions, such as what do I want? Why am I playing football?
Answers came down to this – "I want the rewards of having teammates and building relationships and winning and competing. I love that. That made me get back into my zone."
It was, in some ways, reminiscent of a Bruce Lee-like internal journey to nullify external hardship, and if that sounds like wacky martial arts philosophy (one of Lee's many insightful quotes was, "If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus. You must not stay there. You must go beyond them."), well, wacky works.
"I feel like I got my confidence back," Ball says.
"The injury has not been that difficult. Throughout this COVID-19 year, I have found a space of relaxation as far as my mental health goes, so when the injury came, I was good mentally that it did not affect me too bad.
"Once college games started earlier in the fall, it was okay, as well. I am sure once the Big Ten starts playing it will hit me more, but I am keeping my mind free with trying to communicate and stay close to the team.
"I am trying to keep improving mentally and help out my teammates."
So there you go.
A week or so after Ball was hurt, IU held a scrimmage. Afterward, Ball went to linebacker Cam Jones' house for what turned into an impromptu coaching session.
"I ended up staying for an hour or two just watching film and telling him how I would get by a blocker or what I see in the offensive concept."
Then there was teammate Bryant Fitzgerald, who is taking over Ball's husky role.
"He has this confidence about him," Ball says. "His redshirt freshman year he played as a free safety and he brought this confidence to him where he came off three interceptions. To me, he is like a (Seattle Seahawks DB) Jamal Adams, just his fearlessness, ability to attack blockers and to get down in coverage.
"He is going to pick up where I left off. Getting into coverage, being a run stopper, he is going to do it all. I have no worries with (him).
"What was crazy is when I got hurt, I called him and told him to be ready and he said I am already here. He already knew that it was his time."
Ball could return for a sixth season.
Will he?
That announcement will come later. He has a different priority.
"I am focused on this year. We have eight games, eight Big Ten opponents including Penn State this Saturday, which is all I am worried about. I get surgery Friday, but I am still planning on being at the game on Saturday."
Despite the loss of Ball, IU projects to have a formidable defense. It returns nine starters from a unit that posted two shutouts, and held two other teams to three points each.
"We have a lot of players coming back and that just means our defense has more experience where we can help each other out," Jones says. "We know exactly what we need to do and when to do it. We just have to make the plays. Everybody knows what everybody needs to be doing. It is a good feeling to know that the whole defense is on the same page when 11 people step onto the field."
IU was one or two key plays away from beating Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State and Tennessee last season. It burned then, linebacker Micah McFadden says. It burns now.
But perspective goes beyond those key plays.
"This year we've brought a focus to it that it's not just one or two plays that's going to make the game," McFadden says. "It's each and every play, and each and every person on the defense. It's each and every person doing his job and trusting each other."
Every team in America talks about owning the fourth quarter, but not every team pays the conditioning price to make it happen.
The Hoosiers under new strength coach Aaron Wellman did, McFadden says.
"It was a huge emphasis this offseason and over the summer working with Coach Wellman. They put an emphasis on the fact that we were going to be running more. They got our conditioning up to a certain level and said, 'This is how much you are going to be running in games and throughout the week this is how much you are going to run'.
"We did sprints or long sprints to get our conditioning up and experience the heavy breathing so we are ready for that fourth quarter."
Add defensive depth to that conditioning.
"An important thing about our defense is the depth that we are going to have at all of our positions," McFadden says. "We are going to have a lot of guys that can play. It's that emphasis of keeping the standard once those guys get on the field and make those type of plays."
Through it all, there will be Ball.
"I didn't think I'd be in that captain role, which I appreciate even more," he says.
"Sometimes we go through little situations that seem hard to get out of. For me, it was just getting my mind right."
So he has.
Players Mentioned
DB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
LB
/ FootballFB: Spring Game - Postgame Press Conference
Thursday, April 23
FB: Bray Lynch - Spring Practice No. 11
Tuesday, April 21
FB: Drew Evans - Spring Practice No. 11
Tuesday, April 21
FB: Nico Radicic - Spring Practice No. 11
Tuesday, April 21