Indiana University Athletics
Media Tuesday: Michigan State
11/10/2020 1:15:00 PM | Football
Below are partial transcriptions of Zoom press conferences with Indiana P Haydon Whitehead, WR Ty Fryfogle, CB Reese Taylor, DL Demarcus Elliott and OL Caleb Jones on Tuesday, Nov. 10.
P Haydon Whitehead
Q. On the start of the 2020 season…
WHITEHEAD: Talking to Coach Allen when I was coming over here first, it was definitely something that he wanted to build and he has been very open about building Indiana into one of those top programs. While it is maybe a little bit surprising to people outside of the program, this 3-0 start definitely is not surprising to us. Something that we thought we could achieve and worked hard to achieve. Now that it is happening, it is just a little bit of the reward for the hard work paying off.
Q. On learning the history of college football…
WHITEHEAD: Definitely something I had to learn a little bit coming over here (from Australia). One thing that I was talking to my parents about earlier this week was when I started following college football back in Australia, Michigan was one of the teams that I kept close tabs on. Saturday after the game and even during the game towards the end it was a little bit of, just a wow, how cool is this moment. Finally getting to beat one of the teams that not only I supported early on, but now got the chance to play against four years in a row and knock them off this year. That is something that I am proud of myself individually, but even more proud of this program for achieving. So, I think it is only good things for the next couple of years at Indiana.
Q. On the transition to American football…
WHITEHEAD: Yeah, a little bit of a challenge. The main thing was probably getting accustomed with the rules and especially formations, especially on special teams. To be honest, I am still learning a couple of the rules. There were a few calls on Saturday and even in previous games that I still did not really understand. It was a little bit of a challenge, but I definitely feel accustomed now in my fourth year.
WR Ty Fryfogle
Q. On improvements since coming to Indiana…
FRYFOGLE: I feel like I have just improved my game all around since I got here. In high school you just run routes, you do not really know what you are doing, but you are just making plays in high school. But when you get here, you kind of have to be coached up and know what you are doing to understand the game on a different level and I think the whole offensive staff has really helped me grow my game. Especially Coach Grant Heard, and also just learning from the older receivers when I was here. Everybody just helped me with my game and make me a better receiver. But I still have a ways to go.
Q. On Jacolby Hewitt…
FRYFOGLE: I am really proud of him. Just seeing the injury he had last year and the progression he is making. We are always tough on him because we know how great of a receiver he can be and the potential he has. That is why we just stay on him every day and just seeing how he is progressing, it is making me happy.
Q. On Michael Penix Jr.'s game against Michigan State last year…
FRYFOGLE: When they talked about Mike coming here, just watching his high school film we knew he would be a great quarterback, and just seeing him get better and better every year is just exciting. I am just excited to play with Mike and have the opportunity.
CB Reese Taylor
Q. On Haydon Whitehead's leadership on special teams…
TAYLOR: He is a great leader for the special teams. He is always on point and always doing what he is asked. He does it right. He always has a smile on his face. He is always the top dog on special teams. He gets the entire special teams, whatever special teams he is on, he gets the whole unit right. He makes sure everyone is on point, everyone is doing what they are supposed to do, lined up right, and I feel like he is a great leader in that role.
Q. On the corners in the run/blitz game…
TAYLOR: We are really explosive. We trigger when we need to trigger. When Coach Kane Wommack gives us the play calls, it is a trigger to us to know that the run play is coming. We know it is coming because of the film study that we get into, how deep we get into it, how much we practice it, and how locked in we are at practice. It really comes down to how focused we are in practice. When we play fast, it depends on what run is coming or what pass is going.
Q. On leadership in the cornerbacks room…
TAYLOR: We always make sure that the young guys have the right mindset in practice or if they get into the game. We have to make sure that they up-tempo with us as well. We always make sure they are in the right spot. We are always coaching them up on the little things, the small things, and the techniques. Even when they do something great, we still tell them what it is wrong in the little things that they do. Everyone is going to pat you on your back, but if you mess up once, it is still on you. The corner room is a real-life brotherhood because we say the good things and the bad things. It is not just about the good things.
DL Demarcus Elliott
Q. On defending the run in dominant fashion…
ELLIOTT: It is a lot of fun. It is always fun to get a win. To be 3-0 is probably one of the best feelings I have had in a while. Being able to do it with the defensive line and the defense is an amazing feeling. Every day in practice, all of the coaches and players, we strain for physicality. The way to stop the run is to be physical. I feel that is what we have been doing.
Q. On Michigan State's offense…
ELLIOTT: They are really big and physical. They are big, strong guys. Watching film, you can really see that. They put that work in the weight room, and at the end of the day, we just have to match it or be better than them physically. Like I said, in practice we have been straining to be more physical than the other team. That is going to be a challenge this week.
Q. On his recruiting process to Indiana…
ELLIOTT: Tom Allen and the old defensive line coach Mark Hagen both recruited me very hard. Once it started, it never dropped off. I felt like I could trust them even though I really did not know them. I felt an instant connection. We have been winning a lot recently and the fans are amazing.
OL Caleb Jones
Q. On Michael Penix Jr.'s performance at Michigan State last season…
JONES: Last year, we were not really new to Mike being able to make plays. Everyone on our offense knew that we had a high-powered offense. We knew that we had to protect him, give him time, and he would be able to deliver. It is that same motivation, mindset going into this year. Playing Michigan State, we have a grudge against them. We should have won last year, but we did not. We have to protect Mike and create some running lanes for Stevie Scott III. We have to let our offense do their thing.
Q. On last Wednesday's physical practice…
JONES: We definitely made it an emphasis at the beginning of the week that we knew it would have to be a tougher week, we knew it was going to be a week that we exerted a lot of energy, and we strained to finish. I think that our scout team did a good job of giving us a really good look and making sure that we were prepared to play. I think that the reason practice was so physical was because the scout team was trying to give us the best look possible. I think that they did a really good job. Most of the offensive lineman were not really happy about it, but it gave us a really good result.
Q. On Michigan State's defense…
JONES: Michigan State has a very, very large defensive front. They are not quite as explosive as the guys we just faced in Michigan. They are very stout, very strong. I think that the big thing will be getting our cleats in the ground and rooting those big bodies up out of there to give Stevie some room to run. I think that we have a really good game plan in place.
P Haydon Whitehead
Q. On the start of the 2020 season…
WHITEHEAD: Talking to Coach Allen when I was coming over here first, it was definitely something that he wanted to build and he has been very open about building Indiana into one of those top programs. While it is maybe a little bit surprising to people outside of the program, this 3-0 start definitely is not surprising to us. Something that we thought we could achieve and worked hard to achieve. Now that it is happening, it is just a little bit of the reward for the hard work paying off.
Q. On learning the history of college football…
WHITEHEAD: Definitely something I had to learn a little bit coming over here (from Australia). One thing that I was talking to my parents about earlier this week was when I started following college football back in Australia, Michigan was one of the teams that I kept close tabs on. Saturday after the game and even during the game towards the end it was a little bit of, just a wow, how cool is this moment. Finally getting to beat one of the teams that not only I supported early on, but now got the chance to play against four years in a row and knock them off this year. That is something that I am proud of myself individually, but even more proud of this program for achieving. So, I think it is only good things for the next couple of years at Indiana.
Q. On the transition to American football…
WHITEHEAD: Yeah, a little bit of a challenge. The main thing was probably getting accustomed with the rules and especially formations, especially on special teams. To be honest, I am still learning a couple of the rules. There were a few calls on Saturday and even in previous games that I still did not really understand. It was a little bit of a challenge, but I definitely feel accustomed now in my fourth year.
WR Ty Fryfogle
Q. On improvements since coming to Indiana…
FRYFOGLE: I feel like I have just improved my game all around since I got here. In high school you just run routes, you do not really know what you are doing, but you are just making plays in high school. But when you get here, you kind of have to be coached up and know what you are doing to understand the game on a different level and I think the whole offensive staff has really helped me grow my game. Especially Coach Grant Heard, and also just learning from the older receivers when I was here. Everybody just helped me with my game and make me a better receiver. But I still have a ways to go.
Q. On Jacolby Hewitt…
FRYFOGLE: I am really proud of him. Just seeing the injury he had last year and the progression he is making. We are always tough on him because we know how great of a receiver he can be and the potential he has. That is why we just stay on him every day and just seeing how he is progressing, it is making me happy.
Q. On Michael Penix Jr.'s game against Michigan State last year…
FRYFOGLE: When they talked about Mike coming here, just watching his high school film we knew he would be a great quarterback, and just seeing him get better and better every year is just exciting. I am just excited to play with Mike and have the opportunity.
CB Reese Taylor
Q. On Haydon Whitehead's leadership on special teams…
TAYLOR: He is a great leader for the special teams. He is always on point and always doing what he is asked. He does it right. He always has a smile on his face. He is always the top dog on special teams. He gets the entire special teams, whatever special teams he is on, he gets the whole unit right. He makes sure everyone is on point, everyone is doing what they are supposed to do, lined up right, and I feel like he is a great leader in that role.
Q. On the corners in the run/blitz game…
TAYLOR: We are really explosive. We trigger when we need to trigger. When Coach Kane Wommack gives us the play calls, it is a trigger to us to know that the run play is coming. We know it is coming because of the film study that we get into, how deep we get into it, how much we practice it, and how locked in we are at practice. It really comes down to how focused we are in practice. When we play fast, it depends on what run is coming or what pass is going.
Q. On leadership in the cornerbacks room…
TAYLOR: We always make sure that the young guys have the right mindset in practice or if they get into the game. We have to make sure that they up-tempo with us as well. We always make sure they are in the right spot. We are always coaching them up on the little things, the small things, and the techniques. Even when they do something great, we still tell them what it is wrong in the little things that they do. Everyone is going to pat you on your back, but if you mess up once, it is still on you. The corner room is a real-life brotherhood because we say the good things and the bad things. It is not just about the good things.
DL Demarcus Elliott
Q. On defending the run in dominant fashion…
ELLIOTT: It is a lot of fun. It is always fun to get a win. To be 3-0 is probably one of the best feelings I have had in a while. Being able to do it with the defensive line and the defense is an amazing feeling. Every day in practice, all of the coaches and players, we strain for physicality. The way to stop the run is to be physical. I feel that is what we have been doing.
Q. On Michigan State's offense…
ELLIOTT: They are really big and physical. They are big, strong guys. Watching film, you can really see that. They put that work in the weight room, and at the end of the day, we just have to match it or be better than them physically. Like I said, in practice we have been straining to be more physical than the other team. That is going to be a challenge this week.
Q. On his recruiting process to Indiana…
ELLIOTT: Tom Allen and the old defensive line coach Mark Hagen both recruited me very hard. Once it started, it never dropped off. I felt like I could trust them even though I really did not know them. I felt an instant connection. We have been winning a lot recently and the fans are amazing.
OL Caleb Jones
Q. On Michael Penix Jr.'s performance at Michigan State last season…
JONES: Last year, we were not really new to Mike being able to make plays. Everyone on our offense knew that we had a high-powered offense. We knew that we had to protect him, give him time, and he would be able to deliver. It is that same motivation, mindset going into this year. Playing Michigan State, we have a grudge against them. We should have won last year, but we did not. We have to protect Mike and create some running lanes for Stevie Scott III. We have to let our offense do their thing.
Q. On last Wednesday's physical practice…
JONES: We definitely made it an emphasis at the beginning of the week that we knew it would have to be a tougher week, we knew it was going to be a week that we exerted a lot of energy, and we strained to finish. I think that our scout team did a good job of giving us a really good look and making sure that we were prepared to play. I think that the reason practice was so physical was because the scout team was trying to give us the best look possible. I think that they did a really good job. Most of the offensive lineman were not really happy about it, but it gave us a really good result.
Q. On Michigan State's defense…
JONES: Michigan State has a very, very large defensive front. They are not quite as explosive as the guys we just faced in Michigan. They are very stout, very strong. I think that the big thing will be getting our cleats in the ground and rooting those big bodies up out of there to give Stevie some room to run. I think that we have a really good game plan in place.
Players Mentioned
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