Indiana University Athletics
Media Wednesday: Maryland
11/25/2020 2:12:00 PM | Football
Below are partial transcripts of Zoom press conferences with WR Whop Philyor, RB/KR David Ellis and OL Luke Haggard on Wednesday, Nov. 25.
WR Whop Philyor
Q. On Michael Penix Jr.'s play-making ability…
PHILYOR: He will do anything to try and give me the ball, and I love that about him. He is doing anything to get the ball out. He is doing anything for us to make a play. He is making plays for us back there while we are making plays for him out in the open field and down the field. We have got to do everything, everything we can to make a play just like he is doing everything he can to get the ball out.
Q. On explosive plays…
PHILYOR: That is what our mind set is. Medium passes to long balls, so we work on long balls a lot. It is going to be big for us this year, the years to come. That is going to be a big thing for us because we know we have got a gunslinger back there, so he can throw it anywhere. He can throw, he is just a gunslinger. He can throw it perfectly down the field, medium routes, he can put anything on the money. That is our main focus. Down the field or medium passes.
Q. On Ty Fryfogle…
PHILYOR: I mean, we all knew Ty could do this. We all knew he could do this when he first came in. They used to call him on the visits 'Jump Ball', and when I looked up his highlights I saw him bombing people, coming over people's heads. We knew he could do this. He just had to gain the confidence in himself to do it. And look at him now, he is doing it right now. He is getting more confident as he goes, and his swag is out of this world. You see it on the field and off like, he is just doing everything. He is a great player and I love that guy. I knew he could do that. I was just waiting for you know, flash out and start doing everybody dirty, like he has been doing.
RB/KR David Ellis
Q. On his recovery from injury…
ELLIS: It is a little frustrating. Dealing with an injury is not something a player wants to go through, but there is a great support system around me with my coaches, my teammates and training room. People that helped me with rehab and everything, they made it a lot easier for me.
Q. On preparing at two different positions…
ELLIS: I understand what you are saying but not necessarily. My time being out not practicing I was still taking mental reps and watching a lot of film, and just working with my coaches and, like I said, my teammates too, just working through plays and all that stuff. The transition back on the field was not necessarily that difficult.
Q. On if one position has helped prepare for the other…
ELLIS: Definitely. I definitely see there are some benefits. You just learn the entire offense in different ways, learn protections and concepts at the same time. It is a lot faster paced, but it is what I asked for. I came here to do it, so it is what I love to do.
OL Luke Haggard
Q. On making a quick impact at this level…
HAGGARD: Like you said, I was coming in here, I think I was going to redshirt and all that, and then had camp, and then having my number called up, and getting the starting spot was definitely a big wake up call for me. Knowing that I really need to focus on the film study and also the weight factor. They were not too concerned about my weight redshirting, being slow, but now that all this has gone on, I really had to step it up and focus in.
Q. On what drove him from a junior college to playing in the Big Ten…
HAGGARD: Well really what it was, was when I went to visit the JC and I saw the opportunity that they can move players on, I kind of just saw that and wanted to take the chance. Obviously, I spent two years at the JC, so the first year not much really happened, but I just stuck with it and trusted the process and eventually all of this happened.
Q. On preparing with teammates…
HAGGARD: They help a bunch. Especially when I first got here, I never felt like I was an outsider coming from a JC. They were right there with me to help along. Then at the games, they are always, no matter what happens on the filed, they are always just cheering me on and supporting me. They have been great the whole time.
WR Whop Philyor
Q. On Michael Penix Jr.'s play-making ability…
PHILYOR: He will do anything to try and give me the ball, and I love that about him. He is doing anything to get the ball out. He is doing anything for us to make a play. He is making plays for us back there while we are making plays for him out in the open field and down the field. We have got to do everything, everything we can to make a play just like he is doing everything he can to get the ball out.
Q. On explosive plays…
PHILYOR: That is what our mind set is. Medium passes to long balls, so we work on long balls a lot. It is going to be big for us this year, the years to come. That is going to be a big thing for us because we know we have got a gunslinger back there, so he can throw it anywhere. He can throw, he is just a gunslinger. He can throw it perfectly down the field, medium routes, he can put anything on the money. That is our main focus. Down the field or medium passes.
Q. On Ty Fryfogle…
PHILYOR: I mean, we all knew Ty could do this. We all knew he could do this when he first came in. They used to call him on the visits 'Jump Ball', and when I looked up his highlights I saw him bombing people, coming over people's heads. We knew he could do this. He just had to gain the confidence in himself to do it. And look at him now, he is doing it right now. He is getting more confident as he goes, and his swag is out of this world. You see it on the field and off like, he is just doing everything. He is a great player and I love that guy. I knew he could do that. I was just waiting for you know, flash out and start doing everybody dirty, like he has been doing.
RB/KR David Ellis
Q. On his recovery from injury…
ELLIS: It is a little frustrating. Dealing with an injury is not something a player wants to go through, but there is a great support system around me with my coaches, my teammates and training room. People that helped me with rehab and everything, they made it a lot easier for me.
Q. On preparing at two different positions…
ELLIS: I understand what you are saying but not necessarily. My time being out not practicing I was still taking mental reps and watching a lot of film, and just working with my coaches and, like I said, my teammates too, just working through plays and all that stuff. The transition back on the field was not necessarily that difficult.
Q. On if one position has helped prepare for the other…
ELLIS: Definitely. I definitely see there are some benefits. You just learn the entire offense in different ways, learn protections and concepts at the same time. It is a lot faster paced, but it is what I asked for. I came here to do it, so it is what I love to do.
OL Luke Haggard
Q. On making a quick impact at this level…
HAGGARD: Like you said, I was coming in here, I think I was going to redshirt and all that, and then had camp, and then having my number called up, and getting the starting spot was definitely a big wake up call for me. Knowing that I really need to focus on the film study and also the weight factor. They were not too concerned about my weight redshirting, being slow, but now that all this has gone on, I really had to step it up and focus in.
Q. On what drove him from a junior college to playing in the Big Ten…
HAGGARD: Well really what it was, was when I went to visit the JC and I saw the opportunity that they can move players on, I kind of just saw that and wanted to take the chance. Obviously, I spent two years at the JC, so the first year not much really happened, but I just stuck with it and trusted the process and eventually all of this happened.
Q. On preparing with teammates…
HAGGARD: They help a bunch. Especially when I first got here, I never felt like I was an outsider coming from a JC. They were right there with me to help along. Then at the games, they are always, no matter what happens on the filed, they are always just cheering me on and supporting me. They have been great the whole time.
Players Mentioned
RB/KR
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WR
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OL
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QB
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WR
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