Quoted: Minnesota

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – As Indiana football prepares for its matchup with Minnesota on Saturday (Nov. 20), the Hoosiers talked to the media throughout the week and below are quotes from coordinators Nick Sheridan and Charlton Warren.

Below is a partial transcript of the press conferences, while video of the full coordinator media session can be found on the right sidebar at IUHoosiers.com.

Nick Sheridan | Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
On how challenging it has been for Donaven McCulley to get up to speed without spring ball...
NS: I think [quarterback] is certainly a developmental position … Certainly it is a challenge to play QB in this league regardless of your experience based on the quality of the opponents you play. Then certainly when you couple that with just getting here in June and not having quite the time on task - that's a challenge. There were some things in the game Saturday that shouldn't occur whether you were here for six months or three years. Those are the things we focus on. Certainly, we recognize there will be some ups and downs throughout the course of the game. But we can handle a snap, we can handle an exchange, and that has nothing to do with our opponent or the quality of the team, or the coaches, or players you go against. So, that has really been the focus here in the last few days to try and eliminate those mistakes that obviously hurt our team and has hurt our team all year. You have to eliminate losing the football before you can start playing winning football. We obviously didn't do that. The quarterbacks were part of that, and other position groups contributed to that as well. Donaven is great. He will be a really good player. We will just keep chopping at that, keep trying to help him, and every snap he takes is a learning experience for him. He has a lot of good snaps ahead of him in his future, as well.

On how the reps were split in practice heading into Rutgers…
NS: I would say for the reps, Donaven [McCulley] got plenty of reps to try and prepare him. I think as the week progressed, Jack [Tuttle] was getting healthier than we anticipated. So, we split up those reps pretty evenly. I'm sure I didn't look exactly at the number of snaps, but I would imagine Donaven still had more throughout the week of prep, as we weren't anticipating Jack to be as healthy as he ended up being by the time the game came around. I think the number one job of the quarterback, I know I have said this to you guys before, is to take care of the football, and we didn't do that. None of those guys are intentionally trying to put the ball in harm's way or turn the ball over, but it doesn't matter - that's our job. We have not done a good enough job, and that starts with me in the coaching and teaching to make sure that we don't turn it over like we have. Jack is a great kid and a super tough kid. He showed a lot of grit and a lot of heart not just trying to get back but fighting his tail off to rehab and recover to be available to play. I appreciate that about Jack. Certainly, the results weren't what he would want or what we all would want, and we recognize that, and we address that, and we try to correct that moving forward. Jack is a warrior and I'm proud of him.

On using the running game going forward…
NS: I think we need to run the ball more effectively, certainly. We got some new runners in there. Making sure we catch the snap and hand the ball off without turning the ball over. Obviously not good, we turn the ball over, so that cannot happen. That is the first and foremost focus, eliminate bad football. Then, focus on execution and making plays. We definitely need to run the ball better. I think there were some good runs in the game. I thought some of the young runners, Charlie [Spegal] and David [Holloman], did a nice job on a few instances. We need to build off that and make sure we are putting Donaven in positions where when we do ask him to run, there is enough space, we block it properly, and get him to run the play properly so that - to your point - you're staying out of third-and-long and known passing situations. Certainly, a running game is a young quarterback's best friend. He is a part of that; some of the lack of execution a quarterback is responsible for, as well, relative to reads and visions. We just have to be better.

Charlton Warren | Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
On his evaluation of the run defense over the last couple of weeks…
CW: I think the bodies, from the standpoint of having all your horses a little hurt from injuries, and guys having to play a lot of snaps - you look at the defensive linemen playing 60 snaps a game, or 50 snaps a game, because of depth. I also think when you have guys out, like last game not having your starting linebacker in the game who has been a big part of why you've had success against teams like Michigan State running the ball. So, you have some of those pieces missing, the continuity of that unit, when a team is committed to running the ball 50, 60, 70, or however many times it is in that game, I think that does hurt you. Schematically, I have to do a better job of making sure we set edges, that we keep the ball in spaces where we can gang tackle and run to the football, and we don't give up our edges a little bit. I think it's a combination of those things, but at the end of the day, I have to find ways to put whoever is on the field in position to make sure that a team doesn't just run the ball, run the ball, run the ball, and become one dimensional where they can get gains on us like that.

On Cam Jones' status…
CW: I'm hoping Cam feels better and is able to roll. I think we were inconsistent. The guys who had to come in and play were inconsistent. I think they played with great effort and energy, and they are a part of this team who work their butts off. But I think some of the inconsistency showed up in some of the fits we had, plays we gave up. But, like I said, I think every guy on that field is giving effort and they're trying to do the best job they can, and like I said, that is my position at linebacker for one. I have to do a better job of putting those guys in the right positions to make the plays for our defense and our team. You see at times we go out there and play very consistent football. We execute, we make a team go the long haul, and make them punt. You have seven three-and-outs in the game. You make them punt nine times. I think you see that in stretches of really good football play, and then you see times where something happens, you're inconsistent, and you give up a big explosive play. So, again, every week we have to keep bridging that gap of where the defense is at, as opposed to the defense that gives up a touchdown one play. We got to find that balance, I have to find that balance of making sure that we call things where our guys execute and not have a bust that leads to explosive plays.

On continuing to tackle at a high level…
CW: It is fundamentals and drill work, simple as that. I think our guys tackle a certain way and we attack a ball carrier a certain way. We talk a lot about killing the motor, and what I thought we saw on Saturday was guys using their shoulders to make some tackles. Well, these are big time players; they run through shoulder tackles. And so, that is not who we are as a defense. I think that gets back to the fundamental premise of what we do in practice everyday; making sure we are stressing form tackle, near leg/near shoulder and kill the motor with our contact levels. We didn't do that I think as a group on Saturday. We had some plays that were behind the line of scrimmage, and we didn't finish them. Those have to be minus-3 and not plus-1, putting a team behind the sticks. I think that is going to be, like it is every week, a big focus in practice - making sure our guys are finishing the right way and fundamentally teaching as coaches.

Players Mentioned

Cam Jones

Donaven McCulley

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