Quoted: Fall Camp Edition - Offensive Line
8/18/2022 2:00:00 PM | Football
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Fall camp has entered the dog days and run game coordinator/offensive line coach Darren Hiller and selected offensive linemen spoke to the media on Thursday (August 18) inside Memorial Stadium.
Below is a partial transcript of the press conferences, while video of the full media sessions can be found on the right sidebar at IUHoosiers.com.
Darren Hiller | Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line
On improving across the offensive line…
DH: Playing offensive line is a position that you have to embrace the boredom of consistency. It's repetitive and doing things over-and-over. From a year ago to now, I think we've made a lot of strides in that regard. Kids are working hard. It's been a great camp. We're just trying to grind every day.
On coaching Matthew Bedford…
DH: The biggest thing about Matt, especially if you remember back to his freshman season in 2019, is his physical ability. He's got very good feet and great hip explosion. The biggest thing for Matt has been the learning curve from playing high school football to college football. That to me, has been the best part; watching his growth from 2019. I can remember the Michigan State game up in East Lansing [in 2019]. I didn't sleep well the night before that game because he was going to be starting his first football game there. He really didn't know a whole lot about football in general, forget college football. He was very green. Here we are, now he's going into his fourth year. The growth from a mental aspect, he still brings a physicalness from that perspective. But the biggest thing has been a growth from a mental aspect of football.
On Luke Haggard progression since arriving at Indiana…
DH: It's been great. To me, it's a great story. He was a guy that wasn't a long-time offensive lineman. He was a high school kid that was tall and skinny. Defensive end, tight end type of player. He didn't really get recruited because he didn't really have a position. He was kind of like a big, baby giraffe. He goes to junior college, and they didn't move him to offensive line until his second year of junior college. He got to about 240 pounds and they moved him to left tackle. He's just a kid playing JUCO ball in California. So, he says, 'ok, I'll play left tackle.'
He does that for a year. Through the recruiting process, we found him. The full intention in 2020 was to redshirt him. I think when we signed him, he was 255. We were going to redshirt him in 2020 and play him in 2021 and 2022. Here we are in 2022 and we've got very fortunate with the COVID year.
The COVID break was good to him. He left here when we got shutdown and went home. When he came back in late-July/August, suddenly, he was 275. He gained 20 pounds on his own. He found a way to do it, whatever he was doing, with all the restrictions that everybody had. Not knowing what we had, because we only had three or four practices before we got shutdown, we didn't know what we were getting.
As we went through the abbreviated year, we knew he was going to be on the bus. We didn't know if we were going to play him. He just kept getting better and growing as an offensive lineman. There were a lot of similarities with Matthew Bedford that there were with Luke Haggard.
It's not about whether the defense is in a three-man front or four-man front. A lot of it is the post-snap. When the ball is snapped, and the bolts are flying, and people are moving and blitzing and doing different things. That's where the natural reactions about playing offensive line and where to get your eyes and what you need to do with your feet. He didn't know a lot of that. But he ended up playing in 2020 because that gave him a free year with us. He got his feet wet a little bit. Obviously, last year he was a full-time guy for us and he's plugging along now. He's had a really good camp. Excited for him. A lot of growth.
On Carter Smith and Bray Lynch…
DH: I always say with freshmen, it's a lot about what high school program they're coming from and what they've learned. Carter was an early enrollee, so he got all 15 spring practices. Bray came from Austin Westlake and started 35 games. Coming from that high school program, we felt that him coming in here, the knowledge base would be pretty good. Carter came in and didn't know a whole bunch about the post-snap things. Carter had a leg up on those guys because of spring camp. Bray is ahead of the curve from a knowledge standpoint.
When we're in meetings and going through our installs, the freshmen, early on, are usually asking very basic questions. Bray's questions were a little more advanced. Early-on in the summertime, he had some natural football instincts. That's shown up early in camp. Both of those guys have been good.
Matthew Bedford | Sr. | OL
On his increased confidence level…
MB: My body has changed. At the time I was 310 pounds of fat and now I have a lot more muscle. With that, my technique and stuff has developed a lot in that time. My knowledge of the game, just the game experience over the years has helped a lot. I have been able to see all kinds of defenses and all kinds of personnel. I have seen a lot of different pass rushers on the edge and interior guys up front.
On pass protection comparing to basketball…
MB: You get unlimited fouls. You can smack him, you can throw both hands, you can snatch him, and you can do all kinds of things to defeat a defender in pass [protection]. That is basically what [offensive line coach Darren Hiller] is saying. Playing basketball is mirroring the guy with your feet. A lot of times, guys will float or overset, and the defender will be able to get up under them. Some guys will underset and give up the edge and end up in a position to get a holding call. It is all about mirroring the guy with your feet. The fouling part is just being aggressive.
On the player-led aspect of the team…
MB: I am taking responsibility for my young guys. When we mess up, it is not just Coach Hiller yelling at us, it is, after he gets done, about making sure each guy knows what he's talking about. When I first got here, it was a lot of Coach Hiller telling me what I was supposed to be doing and I did not fully understand what he was saying. Having the older guys come to me and put it in our words helped me understand the game in a different way [really helped]. A lot of times I feel that our guys pick up what he is talking about, so that helps a lot. That is the aspect of player-led that we lacked last year. We do not like to talk about last year a lot, but it was not there. I feel like now that I am in this position where I am able to have more of an impact on the younger guys, I am able to help get the guys ready that need to get ready for gameday. I feel like I need to take a giant responsibility in preparing them for the next game.
Below is a partial transcript of the press conferences, while video of the full media sessions can be found on the right sidebar at IUHoosiers.com.
Darren Hiller | Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line
On improving across the offensive line…
DH: Playing offensive line is a position that you have to embrace the boredom of consistency. It's repetitive and doing things over-and-over. From a year ago to now, I think we've made a lot of strides in that regard. Kids are working hard. It's been a great camp. We're just trying to grind every day.
On coaching Matthew Bedford…
DH: The biggest thing about Matt, especially if you remember back to his freshman season in 2019, is his physical ability. He's got very good feet and great hip explosion. The biggest thing for Matt has been the learning curve from playing high school football to college football. That to me, has been the best part; watching his growth from 2019. I can remember the Michigan State game up in East Lansing [in 2019]. I didn't sleep well the night before that game because he was going to be starting his first football game there. He really didn't know a whole lot about football in general, forget college football. He was very green. Here we are, now he's going into his fourth year. The growth from a mental aspect, he still brings a physicalness from that perspective. But the biggest thing has been a growth from a mental aspect of football.
On Luke Haggard progression since arriving at Indiana…
DH: It's been great. To me, it's a great story. He was a guy that wasn't a long-time offensive lineman. He was a high school kid that was tall and skinny. Defensive end, tight end type of player. He didn't really get recruited because he didn't really have a position. He was kind of like a big, baby giraffe. He goes to junior college, and they didn't move him to offensive line until his second year of junior college. He got to about 240 pounds and they moved him to left tackle. He's just a kid playing JUCO ball in California. So, he says, 'ok, I'll play left tackle.'
He does that for a year. Through the recruiting process, we found him. The full intention in 2020 was to redshirt him. I think when we signed him, he was 255. We were going to redshirt him in 2020 and play him in 2021 and 2022. Here we are in 2022 and we've got very fortunate with the COVID year.
The COVID break was good to him. He left here when we got shutdown and went home. When he came back in late-July/August, suddenly, he was 275. He gained 20 pounds on his own. He found a way to do it, whatever he was doing, with all the restrictions that everybody had. Not knowing what we had, because we only had three or four practices before we got shutdown, we didn't know what we were getting.
As we went through the abbreviated year, we knew he was going to be on the bus. We didn't know if we were going to play him. He just kept getting better and growing as an offensive lineman. There were a lot of similarities with Matthew Bedford that there were with Luke Haggard.
It's not about whether the defense is in a three-man front or four-man front. A lot of it is the post-snap. When the ball is snapped, and the bolts are flying, and people are moving and blitzing and doing different things. That's where the natural reactions about playing offensive line and where to get your eyes and what you need to do with your feet. He didn't know a lot of that. But he ended up playing in 2020 because that gave him a free year with us. He got his feet wet a little bit. Obviously, last year he was a full-time guy for us and he's plugging along now. He's had a really good camp. Excited for him. A lot of growth.
On Carter Smith and Bray Lynch…
DH: I always say with freshmen, it's a lot about what high school program they're coming from and what they've learned. Carter was an early enrollee, so he got all 15 spring practices. Bray came from Austin Westlake and started 35 games. Coming from that high school program, we felt that him coming in here, the knowledge base would be pretty good. Carter came in and didn't know a whole bunch about the post-snap things. Carter had a leg up on those guys because of spring camp. Bray is ahead of the curve from a knowledge standpoint.
When we're in meetings and going through our installs, the freshmen, early on, are usually asking very basic questions. Bray's questions were a little more advanced. Early-on in the summertime, he had some natural football instincts. That's shown up early in camp. Both of those guys have been good.
Matthew Bedford | Sr. | OL
On his increased confidence level…
MB: My body has changed. At the time I was 310 pounds of fat and now I have a lot more muscle. With that, my technique and stuff has developed a lot in that time. My knowledge of the game, just the game experience over the years has helped a lot. I have been able to see all kinds of defenses and all kinds of personnel. I have seen a lot of different pass rushers on the edge and interior guys up front.
On pass protection comparing to basketball…
MB: You get unlimited fouls. You can smack him, you can throw both hands, you can snatch him, and you can do all kinds of things to defeat a defender in pass [protection]. That is basically what [offensive line coach Darren Hiller] is saying. Playing basketball is mirroring the guy with your feet. A lot of times, guys will float or overset, and the defender will be able to get up under them. Some guys will underset and give up the edge and end up in a position to get a holding call. It is all about mirroring the guy with your feet. The fouling part is just being aggressive.
On the player-led aspect of the team…
MB: I am taking responsibility for my young guys. When we mess up, it is not just Coach Hiller yelling at us, it is, after he gets done, about making sure each guy knows what he's talking about. When I first got here, it was a lot of Coach Hiller telling me what I was supposed to be doing and I did not fully understand what he was saying. Having the older guys come to me and put it in our words helped me understand the game in a different way [really helped]. A lot of times I feel that our guys pick up what he is talking about, so that helps a lot. That is the aspect of player-led that we lacked last year. We do not like to talk about last year a lot, but it was not there. I feel like now that I am in this position where I am able to have more of an impact on the younger guys, I am able to help get the guys ready that need to get ready for gameday. I feel like I need to take a giant responsibility in preparing them for the next game.
Players Mentioned
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