Indiana University Athletics
Poise and Passion – Bazelak Brings the Winning Edge
9/7/2022 10:00:00 AM | Football
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The battle was over, victory assured and Connor Bazelak bore the deep-thought look to bring images of, well, Zeno of Citium.
Who?
Red-and-white fireworks exploded above a Memorial Stadium scoreboard flashing last Friday night's hard-earned truth that Indiana, after a season of misery, had regained its must-win toughness, and Bazelak stood by himself with an expression to make one think of, well, Spock.
What?
Welcome to a Cream & Crimson starting quarterback debut like few others, and for that Bazelak bore an expression one could take as stoic, which comes from Zeno, a noted ancient Greek philosopher who founded the school of stoicism back when real athletes wore, well, nothing, and that received 1960s' TV acclaim -- and later movie fame -- by a certain Star Trek Vulcan.
So what was up with Bazelak's look?
Confusion, as it turns out.
"Part of it was I had to do an interview on the field," he says, "and I wanted to sing the fight song with the team. I didn't know what to do."
It's a rare occurrence for the man running offensive coordinator Walt Bell's attack, a job he won in part because of his -- yes -- stoic ability to stay calm when pressure peaks.
"I feel I have a good sense of when I need to be calm and poised," he says, "and also when I need to get the guys going and excited.
"That's my personality. Sometimes the offense needs to see the quarterback calm and not get flustered by anything."
The best quarterbacks, the best leaders, thrive amid adversity. Bazelak did in limited doses at Missouri, and now the hope is he will do it in a big way for the Hoosiers.
If he does, well, Friday night's 23-20 victory over Illinois could be the beginning of a monster season.
"I have developed that (poise) through college and high school being in big games and knowing when the team needs some energy or see the quarterback calm, cool, and collected," he says. "I have developed that over the years."
Bell and head coach Tom Allen saw it while watching film of Bazelak before he signed with the Hoosiers. They saw more of it in the spring and then fall camp while he battled Jack Tuttle and Dexter Williams II for the starting job.
After a couple of August scrimmages and multiple practices, where coaches tested Bazelak's poise, leadership, and accuracy under duress, they had seen enough.
The job was his.
"It was awesome," Bazelak says about hearing he was the starter. "I'm honored to be the quarterback for this team. The respect I have for Coach Allen and the decisions he makes. He brought me up to his office, told me I would be the starter. From there, we're rolling.
"Everyone on the team has been awesome. All the quarterbacks have been awesome. Supportive."
Tuttle tops that list. He's a quality quarterback, a winning quarterback, a guy who cares so much that even losing the starting battle didn't ruin his attitude.
Being named one of IU's five team captains proves that.
Still, Bazelak will lead the offensive way when the Hoosiers (1-0) host Idaho (0-1) Saturday night.
Throwing for 330 yards and a touchdown in your Hoosier debut draws attention. That final 75-yard, game-winning drive draws more.
One thing that stands out is Bazelak's refusal to force things, his willingness to concede an incompletion to wait for a better opportunity.
His poise.
"One thing I thought I did well was not take unnecessary sacks," he says. "Coach Bell talked about no sacks. That one sack was on me. I should have thrown the ball away.
"On that last drive, finding a way to throw the ball away when nothing was there and moving on to the next play."
Bazelak was far from perfect. He started 4-for-11, and lost by Bell's estimate at least 70 passing yards by missing open receivers.
"There were a couple of throws I missed," Bazelak says. "One to Andison (Coby) sailed on me. I threw a couple of balls into traffic."
Still, Bazelak completed 24 of his last 41 passes, including 7-of-10 on that final drive.
"It's getting into your rhythm in this offense," he says, "and just personally for me, getting a completion on the first play of a drive gets you going.
"It's about accuracy. I have to focus on taking checkdowns if nothing is open deep and get into rhythm."
Bell was hired to rejuvenate IU's attack. He wants diversity and at least some balance between the pass and the run, although Illinois' run-stopping defense and an offensive line rocked by losing standout lineman Matthew Bedford to a torn ACL early in the game forced a one-dimensional passing approach.
While appreciative of Bazelak's play, Bell wants more because there's more to give.
"We left three to four giant chunk plays on the field. There were two balls in jeopardy -- one was on (Bazelak), one was on somebody else.
"He played winning football, but he will tell you there's better football to be played. He's never satisfied with how he plays.
"He can get better. We can get better."
Adds Allen: "He came up big for us. I wasn't surprised."
Zeno couldn't have said it any better.
Who?
Red-and-white fireworks exploded above a Memorial Stadium scoreboard flashing last Friday night's hard-earned truth that Indiana, after a season of misery, had regained its must-win toughness, and Bazelak stood by himself with an expression to make one think of, well, Spock.
What?
Welcome to a Cream & Crimson starting quarterback debut like few others, and for that Bazelak bore an expression one could take as stoic, which comes from Zeno, a noted ancient Greek philosopher who founded the school of stoicism back when real athletes wore, well, nothing, and that received 1960s' TV acclaim -- and later movie fame -- by a certain Star Trek Vulcan.
So what was up with Bazelak's look?
Confusion, as it turns out.
"Part of it was I had to do an interview on the field," he says, "and I wanted to sing the fight song with the team. I didn't know what to do."
It's a rare occurrence for the man running offensive coordinator Walt Bell's attack, a job he won in part because of his -- yes -- stoic ability to stay calm when pressure peaks.
"I feel I have a good sense of when I need to be calm and poised," he says, "and also when I need to get the guys going and excited.
"That's my personality. Sometimes the offense needs to see the quarterback calm and not get flustered by anything."
The best quarterbacks, the best leaders, thrive amid adversity. Bazelak did in limited doses at Missouri, and now the hope is he will do it in a big way for the Hoosiers.
If he does, well, Friday night's 23-20 victory over Illinois could be the beginning of a monster season.
"I have developed that (poise) through college and high school being in big games and knowing when the team needs some energy or see the quarterback calm, cool, and collected," he says. "I have developed that over the years."
Bell and head coach Tom Allen saw it while watching film of Bazelak before he signed with the Hoosiers. They saw more of it in the spring and then fall camp while he battled Jack Tuttle and Dexter Williams II for the starting job.
After a couple of August scrimmages and multiple practices, where coaches tested Bazelak's poise, leadership, and accuracy under duress, they had seen enough.
The job was his.
"It was awesome," Bazelak says about hearing he was the starter. "I'm honored to be the quarterback for this team. The respect I have for Coach Allen and the decisions he makes. He brought me up to his office, told me I would be the starter. From there, we're rolling.
"Everyone on the team has been awesome. All the quarterbacks have been awesome. Supportive."
Tuttle tops that list. He's a quality quarterback, a winning quarterback, a guy who cares so much that even losing the starting battle didn't ruin his attitude.
Being named one of IU's five team captains proves that.
Still, Bazelak will lead the offensive way when the Hoosiers (1-0) host Idaho (0-1) Saturday night.
Throwing for 330 yards and a touchdown in your Hoosier debut draws attention. That final 75-yard, game-winning drive draws more.
One thing that stands out is Bazelak's refusal to force things, his willingness to concede an incompletion to wait for a better opportunity.
His poise.
"One thing I thought I did well was not take unnecessary sacks," he says. "Coach Bell talked about no sacks. That one sack was on me. I should have thrown the ball away.
"On that last drive, finding a way to throw the ball away when nothing was there and moving on to the next play."
Bazelak was far from perfect. He started 4-for-11, and lost by Bell's estimate at least 70 passing yards by missing open receivers.
"There were a couple of throws I missed," Bazelak says. "One to Andison (Coby) sailed on me. I threw a couple of balls into traffic."
Still, Bazelak completed 24 of his last 41 passes, including 7-of-10 on that final drive.
"It's getting into your rhythm in this offense," he says, "and just personally for me, getting a completion on the first play of a drive gets you going.
"It's about accuracy. I have to focus on taking checkdowns if nothing is open deep and get into rhythm."
Bell was hired to rejuvenate IU's attack. He wants diversity and at least some balance between the pass and the run, although Illinois' run-stopping defense and an offensive line rocked by losing standout lineman Matthew Bedford to a torn ACL early in the game forced a one-dimensional passing approach.
While appreciative of Bazelak's play, Bell wants more because there's more to give.
"We left three to four giant chunk plays on the field. There were two balls in jeopardy -- one was on (Bazelak), one was on somebody else.
"He played winning football, but he will tell you there's better football to be played. He's never satisfied with how he plays.
"He can get better. We can get better."
Adds Allen: "He came up big for us. I wasn't surprised."
Zeno couldn't have said it any better.
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