Indiana University Athletics
Quoted: Carter Smith & CJ West
11/5/2024 7:00:00 PM | Football
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. –––– As Indiana Football's Week 11 matchup against Michigan on Saturday (November 9) approaches, redshirt sophomore Carter Smith and redshirt senior CJ West addressed the media inside the Don Croftcheck Football Team Room on Tuesday (November 5).
Below is a partial transcript of the press conference, while video of the media sessions can be found on the right sidebar at IUHoosiers.com.
Carter Smith | OL | R-So.
On staying level while undefeated…
CS: Whatever Coach Cig says. Keep the standard. It never changes. Every single week, we have to get better with each and every practice, stack those days. Little by little, it gets a bit easier.
On scouting Michigan…
CS: From what we can tell from our scouting report this year, all the defensive linemen are pretty much returning guys from there, so we've seen them all before. Every team comes with its own challenges, but as long as we stick to the playbook and hammer it out on the field, we'll be fine.
On how he evaluates his play this season…
CS: Personally, there's always some cleanup work I need to get done, but from a playing standpoint, I think I've done pretty well. We all mesh together pretty well on double teams, and whenever I'm going out on a single block, I feel like I can control my guy effectively. So in that regard, I'd say I've been doing pretty good.
On returning to Indiana…
CS: There is no place I would rather be.
CJ West | DL | R-Sr.
On the opportunity to play against Michigan in front of a sellout crowd…
CW: That's a great opportunity, another chance for us to do what we do and prepare to play another great team like we do every week. So, it's a great opportunity (to) put out for the crowd and the fans.
On the mentality of the group after the first couple of possessions at Michigan State...
CW: Honestly, we didn't have any big reaction. We know things happen, it's football. We just got our (guys) together and talked on the sideline. It was like hey, we do this all the time, we practice and prepare for mistakes to happen. So, let's go out there and do what we do, know our training. So, that's kind of how we brought it back together.
On the preparation being different going into Michigan...
CW: There's nothing, we prepare the same we do every week, every single week. This is the biggest game because it's the next game, and that's how it is every week.
On feeling the momentum of the offense during the game...
CW: Offense and defense, we definitely feed off each other's energy. That's one great thing about this team, everybody is really genuinely connected, no matter what side of the ball you're on. I feel like the offense is doing great, the defense is going to feel the energy like, hey let's back them up, let's give them something back for them because they did some good things for us, let's do some good things for them
Below is a partial transcript of the press conference, while video of the media sessions can be found on the right sidebar at IUHoosiers.com.
Carter Smith | OL | R-So.
On staying level while undefeated…
CS: Whatever Coach Cig says. Keep the standard. It never changes. Every single week, we have to get better with each and every practice, stack those days. Little by little, it gets a bit easier.
On scouting Michigan…
CS: From what we can tell from our scouting report this year, all the defensive linemen are pretty much returning guys from there, so we've seen them all before. Every team comes with its own challenges, but as long as we stick to the playbook and hammer it out on the field, we'll be fine.
On how he evaluates his play this season…
CS: Personally, there's always some cleanup work I need to get done, but from a playing standpoint, I think I've done pretty well. We all mesh together pretty well on double teams, and whenever I'm going out on a single block, I feel like I can control my guy effectively. So in that regard, I'd say I've been doing pretty good.
On returning to Indiana…
CS: There is no place I would rather be.
CJ West | DL | R-Sr.
On the opportunity to play against Michigan in front of a sellout crowd…
CW: That's a great opportunity, another chance for us to do what we do and prepare to play another great team like we do every week. So, it's a great opportunity (to) put out for the crowd and the fans.
On the mentality of the group after the first couple of possessions at Michigan State...
CW: Honestly, we didn't have any big reaction. We know things happen, it's football. We just got our (guys) together and talked on the sideline. It was like hey, we do this all the time, we practice and prepare for mistakes to happen. So, let's go out there and do what we do, know our training. So, that's kind of how we brought it back together.
On the preparation being different going into Michigan...
CW: There's nothing, we prepare the same we do every week, every single week. This is the biggest game because it's the next game, and that's how it is every week.
On feeling the momentum of the offense during the game...
CW: Offense and defense, we definitely feed off each other's energy. That's one great thing about this team, everybody is really genuinely connected, no matter what side of the ball you're on. I feel like the offense is doing great, the defense is going to feel the energy like, hey let's back them up, let's give them something back for them because they did some good things for us, let's do some good things for them
#NeverDaunted
Players Mentioned
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DL
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Tuesday, August 11
Tuesday, August 11