Notes from Big Ten Media Day

I wanted to share just a couple of things from big ten media day interviews. Jeremy Gray was there to interview Fred Glass, Dr. Pat Kraft, Coach Lynch, Ben Chappel, Jammie Kirlew and Will Patterson. Here is a highlight of some of the things discussed with each one.

Coach Lynch- He was very excited to be moving into the brand new coaches offices in a few days. Pretty busy time of the year with fall camp starting next week. He is pretty excited for the players to see the new facilities because they really haven't had a chance to go through them yet. The 22,000 sq ft. academic area along with the 25,000 sq ft. weight room will allow the coaching staff to develop players physically and academically. The juniors and seniors have been through a lot the last few years and he has seen them become very focused and committed this off-season as well as holding each other accountable.

Dr. Pat Kraft- for those of you who don't know he is in charge of most of the marketing now for IU football. He was very excited for the season to get going and believes there will be a 100% difference between the game-day atmosphere next year than years past. The new stadium will definitely change the atmosphere but they are working very hard to make the game an event to look forward to each week. They are going to have things during the game to keep the students into the game and engaged the whole time. He said that he knows Indiana football is moving in the right direction.

Fred Glass- he really enjoyed meeting with all the other A.D.'s from the various universities. They had meetings with all the different bowl representatives and he said that he paid particular attention for the rose bowl representative because he hopes that we will be playing there in a few years.

Kirlew- He talked about how teams will not be able to double team him or Middleton this year unlike the previous years. Him, Patterson, and Chappell actually began the day by hitting the Hyatt's weight room so they could keep up with their workout regime even though they were out of town for media day. He said that it won't be a question of whether him or Middleton can get to the QB it will be a question of who gets there first. He seemed very excited about the DE's, LB's and Safeties for next year.

Chappell- he weighed in at almost 240lbs a few days ago. He said the whole senior class has really developed their leadership skills this off-season. Everybody has been on the same page and he was particularly excited for the offensive line. He knows that they have to prove to everybody that they can play this year but he believes they will surprise a lot of people. They have worked very hard this off-season and the key will be just to keep them all healthy. The last thing he mentioned is that he has a lot of weapons on the offensive end and plans on spreading the ball around to the open guy.

Patterson- "leadership is going to be unbelievable this year". There won't be any excuses of having a young team because the team has a lot of experience and veteran guys. Excited that the DE's, LB's, Safeties and even some of the corners will be hitting people very hard next year.

I am going to be off on vacation from August 1st- August 7th but will be home just in time to blog about fall camp that will be starting next weekend. Kickoff is coming faster than you think and we all need to get pumped and show our support this year for the hoosiers.

So what's happening to the south end-zone?

There has been a great deal of excitement for the new and improved Memorial Stadium this off-season. I finally have some more answers about what exactly will be made of the south end-zone. The south end-zone will be made into a replica memorial stadium that will allow kids the chance to run around and throw a ball around. There will also be a few stands such as face painting that will allow smaller children to have a good time as well.
There has been much talk about what kind of scoreboard will be put in the north end zone. The scoreboard that will be placed will have a 1930's/1940's theme to it. The sound system will also have an upgrade but it will not be available until the October 3rd game vs. Ohio State. All students will be able to buy $5 tickets and so can there friends from other universities as well. Fred Glass has also proposed to have people selling tickets roam around the tailgate fields with a credit/debit card machine in hand. All of these changes should make Memorial Stadium and much better place on game-day.

Keys to the 2009 Season

1. Staying healthy- Last year we were decimated with injuries and we just didn't have the depth to recover. We lost 75% of our secondary to ACL injuries and it seemed like players were dropping like flies down the stretch. Of course injuries are part of the game but we had way more than the average football team. This year if we do experience a few injuries we will most likely have some depth to fill in. With so many players getting playing time last year we will have a comparable replacement if somebody gets injured. Assuming we can stay somewhat healthy we will have a defense that will surprise some people. We have the best DE combo in the big ten with Kirlew and Middleton. From what I've seen this spring I am expecting a bounce back from Middleton and believe both of our DE's will be drafted in the 2010 NFL draft. Our linebacking core is very solid and I also believe Mayberry and Patterson will likely make it to the NFL as well. Replogle will be in his first year as a starter but has a ton of experience under his belt. We have solid safeties and some corners with a lot more experience this year. If we can stay relatively healthy this year we will surprise a lot of people.

2. O-line- So much of this years success will be determined by the play of our o-line. Hopefully with the installment of the "pistol" we will be able to have a more downhill running game that is better suited for our RB's. However, we won't be a team that can flat out beat you through the air. Chap has a strong arm and is an accurate thrower but he won't single handily be opponents through the air. We are going to have to be reliant on establishing a solid running game then using the play action if we want to make some big plays. We can't become one-dimensional this year or our offense will struggle.

3. Half-time adjustments- last year we seemed to never make any half-time adjustments. It was so agitating from a fan standpoint when I felt like we knew what changes needed to be made for the 2nd half and they didn't happen. I can't remember a time last year when we came out of the locker room from halftime and got things going again. We always seemed to go either 3 and out or let the other teams offense score. This part falls on the coaching staff and we need to be able to recognize when changes need to be made quicker and be able to make them in-game instead of recognizing them after the fact when it can't help us.

4. Leadership- Last year when things started going downhill it didn't seem like we had a way to get them back up. If the other team makes a big play we never seemed to be able to come back and stop them. When listening to some post-game interviews it was expressed that there were some players that kind of did their own thing and weren't as focused on the team as they should be. This off-season Coach Lynch created a leadership council that hopefully will improve the leadership abilities of some of our players. Also having a lot more seniors on the squad should help our leadership as well. Leaders are very important to a team and have the ability to get everybody playing 100% and getting everybody to play together as a team. Just off the top of my head I can think of tons of players that have stepped up their leadership roles this off-season (Payton, Kirlew, Mayberry, Chappell, Polk etc...).

5. Fan Support- This is probably something that many people don't think about as often but can make a difference in games. With the new additions to the stadium and the changes that Fred Glass is making to improve the football program we need to have a big fan base that can create some home field advantage. Up to this point I doubt teams dread coming to play at Memorial Stadium each year. It isn't a place that always has a ton of energy and electricity running through it. I've been to tons of big ten games not only at Indiana but at Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, Purdue and sometimes the games get so loud and intense that I can't hear myself think. It is a wonderful feeling I can tell you. Playing high school basketball I can tell you much of a difference an enthusiastic crowd can make. I played at a school where football was all that people cared about and basketball was just an afterthought. I have to admit it is tough getting some pumped up when you run out into the gym and see empty seats all over the place. But when we would go to opposing stadiums where there were tons of fans that couldn't even find seats it made the games a lot more exciting. Lynch and some of the players have talked about this a lot. The players on the team feed off of the energy that the fans give at Memorial Stadium. Obviously just because we bring a lot of energy and fans to the game doesn't mean we will all of a sudden win a lot more games. But I think that if we can start bringing more fans to the games and bring energy on more than just 3rd downs not only will it help motivate the players more but it will make a better game-day atmosphere for everyone.

On another note the stadium is looking very impressive. Here is a link for updated photos from July 16. http://iuhoosiers.cstv.com/photogallery/gallery_index.html?school=ind&sport=&. It looks like it will be ready by July 27th and is going to help out the program a ton.

The rest of the 2009 class

Mitch Ewald- He is a top 5 kicker in the nation coming out of high school. Most of his highlight reel consists of him kicking kickoff's through the uprights of the end zone. He has a sister who goes to IU so it just seemed like a good fit. He played in the high school all-american bowl. He will most likely be starting from day 1. He's a small kid (5'10 165lbs) but at the kicker position it doesn't matter a whole lot.

Griffen Dalhstrom- He originally verballed to Harvard before committing to the hoosiers. He played at a small school in North Putnam high school. He played a combination QB, FB, DB, LB, and RB. He is roughly 6'3 220lbs so he can be flexible with where he plays. He has been on campus for summer camps before and the staff has seen him play a bunch of times.

Ted Bolser- Ted will be playing TE for us and is very comparable to Max Dedmond. Ted is listed at 6'5 212lbs and also had offers from Kentucky and Louisville. He is a very athletic TE who can go up and get jump balls. He shows off great concentration and great hands catching the ball with defenders in his face. He is the type of athletic TE than Lynch has been trying to bring into the program. Between him and Dedmond we should be able to get the TE more involved in the offense for years to come.

2009 O-Line Recruits

We signed 4 quality o-lineman in the 2009 class and got a late commitment from a JUCO in California. They should be a good foundation for the next 4 years. Let's have a look.

Charles Chapman- He's listed at 6'6 275 lbs and played at Airport high school in Michigan. He has a good frame and is quickly filling it out. He has good quickness off the ball and can pull into the 2nd level. He engages and finishes his blocks very well. He is a smart kid graduating with a 3.65 G.P.A. He needs to continue adding weight and improve his strength so he can improve his drive blocking skills. He was a good pick up for the hoosiers and is the prototypical lineman that we have been trying to bring into the program. He will start out playing tackle.

Pat Mcshane- 6'5 280 lb guard who was a 3 year starter at Walsh Jesuit. He's a big physical looking prospect who can play guard or possible center. He's not as tall as Chapman but is a bit broader. He was invited to participate in the Army Jr Combine and looked better than most in defending Jacobbi Mcdaniel who was the #1 rated DT in the nation who committed to Florida State. He finishes blocks pretty well and has the ability to pull.

Colin Rodkey- His Gateway High School team was ranked in the top 3 in the nation for most of the year. He's a good student and was in the National Society of High School Scholars. He also had offers from Duke, West Virginia, Maryland, and N.C. State. He's listed around 6'5 270 lbs. He has a good burst off the line and sticks with his blocks. He needs to put on more weight but is going to be a solid tackle for the hoosiers.

Aaron Price- listed at 6'4 285lbs from Bloomington South. He was invited to play on the USA national team that went undefeated this past month. He will likely start out playing inside when he gets here. He's a solid looking prospect that will provide depth at the O-line position.

Jordan Marquette- He is a JUCO who played at Fullerton College and is a big kid listed at 6'3 295 lbs. I haven't seen any tape or write ups about him. Lynch did say that he will be able to come in and compete for a starting spot. He isn't guaranteed to get a starting spot but he is not being brought in to simply be a backup. With Mike Stark's career being most likely ended it was good to get somebody that can contribute right away and provide some depth.