The Summer So Far

The summer is winding down and I, along with the rest of my teammates, can see training camp in the distance. We have gone through a roller-coaster of emotions this summer with the passing of our dear Head Coach, Terry Hoeppner, on June 19th. Ever since Hep's passing our team has held our heads up high with a new sense of pride in being an Indiana Hoosier football player. Hep was OUR Coach, we know he is watching and we will play 13. There's not one day that goes by where I don't think about our goal and what we need to do as a team. I, myself am in best shape I've been in since becoming a Hoosier in 2005. I've dropped around 15 pounds and am now faster, quicker, and actually stronger. I'm determined to give my all every snap, and I will.

Summer Workouts
Summer workouts began in mid-May and our head strength and conditioning coach, Mark Wateska, has noticeably stepped up the workouts in comparison to previous years. He knows what he is doing. He's getting us ready to be champions. We will be a bigger, faster, stronger, football team because of it. My teammates and I have been working so hard everyday this summer to get ourselves in the best shape possible for this upcoming season. Players who needed to gain weight did just that. Players who needed to drop weight achieved their goal. Here's what our workouts have been like: We have all morning and afternnoon to lift in the weight room, but there have been two running times, at 11 a.m. and at 4 p.m. In my typical daily routine I get out of bed at 8 a.m., eat breakfast and head to my 9:30 class. after that I run at 11. We're starting to taper down now that the summer is almost over but the time limits have been faster, and the workouts more intense. There's some days where we'll run around 20 sets of 40 yard dashes with agility work in between. You must be in shape to do these things. Though, if any of us is not in shape by now, there's a definate problem. Once done running I grab a bite to eat and make my way to my hour-long 12:30 psychology class. Once done with that torture I get my butt in the weight room. The toughest days are most definately Thursdays because it's a full body workout. If you're not ready for it, the workout will knock you off you're feet worse than any Big Ten linebacker. I get in there and pump out my bench presses, pulldowns, incline's, and kill the leg press. As I always say before I hit the weight room, "I don't have to deal with that lift. That lift has to deal with ME!" Once done with the workout I'm always drenched with sweat. I love it though. You have to to be in this business at this level. As All-Pro Baltimore Ravens' linebacker, Ray Lewis once said, "I train for failure." Think about that one for a second...I enjoy being dog-tired from a workout to the point where my body fails and can't go anymore. After all that I eat again, and finally, it's on to 7-on-7 workouts baby!

7-on-7 Drills have been going on throughout the summer. No coaches attend these workouts. They are conducted by just us players. Things have been going well in this department too. Our incoming freshman quarterback, Teddy Schell, has been in steady attendance along with returning starter, Kellen Lewis, and Ben Chappell. They have all looked impressive. Our recievers have been working hard as well. One that has really been standing out in my eyes is Terrance Turner. His work ethic is probably second to none and I'm confident that he will make his presence known this season. Our defense looks good too. Our superstars have been playing like superstars and that's what we need. It feels good to see my teammates dedicated to getting better. It brings a smile to my face and makes me eager to see and be around them.

We can taste the bowl game, we know we can achieve the previously unthinkable goal of being somewhere warm in December, or possibly even January. That is what drives us everyday as a team. We need not to lose sight of the vision that Coach Hep set out for us. He came so close to getting us to that glorious 13th game. We are determined not to let our boss down.

Renovating "The Rock"
It's been an exciting experience to watch the construction of the new addition to Memorial Stadium aka "The Rock". For a while, it seemed as if they would never begin and that it was going to be a very slow process. But, now that they've started things seem to be moving quickly. I was an eye witness to the scoreboard being knocked down. I was in the weight room when it happened and I ran out to see it. That was cool to see. I greatly appreciate what the construction workers are doing. I can't wait 'till they're finished. I will be posting pictures of the construction soon.

COMING SOON: Player Profiles
Each week I'll be posting an interesting profile of a player from the IU Football team. The questions will give you insight on what some of our players' interests are and what they are like!

Message For The Road
I will end all of my entries with a message I think is important. Today's quote is something I thought of and something I use for my life. It is this: "Let God be your inspiration, because with Him you can do all things." God bless.