With the arrival of Terry Hoeppner in December as the new football coach, one of the most widely anticipated aspects of his coaching was the spread offense. \nBut during the spring game Friday night, it wasn't the passing game that made noise, but rather the running game. The Crimson team alone ran for nearly 250 yards while the teams combined for just 256 yards passing.\nHaving a strong running attack will be just as important as a lethal passing attack, said senior running back Chris Taylor.\n"Everyone thought coming in (the offense) was going to be more of a passing attack, but the running game is standing far and above right now," said Taylor, who led both teams with 119 rushing yards and one touchdown. "With a spread offense everyone thinks we are going to be passing, but it is about 50-50. We want to use the run game to open up the pass."
SECOND TO NONE\nAfter a season in which IU snagged 11 interceptions, the Hoosiers picked up where they left off by getting two interceptions Friday night. Senior Buster Larkins, the most experienced of all the cornerbacks at IU, played the culprit with both picks. \nHoeppner said after the game that the secondary was one of the deepest and most talented positions for the Hoosiers.\nLarkins said that defense is improved from last season, and with the younger guys getting experience from last season and the spring, it could make playing time hard to come by in the fall.\n"It is very competitive," Larkins said. "A year ago I was the only guy in there with what I called 'a bunch of young pups' and now those young pups' have grown up to be dogs and they're biting at my ears every day. Each day is a competition; it is a roller coaster every day -- it's fun though."
SMOOTH TRANSITION\nIf there were any concerns whether or not senior middle linebacker John Pannozzo could make the transition from fullback to his new position, he put them to rest in the spring game. \nIn his first game at his new position, Pannozzo led all players with nine tackles and two sacks.\nEven with his impressive performance, Pannozzo remained humble and still felt there's room to improve going into the next season.\n"I made a couple of mistakes; I'm still learning. I felt I did alright," Pannozzo said. "I think the defense did pretty well. I think we are in good position to go into the summer and work hard and lift weights and practice 7-on-7 and keep working hard."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Dan Click at daaclick@indiana.edu.
