No Hep, no set QB for SIU matchup

With news that IU coach Terry Hoeppner was recovering with his family following brain surgery, the dark cloud hovering over the Hoosier football program faded away some Wednesday. And with its third game of the season coming up Saturday against Southern Illinois University, the IU football team (2-0) is not letting its coach's surgery be a distraction.\n"We're putting our full focus on this game, and we're not going to let what's happened here distract us at all," said senior safety and co-captain Will Meyers. "(Hoeppner's) made that clear, and we owe it to him to do everything we can." \nHoeppner's announcement Tuesday of his impending surgery, which took place Wednesday morning, offered a unique look into the second-year coach's relationship with his team. Earlier Tuesday, Hoeppner held his weekly press conference with the media but chose not to make the statement concerning his surgery until after he had addressed his team.\nThe Hoosiers did not take the gesture lightly.\n"That just shows how much of a family we are," Meyers said. "It means a lot to us as players that he wanted us to find it out from him."\nThough the meeting was a difficult one for Hoeppner and his team, senior offensive lineman Justin Frye -- one of four team captains -- said it was the usual Hep attitude.\n"He was in there joking around a little, enthusiastic," Frye said. "He came in with a smile on his face, and we wouldn't expect anything less from him."\nWith the news of Hoeppner's surgery going well and his recovering at home, the Hoosiers returned to practice Wednesday under interim head coach Bill Lynch with the focus of preparing for the Salukis' visit to Memorial Stadium.\nLost in the shuffle of the busy week is a possible quarterback controversy following last weekend's 24-23 win against Ball State. In the victory, freshman Kellen Lewis led the team back from a 23-7 halftime deficit to claim the win while racking up 316 total yards and two touchdowns.\nAt Wednesday's practice, Lewis and junior quarterback Blake Powers both took snaps with the first-team offense. Powers sat out Saturday's game against the Cardinals after not being "100 percent" healthy in warmups, Hoeppner said.\n"We're trying to develop quality depth at every position," Hoeppner said during his weekly press conference. "The fact that we have another quarterback that can play well in a game is good. We need to be fair, and that will sort itself out at practice."\nThe Salukis have not played since their Aug. 31 trouncing of Lock Haven University 49-0. Hoeppner said he did not want a let-down against the NCAA Division I-AA team.\n"I think an upper-echelon team in I-AA can play with anybody," Hoeppner said. "I-AA is just a label. Any given Saturday, it can be anyone's game."\nFor the players, it will be a difficult couple of weeks while their coach recovers, but they remain focused on the task at hand.\n"We'll carry on without him," Meyers said. "We're ready, and we've got a lot to prove this weekend"