Spring practice begins without Hoeppner

It may have been the last day of winter, but for the IU football team Tuesday marked the first day of spring practices.\n“It’s nice, it’s a beautiful day out here,” junior fullback Josiah Sears said. “It was really fun to play football again, since it’s been a while.”\nIt had been exactly 122 days since the Hoosiers’ 2006 campaign ended with a 28-19 loss to Purdue on Nov. 18, 2006. That loss left IU one game short of its first bowl appearance since 1993 with a 5-7 record.\n“Obviously the winter was disappointing since we screwed up at the end of the season to miss the bowl,” Sears said. “It’s nice to be out here getting ready for a new season.”\nBut the Hoosiers will have to go through spring practices without their coach, Terry Hoeppner, who is taking care of personal health matters. In Hoeppner’s absence, assistant coach Bill Lynch will be taking over head coaching duties. Lynch took over when Hoeppner underwent surgery in September to remove scar tissue from a previous operation in December 2005.\n“It is a resilient group, a group that has a tremendous amount of respect for Coach Hep and they have been through a lot with him,” Lynch said. “They know what he is going through and are pulling for him. Today we emphasized football and getting ready to go and do the things he wants us to do.”\nThe team was told of Hoeppner’s situation Sunday during a team post-spring break meeting.\n“For the most part Coach Lynch told everyone it was just a minor health condition and this was the best thing for him,” sophomore wide receiver James Hardy said. “After you hear that it’s the best thing for coach, there’s nothing you can really say about it. You pray for him and hopefully him and his family will take care of the rest.”\nAfter Tuesday’s practice, several players emphasized that not having their head coach there doesn’t mean the practices are different.\n“We’re thinking about him, but he needs to take this time to be with his family and recover,” Sears said. “We’re not missing any beats without him. We wish he were here but we’re still ticking.”\nJunior cornerback Tracy Porter noted the similarities between Lynch and Hoeppner.\n“There’s no difference between the two,” Porter said. “Practice is running just as smooth and just as if Coach Hep were here. We know he’s here in mind, body and spirit.”\nHoeppner was out for two games while recovering from his September surgery, but returned in time for the Hoosiers Big Ten opener Sept. 30 against Wisconsin.\n“We have high expectations for Coach Hep,” Porter said. “We know he wants to come out now, but that isn’t the case. He’s going to do what he needs to do.”\nIn the meantime Lynch will take the reigns through the entire spring, including the Cream and Crimson Spring Game on April 14.\n“One of the things you want to do in the spring is get down and know who your top 50 are,” Lynch said. “That will change between now and August, but you want to come out with a little assurance on who those guys are. You are going to go to war with those 50, so that’s what the spring is about.”\n- Staff writer Chris Engle contributed to this report.