Football team keeping Hoeppner in their minds as season nears

As the Hoosiers held a public scrimmage at Memorial Stadium Aug. 18 , something was noticeably absent.\nNot the scoreboard in the north end zone, nor the red 1993 Independence Bowl banner that hangs as a 14-year-old reminder of the Hoosiers’ last bowl game.\nThe missing element was not something, it was someone. \nThe IU football team is moving on without its leader and former head coach, Terry Hoeppner. It has been almost two months since Hoeppner died from complications related to a brain tumor, but the Hoosiers are keeping the values Hoeppner taught and practiced – including maxims like “Play 13” – with them as they prepare for the season.\n“He’s around here all the time,” IU coach Bill Lynch said. “All of his quotes and sayings are on our shirts and helmets ... We don’t have to talk (out loud) about him a lot. He had such a tremendous impact on these kids and the program, he’s here without having to talk about him on a daily basis.”\nPlayers said the transition from Hoeppner to Lynch has been as smooth as circumstances might allow. In mid-March, the IU Athletics Department announced that Hoeppner would miss spring practice as he continued a leave of absence taken for medical reasons. On June 15, four days before Hoeppner’s passing, Lynch was officially named the Hoosiers’ head coach for the 2007 season.\n“Once the whole team decided to accept (Lynch’s appointment) and give in to the great things we’re going to be, it helped us come together,” senior center Ben Wyss said. “We’d like to have things the way they were, but you can’t rewrite history.” \nFor seniors like Wyss, Lynch is the third coach they’ve played under as Hoosiers. The first was Gerry DiNardo, who preceded Hoeppner and was fired at the end of the 2004 season. Senior cornerback Tracy Porter said the coaching change has been much easier by comparison.\n“The transition from DiNardo to Coach Hep was a lot different,” Porter said. “Coach Lynch and Coach Hep are a lot alike since they have the same philosophies and Lynch coached under him.”\nLynch said the seniors decided to honor Hoeppner this season with a football patch on their jerseys that reads “Hep” and a decal on the back of their helmets that reads “Play 13.”\n“We always keep Coach Hep in our minds,” junior running back Marcus Thigpen said. “It’s kind of one of those things you have to adjust to. I think we’ve adjusted pretty well. We’ve come closer as a team.” \nSophomore quarterback Kellen Lewis said the Hoosiers have been moving on without their former coach in their own way.\n“It’s kind of one of those things where you want to talk about him but you don’t want to,” he said. “As much as you try not to think about it, you have to. Going through a scrimmage without him, guys are trying to find ways to move on. Other guys are focused a little more on the past. You still want to think about him, but you know you have to move on.” \nLeading into this season, Hoeppner had coined the phrase “Play 13” in his quest to lead the Hoosiers to their first bowl game since 1993. The Hoosiers must win six of their 12 games to become bowl eligible.\n“He was our coach. We were looking forward to going into this season with him,” Porter said. “He always told us there were no excuses, just opportunities. ... He’s still in our thoughts and prayers, but he wouldn’t want (his passing) to bring us down and not have a successful season.” \nThe Hoosiers are still confident they will have that kind of season. The only evidence of an adjustment has been in the way Lynch does his job.\n“He’s a very hard-nosed coach,” said sophomore running back Demetrius McCray. “He is very fair and gives everyone an equal opportunity to play. The best player is going to play, and you always want that in a coach.”