CHICAGO -- After answering questions for hour upon hour at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago, IU Coach Kevin Wilson sat at his rectangular podium surrounded by reporters poking and prodding about the IU football offseason. He rarely offered more emotion than his default enthusiasm on the team.
But when asked if he feels pressure going into year five at the helm of a program that has yet to see a bowl berth under his watch, Wilson flickered a rare grin.
“No. Shoot no.”
After thinking for a little while about how to articulate why not, he mentioned the salaries of coordinators in college football. How can he worry about his job and pay when in reality his life won’t be so hard if he loses his job? His worries are more focused on preparation and success.
“I want these kids to win,” Wilson said. “I want our school to have a winning team.”
He said he has had two coaches be offered legitimate jobs this offseason, but both turned them down. There is confidence among the staff in the capabilities of this team. He believes the talent is there.
The Hoosiers have players playing for each other, he said, and they feel like the coaches are on their side.
“It’s kind of getting there.”
After stopping and listening to another question, he returned to his previous thought.
“It’s about time,” he said. “You can quote me on that. It’s about damn time.”
The on-the-field themes were clear: talent on both lines of scrimmage and a quarterback growing in to a true leader. But he believes there has to be more than just that to win. Attempting to change the culture is half the battle at a school like IU, and he knows it.
Wilson mentioned the team has looked really good at times when it shows up. But a lack of consistency has plagued the Hoosiers in recent seasons.
Wilson doesn’t blame fans for having negative perceptions of the program, he said. A team needs to win to earn the faith of its followers. He pondered whether the struggles ignited the doubt or vice versa.
“Which came first the chicken or the egg?” he said. “What comes first, do you need to be confident to win, or the more you win the more confident you get?”
Once again, as the talent seems to be coming together, Wilson and his staff understands there are more factors involved in winning. Senior left tackle Jason Spriggs has started for the past three seasons at IU, but said he has not seen an offseason as productive as this.
“This offseason’s gains have been more than any other year than I have been a part of,” Spriggs said.
Spriggs has been a part of all but one season under Wilson. He has played on teams that fell just shy of a bowl berth due to close, last-second losses, and he has taken part in seasons that fell apart due to injury.
He is not taking his final chance at making that jump as a program lightly. Like Wilson, he thinks the team is getting there, to that special point.
“This is big," Spriggs said. "This is the reason that I came to Indiana. To be a part of the team that turned the program around.”
