Players encouraged after meeting coach

The waiting is over.\nFor 34 days, the IU football team has been clueless about who its next leader will be, but was filled in yesterday after Gerry DiNardo was named head coach.\n"It's been tough, but that's life," fullback Jeremi Johnson said about the waiting. "That's the way things go sometimes and there will be more of those situations down the road in life. I'm sure of it."\nAround Memorial Stadium, flyers were posted informing the players of Athletics Director Michael McNeely's request for their presence at a 6:30 p.m. meeting. \nBut DiNardo was late arriving to the his introductory press conference, and by the time he and his family arrived many of the players had already gathered for the 5:30 p.m. press conference.\nThe players were not given privileged information as to whom the coach would be. Quarterback Gibran Hamdan said that the players found out about who the candidate chosen was about the same time as everyone else.\nFollowing the 15 minute press conference, the players and DiNardo met for the first time. And the players liked what he had to say.\n"All I need to know, he said I'm getting my diploma, (and) his vision is (me) walking across the podium with a championship ring on my finger," strong safety Joe Gonzalez said. "He seemed like he has a lot of emotion and I like that."\nGonzalez said that when DiNardo entered the closed meeting, he neglected to use the podium that was set up at the front of the room. Instead DiNardo walked around, pacing back and forth while informing the team of his vision of the future.\nAmong getting a championship ring and graduating, DiNardo stressed strong recruiting and gathering the right personnel to get a winning football team.\nDiNardo also addressed the issue of getting more fans to watch IU, and said he would do whatever was asked of him to gain more support. Ultimately, DiNardo added, winning would be the best draw, and that's what the players like to hear.\n"We as a team have something to work for and look forward to," Johnson said. "Coach is determined to take us to the promised land. Coach talked about how important it was for us individually and as a team to be successful, graduate and win."\nTomorrow the team will begin meeting one-on-one with DiNardo to talk about individual goals and to get to know each other.\n"Relationships take time," DiNardo said. "These coaching changes are very difficult on a team, so I'm sensitive to that. I don't expect a lot of feedback right away. I'm going to give them their space and we'll be close at some point"