IU 'best fit' for Bloomington South quarterback

With his high school football career now in the books, Bloomington High School South quarterback Ben Chappell won't have to travel far to start his college football career next fall. In fact, a seven-minute car ride will be all he needs to go from a high school star to a Big Ten quarterback.\nThe 6-foot-2 senior committed to IU in June and will join the Hoosiers for the start of the 2006 season. Chappell's high school coach Drew Wood said he is thrilled his quarterback will be joining the Hoosiers.\n"When I first heard that IU had an opening for their head coaching position, I immediately hoped they would pick Terry Hoeppner," Wood said. "He is a great coach with a lot of integrity. I'm very excited for Ben because it's a great situation at IU."\nDespite his team losing in its sectional game this past week, Chappell excelled this season, leading his team to a 7-3 record. He threw for 2,000 yards and 28 touchdowns his junior season, but eclipsed both marks during his senior campaign.\n"Ben is the type of player that doesn't just say it," Wood said. "He goes out there and he can walk the walk, and talk the talk. He is a tireless worker, and he is great at understanding the game plan."\nThough Hoeppner played a large role in Chappell's final decision, the star quarterback said the Hoosiers had shown interest in him in the past.\n"I was recruited my junior year by coach DiNardo," Chappell said. "In the summer, I met coach Hep and (offensive coordinator Billy) Lynch and went to some camps at IU. I love the way he came in and got community support."\nHoeppner vowed the first day on the job that he would not only revamp the football program, but improve recruiting as well. After making the transition to coach, Hoeppner made it a goal to keep previous recruits on the Hoosiers' radar.\n"We have guys here that are re-committing to me," Hoeppner said in a statement. "They committed to Indiana University and Athletics Director Rick Greenspan sent out a letter saying we would honor that commitment from Indiana to them. That was absolutely the right thing to do. What they have done has got a chance to meet me and meet the coaches on the staff and re-commit."\nChappell, along with several other recruits, did just that and "re-committed" to the Hoosiers once Hoeppner was named coach. The two-star recruit, according to www.peegs.com, said the decision to stay in Bloomington was made all on his own.\n"Coaches never put pressure on me to go to IU. It was really just the best fit for me," Chappell said. "I know (sophomore Blake) Powers is the quarterback and will be for a few more years, but that didn't really affect my decision at all."\nWood and Chappell both said they look forward to Hoeppner's coaching tenure with the Hoosiers and feel the first-year coach is off to a great start.\n"I know the recruiting will improve even more and that helps me out, so I'm happy about that," Chappell said. "I've played against other recruits like (Pike defensive end Greg) Middleton and (Indianapolis Arlington tackle James) Brewer. Coach Hep is doing a great job of in-state recruiting"