A day after finally learning where he will be taking his team this holiday season, Bill Lynch took questions of a different variety at his weekly press conference. Instead of talking about offseason plans and recruiting, Lynch has a postseason to discuss, and a long one at that. The total layoff for the Hoosiers between their dramatic win over Purdue and the program’s first bowl game in 14 years will be 44 days, from Nov. 18 – the day after beating Purdue – all the way to kickoff at the Insight Bowl on Dec. 31. \nLynch said he and his staff are focused primarily on recruiting right now, and his players are getting some weight-lifting and conditioning in before finals. The players will get finals week off to concentrate on schoolwork. They can also go home if they finish finals early, but they must return to campus after finals to practice before a short break for Christmas. Then the team heads to Arizona. \n“In some ways, it’s a little bit like a preseason, in the sense that you can really work on fundamental things, you can work on developing players, ... even experiment with some players a little bit,” Lynch said. “Once we get back after finals, then we’ll bring in the real game plan and the preparation for \nOklahoma State.”
Getting healthy\nLynch was optimistic about getting his team healthy before heading to Tempe for New Year’s Eve. He singled out players such as sophomore running back Demetrius McCray, who hasn’t seen action since the Sept. 22 game against Illinois, as well as senior offensive linemen Charlie Emerson and Ben Wyss, who have been playing with lingering injuries. \nLynch said the only players he knows for sure won’t be back are players like freshman wide receiver Terrance Turner, whose injuries required surgery during the season. \n“The guys that have had surgery won’t be (healthy for the bowl game), but the rest of them I think should be back ready to go,” Lynch said.\nLynch also said he and his coaches are focused on limiting first-team repetitions in practice until real-game preparation starts in order to avoid \nnew injuries.
The recruiting trail\nWhile Lynch could not name specific recruits because NCAA restrictions, he talked at length about his staff’s latest recruiting efforts and what they will be looking for this offseason. \nHe called the 2008 class, currently ranked No. 64 by the recruiting Web site www.scout.com, “well rounded,” and he said he and his staff have come to a point where they’ve addressed most of their needs.\n“There are a couple of places that we still would like to get a guy at the position, but I think we’re pretty much down to we want the best football players available, which is a good place to be,” Lynch said. \nLynch pointed to team speed, something he said has increased dramatically since he arrived with late head coach Terry Hoeppner, as something his staff is focused on adding to the \n2008 class.
Young players get reps\nLynch said some of the team’s younger, less experienced players are getting more repetitions in practice while the first- and second-team players get more rest. He said his young players got a chance to scrimmage Sunday, and he said it has given his staff a chance to learn more about guys who haven’t gotten as many chances to prove themselves in practice this season. \n“Every time you scrimmage, you learn a little bit about players,” Lynch said, “and we learned a little bit (in the scrimmage), so that was a positive.”
