IU RUNNING BACKS COACH JOHN MILLER JOINS THE SHOW:
– “Roman (Hemby) and Lee (Beebe Jr.), they’ve been great guys. They really molded to our culture, first and foremost, and they really picked up on our offense really well… Great people, very coachable.”
– On Roman Hemby … “He’s a very smart football player, so in terms of picking up the offense, it was really natural and easy to him. Coming in, there was things that I thought he could better his game at. He was a really good catcher out of the backfield, he has great speed, but making people miss out of the backfield was something that he could be better at.”
– More on Hemby … “The thing I love most about him, he’s just a great person. He really wants to see other people do well in the room, on the team, and that has always just made him the best player that he could be.”
– Fischer says Hemby has “the greatest personality, always a smile on his face.”
– On Lee Beebe Jr. … “He’s kind of like the power back… He’s a downhill running back. The first guy is not going to bring him back. Third-and-short, goal line, he’s the one that you want in there. He works very hard. He was a walk-on at UAB, then became a scholarship player, and now he’s here. So he always has that chip on his shoulder.”
– On Beebe’s season-ending injury … “It was tough on him at first because this was his first major injury. Tough for any football player to sit out because you want to be out there with the team. But he always has a smile on his face, always laughing and joking.”
– On Kaelon Black … “He’s always gonna do the right thing, give 110 percent effort. He had a lot of reps under his belt and he’s a veteran. He knew going into this year that this was his year to go in and do what he knows he can do.”
– On Khobie Martin … “It’s been very encouraging to see him go out there and do that, regardless of when he got in the game. And I know that’s just been giving him confidence, and for young guys like that, I know confidence is so important because they haven’t played in a game as much.”
– “You don’t block, no rock” is Indiana’s motto at running back. “We drop back to pass a lot, and you’ve got to protect the quarterback. To be a good running back in this offense, if you want to be on the field and get trust from coaches, what I tell them, protect the quarterback with your life.”
– Miller says the toughest part of coaching RBs is in camp, getting guys to buy into blocking and protecting the quarterback.