Newly hired defensive line coach Larry McDaniel, and Indiana's new defensive coordinator Brian Knorr, are looking to help turnaround a defense that finished the season ranked 123rd out of 125 FBS schools. For McDaniel, that turnaround is going to start with toughness up front.
"In this day and age, toughness isn't something that a lot of people stress."
Those were the words of new Indiana defensive line coach Larry McDaniel, who flashed back to his time playing under former Hoosier head coach Bill Mallory in the early 90's to respond to a reporter's question yesterday.
"To play this position (defensive line), and to play it at a high level, you have to be tough because like I tell those guys everyday 'the way that your body feels today, it will never feel this way again, until the season is over with.'"
The ability to be successful and play down, after down with your hand on the ground in a physically demanding, run first conference like the Big Ten boils down to a trait like toughness, McDaniel noted. He also added how he doesn't want to see a recruit's highlight film when he's assessing them on film, he wants to see the whole game (around the 6:45 mark).
"I want to see a whole game and see how he plays over the course of an entire game. This is the day of the highlight tape...two or three clips to get us 'Ooh and awe', and then all of a sudden, you watch a whole game and if a kid takes one play off, or two plays off, that's not the type of kid that we want here. He's not going to succeed in what it is that we're trying to do."