Indiana Welcomes South Carolina State

Sept. 12, 2011

Indiana Game Notes^[1] | Big Ten Game Notes^[2]

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Staying home for the second straight Saturday, the Indiana football team will face South Carolina State on Saturday, Sept. 17. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. EDT and the BTN will broadcast the game.

Tom Werme will handle play-by-play duties and he will be joined by Gerry DiNardo (analyst) and Stacy Paetz (sideline). The game can also be heard on the statewide IU Radio Network with Don Fischer (play-by-play), Buck Suhr (analyst) and Joe Smith (pre-game, halftime and post-game) on the call.

Setting The Scene The Indiana football team (0-2, 0-0 Big Ten) welcomes South Carolina State (1-1, 1-0 MEAC) to Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 17. IU roared back from a 23-3 deficit with 28 unanswered points only to fall to Virginia, 34-31, while SCSU earned a 26-18 victory at Bethune-Cookman last weekend. South Carolina State was named the preseason favorite in the MEAC. The Bulldogs have won three straight conference titles and made three straight FCS playoff appearances.

The Coaches Kevin Wilson^[3] is in his first season as Indiana head coach. Wilson spent the 2002-10 seasons at Oklahoma, where he served as co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach from 2002-05 and as offensive coordinator and tight ends and fullbacks coach from 2006-10. OU played in seven Big 12 Title games in Wilson's nine years, going 6-1 in those appearances. His offenses were vital to accumulating an overall record of 99-24 (.805) during his time in Norman, including seven 10-win seasons. Oliver "Buddy" Pough is in his 10th season as head coach at South Carolina State, where he earned All-MEAC honors as an offensive lineman. Pough has compiled a 77-30 (.720) overall record and his teams have captured or shared four MEAC titles.

News & Notes Greg Heban^[4] picked off a pair of passes against Virginia, becoming the first Hoosier to do so since Mitchell Evans^[5] against Arkansas State on Oct. 16, 2010. Lawrence Barnett^[6] returned a fumble 52 yards for a score early in the fourth quarter. It marked the first time a Hoosier returned a fumble for six points since Nick Polk^[7] against Ball State on Sept. 20, 2008. With two fumble recoveries and two interceptions, the Hoosiers forced four turnovers for the first time since they had two interceptions and two fumble recoveries against Penn State on Nov. 14, 2009. Matt Perez^[8] rushed for two touchdowns, the first Hoosier to post a pair of rushing touchdowns since Darius Willis^[9] scored two against Michigan on Oct. 20, 2010. Cody Evers^[10] (right guard) and Brandon McGhee^[11] (linebacker) made their first career starts last week. IU debuted white helmets against Virginia for the first time since the 1965-66 seasons. With a crowd of 41,549, Indiana recorded its largest home-opening attendance since 1991. Indiana will meet South Carolina State and face a MEAC opponent for the first time. Kevin Wilson^[12] has MEAC experience, as he served as OC/OL coach at North Carolina AT&T in 1988.

Steps In The Right Direction It has been said teams make their greatest improvements from week one to week two. After a lackluster effort in its season opener against Ball State, Indiana showed great energy, scored 28 unanswered points to erase a 23-3 deficit and displayed an aggressive defense. IU did not force a turnover, recorded zero sacks, two tackles for loss and one pass breakup in the opener. The Hoosiers forced four turnovers, compiled one sack, six TFLs and six pass breakups against Virginia. Sophomore cornerback Greg Heban^[13] had two interceptions, sophomore Kofi Hughes^[14] recovered a fumbled punt, fifth-year senior safety Jarrell Drane^[15] forced a fumble and sophomore cornerback Lawrence Barnett^[16] returned it for a 54-yard score. Indiana scored 21 points off of the four turnovers.

Yes, He-Ban! Greg Heban^[17] started his IU career as a pitcher for head coach Tracy Smith's baseball team.



After dominating the 2009 intramural flag football season, Smith urged Heban to give football, one of three sports he played at Delta High School in Muncie, Ind., along with basketball and baseball, another shot.

Heban arrived at preseason camp in 2010, made the team, worked his way up the depth chart and eventually started four of the team's final five games at cornerback and played in all 12 contests. Head coach Kevin Wilson^[18] awarded Heban a scholarship prior to the season. The sophomore cornerback made two interceptions vs. Virginia and shared the team lead with seven stops. He is the first Hoosier with two picks in a game since Mitchell Evans^[19] vs. Arkansas State on Oct. 16, 2010. Heban made a career-high nine tackles against Ball State and is third on the team with 16 stops. He also has two pass breakups in his two starts. He shared the team lead with five passes broken up and made 40 tackles, 25 solo, 3.5 tackles for loss and one interception in 2010. Despite being just 6-foot-1, he can dunk a basketball from standing flat-footed and can throw 90 mph, as he pitched 1 1/3 innings for the 2010 IU baseball team.

Backfield Bruiser Matt Perez made his Hoosier debut in the backfield against Ball State, earning the starting role. The 230-pound redshirt freshman is the only player on the Hoosiers roster who can squat 700 pounds. Perez rushed for 41 yards on 12 attempts and scored IU's first touchdown of the season vs. BSU. Additionally, he made two grabs for 18 yards. He added two more scores with 47 yards on 13 carries against Virginia. Perez leads the team with his 88 yards and three TDs this season. He has scored three of the team's four red zone touchdowns (9, 8 and 1). In 2010, Perez suffered a season-ending ACL injury during week two practice. He was named the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune and ESPNChicago.com 2009 Player of the Year at Maine South High School in Park Ridge, Ill.
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References

1. ^{^} Indiana Game Notes (grfx.cstv.com)
2. ^{^} Big Ten Game Notes (grfx.cstv.com)
3. ^{^} Kevin Wilson (iuhoosiers.cstv.com)
4. ^{^} Greg Heban (iuhoosiers.cstv.com)
5. ^{^} Mitchell Evans (iuhoosiers.cstv.com)
6. ^{^} Lawrence Barnett (iuhoosiers.cstv.com)
7. ^{^} Nick Polk (iuhoosiers.cstv.com)
8. ^{^} Matt Perez (iuhoosiers.cstv.com)
9. ^{^} Darius Willis (iuhoosiers.cstv.com)
10. ^{^} Cody Evers (iuhoosiers.cstv.com)
11. ^{^} Brandon McGhee (iuhoosiers.cstv.com)
12. ^{^} Kevin Wilson (iuhoosiers.cstv.com)
13. ^{^} Greg Heban (iuhoosiers.cstv.com)
14. ^{^} Kofi Hughes (iuhoosiers.cstv.com)
15. ^{^} Jarrell Drane (iuhoosiers.cstv.com)
16. ^{^} Lawrence Barnett (iuhoosiers.cstv.com)
17. ^{^} Greg Heban (iuhoosiers.cstv.com)
18. ^{^} Kevin Wilson (iuhoosiers.cstv.com)
19. ^{^} Mitchell Evans (iuhoosiers.cstv.com)
20. ^{^} Matt Perez (iuhoosiers.cstv.com)