Micah McFadden: 'It's Been Difficult, But We've Got to Move On' After Tough Loss
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — These are tough times for Indiana football, as the injury riddled Hoosiers struggle through a 2-5 start that was made even worse by an ugly 54-7 loss to Ohio State last Saturday night.
There's still a lot of football left, though, and for Indiana middle linebacker Micah McFadden, that means getting refocused and making the most of the opportunities at hand — starting with Saturday's game at Maryland.
McFadden was at Yogi's Bar & Grill on Tuesday night for his Mike & Micah podcast on Sports Illustrated Indiana, and he spoke with candor about the Hoosiers' struggles lately, and what needs to get done to get better.]
Here are the highlights of the interview. You can watch the entire 30-minute podcast below.
— on a lack of pass rush at Ohio State
"No, a lot of our pressures didn't work and their O-line did a lot of protecting. And their quarterback, he did a great job of getting the ball out quick too.''
— on getting over a blowout loss
"It's not easy to flush. Personally, it's been very difficult. I wish I could have one more shot or take a play back. But we've got to move on, and it's up to all of us to make a decision to do that going forward. All the guys have the same mindset. We can't let last week affect this week. We have to attack the week and be ready to play on Saturday.''
— on Sunday/Monday off-day schedule
"I think it's great we come in on Sunday. We can get through the film and. then reset on our off day on Monday. It helps get out the game before, and help your body move. You've got to get your body moving that next day, so when the week starts, you're good to go.
— on playing on FieldTurf in the rain
"It's definitely hard to get your footing in the rain. It's hard to get your feet in the ground and get a good grip with your cleats. It's so rare to play in the game, so it can kind of surprise you when you get out there in the rain.''
"For an offense it's all about ball security in the rain, getting the ball to the quarterback and gettin it out to people. For the defense, it was more about getting your feet set. And it's difficult to make tackles, because everyone's so wet.''
— waking up on Sunday morning
"I feel pretty stiff. I get a lot of lactic acid built up everywhere and I kind of hurt all over. I usually try to get up early, depending on what the night is the day before. But I like to get up, and get in for treatment for whatever hurts the worst. And then I do some light stretching, which helps a lot too.''
— on preparing for Maryland
"They're definitely explosive and they have a lot of athletes out on the edge. We need to make them one-dimensional on the ground. They're a good team, and we're definitely going to have to show up.
"It's important that we get our offense in good field position with the ball and we need to create turnovers. That's something we really need to do these last few games. The whole team's excited to get back on track. We're looking forward to going out there. The change of scenery is huge, and being with just us, just the team, it's good for us, for sure.''
— on missing guys with injuries
"You want to be out there with your team so bad, but you're body won't let you go. Hopefully (cornerback Tiawan Mullen) can get back out there for us this week. I know he really wants to.''
— on Donaven McCulley, the true freshman quarterback
"The kid's definitely got talent, and I think he will become a great player at Indiana. It's just all about learning it. I think he did a good job with that at Ohio State when he got some opportunities, and he needs to continue that now.
"That's a lot to deal with. I told him after the game, 'nothing is going to feel harder than this, playing Ohio State.' I told him just to focus on the next week and get ready for Maryland.''
— on missed tackles vs. Ohio State
"I think some guys were just out of position. We could have done a better job of taking proper angles to the ballcarrier. It's definitely an area we need to improve.''
