Coachspeak: Indiana’s Hiller on Stepaniak
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Indiana offensive line coach Darren Hiller had an apt comparison for guard Simon Stepaniak.
“The Hulk.”
Stepaniak, a sixth-round draft pick by the Green Bay Packers, is a powerful brawler who loves knocking defenders on their butts. Off the field, he is more akin to Dr. Robert Banner.
“He’s a tough guy,” Hiller said last week. “He doesn’t walk around the facility being a jerk and all that stuff. He’s very humble and actually very soft-spoken. He’s almost bashful a little bit off the field. When he gets out on the football field and he gets an opportunity to play the game, that Hulk comes out in him. He likes to play the game. He goes from mild-mannered to full-go. He’s an aggressive guy. He loves to play the game. As a coach, those are the guys that you love. You love guys that, off the field, you don’t have to deal with a whole lot of issues. He’s not high-maintenance. When he gets on the field, all he does is want to work.”
After starting 23 consecutive games in 2018 and 2019, Stepaniak suffered a torn ACL during the Hoosiers’ prep for the Gator Bowl. He had surgery in early January, which limited him to only the bench press. Despite limited training, he put up an impressive 37 reps on the 225-pound bench press.
However, he worked hard to become more than just a power player in his three years with Hiller.
