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Transcript of Wednesday's chat with junior defensive tackle Chris Norwell.
Join us right here next Wednesday for our final chat of the season when another Fighting Illini player will be here to answer your questions.
Thanks for looking in.
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| Moderator: Chris is here, so we'll get started right away. Thanks for joining us. |
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| Jon (Joliet): Hey, Chris--Nice work vs. Ohio State Saturday. Keep it up against Purdue this week. I'll be in the stands cheering you guys on!
Go Illini! |
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Chris Norwell: Thanks a lot, Jon. We appreciate the support. Keep it up. Hopefully we can bring home a couple of wins these last two weeks. |
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| Lynn (Danville): As an interior defensive lineman, do you have to alter your technique or strategy when you face a mobile quarterback such as you did last week in Ohio State's Troy Smith? |
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Chris Norwell: Basically, we don't. Your technique and fundamentals stay the same thoughout the season. When you have a mobile quarterback, you just have to be aware of his presence and what he likes to do. We were fortunate enough to be able to get some pressure on him, and that helped our entire defense. |
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| Jarrett (Georgetown): GREAT JOB against the Buckeyes! Does it ever get discouraging for the defense to have a performance like Saturday, and then the offense not come through and put points on the board? |
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Chris Norwell: The defense has been making big strides throughout the season. The offense hasn't come as far, but they did score against Ohio State, who has one of the top defenses in the country. We all support each other, and when the offense struggles, the defense needs to pick it up, and vice versa. That's what makes a good team. |
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| Bill (Peoria): I know you guys are playing Coach Zook's defense, just like last year, but you guys have obviously improved tremendously over last season. How much of this is due to Coach Okruch's leadership as defensive coordinator this year? And how much as been due to 1-the new players you added; 2- being in the system for the second year; and 3-being stronger and faster? |
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Chris Norwell: Coach Okruch definitely came in with a lot of knowledge about the game. He makes the defense approach the game with film study sheets on our opponents. He can flat-out make some great calls on Saturday. The new guys on the team like Vontae Davis and Travon Bellamy have been doing a great job. Also Antonio James on the defensive line--he's a freshman, too, and it's really tough for a player to come in at that position and contribute like he has. Last year, we were a lot longer, but especially so on defense. It's definitely helped to have another year in the system. Mostly, though, we're a year older and more mature, and Coach Lou (hernandez) has definitely got our entire team bigger, stronger and faster. When you look at game film from last year, you can really tell the difference. |
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| Bob (Quincy): Chris---I understand you played offense in high school--tackle and tight end. Were you recruited as an offensive player, and do you miss being on that side of the ball, especially catching passes? When did you move to defense? |
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Chris Norwell: I was recruited for all positions, and they were going to use me wherever I fit in. I came in as a tight end, then I was moved to offensive tackle after training camp during my freshman year. Then, after my redshirt year, Coach Turner needed some more depth on the defensive line, so I switched. And I haven't looked back since. |
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| Rich (Decatur): Being from Cincinnati, did that make playing Ohio State last week even more special? |
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Chris Norwell: Yes. It's always fun to play your home-state school. When I was growing up, they were always on TV. A lot of my friends went there. It does make you want to play even harder. |
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| Jonathan (Washington, IL): Chris, great job so far this year! The defense keeps getting better and is so much fun to watch lately. I'm sure you guys haven't looked ahead like this, but how does it feel to know that most of this defense will be back next year? |
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Chris Norwell: It feels great, knowing that we're going to lose only two seniors. We really want to finish the year out with a couple of victories, so we can have plenty of momentum going into next year. We have made drastic improvement from last year to this year, and we are hoping to have even more improvement between now and next year. |
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| Moderator: Thanks, everyone, for your questions. Chris needs to get into his pre-practice meetings, so we're going to sign off for now. Join us next Wednesday for our final chat of the season with another Fighting Illini player. |
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