Indiana freshman linebacker D.K. Bonhomme met with the media for the first time Wednesday afternoon to discuss his journey to IU, going through the college acclimation process with a former high school teammate, and more.
Watch his full comments in the embedded media player above, with a complete transcript available below.
[Question about sports culture in Canada]
"In Canada, the main sport is hockey, it's different, it's definitely different. The culture, football here is like religion, so it's definitely different."
What's been the hardest transformation for you?
"Probably the language, because my first language is French. I speak French. That's probably it, to be honest."
What brought you to football and down to the states?
"I started playing football at six, so it's really something I've just been doing my entire life. I've been dreaming about playing D-I football for a long time. I was fortunate to meet people and get in contact with people that would help me to get to where I wanted to me.
What was the experience like playing football where football isn't as important culturally?
"Yeah, definitely. In Canada, football, it's pretty big still, it's pretty big, but it's definitely not the same thing. Definitely different. The level of football is higher, the competition is higher, there's more teams, more everything. The difference between here and Canada is that, here, they give full scholarships for football; in Canada, you don't a scholarship at all for football. It's definitely different."
How does a guy get noticed in Canada to play D1 football?
"Like I said, I was fortunate to meet people that had the same goal as me and wanted me to achieve mine. So I did a lot of camps. I was driving down, eight hours, 16 hours, just to get noticed. My senior year of high school, I played in Florida, so that helped me a lot."
What made Indiana the place?
"Indiana, it was just the culture, the coaches. Everything about it was amazing, the campus was beautiful. The culture is emphasized on family and that's big for me."
You didn't always play defense, right? I believe you began your career at running back?
"I played running back for most of my career, and then two years ago, I was flipped to defense. I was playing corner. My senior year of high school was actually my first year of playing linebacker, so that was an amazing experience."
You never felt the pull of hockey at all?
"No, not really. Not my thing."
When did you get down to Florida? What was that like?
"I made it in May of last year. I went there, in Florida, and was doing camps and everything, just getting ready for the season, conditioning. It was definitely different, because the game was faster, the field is smaller, so it's a big difference. Everything moves faster, so it's definitely something you have to adjust to."
You played in Canada up until that point?
Until that point, yeah, I played up in Canada.
Where exactly in Canada?
"I'm from Ottawa but I grew up in Montreal."
Do you miss playing offense at all?
"No, I like hitting people better. It feels better."
That transition to linebacker, was that something you wanted to do?
"I wanted to get bigger myself. I wanted to get bigger because at that time, when I was playing corner, I was 180, not very big. I didn't have a lot muscles on me, a lot of mass on me, I just wanted to get bigger. So during the offseason, I just started grinding harder, eating more, taking care of my body more, and it just happened, to be honest.
What do you like about being up here with one of your teammates from Clearwater Academy?
"It's definitely a good thing, because I came here, I didn't know anyone. We're kind of going through the same thing too because we're international, he's from Australia and I'm from Canada, so it's pretty good. I have some support on the side, so it's good. I know someone's feeling the same way I do."
What do you want to prioritize as you get into summer conditioning?
"I definitely want to get in shape, get stronger, get faster and just get ready for the season and be ready to play as soon as possible."
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