Indiana Hoosiers football freshman running back Ivory Winters met with the media for the first time earlier this month to discuss playing on both sides of the ball in high school, the numbers he put up and more.
Watch his full comments in the embedded media player below, with a complete transcript also available below.
It was a smaller school you came from?
"Way smaller school. I graduated with 25 people. Real small school. Everybody know each other there, like everybody. We're basically a family. Everybody know everybody's business."
How many people were on your team?
"Like 35. Half of us were seniors, (we had) 15 seniors. We left behind some sophomores and freshmen. Basically, we got freshmen now."
What it's like being on such a bigger team (like IU) with so many people running around?
"It's way different being in an environment like this. I've never been in an environment like this. I'm in my room all the time. I'm kind of shy."
When you were at Hayti, you played on both sides of the ball. Running back, I think linebacker, all over the field. What did you like about having the ability to do both of those things?
"I loved to do those things. Basically, my coach, he wanted me to do everything, so I pushed myself to do everything. Basically, I was a role player for everybody, a leader, so they looked up to me."
Talked about being a role player and a leader. I mean, does that put anything on you here in terms of wanting to prove yourself to the guys back home?
"Yes, to prove myself, and keep pushing forward. Basically be that guy that they look up to come to success and make it out."
You had 59 touchdowns last season, eight in one game. How tiring is that?
"Oh, it was tiring. Get the ball back to back. My coach was like 'get the ball to Ivory, get the ball to Ivory.' It's very hard, but I had to push myself because they looked up to me."
What's the most carries you had in a game?
"Probably 85-90 percent of the plays, it came to me. Like, they was kind of getting mad. The quarterback, he would kind of get mad and pull the ball from me on options."
Was it just dive plays?
"Options and power (plays)."
Did they throw the ball to you at all?
"Yeah. Here, they call them checked swings, but we called them swing routes. Then we got the wheel (route). I would bump out to the slot sometimes and catch some slants, hitches, fades. I did everything."
So when you were scoring as often as you were, did your defensive teammates ever beg you to slow down to give them a breather at any point during games?
"No, they were pushing me. They wanted me to work hard. I was working real hard on defense, too. I like defense most of the time too when I'm not tired. I pushed myself to go hard."
I think you were twice all-state at defensive end and once at running back. Is there things you enjoy more about the defensive side of the ball?
"Yes, I love hitting people. Love hitting people. During my freshman year, they didn't really want me on offense. I don't know why, I guess my coach didn't see nothing in me. He looked up to most of the seniors. But my junior year, we had a new coach, and he saw me as a running back, so he put me back at running back and sometimes I went into the slot and got sweeps a lot."
Were you surprised?
"Yeah, I was way surprised. I knew I could score touchdowns, because we played this game called kill-a-man when I was younger. I was just scoring every time. I knew was a person that could score a lot of touchdowns."
What's kill-a-man?
"It's a game where it's one man for themselves, and you're trying to score a touchdown against defenders. There was a lot of defenders. It would be like 25-35 people out there, just everybody for themself."
And you're just trying to run through all of them?
"Trying to run through all of them."
Did you get through all of them?
"All of them. Just running through them."
What has the coaching staff told you as far as how they plan to use you?
"Hopefully at running back."
Still to be determined?
"Yeah."
----
• Talk about it inside The Hoops Forum or The Football Forum
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Follow us on Twitter: @IndianaRivals
• Like us on Facebook.