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Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/438308
ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 3 49 f those games. There were maybe four, five games that we're in ... that in the fourth quarter, you have a chance to finish those things. That's where a lot of that is above the shoulder. Obviously, you've got to make those plays, but you've got to believe that you can make those plays as well." Q: What happened the last two games in losses to Northwestern at home and at Indiana to end the year? Hazell: "Any time you lose some marquee guys, that hurts you. It really does. People may not be able to see that all the time. But when you have a guy like Danny Anthrop go down — who is your only consistent playmaker on the outside — that changes how, that's not making excuses, that's re- ality. There's some breakdowns in that second-to- last game (against Northwestern) we hadn't made. Then in the last game, you just have to make two or three more plays and you have a different outcome, you have a different feeling. Those are things we have to improve upon." Q: Do you feel differently about the season because of the way it ended? That's been the discussion — was progress made even though you lost the last six games and especially how those last two games went. Hazell: "I think we've made progress, but obviously when you finish the way you finish, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. That's for all of us. If it doesn't then we've got issues. Again, I have not studied the film (of IU) and I don't like to say what exactly happened in the final game, but those are the things that we have to make that step to finish those games to make ourselves feel a lot better." Q: So it does change how you view the season? Hazell: "No. Because here's the difference between last season and this season — and the closer you get, I think that's the thing that gets you more and more when you look at the schedule and you say, 'We should have, we could have' — the closer you get, the more frustrating it gets. That's what you deal with a little bit." Q: Do you wish you would have changed quarter- backs earlier? Hazell: "Not necessarily, no. I still think we need a lot more productivity out of that position. We've still got to fig- ure out where we're going in that situation. Austin (Apple- by) gave us energy, but I still think we need a ton more pro- ductivity out of that position, and we just didn't get it. Not nearly enough." Q: Is Danny Etling still a possibility? Hazell: "Yes." Q: So he plans on returning for next year? Hazell: "Oh yeah. He's fired up. I talked to him. He stopped in and was really excited and we talked about some of the things that have happened in the past with him play- ing and how we can fix some of those things. I also met with Austin as well. Danny, he sat in my chair and he was differ- ent. He was a little feisty, which is something I loved seeing from him and that's something we needed to see. Then you throw David Blough into the mix." Q: So it truly will be a three-man competition this spring? Hazell: "It will be a competition. We're going to give them all some reps. All quality reps, probably equal reps." Q: Going into Year 3 of a rebuilding project, you'd think you'd really like to have a quarterback estab- lished. Hazell: "You'd like for the guy to emerge as the guy. You thought you had that a couple different times. That's the one position on the football team that has to be different. He's got to be able to produce in those critical moments. He's not going to be 100 percent, 90 percent or 80 percent, but he's Tom Campbell Danny Etling, Austin Appleby and David Blough (left to right) will compete this spring for the starting quarterback job. Etling and Appleby started games in 2014, but Hazell said there must be more production from the position.