Media Q&A with Freshmen D.K. Bonhomme
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Image: D.K Bonhomme’s Twitter
Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
As the incoming freshmen come into Bloomington, Indiana has made them available to the media. Last week Ken Bikoff of Peegs.com and other members of the media sat down with linebacker D.K. Bonhomme. Here is the transcript of their interview. I want to thank Ken for allowing us access to his video and Matt Wevaer for helping with the transcription.
Q – What made you decide to come to Indiana?
D.K. BONHOMME: It was the coaching staff. The coaching staff, they emphasized a lot on family, and they were big on family. I’m looking forward to that. That is what I was looking for in a program and a coaching staff. I like to be close with my coaches and everything, and when I came on my visit they just showed me that this was the right place for me.
Q – What other schools were recruiting you?
D.K. BONHOMME: I had around 26 offers but I was only looking at (inaudible)
Q – What turned it for Indiana’s favor? Just the family atmosphere?
D.K. BONHOMME: Yeah, it was just better. It was just the family atmosphere to be honest. Everything was just better…everything. The family aspect and the relationship aspect…everything was just better.
Q – What is your strength as a player?
D.K. BONHOMME: My strength as a player I think is my speed. As a linebacker I am able to move sideline-to-sideline, and I think I can play both positions at linebacker in our defense. So I think that’s pretty good.
Q – What else did you play in high school?
D.K. BONHOMME: I played corner in high school, and before that I was a running back.
Q – Did you play any other sports?
D.K. BONHOMME: I played basketball for two year.
Q – And then just decided to concentrate on football?
D.K. BONHOMME: I started playing football at six so it was pretty much like…I played football my entire life. I tried basketball and I liked it but not as much as football, so I had to make a decision and it was football obviously.
Q – Is football in the background of your family?
D.K. BONHOMME: Not really. I was the first person in my family to play football. Now it is because my little brother is playing and he wants to do the same thing that I’m doing, so I hope it keeps on going on and on and on in the family. I just love the game of football and it is such an amazing sport.
Q – I know you’ve only been here for a short amount of time, but what your impression of it? What do you tell people about it?
D.K. BONHOMME: It definitely got us freshmen buying into the culture because they’re trying to win, they’re trying to make a difference, they’re trying to be different and they aren’t trying to be like the previous years, so that’s big for me. I’m trying to make history, and I’m trying to be a part of something that has never happened before. They are doing a great job, like I said, of making us buy into the culture and everything.
Q – The fact that they are willing to playing freshmen…how much does that mean to you?
D.K. BONHOMME: It means a lot…it means a lot. It means they believe in us. People on campus have been telling me that there is a lot of hype around our class. We’re going to do good. I believe we’re going to do good. it’s looking good for us right now.
Q – What do you think your class can bring to the program that maybe wasn’t there before?
D.K. BONHOMME: Definitely, we’re hungry…I think we’re hungry. Everyone wants to be a part of it, so that’s definitely different from the previous years.
Q – In Canada there aren’t a lot of football players so how did you get introduced to the game?
D.K. BONHOMME: It was my cousin. My cousin introduced me to the game of football when I was six because I was getting into trouble at school for fighting and stuff, so they wanted me to take it out somewhere else. Football turned out to be the place where I could do that.
Q – So you’ve always been a hitter and a defensive player?
D.K. BONHOMME: I played offense most of my life actually, but it is just a contact sport itself. It is just something I like, I like hitting. It was just meant to happen I guess.
Q – So you found it outlet for it and the other stuff just kind of went away?
D.K. BONHOMME: Everything went away when I started football because my mom wouldn’t let me play football if I wasn’t do good at school, or if I was getting into trouble at school. So it comes together.
Q – Was that in Canada where that happened?
D.K. BONHOMME: Yeah, in Canada.
Q – So it is 11-on-11 football in Canada?
D.K. BONHOMME: No, it’s 12-on-12. And the field is bigger.
Q – So how different is that?
D.K. BONHOMME: I mean it’s a big adjustment because there is also the motion part of the game. The receivers can motion before the ball is snapped. And there is also one yard in-between the linemen…between the line of scrimmage and the defensive line. But except for that it’s still football. It comes down to the same thing at the end of the day.
Q – How much of an adjustment was it from Canada to Florida and Florida to here?
D.K. BONHOMME: From Canada to Florida was the biggest adjustment to be honest because, like I said, the field is smaller and everything was just faster. Florida is known for speed so everything was just faster and I needed to get to the ball faster and hit people faster and hit my gap faster. So it just helped me and prepared me to be here right now.