Cheesehead
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Hiller had been intrigued by Stepaniak's strength and power back in his high school days. While coaching the offensive line at the University of Cincinnati, Hiller had been part of a recruiting effort to get Stepaniak to become a Bearcat, but the Hamilton, Ohio, native ultimately chose Indiana.
Two years later, in 2017, Hiller wound up in Bloomington and became his position coach anyway. Stepaniak would start 29 games (28 at right guard) over the next three seasons for the Hoosiers and put his raw, brute force to good use.
"He was already a very physically mature young man," Hiller said of meeting Stepaniak as a high schooler. "I want to say he was (bench-pressing) in the 330-pound range. You could tell, even back then, Simon had grown up lifting weights. It was not a question of whether or not he was going to be a big, strong guy."
Where Hiller worked with him most was on his techniques, expanding and varying them. Despite being right-handed, Stepaniak threw a wicked punch with his left (his inside hand at right guard).
But overreliance on one initial move would leave him vulnerable to certain counters, so Hiller harped on balancing his attacks.
"He would tend to be a little bit lazy with his outside hand as a guard, his right hand," Hiller said. "I used to get on him and say, 'Listen, if I was ever to get in a fistfight with you, I'd kick your (rear), because I know you're going to throw your left hand first.'
"He worked hard at using that right hand. It was fun to watch him grow and stay on the grind. He paid his dues."