MERRILLVILLE | For every coaching heartbreak, there are often reasons to spring from bed each morning and get back to work.

For Indiana football coach Bill Lynch, they are junior quarterback Ben Chappell of Bloomington and wide receiver Matt Ernest, a Crown Point grad.

Since December, Lynch has kicked three players off the team -- wide receiver Kellen Lewis, defensive back Cortez Smith and offensive lineman Dennis Ziegler. The latter two were freshmen.

Lewis, a former starting quarterback, had been reinstated in July of 2008 after a four-month suspension. But on April 30, Lynch ran him off for good after yet another team violation. Smith was arrested on robbery charges last December, and Ziegler followed shortly later when criminal charges also were filed against him.

"We wish (Lewis) well," Lynch said prior to Monday night's Indiana University Tailgate Tour at the Radisson Hotel. "There's expectations on any football team and when those expectations aren't met ... but I really like Ben Chappell. He proved himself a year ago when he started against Northwestern, played the whole game and we beat 'em. Northwestern ended up being a top 20 team and a bowl team, so we certainly have a lot of confidence in him.

"Ben's a great leader. Very, very intelligent. Got a great arm. Good awareness. He doesn't have the ability to run the football like Kellen did, but there's a lot of things Ben does that can make him an outstanding Big Ten quarterback."

For more on this story, plus a column by Al Hamnik on IU men's hoops coach Tom Crean, read Tuesday's edition of The Times.