Since my last blog, IU has received 5 more verbals, which by my count is the most IU has EVER had at this point and time in a recruiting season. Last season we got our first in mid-June, but we didn't have 12 verbals until December. IU has really made a run on lineman, and I want to address this first. There have been a couple of posters on Peegs that have mentioned a couple of kids that will be moving on, even though they will have eligibility left. Those that were mentioned were Sean Edmundson and Matt Moses. Also, I'm going to throw Kenny Love in there, and the transfer of Chauncey Incarnato. These 4 kids are/were just buried on the depth chart and they will not be playing. It's not unusual for these types of things to happen, as you'll see some D2 schools pick up a kid or 2 that will come in and play for their season year. Indiana State has had a couple of Michigan players in recent years that have come in, after sitting the Wolverine bench for 4 years.
So I believe this is the biggest reason for the run on OL guys lately. Also, there has been some concern that with so many verbals, we don't have many ships left to give out. While that is kind of true (I expected a class of 18 from the start), there is, with all this expected attrition, at least 4 more ships open up, so if my count is right, we still have 10 ships to go, unless we oversign, which is extremely possible at this point.
Now for the recent verbals:
1. Marc Damish a 6'6" 270 OL prospect from Illinois. Marc was offered at IU's OL/DL camp in June after being first spoted at the West Lafayette NIKE camp and being personally invited to attend the IU camp. Marc ran a 5.30 flat at IU's camp, which is pretty good for a Tackle prospect. Marc had offers from all MAC schools, and Illinois and Northwestern were watching very closely. Also, I've heard that Illinois has went ahead and offered him, so that ought to "perk" the ears of the naysayers that think we can only out recruit MAC schools. According to the staff, Marc has excellent knee bend which is what you want for a Tackle in the spread offense. Justin Pagan was recruited as the Left Tackle of the future and I think Marc will be the Right Tackle of the future. He has a lot of room for growth on this body, as he could probably probably add at least 40 pounds to it and not do much to limit his ability. The staff will want him at least at 300 before they consider putting him on the line. He's been listed at anywhere from 265 to 280 in the articles I've seen, and I believe he weighted in at the NIKE camp at 274. The thing the staff liked the most is his feet, so I would deduct from that assessment that he's a good pass blocker, which is obviously what you want in the spread. Bobby Johnson and Coach Lynch really like this kid, and I think with some coaching and weight gain, he'll be a starter in 2 or 3 years. Last season, Marc's team was 3-6, so he didn't get much exposure. He played at 260 and was a 2 way tackle
2. Will Matte is a 6'3" 275 Center prospect from Wheaton, Illinois. Like Marc, Will was also offered during IU's 1 day OL/DL camp in June. Will chose IU over MAC schools, but he was being recruited pretty heavily by Mark Hagan at Purdue and Michigan State, so I don't think there should be any doubt that he's a Big Ten type of player. Will is a pure Center that can also long snap. IU absolutely needs this kid for depth alone, though he'll be much more than depth after a RS year. IU did recruit Jarrod Smith a C/G prospect, but moved him to G after the fall evaluation camp. Will has a chance to come in and contribute after a RS year. Wyss will be gone, and Perry will be a Junior at that point, the only other person he'll be competeing with is Jeff Sanders, and unless Jeff gains a lot of weight, Will should be able to move past him fairly quickly. Will reported ran 5.28 at IU's camp, and has a body to add at least 20 pounds to his body. He's a strong player already with a squat max at 545, which is pretty darn good for HS kid. One really cool thing for this kid was that at his hometown 4th of July Parade, he was a special grand marshall because of his verbal to IU, but also for what he does in the classroom and off the field. Also, his team won the 2006 Illinois Class 8A state title, so he's used to winning and working hard to win. Will blocked for Dan Dierking, an incoming FR at Purdue. He's known more at this time for his run blocking, but he has the feet and build to be a pass blocker in the spread. IU as a very solid young man to be the leader of the OL of the future.
3. AJ Thompson a 6'3" 300 OL/DL prospect from Marion, KY. AJ, like the rest of these guys, was spotted, and offered, after his performance at IU's 1 day OL/DL camp in June. It appears that at least these 3 kids that have verballed, and at least 10 to 12 more OL/DL kids received some special attention, at a special session of the camp where Bobby Johnson kind of did 1 on 1 instruction and a special try out/review. All of these kids have mentioned in the different articles that I've read is that they all got an extra session with Johnson sometime after the Official Camp was over. AJ is being recruited as a Guard for the future. He's got very good feet and he's quick coming off the ball. He also does a pretty good job at drive blocking, so he knows how to stay low and drive. He was being recruited by KY, Louisville, and Cincinnait, and had some NIKE offers. He's also been a pretty solid DT prospect, but IU seems to want him on OL side of the ball. He's a squatty type of Guard, that get's low, stays low, but has the length pass block you as well. Also, AJ can long snap, so he could be converted to center, if something wouldn't work out with Matte, but at this point, AJ is a Guard only. AJ's team was 5 and 7 last season and the team ran behind him most of time and totaled 1700 yards on the ground and 1050 yards through the air. AJ also lead his weight lifting team in competetion with a rack total of 865 (215-clean, 275-bench, & 375-squat), but those totals mean he will do a LOT better after coaching and hardcore workouts.
4. Chad Sherer is a 6'1" 195 OLB prospect from Cicero, Indiana. Chad knows Nic Sliger's family, as they live within 1/2 mile of each other, so that's kind of cool. He's the ONE verball that has actually said from the start that he wanted an IU offer and actually has grown up a fan of the program. Chad has been a RB/DB/OLB in high school and most of his damage has come on the offensive side of the ball. As a RB, he racked up 1260 yards on the ground and another 290 yards receiving and scoring 145 points. He also registered 62 tackles and 1 sack and 2 INTs for the season. He also did the extra point kicking for his team and made 11 of 13. Chad's team was 8 and 4 on the year. Chad will more than likely bulk into a OLB, but he'll need to add at least 25 to 30 pounds to be affective. He's ran in low 4.65 to 4.6 range, so he's not quick enough for the Big Ten RB, but he can be a very effective OLB with that speed and ability on defense.
The staff is now beginning to shift it's focus to the skill positions, as well as DB again. They are holding ships for Gray and Willis, but they are looking high and low for more WR/DBs. It appears IU will hold for Gray and Willis up through the middle of Feburary if they need to, though I don't they will have to wait that long for Willis to decide. I think he's getting close to pulling the trigger. Now, where that will be, I am not sure, but IU is still very much in it with him, as is Purdue, though Purdue seemed to take Albert Evans for that spot, and they already have Dan Dierking coming in this year, so have the used up their RB spots. IU does have 2 verbals at RB already, but Smith has already said he'll move if he has too, so we'll see.
Next blog will be a lot sooner than this one!
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