Still not quite where we need to be yet

I was looking at the Rivals database the other day that lists all of our committments from 2002 to this recruiting season. It also still contains the players ranking when he signed. Now, I've not a big supporter of ranking kids out of high school, because just as many 0 to 3 star kids are stars, just like the 4 and 5 starred players. I know that there are many, many more 0 to 3 star kids than 4s and 5s, so that does cloud things a bit. However, looking back at 2002, when Gerry DiNardo was still coaching here and the kids he brought in, then Hep's arrival, and now Coach Lynch, the talent level has grown a lot over these past 7 years or so.

In 2002, we signed 21 kids and 3 of them (Graeme McFarland, Alan Webb, and Sean Miller) were 3-star ranked by Rivals. Both Webb and Miller never played a down at IU, and McFarland didn't fit into Hep's scheme offensively when he came, so he transferred. Out of that class, Bo Greer went to JuCo and then ended up starting 2 years as an OL at New Mexico; John Kerr played 1 season and then sat the bench at the O$U; Chris Taylor is the only one that made an NFL roster, albeit the practice squad of the Houston Texans. All in all, this class didn't do much of anything, though we got starting time out some of them.

In 2003, we signed 25 kids and 7 of them (Altman, Burns, Faires, Meyers, Powers, Sexton, and Stubblefield) were 3-star ranked. Again, these guys were recruited for a running, pound it out offense, and when Coach Hep brought the spread in, most of these guys ended up switching positions or leaving. Altman and Stubblefield left, Burns never did anything, Faires and Powers switched positions, and only Sexton and especially Meyers produced much, though Faires did well last season at DE. Again, this class was plagued with transfers or those not even showing up, or just plain not developing like many thought they would. We got a lot more production out this class than from the 2002 class, so the talent level was improving, but it was at a crawl.

In 2004, this was DiNardo's last class and 5 (Bailey, Jadron, Love, Price, and Szczesny) were 3-star ranked. Again, there was underachievement, position switches, and transfers throughout this class as well. That tends to happen when a program switches coaches, but to really miss out 3 years in a row was pretty devastating to the program. Of the 3 starts, Bailey, Jadron, and Szczesny left; Price has switched positions 3 differents, and Love is a 2nd string OL, not at DT where he was recruited. However, what was very good about this class was the development of the 2-star ranked or below kids that really matured and raised their games to a whole new level. Hardy, Brown, Majors, Phillips, Porter (no stars by the way), and Thigpen have all produced very well through out their careers at IU. Of this group, Hardy and Porter were drafted this year and Majors is in camp with the Bears, and I believe Brown and Thigpen will get drafted late next season as well. This class was more about development under the new staff, than anything, but again, we moved forward production wise from 2002 and 2003, so we were still crawling upward.

In 2005, Hep's first class, we only signed 3 (Payton, McCray, and Matt Lewis), 3-star ranked kids. Again, with any new coach taking over, especially from a lower conference, kids need to see progression before they bring talent in. So on paper, this class would rank lower than the other classes, because of the ranking of the kids signing. This class has been a disappointing class because only Kirlew, Johnson,Polk, and Thomas have been major producers. In fact of the 25 kids we signed, 7 have transferred out. Most of the others are role players. Personally, I feel we dropped a little bit from 2004 with this class, but that's to be expected with a coaching change in the middle of it.

In 2006, Hep's first true class, we signed 21 kids with 5 of them (Faulkner, Mayberry, Perry, Sanders, and Vernon Smith) being 3-star ranked. So this class showed progress, talent wise anyway, as we began once again to crawl forward as a program. Out of this class, 2 (V. Smith and Roberts) have transferred, 10 are back ups this season, and 9 of them are penciled in as starters. This class also brough in the "7 Blocks of Limestone" and all 5 OL starters will be from this group this season. This class also brought us Greg Middleton, who was a 2 star ranked kid, but has developed into one of the premier pass rushers in the entire country and led the country in sacks last season.

In 2007, the hype was beginning to build in and around the program. Coach Hep, though diagnosed with a Brain Tumor, was beginning to bring excitement to the program. The AD and the University announced plans for a new academic/athletic center and a renovation to Memorial Stadium. Also, fans were starting to show up, not a lot of them, but more and more each game. IU signed 20 kids with 5 of them (Boyd, Dedmond, Jones, Schell, and Thomas) being 3-star ranked. This class also featured 3 kids from 4-time defending football champion Warren Central, however, this class lost it's biggest fish in Jerimy Finch, the programs first 5-star committment in years. All 20 of these players are still at IU, which is fantastic. While only punter Chris Hagerup and Max Dedmond are penciled in as starters, this group is pretty talented, as was evident from the Spring game. The talent level that this class has brought is evident on the practice field and it is hoped that they will be able to prove that in games over the next few seasons. Again, I'd say the talent level rose up another rung or 2, especially now that Finch has transferred back to IU from Florida. Also, we went bowling for the first time in over a decade and we are now beginning to reap the benefits of a winning season and a bowl game in recruiting.

This coming fall, IU will welcome 19 kids to the team (originally 20, but Suel is not academically eligible) with 5 of them (Adetona, Covington, Kozak, Smith, and Willis) being 3 star ranked. You can just see the ability of some of these signees being a lot better than we've had over the past few years. Other than Finch, Darius Willis is the biggest recruit to come to IU football in some time, in fact, he's probably underranked and should be a 4-star recruit in my opinion. Also, Tyler Adetona and Tandon Doss are a couple of WRs that I expect will compete for playing time this season. There's a lot to like about this incoming class because we were not just battling upper echelon MAC and other low end Big Ten programs for kids, we did battle with some regional and BCS programs for these players, which is a great sign. We didn't win all our battles, but this class is the most talented, even on paper, that we've seen at IU for at least a decade.

Now, we fast forward to this current recruiting season for the 2009 class. So far we have 8 verbals (6 are 3-star ranked and 2 have no rankings because they haven't been evaluated by Rivals yet). Like I mentioned previously, last season, we went bowling for the first time in over a decade, we squeaked out a winning season, and of course, we beat Purdue and played 13 for Hep. Last season has gotten the attention of recruits in Indiana and around the Midwest. It appears to me that to consistantly get 3 star ranked kids, you have to have winning seasons and get to bowl games. However, to get 4 star ranked and above kids, you have to have a tradition of winning and producing NFL kids, win bowl games, especially high profiled games on New Year's Day, and compete for conference titles. IU isn't there yet, and I think that's why we are losing out on the 4-star kids some. We've had 1 winning season, and while we are team climbing the ladder, we are still not quite where we need to be yet to consistantly get those 4 and 5 star kids.

This season though, we have a chance to really do some things. It's extremely feasible to win 9 or 10 games this season, and while our strength of schedule won't be that great, winning that many games will get us ESPN Gameday time and should put us into a very good bowl with a shot at winning one. I will predict that if IU can win 9 or more games, and win their bowl game, we'll see some 4 stars either finishing out this class or starting the 2010 class. Kids want to know what have you done for me lately, and for the 2010 class the stadium will be done and the athletic/academic center will be complete. This season is really a big year for this program. Even with a weaker schedule, we could really reap some benefits for once with this program with some bigtime recruits.

Yeah, it stinks to be so tight with DJ Hunter and 1, 1/2 day visit to Knoxville nets a verbal, but such is life. Also, my hunch tells me we haven't heard the last of Mr. Hunter either. A big year from this program and more DB verbals from Tennessee, and I honestly think you could still see DJ in cream and crimson. It's still a long time until February. As for now, our young gun assistants are working the recruiting trails hard. We are still in on several high profile 3-star kids, so the cubboard is not bare.

Hope all are well! God Bless!!

Chester, Lewis, and Finch

Jamonne Chester became the 8th member of the 2009 recruiting class this week. A 6'2" 195 WR, he runs a reported 4.5 and who caught 35 passes last season. His strength are his hands and his size/speed ratio. In the spread offense, he'll be a guy that can work the deeper route areas and use his height and hands well. After loading up at WR last season, it appears IU will try and take at least 2 or 3 WRs this season as well. I suspect some will switch positions once they get here, especially from last year's class, but as we learned earlier this week, Marquelo Suel didn't qualify, so we needed a replacement this year, so maybe the 2 or 3 we pick up will stay at WR also.

Chester is also aquainted with Gainer and Watkins from the Detroit area camps, and they had a part in his committment to IU as well. It's great to see these types of athletes committing. Last season, IU secured 5, 3-star (by Rivals rankings anyway) committments. This season, we already have five 3-star kids in our first 8. While that will probably be their peak, if some of these kids were committed to some other Big Ten Programs, their rankings would rise.

It appears now that the 2 other WR canidates the coaches are really looking at are Jeff Duckworth from Cincinnati and Duwyce Wilson from Columbus, Indiana. I suspect the staff will wait for their decisions before moving on to other prospects, if they don't commit. As it stands now though, Duckworth is down to IU and Wisconsin, and Wilson has IU right there in his top 3. Both have stated they want to commit by the end of July, but Duckworth is much closer in my opinion to choosing a school than Wilson.

Now, for our 2 unknowns, well kind of.

I was told during the first week of June that Kellen Lewis would be reinstated to the team by the end of June if he completed a couple of things. As of now, both of those things have been completed and I'm a little befuddled as to why an official announcement has not been made. In fact, everything that was laid out to him to achieve has been achieved, so all that is left is the official announcement. It's a foregone conclusion now that he'll be reinstated to the team and compete with Chappell for the starting QB position in Fall Practice.

Also, Finch is still waiting on word from the NCAA. His case is still being reviewed and it will probably be early August before IU knows anything for certain. Right now the best guess that I have gotten is 50/50, which is down from close to 100 % sure that he'd get to play next season. No word on what has changed the minds of those I talked to, but I think they are just being optimistic at this point in the process.

Jerimy has been working out and appears to be, from what I've seen/heard, pretty much recovered from his big knee injury last year against Tennessee. In my own opinion, I would love Jerimy this season, but I want him at 100%, so if he's not there, then another year to get back to normal and stronger and more familiar with the IU scheme will benefit all involved.

Hope all are well and had a safe and happy 4th of July! God Bless!

Who said IU can't recruit with the big boys?

Well, we wait forever it seemed to just get that first commit. I started with Josh Keyt, who really is a greyshirt and still the fans questioned, wondered what was going on. Then Edward Wright-Baker committed, and then last week happened. It's been a whirlwind last week or so for IU football and the talent continued to roll in today with Adam Replogle.

Let's look at the kids:

A. Ted Bolser is a 6'6" 215 TE from Cincinnati, Ohio. Last season he caught 68 passes, and judging from his youtube video that is out there via Ohiovarsity, this kid can get up and has very soft, big hands. What is just as impressive is his 40 speed which was clocked at 4.63. That's quick for a TE and with added weight, he should really be a good combo with Max Dedmond. Ted was rated the 2nd best TE in Ohio, so to walk into this state and kid a kid this good, is something that IU hasn't done in a LONG time. Ted also is a standout LaCrosse player and has an offer from Maryland to play college LaCrosse. Maryland is a really good school for that sport, so you can see the athletic ability that he possesses. Ted also has a HS teammate that IU is recruiting, DB Wali Morris.

B. Dimitrius Carr is a 6'1" 200 OLB canidate from Chicago. I've received word that he is actually up to around 215 or so and will need another 10 to 15 pounds to move into that Will or weak outside LB position. A poster on Peegs commented that this is first offseason that Carr concentrated on conditioning and weight-lifting. In the past it was all sports all the time, now it's just football, so the belief is Carr will grow more and really be a steal. New Mexico was the only big school to offer him, but his stats are pretty amazing really. He's also a track guy, so his 40 time is right at 4.5 at this point. If he can get into that 230 range or so, he will be just fine. Also, he should do well in coverage, since he's been a safety his entire life as well. What I also really like about Carr is where he comes from. Mount Carmel HS is a football power, so he'll come to IU knowing what it takes to be a part of winning program. This kid is a real sleeper that may take a year or 2 to hear his name mentioned, but his speed and develope with at the very least help our depth.

C. Jeremy Gainer 6'1" 215 OLB from Detroit. So far, Jeremy is the highest rated player that has verballed so far. He's ranked as the 20th best OLB in the country, which makes him a very good get for this program. This kid really is a big time athlete. Runs a 4.5 40, strong, and has extremely good lateral quickness. According to last season stats, he forced 7 fumbles last season, which screams to me that he can really lay the wood when he hits you. He also had 97 total tackles and 7 INTS to go along with the forced fumbles. Assistant Coach, George Ricumstrict is really doing well in recruiting in and around the Detroit area and Jeremy and his cousin Kenneth Watkins (more on him in a bit) are by-products of his hard work up there. This kid has a real chance to come in an play his freshman year. He is by far the biggest defensive recruit we've gotten right out of HS in sometime. I suspect we'll have to watch out for Michigan later on down the road, but he's had IU at the top of his list since last fall, so that's a pretty good sign that we really stand out to him.

D. Adam Replogle a 6'3" 265 DT from Centerville, OH. His committment is pretty fresh off the press, but one word describes him, and that is "animal". He's really an aggressive, all out, all heart, with ability player. He's a battler and fighter on the DL, and on the tape that I've seen, he shows real burst off the snap. His brother, Tyler, is another all heart, all effort guy with ability and played his true frosh year last season. I don't think Adam will do that, as I think he needs about 25 or so pounds, but again, he adds to the quality depth up there. He did post 82 tackles and 6 sacks last season playing DT. IU loves to rotate in their DL guys and he's another great kid to use in that rotation. You mix him with Mentzer and Sliger from last year's class and you have just some animals up there that will refuse to lose and will be the heart and soul of the defense.

E. Kenneth Watkins a 6' 190 DB from Birmingham, Michigan (Detroit suburb). Cousin of Jeremy Gainer, but he's no tag along either. Recruited as a Free Safety and he's got good size (6') and speed (low end 4.4) to be a very good player at that position. He will need a little weight, probably 20 pounds, but he's known for his cover skills. He also plays in a very tough league with his team that produces several D1 kids every season.

F. Nick Zachery a 6'1" 200 athlete from Sheridan, Indiana. Nick Zachery won't be highly ranked because he's an option QB for Class A (smallest divison) team in Indiana, but what I LOVE about Nick is his leadership and heart. For 3 seasons, he's been the starting QB at Sheridan, a school rich in tradition of winning and for the past 3 seasons, he led his team to a state championship. He passes, he runs, he kicks field goals, he punts, and yeah, he tackles on defense as a safety. While he's not excelling in football, he's run as low as 10.5 in the 100 yard dash in track. A mega athlete from a small town, he's been coached by legendary HS coach Bud Wright. As on Sheridan fan told me, we have produced Brett Law (at the time, the best RB in state history), Brad Maynard, and several other D1 and D2 recruits, but Nick Zachery is just in another class. He could be a WR, OLB, or Safety, but my guess is he'll be a strong safety in college. He'll need some time to learn the position and put on about 10 pounds or so, but he has leadership ability beyond his years. I really like this kid and if you get a chance to see his youtube highlights, please do, he's a treat to watch, as he really has a burst or 2nd gear that would be interesting to see if he were to play on the offensive side of the ball.

So now that 6 are in, who is next?

Well, we should hear something about Kyle Koehne a 6'6" 300 pound OL from Indianapolis within the next week or so. If he goes elsewhere, IU will turn to Jake Baratz from Naperville, Illinois. He's 6'5" 280 and has an offer from Arizona as well. He really likes IU and again, he comes from a powerhouse program that is coming off a State Championship.

I'm also expecting something soon from Dusty Kiel, QB from Columbus, IN. He lists IU and Central Michigan as his leaders. Also, his HS teammate Duwyce Wilson, WR, who says he'll decide in late July. No word on a leader, but IU sits very well with him, and a committment from Kiel, could push IU over the top pretty quickly.

IU also sits very, very well with Dolapo McCarthy, QB from Merrillville, Indiana. Also, Jeff Duckworth, WR, from Cincinnati has us in his top 2 with Wisconsin. Wisconsin a newer offer and he'll trip there soon for an unofficial. Jeff was down to IU last Friday with Bud Golden and DJ Hunter for unofficials. All 3 had fantastic visits from all reports. Duckworth wants to play in the Big Ten, but not far from home, so I'm hoping we can land this kid. He's got good hands, is pretty quick, and runs good routes already. He needs a little more weight, but he'd be a very good compliment at WR to Wilson if both were to commit.

John Prior a OT from Portsmouth, OH has us in top 5 with the likes of Purdue and West Viriginia. We also sit in Chapman's (OT from Michigan) top 3 with a couple of MAC schools. My hunch with him is he's waiting on instate schools to offer though. Another real intriguing prospect from Cleveland Ohio is OT prospect Henry Conway. Right now, it's an IU/Cincy battle for his services. Also, we are right there with Nate Klatt a true center prospect from Ohio.

On defense, we are done at DT with Replogle's committment, so now we will concentrate on DEs. I think we will snag a couple for this class to help our depth here. The big cat that is still out there is Montez Robinson from Avon, Indiana. He's cat quick, but he's listed Auburn and Alabama as his favorites. IU is giving it a yeoman's effort, but I just don't think we'll get him, as he's Alabama native anyway and like Jordan Luallen, appears to want to return to his roots.

Of course the big name still out there in most fans eyes is DJ Hunter from Ohio. Right now, it's an IU/Tennessee battle for him. As I mentioned earlier, DJ was on campus last week and had a great time. He'll visit the Vols though before deciding, but honestly, IU still sits extremely well here. I still believe, he'll be a Hoosier when all is said and done.

Hope everyone has a SAFE and HAPPY 4th of July. God Bless!

Is the sky really falling? New recruit and Kellen Lewis

So Cincinnati has gotten 4 verbals from Indiana kids, another kid from Pike really likes them, and we lost Jordan Stepp to them. Kind of shocking and already there are posts questioning what on earth is going on and what is the appeal of the University of Cincinnati over IU.

Well, I'm not all that well versed in Bearcat football, but looking at their roster, especially the defense, it appears Coach Kelly likes smaller defensive players that can scoot and make plays. Kind of sounds like Coach Hep's preference for a defense. Hep liked smaller guys, but then beefed them from athlete to football player with solid coaching mixed in. His strategy worked, but sometimes it took a high powered offense to keep scoring and scoring. Cincy also has a very good spread offense attack that can really score. They also appear to play a lot of kids in a rotation. As soon as Jordan Stepp steps foot on campus next summer, he'll be their biggest DT. My guess (only a guess) is that he'll play right away and rotate in. At IU, more than likely he'd be redshirted and then join the rotation. Though I don't totally know why Jordan chose the Bearcats, I'm going to assume that immediate PT played a part. I think he'll do well there and I wish him and his family nothing but the best of luck. Jordan reached his dream of gaining a full ride scholarship to a Division 1 school.

As for Mitch Meador, Andre Cureton, and Will Saddler, the other 3 Bearcat commits, IU had not extended offers to them. They have personally watched all 3 of them in practice and/or games, but no offers were extended, though offers could have came later, but we will never know. Either way, all 3 have the potential to be good, solid players for the Bearcats, but they are just not the type of players that IU is looking to verbal at this point and time. So, what kind of players are the Hoosiers recruiting?

Well, IU has set it's sights on a number of highly ranked players. This class will be a smaller class of signees when all is said and done (17 or so), so the recruiting philosphy is a bit different than in the past. Now, don't get me wrong, IU has recruited very solid kids in the past and last year, got some very good early verbals, but this year is a little different. Normally, under Hep, the staff would offer about 30 grade A kids, then settle into the rest of the kids they knew they could get. Of the 30 or so grade A's, maybe 5 or so would visit, but rarely did we get any of them.

Now, fast forward to this winter and spring, again we offer probably 30 or so grade A kids, but something different happens. John Decker from Scout mentioned this as well, but the majority of the Grade A talent, along with the top talent instate and in surrounding states came to camp at IU. This is a brand new thing, but something that fans need to pay attention to. When you begin to get your kids to camp, even if it's one day, you will begin to reap the benefits of that in the coming recruiting seasons. IU football can't recruit on name recognition like the bball program. Also, Coach Lynch and staff can't let the recruits see banners from the past either. In the words of the movie Field of Dreams, "If you build it, they will come", well, that's the only thing IU can do, and it's beginning to work. Sure, it's not a quick overnight fix, but reshaping a program the right way rarely is. Sure, IU could have hired Ron Zook to rebuild this place, and he's recruited well, but his arrogance is already wearing on players and it will only be a matter of time before he bolts to greener pastures. Ron is also just one example, as there are many others out there just like him. IU has had to start completely over, and though fans want a quick fix, just like Coach Crean is giving the bball program (believe me, IU bball will be much better than people think and they'll be back in the tournament in a year or 2 based solely on tradition and name recognition recruiting).

S0, is the sky falling? No! IU seems to be going after the bigger names and they are winning some battles. Sure, they will lose battles too, but if IU doesn't get all the midwest kids they are targeting, they'll just wait until after the season and bring in some Georiga and Florida kids. Those type of athletes certainly are not secondary prizes at all. I really do expect more verbals in the next couple of weeks. We sit very well with Nick Zachery from Sheridan and the Carr kid from Chicago. We also have a couple of kids from Ohio coming in this weekend and we sit well with instate kids. I still believe we will land 6 or so top instaters, which is just fantastic to haul in 1/3 or more of your class from instate. That would be my preference every year, but it all depends on the talent instate as well.

Now, for Edward Wright-Baker who committed to be a Hoosier this week. I've said a lot about him in past blogs, so I won't repeat a lot of that, but I will say his committment is HUGE for the program. In my opinion, he's a far better prospect than Ohrian Johnson was last season, and he's the 2nd best QB in the state (again my opinion). He's really not that far behind Morgan Newton either, and I know the staff really likes this kid's ceiling, and compare it very favorably to Newton's. He has a great arm/great leg ratio, so he can throw and he can run. He's also fairly tall at 6' 2" and well built body wise at 205 or so, so he doesn't need anything but some muscle to step in and play. He's also raw, but he plays in a spread attack at Jeffersonville, which is great because he'll adapt to what IU does pretty easily, or at least he should. He's rated as an Athlete by Rivals, but he's coming to IU to be a QB and will stay there unless Newton commits, then it's feasible that he could switch somewhere else, as he's athletic enough to do that.

Right now, we have the best long snapper in the state and the 2nd best QB in the state committed to be Hoosiers. Sure, we missed out on the best DT in the state, but we can't win them all. I don't I have ever remembered IU being so selective with their verbals than this season. This is a very good problem to have, as the staff should be commended on their hard work. They just put on some great camps, got a ton of prospects in here, as well as some extremely good underclass talent, and they are now ready to hit the recruiting trail again for the next month. Also, many of the incoming freshman are here and doing 7 on 7 work and running and doing drills. Chris Phillips is really taken over the leadership of this ball club and he has them up and running at 6 AM and preparing. IU tasted the sweet nector of a bowl game last season, but they want more. They don't want to just play 13, they want to win that 13th game. Their desire and hunger is the best I've ever seen or heard of here, and I hope it continues to march in that direction.

Now, for Kellen Lewis. Of course there have been an awful lot of questions and posts and emails about this kid and rightfully so. Coach Lynch hasn't said a whole heck of alot about it, so he remains indefinitely suspended, but there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel and it's beginning to shine a lot more each day. I fully expect to hear something on KL within the next 10 days or so. He has met and exceeded everything that was put forth for him to do and he's crossed every hurdle that stood in his way. I fully believe that unless he does something extremely bad before the announcement, Kellen Lewis will be fully reinstated to the program and will compete with Ben Chappell for the starting QB job this fall. I also fully expect him to win the job, and lead the Hoosier offense onto the field for their first game this coming season.

Hope everyone that reads this is doing well. God Bless!!

John

The big deal about Josh Keyt

Well it was bound to happen sooner or later, and last night it did, IU got its first verbal for this class, but it wasn't what many fans expected and it's gotten a lot of fans and forum posters questioning why in the world Lynch would give up a scholarship to a Long Snapper. Well, the questions are valid, but let me assure you, Josh Keyt isn't just a run of the mill long snapper. In fact, if Rivals or Scout rated long snappers, Josh would be a 5 star recruit. He's the top LS in the Midwest this year, and unless IU reals in Morgan Newton, I can assure you that Josh will be the highest rated kid at his position in this class.

Josh will come to IU next fall and redshirt as a preferred walk-on or greyshirt, then come January 2010, he'll get his full ride and be on scholarship throughout his career. Josh will be doing just exactly what Terrance Turner (WR) did a couple of years ago. This way the staff doesn't lose a scholarship this season, but still locks up the Midwest's best player at his position. Josh is also a pretty good DE, and besides his snapping, he'll start his career as a LS/DE and go from there, but regardless, he's here to do mainly one thing, and that's long snap.

Tim Bugg was IU's long snapper last season and he consistantly snapped the ball from his down position to the holders hands or punter's hands in .70 to .75 seconds. The average NFL snapper is between .7 and .8 seconds, so you can see that Tim ranked right there with the very good timed snappers. Also, Tim was accurate, and rarely did a ball go anywhere but right to the punter and/or the holder. Even in bad weather, the balls were consistantly placed and the times were the same. Not many people can LS it consistantly every time and that's why Tim was the best LS in college football last season. Next season, Brandon, Tim's brother takes over and though he's not quite as quick getting the snap back there (averages .80 seconds), he's just as accurate.

Josh Keyt snaps consistantly at .70 seconds, which is right where Tim was last season and faster than Brandon. He's also pretty consistant, which is why he's the top snapper in the Midwest. He crafted his trade at Chris Sailor's kicking camps and credits his instructors and his dad for helping him achieve an offer from a division 1 school and earning a scholarship. Also, if you saw my post on Peegs today, he's a friend, and I'm pretty pumped up about having a Putnam County athlete playing for IU.

The funny thing about Josh is that he lives within about 5 minutes of where Coach Lynch has a summer house in Putnam County on Heritage Lake. It's a small world sometimes. Anyway, so for those that fear or question that Coach Lynch and staff are out of their minds offering a long snapper, rest assured that Josh is special and pretty hard to pass up. Fans have stated that IU needs to offer the state's best players and Josh is the best at his position. Games are won and lost constantly on special teams play and unless it's a kickoff, it all starts with the long snapper and if he fails to do his job, the play doesn't go anywhere.

Hope this blogs finds it's readers well and may God bless you all!!!

Odds and Ends

Been a while since I updated this, and I've kind of been waiting for the camps to get done before doing much, but I want to update a little bit on a few odds and ends.

First, Jerimy Finch is, as you all know, enrolled at IU and taking online classes. He has also applied for a hardship waiver with the NCAA to play next season, instead of sitting out the normal 1 year that is required for transfers from one D 1 school to another. For those that don't know what hardship waivers are, I thought I'd not only educate myself, as well as inform those that don't know and look into it a bit more. The official NCAA website provides the standards and codes that all schools and student athletes must follow, so this is where I got my information.

To be eligible for a hardship waiver, the tranferring student and the institution that the student is transferring too, must support their request via documentation as to why the player needs to play right away and not have to sit out the year. This documentation must be submitted to the NCAA subcommittee for review, and then a ruling is made. If the waiver is denied, the institution and/or the player can request an appeal hearing with the subcommittee for denial requests. This is almost like a hearing in that the transferring player and/or the institution can call witnesses before the committee to support their documentation request. At this point, this subcommittee will make a decision that will either agree with the original decision, or reverse the decision. Whatever the decision, this is as far as you can take it with the NCAA. I suppose you could take it further or outside the NCAA to the court system, but those do not usually end up in a timely matter.

Now, I'm in no way saying that Finch's case would ever go as far as I described above, but that are his, and IU's option. One of the most recent cases for hardship that was granted that IU fans may be familiar with is that of Tyler Smith. Tyler played at Iowa for Coach Alford, then transferred to Tennessee to play for Coach Pearl. He was allowed to play the following season, because he transferred to be near his ailing father who had cancer.

In one of the stranger requests of recent memory, was the family of Colin Peek. Colin transferred to Alabama from Georgia Tech. The appeal for hardship was orchestrated by Coach Nick Saban, because GT didn't employ a TE in their scheme, so with Peek's position basically eliminated from the offense, Peek requested immediate playing time because Alabama was going to use their TEs a lot. Basically, Saban needed a TE, and Peek was his best option. Of course, this request was denied.

Finch's issue is family related, but that's as far as anyone really knows. This is of course a very private issue that will only be made public once a ruling is given by the NCAA. It will more than likely be July before we know the NCAA's decision on this one, and of course, if it's not favorable, Finch and/or IU could appeal.

I wanted to let those that read this blog know that Coach Tom Crean and Coach Bill Lynch have become very good friends very quickly and they often share a meal as their time allows them too. In fact, Coach Crean has leaned on Coach Lynch some through all this turmoil and strife that the men's bball program has went through recently. Coach Lynch and his staff are all too familiar with adversity and strife, as they dealt with the illness and ultimate death, of their leader, Coach Hep. Coach Crean has really bent Coach Lynch's ear, as well as other trusted friends about all that is going on with men's bball. Personally, I cannot remember, at least in recent memory, a school's athletic program that has dealt with as much adversity and strife as IU's fball and men's bball programs. One thing that I've heard Coach Lynch say about the late Coach Hep, is that you can give a player all the chances in the world to succeed, get them help, even drive by their house or call the apartment and make sure they are home, but ultimately, if a kid doesn't want to change, he won't. While I think that is obvious, I think some of that advice that was giving to Coach Hep staff, trickled down to Coach Crean. Sure, he could have given some of those many more chances, but sometimes you just go with your gut feeling. A lot of times, a person's past history will dictate their future behavior. This also leads me to my one and only comment about Kellen Lewis. I certainly made waves saying that in my opinion, there was a 99.9% chance that he would never don the IU football jersey again because of what he'd done. While I will certainly stand by that statement, I recently posted on Peegs that I think there is a 75% that he will play again. These percentages are merely based on the vibes and statements I am/was getting from those within the program. Things were laid out for KL to accomplish while he was away, and he's on track to complete those things by the end of this month. If he completes those things in the satisfaction of the staff, it appears it may ultimately come down to what his teammates want. At this point, that vote could either way.

Now that June has begun, that means it's time for football recruiting to really heat up. Kids all over the country will be making trips to football camps and taking unofficial visits. IU is no exception to this and here is the schedule of camps that will be held at IU this summer. These camps include the position coaches, as well as former and present players. During these camps, you usully wake up at 7:30, have breakfest, practice, eat lunch, practic, eat dinner, practice, then have a simulated game, then it's off to bed. It's jammed packed IU football.

This coming weekend IU will kick off their camp season with their 7 on 7 passing camp. Then on June 8 to 11 will be Session 1 of the Team camp. Session 2 will be from the 11th to the 14th. Finally, Coach Lynch will hold a youth camp for youngsters on the 16th and 17th. Also, Coach Bobby Johnson will hold a special Lineman camp on the 10th. Many offered lineman will be in attendance, as the staff will get a first hand look at what these kids can do. Also, Coach Ted Ginn's bus tour will again be making a stop in btown for a one day camp. No date yet on that one, at least none that I've seen listed on his website.

Ultimately, the staff believes that as many as 7 kids may very well verbal once the camp season winds down. I've gotten a few emails and saw comments about why in the world IU doesn't have any verbals so far and should we be concerned. Well, not having verbals by June is a little unusual, especially for IU, but IU has certainly upped it's effort on top notch talent. Almost everyday, the ticker lights up with another rated prospect that has IU in his top 2 or 3. It's only a matter of time before someone gets the ball rolling, then watch out as the dominos fall.

Well, that's it for now. God Bless!!

Finch, the key to the OL this year, and OL/DL recruiting updates

Well, Jerimy Finch will be a Hoosier after all, well maybe. First off, Finch was granted his release today and his intent is to enroll at IU and begin taking summer courses next week. So he is coming to IU, however, he's got some work to do in the classroom before he gains eligibility. I'm told it's not impossible, but he's going to have to work, so with held breath, we will take a wait and see approach.

Now, let's say he gets eligible, where does he play? One of the reasons he decided to transfer, and I'll get into those in a bit, is that he wants to play safety, and he feels that it's his best shot to get to the NFL is to stay at the FS position, so he'll have to drop some weight, but if he can get down to the 215 range or so, he'll be more than fine. He's got a year to do this, so he should be just fine. Nick Polk is currently listed at 215 pounds, so Finch, being a little taller, could play with a little more weight if needed. If Finch does come in and start play in 09, I fully expect Nick Polk will move back to WR full time. Nick is going to play some WR this season anyway, and he attends the WR meetings, so the transition wouldn't be all that bad.

Now, why does he want to transfer? Well, there are a few reasons really. One is he's really homesick and he misses his kids. I think he's maturing and wants to be a bigger part of their lives, which is great to see. Some will criticize here, but he's growing up and learning to take responsibility, and whether that happens at 19, 20, or 40 years old, that's very good to see. Finch was also injured for the first time in his career and the injury kept him off the field, so he got experience the long journey of rehab, away from home, and I've been told, this really changed him. Finch wasn't the most liked guy at WC, but amends have been made and his former mates have really talked with him about this impending transfer and can't wait to be united. Also, at IU, he will get the chance to play FS, which is what he wants to do.

Finch is a big time player and while he needs some classroom help, he's going to get the programs here with people he's familiar with. I have blogged in the past about a person that was involved in the academic help side of things at Warren Central, is now working at IU, and some of the WC kids cited her as one of the many reasons they chose IU. The whole academic support staff at IU is just incredible (don't let the bball issues fool you). These people really deserve a big pat on the back for their efforts with all student athletes in all sports.

Now, I want to talk a little bit about the OL. Most believe this position really holds the key to the offense this season, and that's very true. In fact, the old saying in football at any level is to win games you have to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. So, to move the ball offensively, you have to first win the battles up front. While most people will group linemen together, it's neat I think to take a look at each individual position and determine just who might be the biggest key for the success of IU's OL.

First, the Left Tackle is usually the high profile position on the OL, because he protects the blindside of the QB. Most people assume this has to be the hardest position to play, because game in, game out, this guy gets to block the opponets top pass rusher. To play this position at IU, you must first have quick, nimble feet. Just like in the pros, you have to be able to push the rusher to the outside, while your QB steps up in the pocket to deliever the pass. This is what you'll see this season from IU's LT.

Next is the Left Guard, he moves in concert so to speak with the LT and they work in tandem. IU will have the priviledge of having 2 guys (Saffold and Saxon) that have been together for 2 years now, so they work very well together. The LG also is responsible for recognizing stunts. Depending on the scheme of the DL and/or blitzes, the left side of the OL, with the C, will move together and leave the right side to get help from other places. As IU's left side of the line has improved over the past couple of season, IU has been able to get their RBs in passing routes, because the TE can stay and help the right side. The LG in IU's system is a mauler type that has to be able to pass block, as well as run block. Saxon is a big old mauler and fits that bill pretty well.

Next is the Center, he is the onfield coach of the OL. He makes the calls and must recognize what is presented to him, all from the squatted position. First off, he has to be smart. He doesn't have to be big, last season Wyss was only about 275 to 280. He was limited athletically, but he was very smart and he played with heart and had pretty good technique. This season, IU is a lot bigger at this position, but they may even be smarter. Josh Hager is 6'7" and his back up, Jarrod Smith, is 6'4". Smith is backing up the C and LG positions, so he's pretty nimble guy, but smart. Hager was moved inside from OT during his redshirt year because he's athletic and nimble and he's smart. The biggest adjustment for him was learning to recognize the DL formations and blitzing schemes. The only real way to learn that is through trial and error and a lot of film viewing. This will be interesting to watch early on, but to me, it's not the biggest key for success.

Next is the Right Guard, and in my opinion, through research, this is the key position to IU's success up front. I make this statement for one big reason, this person usually has no help inside or from a RB in pass blocking, so he has to maintain his block, one on one, or the play will be blown up. As stated earlier, the left side of the OL work in concert together and can kind of help each other out and bottle things up when one position gets off balance. However, on the right side, it's different. The RT usually gets the TE help, which has happened at IU the past few seasons, and the RB goes on a route, or stays in to pick up an extra blitzer, still leaving the RG by himself. Currently, Faulkner is the starter, but Brewer is closing fast, very fast. In fact, by game one, he may be the starter. The RG at IU must be strong, and should be able to handle guys one on one, which requires those quick feet againt. Last season Sandberg was the strongest guy, but he wasn't that athletic. You could punch him off balance, but he couldn't handle nimble guys and when the OL failed, it was mostly due to a failure at RG. Sure, at DE may get the sack, but when the RG loses his guy, others have to compensate from the left side, and it just screws the whole thing up. Also, in run blocking, the RG usually gets (with center help) the nose tackle, the biggest, strongest guy on the DL, so thus, this person has to be good at leverage and understand how to use their strength. You learn to succeed at RG, you will go a long way of winning the battle up front.

As for the RT, not much to say that I haven't said. Although, this position usually gets the TE help. Emerson got by on limited athletic ability, but a lot of smarts and technique. This season, Stark is a much better athlete and hopefully, this will allow for the TE to be used down the field much more on passing downs, instead of staying home to block. This tackle doesn't have to be all that quick or nimble, but he needs to be adapt at both run and pass blocking, because he's on the outside and will be the one asked to seal that side of the field, when running plays are called to the right side.

Hope you can get something out of that, as I really got into some interesting reading and viewing of last season tape to research that. Never really gave the OL that much indepth thought prior to doing this, but it gave me a whole new appreciation for what John Madden calls "the big uglies"!

Now, let's see who has offers on the OL so far. Note that IU will probably take 2 or 3 OL commits this year, and the state is as loaded here as it's ever been, so I expect us to be pretty picky.

Kyle Koehne 6'6" 300 from Indianapolis Catherdral HS. Some will argue he's the best tackle prospect in the state, and IU is in his top 3 with Boston College and Iowa. All that could change if Notre Dame would offer, but so far they haven't. He's getting a lot of national looks, and I really believe that IU stands a very good chance to land him if ND doesn't offer. If ND does offer, I'm 99% certain, he'll be a domer.

Austen Bujnoch 6'5" 260 from Cincinnati, OH Elder HS. This kid comes from a mega football program in Ohio. Could be a guard or a tackle, but needs weight. The thing you like about him is he's pretty athletic for a big guy and has some speed and quick feet. He's the type of player you like in IU's system. IU is right there with a lot of other Big Ten and MAC schools at this point.

Michael Schofield 6'7" 280 from Orland Park, Illinois. A very good prospect, rated a 4 star by Rivals. Many offers, so we'll see what happens.

Zach Martin 6'5" 270 from Chatard HS in Indianapolis. If Koehne isn't the top tackle prospect in the state, then most experts say this kid is. IU has offered, but so has every other Big Ten program, as well as some SEC and ACC schools. However, I think he'll end up at Notre Dame, but as of yet (it's only a matter of time) they haven't offered yet. If for some reason they do not offer, then it's going to come down to Michigan or O$U.

These are the only OTs that have been offered, but here are some other instate kids that are being recruited by IU.

Brooks Michel 6'7" 280 from Carmel, Indiana. Lightly recruited so far by IU, but he has offers from NC State and Purdue. Not sure why IU hasn't offered, because he's got some skills and he's coached by former IU coach. Also, his dad Tim played baseball at IU and Brooks older brother goes to IU currently, as a student. My guess is he'll be available later, if Kyle or Zach go elsewhere.

Andre Cureton 6'6" 295 from Pike HS in Indianapolis. Very good athletic tackle prospect from Pike. Coach Lynch watched he and some of his teammates work out a couple of weeks ago. Kind of an unknown, but he's got a ton of upside, possibly as much upside as anyone in the state. IU hasn't offered, but I think we will after he comes down to IU's camp in June.

Chris Watt 6'3" 285 from Glenbard, Illinois. Chris is the #2 ranked guard prospect in the country by Scout. We have offered, but so have just about everyone else.

Adam Bellamy 6'4" 280 from Auroa, Ohio. Seems to be leaning toward Michigan State at this time, but I'm thinking he's going to wait a while to see if O$U offers. IU has offered, but chances are slim it appears.

Ryan Spiker 6'5" 295 from Dresden, Ohio. Currently IU is in his top 3 with Cincinnati and West Virginia. No clue on how much of a chance IU has with him, but he's a mauler type that IU really likes at Guard.

Desmond Kenner 6'4" 335 from Fort Wayne, Indiana. A true mauler in every sense of the word. Raw, but with some upside. He'll camp at IU this summer in June. No offer from IU yet, but that could change once camp gets here.

Corey Reece 6'4" 3oo from Floyds Knobs, Indiana. Could he join Pat Graham as the only kids from Floyds Knobs to don IU uniforms? At this point, no offer, but he'll camp here in June, so we'll see.

Robbie Piper 6'4" 380 from Leopold, Indiana. I had never heard of this kid, but he's in the scout database. He's huge though.


Nate Klatt 6'4" 285 from Canal Fulton, Ohio. Nate is the only center prospect that IU has offered. Rivals has him as a 4-star recruit and size wise, he could put on a bit of weight and be guard pretty easily. Only 2 MAC programs have offered over IU, but he's waiting to see what the big boys will do with him I'm sure.

Steve Fiacable 6'2" 280 from Fort Wayne, Indiana. He's the best center prospect in the state and IU is watching him closely. We haven't offered yet, but it appears the MAC and other Big Ten programs are watching as well.

Jordan Stepp 6'1" 290 from Ben Davis HS in Indianapolis. This kid is one the strongest players in the state, if not the country. He can really lift some weight, and if football doesn't work out, I think he could get into competitive weight lifting and do pretty darn well. As for football, he's strong, but so far IU hasn't offered.

On the defensive line, I don't expect a lot of action, due to adding so many pieces last season. My guess is we'll add 1 DT and 1 DE. So far, we haven't done a whole of recruiting in this area.

Adam Replogle 6'3" 270 from Centerville, Ohio. Adam is the younger brother of current IU player Tyler Replogle. He plays with the same warrior mentality as his brother and has good quickness for DT. IU has offered, but for now, IU is battling West Virginia and Iowa. He claims Tyler will not influence his decision, but I don't think it will hurt IU's chances either. I really do expect Adam to be a Hoosier when all is said and done and the one DT recruit for this class.

Julius Forte 6'3" 225 from Gulfport, Florida. Julius is a former teammate of Ohrian Johnson, who chose O$U last winter. Julius is quite the DE prospect and he's got big time speed for a DE at 4.65 in the 40. He had 11 sacks last season and IU offered him last season when they scouted Ohrian. IU has been on him for a couple of season, so this will really help I believe, but he's going to get offers I'm sure from most of the SEC, and it's going to be hard to get him out of SEC country because of that.

Montez Robinson 6'5" 230 from Avon, Indiana. Montez is probably the best DE in the state of Indiana this coming season and he's a kid that I'd LOVE to see IU grab. He's got tremendous speed and with some weight, he's got a real chance to become a force in IU's attacking/blitzing defense. The one school that scares me here is Purdue. The Boilers have really had a lot of success taking DEs with Montez's size and measurables and turning them into solid pro propects. Here's hoping IU can reverse that trend and nab Montez and start a new tradition.

Davon Custis 6'5" 220 from Columbus, Ohio. A mega athlete that ran a 4.5 40 at IU's camp last summer. He's scary and IU has already offered, but with his speed, he's going to be a national recruit. Just about ever Big Ten and MAC program has offered, but one hasn't yet and that's the O$U, and I'm assuming he'll hold out for them. My guess is, eventually, he'll get that offer.

Antwon Johnson 6'3" 270 from Detroit, Michigan. This kid likes IU, has visited IU, and wants an offer, but so far, as far as I can tell, he doesn't have one yet. He's a very good athlete and could put on weight and move inside if need be.

Okay, next time, I'll dive into the LB and DB recruits as well as any updated information that pops up over the next couple of days. As always, GOD Bless!!

Offensive Skill Position Recruiting so far

I have wanted to get this up for awhile, so once again, I apologize for the delay. Andy Romey of Peegs and Jon Decker have done 2 very good articles this week on QB recruiting, so I won't say too much more. However, there are a couple of names that haven't really been discussed, because they are out of state kids. First is Clayton Moore, 6'2" 205 from Louisville, Misissippi, and the other is Alex Gillett, 6'1" 180 from Clyde, Ohio. Clayton is a long shot to put it mildly, as most of the SEC has offered. As for Alex, I had never heard of him until Peegs mentioned him the other day, but he appears to have a live arm from the video I saw of him. However, I still say that IU will probably land 2 QBs this season and both will be from the State of Indiana.

Here's my own personal rankings of the State of Indiana QBs:
1. Newton
2. Wright-Baker
3. Luallen
4. Kiel/McCarthy tied

Obviously, Newton is the #1 option, and I have been told that right now, it's a 4 team race, with those 4 being (IU, Clemson, South Carolina, and Illinois), but many, many others are trying to get involved, so even if IU were to be the eventual choice, it's going to be interesting to see how this all goes. Next on my list is Wright-Baker. As I've blogged before, I really love this kid. And the tape I've seen of him compared to Newton the only real difference I can find is Newton is 2" taller. On tape, they are mirrors of each other. However, EWB just started coming into his own, where Newton has been very good for a while, but when all is said and done, EWB is going to be a very good QB.

I put Luallen 3rd on my list, only because of production. However, if I'm recruiting at IU and rank the instate kids based on readiness for the spread offense, Luallen isn't my 3rd choice, as that would be Kiel. I'd say Luallen is all but a Yellowjacket at this point, but heck, that type of offense was developed for a QB like Luallen, so you can't blame him for going to a school that fits his skill set.

I'll admit I haven't paid that much attention to Kiel until IU offered, but after rewatching tape on his teammate WR Wilson, I came away pretty impressed. He does remind me of Ben Chappell at the same stage of their careers, and he is a very accurate passer. His feet also seem pretty quick, not that he's real fast, but he fairly nimble. Mechanically, he's the best in the state throwing the ball, but with his blood lines, that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone at all. The fact that IU is the first real major school to offer is very surprising to me, because I would have figured Ball State or at least another MAC school would have offered by now. Dusty certainly gets attention because of his teammate being a highly sought after WR. Going to be real interesting to see what he does, since he's probably Plan C (behind EWB and Newton) at this point. Not that that's a knock, but those 2, athletically, are a couple steps above, even though Kiel is the best passer of this group.

Finally, McCarthy is still someone that I believe IU will sign. He's 6'6" 200 and Scout clocked him at 4.7, though I don't know how accurate that is. Though that's not greased lightning quick like Newton and EWB (both are low end 4.5s to high end 4.4s) that leaves room for IU to move him if they so desire. His brother signed with Ball State and promptly put on about 50 pounds and became a DL starter, so he has the genes to grow and grow a lot. Though for now, like Kiel, IU has offered at QB.

Okay, I said I wasn't going to say much about QBs, but oh well. Let's see what else IU is up to. I want to give kudos to Coach Springer, because of the job he is doing in the state of Georgia and Florida. IU really won't do a whole lot this recruiting season on the offensive side of the ball, since that was a heavy interest last season, but they still will sign some kids that could go to RB or LB or DB or even WR.

Cory Atkins, 6' 195 from Madison, FL. Cory is extremely athletic and is quite the leaper I'm told. He was offered as a RB, but could switch to DB in the end. Very good looking prospect and his profiles are saying Florida Internation, Florida Atlantic, and IU are his only offers so far.

Mike Gillislee 5'11" 180 from Deland, Fl. Don't know much about this kid other than Rodriquez offered him already for Michigan. His stats say he's probably a RB all the way as he posted 1,200 yards last season. I'm told Coach Springer had very good success at Deland HS in the past at Western Kentucky, so I think that's why we are involved here.

Bud Golden, 6' 190 from Cincinnati, OH. This kid is a pure stud and rated in the Top 250 nationwide. IU has been on him for a couple years now and offered early last season, which I believe was his first. He's being recruited by everyone in the Midwest as well as Stanford, which makes me believe he's a very good student. My guess is he'll hold out for an offer from the O$U before making any kind of decision.

Rolandan Finch 5'10" 205 from St. Xavier in Louisville, KY. He was up for the spring game and though Rivals doesn't mention it, I'm pretty sure he got his offer after the game. Kid is all athlete and could be a DB or RB. Very fast and another very good leaper. We are battling the SEC and of course, hometown Louisville for his services.

Kurt Freytag 6'2" 225 from Carmel, IN. Teammate of Newton and a very versitale prospect that could be a LB, RB, TE, or even one of those hybrid H-backs in the spread. Coach Lynch saw him the other night, when he went to watch Newton practice and he's a kid I hope we offer. Real good kid and a warrior in both heart and spirit. The kind of kid you want on your team. Not sure where IU would put him, but that can all be figured out later.

Rashard Wynes 6' 205 from Warner Robbins, GA. He came to IU for spring practice and has IU leading with Troy running neck and neck, at least that what I was told. He's being recruited by several of the SEC schools as well, but no offers yet. Very good athlete and another one that could move to the other side of the ball when all is said and done.

Toney Williams 6'1" 230 from Alpharetta, GA. This is another big surprise when I had heard he came to spring practice. A real bruising back that obviously could end up at LB in IU's offense, or he could still be a RB, especially with 4.6 speed. IU and KY lead at this point, but the homestate schools haven't offered yet, with an emphasis on yet. Was again told that Coach Springer has had a lot of success at Alpharett HS, so that's why we are sitting in the cat bird's seat at this point and time.

Eric Williams 5'11" 200 from Indy. He is a kid I think will garner a lot of attention once he gets going this season. He plays at Warren Central and IU is aware of him and they are recruiting him, though they won't offer until they see what he does with increased playing time. He's sat behind some really good backs at WC the past 2 seasons, and he's itching to play. The bad thing is, WC will switch to a spread attack from the wing T that they've ran for several season, however, for IU, this a great thing because they'll get to see what he can do in an offense similar to theirs. Eric could end up at RB, WR, or even DB when all is said and done.

Now for WRs, again, like RBs, IU tends to recruit kids that could end up at WR, DB, or even LB, like Issac Price. IU signed a very good group last season, but they'll sign at least 1 or 2 more WRs this year too. Leading the group that IU covets appears to be Duwyce Wilson, 6'4" 190 from Columbus, IN. He's just a very good WR and he's quick as well. Could he be a package deal with HS teammate Dusty Kiel?? Could be, and I certainly wouldn't be disappointed at all. Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Cincinnati have all offered and many more will follow I'm sure. IU has hosted him a few times, so we are right there. Let's hope he desires to stay close to Cbus and play for the Hoosiers!!

Here are the other WRs we've offered so far:

Fritz Rock, 6'1" 200, from Plymouth, Minnesota. Love the name if nothing else, but this kid has some real skills and we are in for a large battle for him. IU and Minny ha ha are the only offers, but he's camping at Notre Dame and he loves Louisville. Miami Fla wants him at CB, so I think he's pretty much a long shot for us, but he's worth a flier for sure.

Patrick White, 5'11' 175 from Pickering, OH. A mega-athlete that could be a WR or CB, but will definitely return kicks whereever he ends up. We offered early, but O$U, Penn State, and Pittsburgh are really getting involved now.

Jammone Chester, 6'2" 190 from Redford, MI. A suburban Detroit kid that has only MAC offers, but IU has just recently offered and the favored Michigan State Spartans appear they will offer very soon as well.

Marlon Anthony, 6'5" 190, from Marietta, GA. Once again, thank you Coach Springer for eyeing this talented kid. The kid will commit to Auburn if they offer, but so far, only IU has. My guess is Auburn will soon enough. Though he needs muscle, the kid is a major talent.

The state of Indiana has several other Division 1 prospects here and I want to quickly mention those. While none have IU or any Big Ten offers, these kids could very well play their way into an offer with a strong senior season.

1. Bobby James, 6'3" 220, from Hobart, IN. This kid is a prospect at WR, TE, and LB. Good quickness
2. Wes Winkle 6'3"170, Yorktown, IN. Probably Ball State bound
3. Demory Lawshe 6'3, 190, from Indianapolis. This kid could very well play his way into an offer. Very good speed/size ratio
4. Luke Swift, 6'1" 175 from Greenwood. A real burner, but he's playing in the wing-T, so his catches are few and far between. However, he could be a DB or a returner.

Finally TE recruiting. Though a forgotten position under Coach Hep, it's seen a bit of a revival with the addition of Max Dedmon, the hybrid H-back, and I think we'll see this position utilized more and more under Coach Lynch who is a little more a traditionalist when it comes to using the TE to actually catch passes.

The best TE in the state is a toss up between Will Saddler, who committed to Cincinnati already and Tyler Eifert from Fort Wayne. Tyler is 6'5" 220 and is being recruited by many. Purdue may lead due to his dad playing bball at Purdue in the 80's. However, if IU can use the TE more this season, we'll still have a shot, but Tyler has to like what Purdue did with Dustin Keller. Tyler reminds me of Todd Yoder who played at New Palestine HS, then Vanderbuilt, and has had a very successful NFL career with several teams.

A couple of other TE prospects in the state of Indiana are Ed Hazlett and Patrick Bade. Mr. Hazlett of Warren Central HS may be listed at TE, but at 6'8" 275, he's going to move to OT or DL when all is said and done. The real scary thing about Ed is he's quick and he ran a 4.8 last year at IU's camp, so he's got quickness. He may very well be the second coming of Ed "Too Tall" Jones, for those that remember him.

Also Patrick Bade is a 6'8" 230 football/basketball player. He's got skills to be very good at each sport, but from what I've read, I think he'll be bball all the way.

Okay, next time I'll dig into recruiting along the offensive and defensive lines.

Take care and God Bless!

Spring wrap up and my opinions on some things

As I was returning home last night from a meeting, I wondered how IU football fans would feel about what they have witnessed and read about the coming season vs. last spring? I wondered how many would questions the offensive strategy, since it's very different that what IU has done lately? I wondered how many would notice improvement players verses the overall out look of things? While I've read many different opinions on what the current state of IU football is this spring, I have to be honest, I can only think of just how far this program has come in the past 4 years. We should expect improvement this season, and I only hope that when we conclude the regular season in November, that we can look back to this time, at the end of Spring practice and see just how far we've come.

I didn't make the trip down on Saturday for several reasons, but I saw enough of practice time to know what needs to improve. Basically, everyone at every position has to get better. I don't mean to sound negative, nor am I trying to spell gloom and doom. Trust me, I saw enough first hand to know this team, as it currently stands now, with the system that is currently in place, is good enough to make it to a bowl game. But we as fans, nor the players or the coaches, should settle for improvement, we must get better and more efficeinct. We have too.

I've read an awful lot of opinions on IU's new offensive scheme. The coaches that post on the boards will tell you they really like it, because if you can reach the objective of gaining 3, 4, or 5 yards on first down, you have opened up your entire playbook and keep the defense guessing. However, those passionate about wide open, big plays, and lots of points, will tell you they hate it. One things is for sure though, there's no way anyone could fairly judge this new scheme by just going to the Spring game, and with all the injuries to key people that are a big part of why this scheme exists, not taking part in the game, it's extremely unfair to garner any solid opinion. In fact, judging by what I've read on the write ups, as well as fan posts, most probably think IU is in huge trouble offensively because this game certainly didn't do much to bolster people's opinions of the new scheme.

So what exactly is IU trying to do on offense compared to last season?
Well, with the spread, you can do a number of things. Last season, IU chose to run a zone option spread, with Lewis making the decisions based on what he read from the line of scrimmage pre-snap. A zone spread allows for the QB to get one and one match ups and use his speed and allusiveness to gain yardage. If the QB is being zoned, as in contained, then a pass is thrown, usually to a WR that is 10 to 15 yards down the field. With defenses "cheating" (bringing up a spy so to speak for Lewis) that would open up things for Hardy and Means to work 10 to 15 yards down the field in 1 on 1 situations, which in Hardy's case, he usually won. The zone spread offense requires 4 things. First, a running QB that is both very quick and very elusive. The QB doesn't have to be a good thrower, but he has to be able to get the ball down the field. The QB must also be smart and know when to run and then when to throw. Second, a big time WR that can catch the ball in 1 on 1 situations. Third, a game breaking running back. Finally, an offensive line that can block in one on one situations. The times that IU's offense really moved the ball was when Lewis was on top of his game and the OL sustained there blocks long enough to allow him some space to move around or get the ball to Hardy.

This season, with Hardy gone and Lewis suspended indefinitely, Coach Lynch and Coach Canada went back to the drawing board with the spread. This time, they chose an offense that is pass-friendly, so as to take advantage of their new QB, Ben Chappell. Ben isn't a runner. Oh he can side step a little bit, but he ran his 40 this spring at 5.1, so he's not going to get much done on the ground. Where Ben is head and shoulders above any QB IU currently has is with his accuracy underneath. Ben is extremely accurate and puts pretty good zip on the ball. Lewis has a strong arm, but he's not accurate whatsoever. So Coach Canada did his best to design an offense that will work with what personnel was available to work with, and in my opinion, he gets an A+.

What is IU is trying to do is (let me borrow Bligedy's words here if I can) "dink and dunk" it's way down the field. Purdue has ran this type of spread offense for several years, so this is kind of what IU will do. This offense will require the QB to throw it 30 times or so per game. It's also designed to get the ball to the Fisher and Thigpen in space, so they can take advantage of their speed and quickness. It might be a 5 or 10 yard pass, but it could very well end up a 30 yard gain by the time either one of these guys are done. Also, IU currently has a lot of possession receivers on the roster with Earnest, Taylor, Turner, and Walker-Roby, so these guys will go "sit" in the zones so speak, which are usually 5 to 8 yards off the line of scrimmage and wait for Chappell to run his options and find them. This offense requires 3 basic things. First, a QB that is an accurate passer, but smart enough to understand pass coverages to find the holes. Second, it requires some small, but quick receivers that are sure handed. Finally, and probably most important, the OL must be able to pass block and sustain their blocks long enough for Chappell to go through his reads, because if he's given time, he'll pick apart the opposing defense no matter how good they are. IU also throws in the no huddle into the mix, which gets DLs and LBs winded and thus not as mentally sharp. IU can simply throw a quick 5 to 7 yard pass to Fisher and the defender will "whiff" or miss him on his move and then he's off. The Colts have done this for years, hurrying to the line of scrimmage and taking advantage of a defensive player that is trying to catch his breath and thus not as mentally sharp.

Again, the spring game was not a good way to judge this offense, because of all the injuries and key players being out due to other committments. Also, when all the new WRs arrive in the fall, you will see some guys play early from that group, especially those that can get down the field and be that vertical threat. However, the spring game proved that lots of work needs to be done in several areas, before anyone can even begin to feel comfortable.

Now for my opinions: (Caution, some of you will not agree with me)
Now, I've had several emails and questions about Kellen Lewis and his status. I'm going to caution those that watched the spring game and left thinking that the only thing that is going to save IU's season is Kellen Lewis. First, this offense is not Kellen Lewis friendly. Now it can certainly be modified or even switched back to a more of a zone spread look, but Kellen's strengths do not include standing in the pocket and checking down to option #3 or #4 and completing the pass. His strength is getting out of the pocket and becoming a run first, pass second QB. So if you are of the belief that KL will thrive in this type of scheme, you may want to go back and watch some film on him from the past couple of seasons. James Hardy bailed KL out multiple times. KL would throw it up there and James would simply catch it. Pretty basic stuff. Also, there are several of the opinion that KL will just be automatically reinstated and named the starting QB from the get go. I can pretty much guarentee you this will not happen. IF he's reinstated, he needs to earn his way back to being the starter.

I don't know if anyone else is a draft junkie like me, but if you want some really good first hand information on players, go to either draftdaddy.com/blog/nfldraft.cfm or tyfdraft.com
Both are excellent sites and gives you an idea of what teams are talking with what prospects and plenty of "inside information". However, there is certainly a topic that I'd like to discuss, since it really hits close to the IU program and that is the amount of positive drug tests that seem to be going unpunished and/or completely ignored. Now, many people tell me that in college you "dabble" with things, and while I personnally have never smoked or injected anyting like that into my body, I certainly didn't shy away from alcohol back in my college years, so I can see that point.

Recently, draftdaddy pointed out that Mario Manningham failed several (some reports I've read, as many as 10) drug tests in his years at Michigan. Aquib Taliq of Kansas, and several other high draft eligible players have admitted to failing multiple tests during their tenures. Obviously, IU isn't alone in this matter either. Currently at least 1 high profile student athlete is suspended indefinitelybecause of multiple, and I mean multiple, failed drug tests, which of course leads to not going to class or flunking classes all together. So where does it all end? Or maybe the question is, where do you draw the line?

Even if you suspend these kids, do you let them come back, just so you have a better chance to win? The obvious answer would be no way, but I have a hunch that winning is the most important thing and therefore kids get away with failed tests because suspending them, could cost a coach his job. Do you let them try and go through rehab? Do you just cut them off? So many questions, but I've got to be honest, reading what I have about the problems with drug activity among college athletes leads me to say this: The NCAA should be far less worried about illegal phone calls, and instead worry about how many of their member schools are allowing their student athletes to get "laced", and caught mind you, on a regular basis and do nothing about it.

While I'm sure to be blasted for even writing this blog (remember, it's my opinion), I will say that in all cases, except IU's, I'm reading these things, instead of knowing first hand. However, I'm pretty sure this won't come as a shock to many of you that read this on a regular basis. In fact, I'm sure this is not a new problem either, but it does raise the question of when will the NCAA make their member schools crack down on this activity? It seems only fair to me that if you are going to make a school perform well in the classroom or face some sort of penalty, you should also hold them accountable when players fail multiple tests and yet are still allowed to participate on a regular basis. To me, it's a no brainer, but I think it's high time (no pun intended) the NCAA step in here and hold these coaches and schools accountable. Sure, players are being suspended for failed tests, but it's usually failed test number 5 or 6 or 7. If Manningham is telling the truth in interviews to teams that he failed 10 times and narry a suspension (why would you even tell a team this in the first place), then what else did Lloyd Carr allow to go on up there? I find it quite humorous that people blast Rich Rodriquez and his "lack of morals", yet hearing from Manningham, it almost certainly needs to be applied to Coach Carr as well, and I don't care how "nice of a guy" he is. Okay, I'll get off my soap box now.

Lots of things to look forward to, as I'm going to begin to dig into recruiting now and try and get some updates going. I will say that I really believe that Edward Wright-Baker, the QB from Jeffersonville will be a Hoosier, and I'm hearing that will happen sometime very soon. However, there are many, many offers and previews to do, so as time allows, I'll dig into those.

Take care and as alway, may God Bless you and yours!!

DBs, 50 days, and who's got some work to do

Wanted to start of this blog entry with an quick update on my friend, Drew Christy that was injured 53 days ago in a car accident. Since my last update, Drew was moved from Methodist's neuro-critical care unit to Seton Rehab Hospital, and will soon be moving to Hook Rehabilitation Center at Community East hospital. While Drew is still fighting his way out of the coma that he's been in, he has opened his eyes, stuck out his tongue, moved around a lot, and so on. His mom taught him how to sign "I Love You" and he makes that sign a lot. The biggest miracle yet was on the 50th day, he said "mom" twice! We all continue to pray for our friend and we know that even though the road is long, we believe he will recover. If you would like to check out Drew's site, please visit caringbridge.org and type in drewchristy at the prompt. His mother has updated her journal constantly and just tonight, the website has been viewed by 181,000 people. For those that read this blog and are of the Christian faith, you will certainly be touched and uplifted by what you read. Either way, it's very encouraging to read the guestbook and celebrate the victories that God has given Drew's family and friends during his recovery.

Okay, now for the DBs. In 2007, the defensive backfield of the Hoosiers was a work in progress to say the least. The year before, the DBs made the majority of the plays for the Hoosiers, with Will Myers leading the team in tackles and INTs. Depending upon the "scheme" of the defense, it's not entirely unusual for a Strong Safety to lead the team in tackles, the problem IU had was Myers was making the majority of his tackles 5, 6, even 7 yards from the line of scrimmage every time. Also, IU was just getting constantly burned deep, and it was obvious that something had to change, and change quickly.

Last season brought a lot of improvement on the run defense, as IU only gave up 160 yards/game, compared with 175 yards/game the year before. However, the pass defense was a little worse as IU gave up 244 yards/game last season, compared to 228 in the 2006 season. Last season, IU was very experienced in cover corners, but very raw at Safety, also, with the improved run defense, teams passed more against the Hoosiers to move the ball, so that's part of the reason why there is an increase as well. Porter and Majors were both fast cover guys, but neither were very aggressive in the run game. Each were very fast, but they played off their men a lot, because they weren't physical enough for bump and run, nor where they good enough tacklers for Cover 2, so they sat in zones most of the time, about 5 to 7 yards from their assignments, then played the ball when it was thrown. The staff attempted to use their athleticism and speed, rather than raw strength and aggression. For the most part, it worked out, but they are gone, and now we have some youngin's that play a whole lot differently than Porter and Majors.

As for the Safeties, IU has experience in both starters, Thomas and Polk, but depth is young and inexperienced, and one is playing QB this spring, so some redshirts are getting a real opportunity to show the staff what they have, and from what I have witnessed, I think this is going to be a real area of strength in the coming years, much like it appears the LB positions will be as well.

The real key for IU this season is the corners and safeties will do a whole lot more Cover 2 as a pass defense scheme. What allows them to do this is 2 fold: First and foremost, IU has probably the deepest DL they have EVER had in the history of the school. In the Cover 2, the biggest key is pressure, pressure, pressure the QB from both ends and the tackles. IU can do this, and they can rotate in bodies to keep people fresh. The second big key is Matt Mayberry and Austin Thomas. Much like the Colts, the key to their defense starts with pressure from the DL, then Brackett and Sanders make the majority of the plays. Last season, IU had McClurg a witty, but not that athletic MLB that got by on smarts and a warrior-like mentality. Mayberry has the makings of a star and has a real chance to be the best MLB IU has produced in years. Strong words, but he's got some real ability. Mix him with Thomas's run defense ability and you have the ability to be a Cover 2 team. Finally, to be an effective Cover 2 team, your corners HAVE to be good tacklers and physical. Enter Chris Phillips and Donnell Jones and Chris Adkins and Richard Council. These 4 guys are bigger and as physical as any corners IU has had in awhile. While I will breakdown each player in a minute, these guys can hit you and they are physcial off the line of scrimmage and they have extremely good closing speed. I really like where IU's pass defense is headed, and the staff spent quite a bit of time with Colts and learned a lot from them in terms of using the principles of this defense. I think IU finally has the athletes they need to make this type of defense work, and this position will only get better as these kids mature and get experience.

Also, I quickly want to say that if you add these 4 corners that I mentioned previous with Cortez Smith and the possibility of adding DJ Hunter to the mix next season, these 6 kids are just stud athletes that will bring a new dimension to the IU defensive backfield. Hunter is down to IU and the O$U. His HS coach is Ron Johnson, who coached with Hep at Miami of Ohio, and he also coached along side IU recruiting coordinator and safeties coach, Mike Yeager. I really believe IU will end up with this kid in the end, but I don't know when he'll commit. IU will also allow him to run track, and he's the type of kid that can come in and play at IU as TR FR, but won't have the opportunity at the O$U.

Okay, let's look at all the DBs:

Chris Adkins: 6'1" 185 CB from Indy; RS FR
Chris is another of those Warren Central kids that came to IU as a tall, lanky CB with little fanfare. Over the course of his RS season, he added 10 pounds and has performed very well. I've listed him in my top 4 and he'll see a lot of time this season. What the staff really likes about him is his height vs physical nature. He'll come up and pop you and he plays the ball pretty darn well. Taller corners are kind of unusual and Chris has very good athletic ability and can jump well. As he gains experience, he'll more than likely start opposite Jones, as early as next season, but for now, he's battling Council for that 3rd CB spot along with Adrian Burks.

Adrian Burks: 6' 180 CB from Pheonix, Arizona; RS Junior
Adrian is the twin brother of Aaron and both came to IU toward the end of Coach Hep's first class and both are very athletic kids. The only big issue with them both is neither has really been able to gain body mass, but Porter and Majors weighted less than 180 pounds last season, so that's not a negative. Adrain is battling Council and Adkins for that 3rd CB spot, and though he's a little shorter than those 2, he's still has some very good skills that IU will tap into as the season progresses. Last season, Adrian saw action in 5 games and registered 2 solo tackles. He will see a lot more action this season.

Rayshun Calhoun: 5' 10" 215 Safety from Atlanta, GA; RS Senior
Rayshun has been buried on the depth chart at Corner his entire career at IU, and he was injured much of last season and only played in 1 game, but didn't record any tackles. During the off season, he was moved to safety, when JT Owens was moved to RB. It's possible we will see Rayshun on special teams, but he's buried on the depth chart at safety now.

Richard Council: 6'1" 190 CB from Carrollton, TX; RS Junior
Richard came to IU as a raw Corner, then destroyed his knee toward the end of his RS FR year. Last season, he struggled getting back into form after missing so much time, and he only saw action in a couple of games. However, he has put on about 15 pounds of mass since he came to IU, so he's used his rehab time to his advantage and he came into the Spring as the starter opposite Phillips on the first team defense. He's done very well this spring and will probably leave camp as the 3rd corner, behind Phillips and Jones. He's a taller corner, much like Adkins and has speed and can jump, though he lost a little bit with the knee injury, he's still a pretty good athlete.

Jarrell Drane: 6'2" 185 S from Plantation, FL; RS FR
Jarrell is the son of Dwight Drane, who played at Oklahoma and for the Buffalo Bills and was part of 2 Super Bowl runner up teams. Jarrell is alot like his dad and he's got some big play potential. He'll see time this season and has had a pretty good spring so far working on the 2nd and 3rd team defense. What I've noticed about him is his tackling ability, as he wraps up well and uses very good technique. Tough he's a little light, he can still bring a pop of the shoulder pads on his hits and he loves to nail the WRs going over the middle.

Bruce Hampton: 5'10" 195 from University Heights, OH; RS Junior
Much like Council, Hampton's career was interupted by a pretty significant knee injury, and it's taken him until this spring to look completely healthy. Last season, he saw action in only 2 games and had 1 solo tackle. Bruce came to IU as a real cover corner prospect, but the knee injury really derailed that. He's still got very good cover skills and I've noticed this spring that his lateral movement seems much better. He's competing mostly with the 2nd/3rd team defense, and I expect we will see him mostly on special teams this season.

Donnell Jones: 5'10" 205 from St. Pete, FL; RS FR
Okay, so I'm a believer in this kid. He came to IU at 190 and promptly put on 15 pounds of muscle and got faster, yeah, faster from fall practice to spring ball. If it wasn't for Porter and Majors and Phillips last season, this kid would have come and played a whole bunch, but thankfully, he was about to RS, and IU is going to reap the benefits of his. This kids is fast, and he'll hit you big time. He'll leave spring ball as the starter opposite Phillips and he's going to be a fixture at CB for the next 3 or 4 years. This kid will get tested this season and get some bumps and bruises, but he's got a chance to be a real star for IU. Other than Ben Chappell, I've been the most impressed with Donnell the times I've been to practice this season.

Joe Kleinsmith: 5'11" 195 Safety from Lakewood, OH; Senior
Joe came to IU as a kicker and wound up being a Safety, a very unique thing for sure. Not only did he switch positions, he's contributed a lot, and last season, he saw action in 12 games and had 19 tackles, 1/2 tackle for loss, 1 INT, 1 fumble recovered and 1 fumble forced. Pretty good stats, and this season, he'll be the 3rd safety and see a lot of time in the nickle defense.

Matt Kurz: 6' 200 Safety from Glenview, IL; RS Junior walkon
Matt came to IU from one of the best football factories in the state of Illinois. He has yet to see any time on the field as a Hoosier, but he comes to practice and puts his time in. If we see him this season, it will be on special teams.

Andre LaGrone: 6' 190 Safety from Fort Wayne, IN; RS FR Walkon
Andre played at Fort Wayne South Side and redshirted last season as a walkon.

Brandon Mosley: 5'8" 205 Safety from Merrillville, IN: RS Senior
Brandon has spent much of his career as a special teams player and back up, but he always seems on the cusp of a staring position. He entered spring ball on the first team, since Evans is at QB, but he will not leave that way, has he's back to the 2nd team. Last season, Brandon made 8 tackles. Again, I expect to see Brandon in a special teams and back up defensive role.

Chris Phillips: 6' 195 Corner from Atlanta, GA; RS Senior
The most experienced member of the cornerback position will be the main guy for IU this season. Last season, Chris played in 12 games recording 12 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack, 3 INTs with 1 returned for a TD, 4 pass break ups and 3 forced fumbles. Chris is VERY aggressive and in the past, that has sometimes gotten him in trouble, but with IU switching over to more of a Cover 2 scheme, if ever there was a player that fit the mold of that defense as a Corner, Chris is it. I expect him to have a very big Senior season and he's done nothing in my eyes to disspell my opinion each time I've seen him this spring.

Nick Polk: 6' 215 Safety from Milwaukee, WI; RS JR
Nick made the switch to Free Safety just about a year ago, and he went from a guy that looked absolutely lost the first day he made the switch to a 13 game starter last season. When he made the switch, he was all athlete playing in a fairly strange position and asked to play the "centerfield" position of the defense. Certainly not an easy task for some to do, especially mentally, but Nick did it, and he did it very well. He posted 74 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 2 INTs, 5 pass break ups, 1 fumble recovered and 2 fumbles forced. Also, he saw some time at WR, but didn't catch a pass. I've tried to pay a lot of attention to Nick and I've really liked what I saw. He's been criticized for not tackling well last season, and that's understandable, he was raw at it, but he's doing a much better job this season, and he's added 15 pounds of muscle to his frame and kept his 4.5 speed, which has scouts talking already. Since he was a very good WR, he understands routes, and he can cheat a little bit on those routes, because he knows what to look for to decipher what receivers are doing, yet he has the speed to regain his positioning, if he doesn't make the read right. He's another budding star for IU on defense.

Austin Thomas: 6' 200" Safety from Woodstock, GA; RS Junior
Austin started at strong safety last season and put up the following numbers: 112 total tackles (led team), 1 INT, 3 passes broken up, and 1 fumble forced. Austin is really a very good run defender, and then when passing downs come up, Mitch Evans comes in. Austin again will more than likely be the starter, and play mostly on running plays where he is one of IU's best run defenders.

Coming this fall:
Peter St. Fort: 6' 2" 180 FS from Naples, FL
Cortez Smith: 5'10" 195 CB/Strong Safety from Detroit, MI
Also, I believer that one of the WR or RB commits will be over here in the end as well, but for now, these are the only 2 official.

Also, I want to say that I have read a couple accounts on Cortez Smith possibly being the best athlete in the entire city of Detroit last season. While that's awful hard to judge for sure, you have to remember his teammate, Boubacar Cisso, signed with Michigan and was a first team All American. Too even say that Smith was more athletic than this kid is say a LOT. Great job by the IU staff to land this kid.

Now, I've been to a few practices, read all the camp stories, talked with some people that have attended every practice and I'm going to list a couple guys that I feel needs to pick it up a little bit in the spring game and through the summer. By no means am I criticizing these kids, but I think they have ability to do a little better than they are showing.

First is Jeff Boyd, DT. Boyd came into Spring ball hyped by me and several others as a potential starter along the DL. He has been given a lot of opportunity due to injuries, but he's disappointed some and has't really blossomed like I thought he would. He's been pretty easily blocked and not shown the ability that I saw him use during the season as a redshirt. He came to came about 310 pounds, and I think that's a little too heavy for him. Would like to see him get back to around 300 and use that quickness. He's got loads of time, and hopefully, he can pick it up and be part of the deep DL rotation.

Second is Justin Carrington, OLB. Justin started the bowl game and did pretty well last season in back up duty. While he's done okay this spring, the RS FR have come in and just done better. Right now, Justin is fighting to keep that 2nd team spot, and he needs to pick it up a little or he's going to get buried behind some young and aggressive kids that are real hungry for playing time.

Third is Cody Faulker, RG; Cody came to IU pretty hyped because of family bloodlines. He's not progressed as many hoped and while he's still first team on offense, James Brewer may be moved over there to see what he can do. Cody has done pretty well on run blocking, but Brewer is bigger and has very good feet for a 6'8" 350 guy. Cody needs to pick it up a little bit, or he's going to be back on the 2nd team.

Who's Hot:

A couple of new kids to add to the list from the previous blog.

First is Eric Thomas, DT; While Boyd hasn't impressed has much as some thought, this kid really has impressed and shown he's got a lot of ability. He needs more mass, but he's going to be a true player and a true pass rusher from the DT position.

Next is Jarrod Smith, OL; Jarrod was one of the "7 Blocks of Limestone", yet he didn't really do a whole lots season and the staff was kind of at a loss where to put him. HOWEVER, as spring practice has went along, he's really improved and began to show the ability that Coach Johnson knew he possessed. It's feasible that by the first game, he could be backing up both Guards and at Center, or he may be starting at RG is Brewer doesn't move there and Faulkner continues to slip.

Overall, IU has done very well despite all the injuries. Progress has been made everyday and that's all you can ask for. Let's hope we can get through this weekend with no more injuries and head into summer ball with a lot of positive momentum.

Take care and God Bless!

Linebackers, Greenspan, Who's hot, and Bailey's departure:

Well, today has certainly been eventful on the bball side, and yet the fball side of Indiana University continues on in their preparations of learning new schemes and adapting to new players due to injuries. First let's look at the LBs and see where we are at with these kids.

Going into last season, IU had experience in starters MLB in Adam McClurg, an all-heart, tough guy but just didn't give you the athleticism at the position that it really needed. He played well his senior season and performed extremely well against Purdue. His experience and leadership will be missed, but those behind him offer his strength with a lot more athletic skills and quickness. At OLBs last season, you had Johnson and Patterson, again 2 guys that had experience, but were learning to harness their athleticism into their positions. While Patterson was the 2nd leading tackler on the team last season, I felt that Johnson underachieved and really needs to step it up this season. He's uber athletic, but he's a thinker instead of a reactor, and that's not good for an OLB with low 4.6 speed. IU brought in 4 LBs last season and all redshirted, got bigger and stronger, and appear to have kept their speed and athleticism, which is always the key. All appear to be smart kids that will push for field time this season.


Leon Beckum 5'10" 210 OLB walk-on from Bloomington, IN; RS FR
Leon redshirted last season

Justin Carrington 6' 220 OLB from Leesburg, VA; RS Junior
When you are buried on the depth chart as a 215 pound or so RB, what do you do, well Justin switched to OLB, and though he's only been at the position right at a year, he's climbed to 2nd team, started one game last season, and performed way better than expected. He saw action in every game last season and contributed 37 tackles with 2 more tackles for loss. He's very quick and once he diagnoses what is going on, he's very quick to the ball, actually, he's probably the quickest in that department on the team. Being a RB helps him a lot in that aspect, as he understands how to read OL guys and decipher where the play is going. His one biggest problem, understandably, is diagnosing the play. He needs to be more reactive, but that will come with experience. Also, he's learning coverages. He understands routes from a RB prospective, but he's learning to do everything backwards. Once he retrains his mind to do that, he's going to be a very good player. Also, he was very good on the coverage teams last season, and I expect that to continue into this season as well.

Dane Conwell 6' 230 OLB from Uper St. Clair, PA; RS FR
Dane came to IU last season and redshirted. He came in at 220, so he's put on about 1o pounds of muscle and has performed pretty well so far this spring. He's probably 3rd team right now, but he's hitting hard and learning. He's part of the 4 LBs that were brought in last year that the coaches are really excited about. This season, I expect we'll see Dane on kick and punt coverage teams and mop up time, but don't fret, this kid is going to produce down the road for us.

Darius Johnson 6' 245 OLB from Highland Park, MI; RS FR
Darius came to IU last season and redshirted and boy did he put on the muscle. When he reported last August, he was 220 pounds, so he had great year in the weight room. Darius was a very decorated RB in HS and some thought maybe that would be his college position, but his 4.6 speed hurts him as a Big Ten RB, so now he's switched to OLB and he's already earning a big reputation in early spring ball as a collider. In other words, he'll meet you in the hole and you go backwards, not him. Will be interesting to see what happens when he and Darius Willis meet each other on an off tackle run come fall practice. You may be able to hear the collison in Elletsville. At this point, Darius is 2nd team, backing up Will Patterson at strong side LB.

Geno Johnson 6'2" 230 OLB from Bartow, FL; Senior
An uber-athletic OLB that came to IU as a 210 athelete that was forced to the field to learn on the fly and he's done fairly well, but hopefully, as a Senior, he'll step up his game, as well as provide the leadership for these young guys. He started all 13 games last season and provided 58 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 INT, and 1 pass breakup. Pretty decent numbers, but with his speed (low end 4.6) those numbers have to come up. He's getting pushed a lot by Carrington and even Johnson right now, so that's a very good thing. If he wants to keep his starting spot, he'll need to continue to get better.

Jaime Lukaszewski 5'9" 200 OLB from Mishawaka, IN; RS Junior walk-on
Even Jaime put weight on this off season, as last year he was listed at 185. Jamie got into 1 game last season (Indiana State) but didn't record a tackle.

Matt Mayberry 6'2" 235 MLB from Darien, IL; RS Junior
Matt was at 222 pounds last season so he's added some muscle, which shouldn't be suprising, since Bryan Payton's blog says he's a "weight room junkie". Matt is a lot quicker than McClurg and now that he's put the muscle on, he should be able to fly around to the ball a little more, as well as shed blockers to get in there and make the tackle. Also, with more beef in front of him (Brown and Boyd or Mack), this should engulf more OL, to let Matt use that quickness too. Matt will be our starter at MLB this season. Last season, Matt produced 42 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and 1 pass breakup.

Brandon McGee 6'1" 235 MLB from Jeffersonville, IN; RS TR walk-on
Brandon walked on after a very good career at Jeffersonville HS where he recorded 60 tackles and 8 INTS his senior season.

William Patterson 6'1" 235 OLB from Indianapolis, IN; RS Junior
Will has been a starter since his freshman season. He settled in pretty well at strong side LB and produced 104 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 INT, 3 pass break ups, 3 fumbles caused, and 3 fumbles recovered. Yeoman's work for him and his experience and leadership will be counted greatly this season, but doesn't mean he won't have to work. He, like Johnson, is getting pushed by our youngins'!. I expect Will to be name pre-season first or second team big ten and a lot will be expected of him this season.

Issac Price 6'2" 250 MLB from Detroit, MI; RS Senior
Issac came to btown, along with James Bailey as a 3-star WR, yet he chose Indiana mainly because they gave him the opportunity to play defense. He came in at 6'1" 210, and looking back, the decision to switch to defense was probably a mistake. He's bounced between LB and DE and now has settled in at MLB. He's fairly quick, but he's really behind the 8-ball experience wise and injuries continue to hurt his development. Last season he was only able to play in 6 games, but did produce 4 tackles on special teams. He'll be looked upon to again be a special teams guy this season.

Ian Reeves 6' 245 OLB from Ferndale, MI; RS FR
Like Johnson, Reeves came to IU at 220 and yet has managed to put on 25 pounds of muscle and he's looking like another of the quad youngsters at LB that is going to push to see the field this season in more than just special teams role. He's battling for 2nd/3rd teamer right now with Johnson and Carrington, and it's a very spirited battle. Ian seems to have pretty good field awareness as he's picking off passes some this spring and he had a knack for that on the scout team last season as well.

Tyler Replogle 6'2" 235 MLB from Centerville, OH; Sophmore
When Tyler came to IU last fall, it was pretty obvious he was going to play as a true frosh and until he tore his ACL in the middle of the season, Tyler really was pushing for more than special teams field time. Now, the injury has done 2 things: first, he's moved back to MLB from the outside and will back up Matt Mayberry this season, and second, it's stunted his development a little bit. But this kid is a beast. A true Ohio born, bred, tough as nails MLB that will produce at IU and is going to be awful hard to keep off the field once he gets that knee closer to 100%. He's limited to basically cardio right now, but he's itchin' to get back out there and buy the end of the season, I expect him to really be pushing Matt.

Jerry Williams 5'9" 230 OLB from Merrellville, IN; RS Senior walk-on
After spending 4 years at safety for the Hoosiers, Jerry has put on 10 pounds and was moved to OLB for depth purposes. Jerry played in 12 games last season and recorded 9 tackles exclusively on special teams.

Coming this fall:
Chad Sherer 6' 200 OLB from Cicero, IN, will redshirt due to knee injury suffered back in December playing basketball and he will not be 100% by August.

Rick Greenspan has certainly not made many friends on the message boards lately, but I wanted to take a little closer look at this guy, not to defend him, but to take just a few paragraphs to look into what he's done while he's been here and the hires he's made. Since he was hired in September of 2004, he's had a very interesting tenure at IU.

Rick came to IU from West Point and was known for generating profit margins and building facilities. He has shown that he tends to like coaches that are a little older with experience, instead of up and comers, which has drawn both criticism and praise from his peers and fans. Here are some highlights of what he's done so far in about 3.5 years at IU where he oversees 24 sports programs:

1. Captured 6 individual or team national titles
2. IU has ranked 3rd in the league in academic all-league selections since his arrival
3. The football program has seen a 39% increase in home attendance, 46% increase in season ticket sales, and 110% increase in season ticket sales for students. This alone is a major accomplishment for anyone.
4. Hired Coaches: Football: Terry Heoppner (probably the best of his hires so far) and Bill Lynch; Men's bball: Kelvin Sampson and Tom Crean (as of tomorrow anyway vbg!); Women's bball: Felisha Legette-Jack; and Baseball Tracy Smith (probably his second best hire, though IU baseball isn't followed that closely)
5. Saw an 8.3% increase in Varsity Club annual giving and a record 11.5 million dollars in gifts and pledges to the Endowment Fund.
6. Overseen the installation of 2 million dollar scoreboard/video board, new field hockey field in 2006, and new, banked indoor track, as well as the new Athletic's Center currently under construction.
7. He's also primarily respossible for getting "money donors" involved in the 2 bball hires and getting them to donate planes and other means of transportation, as well as people ponying up money for buyouts.

When Rick arrived, IU's athletic department was broken both financially and down trodden by a poor football program, an underachieving basketball program, and no real facility upgrades to speak of. One thing people will never be able to criticize Rick for, at least fairly, is that he's come in and gotten his hands dirty and worked to improve the athletic department from top to bottom and he's done that. Personally, I've met the guy, and he's personable from what I've seen of him and he really does always seem to have the student-athletes interest at the forefront. And while the Kelvin Samspon hire was NOT a good move, overall, he's gotten things done at IU so far in his short tenure. He's not a fan favorite, because he's a guy that tends to go for experience and enthusiam, over young and flashy. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but for Rick's sake, I hope Tom Crean pans out, because if for some reason he doesn't, Rick will be shown the door.

Rick certainly has injected a lot of time and effort in the football side of things and for us football fans, that's enough to hope he sticks around, it really is one reason he was hired as well. Rick was also a guy that came in and really got the Big Ten Network to become a reality. It was discussed for years, but when Rick got involved, many people associated with the deal credited him for really being the final piece of the puzzle. IU, as well as all the conference schools, are going to greatly benefit from this historic venture.

So, who's hot so far this spring? I know we are only a few days into spring practice, but I'm going to give some kids some kudos here. This is certainly just my opinion based on what I've heard and witnessed so far.

First, Ben Chappell has really impressed me. It's too bad the only memory fans have of him so far is that picked off pass at Northwestern, but for anyone that watches this kid, after a couple of practices, I think you will really like him. He's a passer, not a runner. He's accurate, and what I really like about him is he's a technician QB, and by that I mean, he gets his footwork right, he's on his toes (ala Peyton Manning), does his mechanics right and then really gets some zip on the ball. I like his passes and I like the rappaport he's developing already with Ray Fisher. That's going to be a very good combo for us in the future.

Next, as a group, the LBs are really impressing me, especially the 3 RS FR. This group has really dedicated themselves to improving in the weightroom, as well as on the field and it's paying off already.

Another person that has impressed me is Chris Hagerup. For a guy that was a Punter all season, he's shown me some things early. While I don't think he'll unseat Ben, he's a kid that I'd like to stay at QB, as well as be the main punter. Also, you are going to witness a much more relaxed punter this season, than what you saw of him in fall ball. Chris is also a born leader, and you can see that though he's young (RS FR), he's going to develop into a real leader of the entire program in a year or two. I know the coaches, especially Coach Canada have really been impressed with him so far this spring.

I'm also impressed with the DL, and I'm going to predict that the DL will be even deeper than last season, especially at DT and be able to run some real bigguns in there. Also, Emile Bass was back at DT today, so I don't know if the OL experiment is over, but for today he was back at DT and will only help the rotation if this is permanet, which I'm going to assume it is. I've also enjoyed watching Boyd and Fred Jones. These 2 RS FR are going to be MAJOR contributors to our program in a year or so and maybe even this season for Boyd.

Donnell Jones is a kid that I really paid a lot of attention to today as well and I liked what I saw. he's really quick and he's pretty well built. He looks about Porter's height from what I remember, but he's much thicker and he's not afraid to stick his nose in there. Right now, he's the 3rd corner and I'll be interested to see what he does more and more when the turn the lights on.

I will have to say that the OL is a patch work bunch of projected starters, 2nd and 3rd teamers, but they haven't done badly either. Of course, I really like Coach Johnson and feel he could get me ready to play the OL in a week if had to. VBG! I will say also that Ziegler is one big guy, and I thought he looked pretty good at RT from what I saw. For such a big guy, his feet are probably the best on the team, he's nimble, if that's possible for a guy that probably weights 340.

From what I've heard there's been a lot of kids in for the practices so far and many more expected in over the next couple of weeks as well. Nothing appears to be coming down the line for a committment, but the real hot name right now is Edward Wright-Baker a 6'2" 200 QB from Jeffersonville, IN. This kid is a real sleeper, but the staff absolutely loves him and believes his ceiling is higher than Newton's and Luallen's. At this point, IU appears to be heavily involved with 6 QBs that I know of and they really would like to take 2 for the upcoming class. Baker is a true runner/passer. He's been a sleeper but last season he really came into his own and put up 1,467 yards rushing and 15 TDs and 1,333 passing yards and another 18 TDs. He also had 5 tackles and an INT on defense. He's a kid I can see IU really putting at the top of their wish list, especially if Newton and Luallen go elsewhere.

A couple of other quick notes:

James Bailey is transferring and going to a D 1-AA program. Bailey had pretty much been relagated to kickoff return duty and spot time at WR, so look for him to end up in a pass-happy program somewhere near Michigan.

With Bailey's ship open, it's conceivable that we could see another committ for this class, but nothing really concrete to point to anyone. I had an email about a possible Florida LB commit, but haven't found anyone that could confirm that. I know the staff was following a couple of kids down there that were waiting on test scores, so it's always a possibility, but with the plethora of the HS class instate next season, smart money says they will give the opening to a deserving walk on for a year and then try and bring in an early enrollee next season.

Nothing much on the KL situation as opinions vary widely on what is going to happen. Coach Lynch is being very "PC" about it all to the media, but the coaches were pretty disappointed in what took place with him over spring break. I'm really beginning to question whether the kid really "gets it" or not. We'll see and I hope I'm wrong, but after witnessing Chappell first hand, if KL doesn't come back, IU will be okay, and I really believe that.

Well, next time, we'll take a look at the Corners and Safeties for this season as well as update anything new on the recruiting front and what's up in spring ball.

Take care, be safe, and God Bless all of you!!