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!!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
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!
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!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
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!!
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!!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Spring is in the air, DL, KL, kickers, and a position change?
Thanks to a bowl game, the break from IU football just hasn't been all that long. What a difference a month of extra practices make. Today was first day of Spring practice, and a lot has already been reported by Peegs and Scout. Also, the new spring roster and depth chart came out, which has brought a lot of questions and lots of comments from fans. With all the "crap" that is going with IU basketball and the coaching search, at least for the first week or so, IU football will probably see a lot more curious fans, because message boards will be buzzing with "inside information" from "realible sources" on the new coach and that gets old for most.
So the first practice started with many absences today with 14 kids out due to injuries, KL suspended, and James Bailey excused for the first week or so to concentrate on some personal issues, which I've been told should be cleared up by the middle of Spring Ball. So for all the fans that have been wanting IU to develop depth, now is the opportune time to do so, as many positions will have back ups as starters and 3rd and 4th stringers as the primary back ups. While I expect there to be sloppiness, I also expect some very spirited practices and competition among the back ups, because many of these kids will not get this many snaps come fall.
As promised for several weeks now, I want to take a good look at the Defensive Line. I don't recall a bigger improvement or maybe the key words should be a bigger surprise than the entire Defensive Line last fall in terms of pressure, depth, and development. The group came into the fall as a young, yet experienced group. Most believed the players would improve, but I don't think too many people would have predicted their impact, especially the amount of sacks the unit as a whole produced. In 2006, the DL produced 10 sacks and 6 QB hurries, but in 2007, this group produced a whooping 36.5 sacks and 8 QB hurries. Of course Greg Middleton had 16 of those sacks, but still that's a montrous improvement. Now, let's see what we return this season.
Fabiene Boone 6'3" 250 DE RS Junior (walk-on) from Evansville, IN
Fabiene came to IU as a 215 walk-on and has saw time each of the past couple of seasons on kick and punt coverage teams and occassional DE time. He played in 9 games last season and 2 tackles, 2 assists, and 1/2 tackle for loss. This season, he's expect to again be a special teams leader and add depth to the DL.
Jeff Boyd 6'3" 305 DT RS FR from Warren Central HS in Indianapolis
Jeff just plain tore up the scout team last season, and he played well enough last fall to earn a team spot, but the coaches really wanted to RS him and give him an opportunity to add some muscle/weight and boy did he ever. He came to IU around 275 and he weighed in this spring at 305, a 30 pound gain. He also hasn't seemed to lose his quickness, nor stamina, as he's performed extremely well in off season conditioning. He and Deonte Mack look to battle it out for the other starting spot opposite of Greg Brown.
Greg Brown 6'3" 300 DT RS SR from Centerville, OH.
Not much more can be said about Greg as he's been the anchor of the DL for 2 years now. He is out for spring ball it appears, but things are really not going to change all that much scheme wise for the DL, so all he'll need to do is catch up conditioning wise. Greg truly became a good anchor last season and seemed to really mature as the leader that was needed as the season went along. Last season, Greg put up 29 solo tackles, 21 assists, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 2 passes broken up, 1 QB hurry, and 1 forced fumble.
Keith Burrus 6'3" 285 DT JR from Indianapolis, IN
Keith's twin brother Kevin is also a member of the team and both have really improved since last season getting bigger and stronger to really improve the depth at the DT position. Keith played in 10 games last season and registered 9 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and 1 sack. He will again provide quality, rotational depth for this season, which is a must to keep your key players healthy and fresh entering the 4th quarter.
Kevin Burrus 6'2" 312 DT RS Soph from Indianapolis via Coffeyville Comm. College in Kanas
The bigger of the twins, Keith played in 12 games last season and registered 11 tackles last season. Like his twin, Keith, he'll provide quality depth that will be rotated in throughout the game. At 312 pounds, he's the heaviest DT on the roster, and that will be utilized on the goalline defense for sure.
Fred Jones 6'4" 265 DE RS FR from Tyrone, GA.
Another RS FR that tore it up on the scout team last season, as he and Jeff Boyd really gave the OL fits running the opponets DL schemes. Fred is very quick and during his RS season, he's put on 30 pounds of muscle and weight. IU lost 1 DE from last season, Brian Faires, and Fred will be expected to come in and rotate in as a speed rusher. He's been mentored by Greg Middleton, as both are close to the same side and he'll back up Greg this season.
Jammie Kirlew DE 6'3" 266 RS JR from Orland, FL
Jammie is entering his 2nd full season as starter and last season saw him produce steadily with a monster game against Iowa registering 3 sacks in that game alone. Last season, Jammie put up 57 total tackles, a montrous 12.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 2 passes broken up, 1 QB hurry, 1 fumble forces, and 1 fumble recovered. As Greg became a major force and offenses were forced to double team him, Jammie saw more and more one on one match ups. This off season, he's put on right around 10 pounds and again will be expect to form the dynamic duo with Middleton.
Deonte Mack DT 6'3" 280 RS Soph from elkhart, IN
Deonte has had a very good off season as his weight is now at 280. He played last season around 260, so he's done the work that he needed to do to play. He's also been a leader during off season conditioning and would have entered the spring in a battle with Jeff Boyd to start opposite Greg Brown, but that battle will have to wait as he's battling a shoulder injury that will limit his contact this spring. It's not a major problem, but the staff wants him healthy for the fall, so he's not going to get all banged up for now. Last season, Mack saw action in 12 games and recorded 18 tackles and 1 tackle for loss. This season, his production should see a major increase, as once again, IU plans to rotate their DL guys regularly.
Greg Middleton DE 6'3" 275 JR from Indianapolis, IN.
I don't think any player from Indiana had a bigger season than this kid did. He was a MONSTER on the DL and it came as a major surprise to most people as well. Many remember, Greg verballed to Purdue, then changed his mind, and IU is now reaping the benefits. With IU's improved DE depth, this should give Greg even fresher legs in the 4th quarter, though he'll see many more double teams, but that will only open up his teammates. Greg also, pulled an Indy Colts trick on 3rd downs and switched to DT, so Marando could come in and rush from the DE spot. Greg put on right at 10 more pounds of muscle this off season and looks to improve on what was a record season for him at DE last season. He posted 50 total tackles, an unheard of 17 tackles for loss, another 16 sacks (school record), 4 passes deflected, 1 QB hurry, 2 fumbles recoverd, and 1 fumble forced. I'm not sure what else he can do for an encore this season, or next even, but I'm excited to see him improve. He's got a chance to work himself into a sure fire first round draft choice in a year or two.
Ryan Marando 6'2" 251 DE from Lakewood, OH.
If Greg's production was the most unexpected, then Ryan's had to be 2nd among the DEs. Ryan had bounced around from TE to DE looking for a position for a couple of season, and then all of sudden, when IU needed another rush DE on 3rd and long situations with Middleton moving inside, up stepped Ryan to fill the spot and boy did he ever produce. Ryan saw action in all 13 games last season and recoreded 20 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 1 QB hurry, and 1 forced fumble. Ryan will have some competition this spring and fall for that rush specialist spot in the form of Fred Jones, but you can be sure that Ryan will still see action on a rotation basis as yet another rush end.
Eric Thomas 6'4" 265 DT from Cleveland, OH.
Eric came to IU as a 250 DE, but moved inside as was expected. He needs more weight, but he's quick for 265 and in another year or so, he'll contribute. Also, with Mack out, he'll see a lot of time this spring, so we'll see what he's able to do.
Terrance Thomas 6'1" 256 DE Sophmore from Detroit
Terrance came to IU as a walk-on after a short stint in the military. He was an All City pick his senior year of HS and last season posted 5 tackles playing in 11 games via punt and kickoff teams. Will again be looked upon as a special teams demon.
Arik Wolf 6'3" 235 DE RS SR from Bright, IN (East Central HS) walk-on
Arik appears to be the only kid that lost weight from last season. He saw action in 1 game last season (Indiana State) and didn't post any tackles or sacks. He'll again provide depth this season.
Coming this fall:
Larry Black 6'3" 290 DE from Wyoming, OH
Kyle Kozak 6'5" 240 DE from Chatham, Virginia
Mick Mentzer 6'3" 280 DT from Fort Wayne, IN
Nick Sliger 6'3" 290 DT from Cicero, IN
As I mentioned, it appears that Emile Bass, a 6'3" 297 RS JR has switched from DT to OG, and this was just recently, but that is what he was listed at for the spring. With that happening, I expect all the incoming Frosh to be kept on the defensive side of the ball. Last season, Emile posted 3 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 sack in 8 games. Will be interesting to see how he does this spring.
Since Austin Starr is a Senior, and IU only has walk-ons Nick Ford (5'9" 203 from LaPorte, IN) and Charlie Klingensmith (6' 170 from Carmel, IN) as his back ups, smart money says that IU will bring in a kicker this season.
On the 28th of this month, Ryan Stokes from Merrellville, IN will be tripping to IU for an unofficial visit. Ryan is 5'8" but don't let the height scare you. This kid has a big time leg. Ray Guy's website rates him as the #6 kicker in the country this coming season and his averages are as follows: 63 yards per kickoff, 3.26 second hang time on kickoffs (Starr is around 3.5), 90% FG average. IU hasn't offered Ryan, but they are recruiting him, and getting him down for the spring will be great for both sides. Ryan has kicked a total of 23 FGs in his career and kicked a 56 yarder at Ohio State's camp last season, so he's got a serious leg. Furthermore, he's kicking in the not so best of conditions, as Merrellville is very close to Chicago, and we all know how bad the weather and footing can be for a kicker in that city. He's a big time prospect and I hope that he can get that offer from IU, and he will come. While I like Nick Ford from LaPorte, Ryan is a step above and has as what appears to be a more accurate leg.
Just ahead of Ryan is Logan Powell a 5'10" 140, from Northrup HS in Fort Wayne. Logan is the #5 ranked kicker according to prokicker.com and lists Notre Dame as his #1 choice, but no offer from them or anyone yet. He doesn't get the distance that Ryan gets on kickoffs, but he has almost 4 second hang time which is very, very good. I don't have any stats on him, but he's also suppose to have an accurate leg as well.
Those appear to be the top 2 prospects in Indiana this season along with a kid from Fishers HS near Carmel, IN, but he doesn't appear to be D1 material at this point. IU did offer Cody Kemps and Nick Freeland as preferred walkons for this coming fall, but Kemps chose to go to Purdue with the same opportunity and Freeland is going D 1AA I believe.
Thought it would be fun to look at kickers, as they are rarely mentioned, but as we know with Austin, they can make or break your season.
Also, just a quick blurb on KL. He is getting treatment and if he can stay clean, he'll be back by Fall practice. Of course, it's all up to him, so we'll see what happens.
Next time, I'll dig into the LBs.
God Bless!!!
So the first practice started with many absences today with 14 kids out due to injuries, KL suspended, and James Bailey excused for the first week or so to concentrate on some personal issues, which I've been told should be cleared up by the middle of Spring Ball. So for all the fans that have been wanting IU to develop depth, now is the opportune time to do so, as many positions will have back ups as starters and 3rd and 4th stringers as the primary back ups. While I expect there to be sloppiness, I also expect some very spirited practices and competition among the back ups, because many of these kids will not get this many snaps come fall.
As promised for several weeks now, I want to take a good look at the Defensive Line. I don't recall a bigger improvement or maybe the key words should be a bigger surprise than the entire Defensive Line last fall in terms of pressure, depth, and development. The group came into the fall as a young, yet experienced group. Most believed the players would improve, but I don't think too many people would have predicted their impact, especially the amount of sacks the unit as a whole produced. In 2006, the DL produced 10 sacks and 6 QB hurries, but in 2007, this group produced a whooping 36.5 sacks and 8 QB hurries. Of course Greg Middleton had 16 of those sacks, but still that's a montrous improvement. Now, let's see what we return this season.
Fabiene Boone 6'3" 250 DE RS Junior (walk-on) from Evansville, IN
Fabiene came to IU as a 215 walk-on and has saw time each of the past couple of seasons on kick and punt coverage teams and occassional DE time. He played in 9 games last season and 2 tackles, 2 assists, and 1/2 tackle for loss. This season, he's expect to again be a special teams leader and add depth to the DL.
Jeff Boyd 6'3" 305 DT RS FR from Warren Central HS in Indianapolis
Jeff just plain tore up the scout team last season, and he played well enough last fall to earn a team spot, but the coaches really wanted to RS him and give him an opportunity to add some muscle/weight and boy did he ever. He came to IU around 275 and he weighed in this spring at 305, a 30 pound gain. He also hasn't seemed to lose his quickness, nor stamina, as he's performed extremely well in off season conditioning. He and Deonte Mack look to battle it out for the other starting spot opposite of Greg Brown.
Greg Brown 6'3" 300 DT RS SR from Centerville, OH.
Not much more can be said about Greg as he's been the anchor of the DL for 2 years now. He is out for spring ball it appears, but things are really not going to change all that much scheme wise for the DL, so all he'll need to do is catch up conditioning wise. Greg truly became a good anchor last season and seemed to really mature as the leader that was needed as the season went along. Last season, Greg put up 29 solo tackles, 21 assists, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 2 passes broken up, 1 QB hurry, and 1 forced fumble.
Keith Burrus 6'3" 285 DT JR from Indianapolis, IN
Keith's twin brother Kevin is also a member of the team and both have really improved since last season getting bigger and stronger to really improve the depth at the DT position. Keith played in 10 games last season and registered 9 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and 1 sack. He will again provide quality, rotational depth for this season, which is a must to keep your key players healthy and fresh entering the 4th quarter.
Kevin Burrus 6'2" 312 DT RS Soph from Indianapolis via Coffeyville Comm. College in Kanas
The bigger of the twins, Keith played in 12 games last season and registered 11 tackles last season. Like his twin, Keith, he'll provide quality depth that will be rotated in throughout the game. At 312 pounds, he's the heaviest DT on the roster, and that will be utilized on the goalline defense for sure.
Fred Jones 6'4" 265 DE RS FR from Tyrone, GA.
Another RS FR that tore it up on the scout team last season, as he and Jeff Boyd really gave the OL fits running the opponets DL schemes. Fred is very quick and during his RS season, he's put on 30 pounds of muscle and weight. IU lost 1 DE from last season, Brian Faires, and Fred will be expected to come in and rotate in as a speed rusher. He's been mentored by Greg Middleton, as both are close to the same side and he'll back up Greg this season.
Jammie Kirlew DE 6'3" 266 RS JR from Orland, FL
Jammie is entering his 2nd full season as starter and last season saw him produce steadily with a monster game against Iowa registering 3 sacks in that game alone. Last season, Jammie put up 57 total tackles, a montrous 12.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 2 passes broken up, 1 QB hurry, 1 fumble forces, and 1 fumble recovered. As Greg became a major force and offenses were forced to double team him, Jammie saw more and more one on one match ups. This off season, he's put on right around 10 pounds and again will be expect to form the dynamic duo with Middleton.
Deonte Mack DT 6'3" 280 RS Soph from elkhart, IN
Deonte has had a very good off season as his weight is now at 280. He played last season around 260, so he's done the work that he needed to do to play. He's also been a leader during off season conditioning and would have entered the spring in a battle with Jeff Boyd to start opposite Greg Brown, but that battle will have to wait as he's battling a shoulder injury that will limit his contact this spring. It's not a major problem, but the staff wants him healthy for the fall, so he's not going to get all banged up for now. Last season, Mack saw action in 12 games and recorded 18 tackles and 1 tackle for loss. This season, his production should see a major increase, as once again, IU plans to rotate their DL guys regularly.
Greg Middleton DE 6'3" 275 JR from Indianapolis, IN.
I don't think any player from Indiana had a bigger season than this kid did. He was a MONSTER on the DL and it came as a major surprise to most people as well. Many remember, Greg verballed to Purdue, then changed his mind, and IU is now reaping the benefits. With IU's improved DE depth, this should give Greg even fresher legs in the 4th quarter, though he'll see many more double teams, but that will only open up his teammates. Greg also, pulled an Indy Colts trick on 3rd downs and switched to DT, so Marando could come in and rush from the DE spot. Greg put on right at 10 more pounds of muscle this off season and looks to improve on what was a record season for him at DE last season. He posted 50 total tackles, an unheard of 17 tackles for loss, another 16 sacks (school record), 4 passes deflected, 1 QB hurry, 2 fumbles recoverd, and 1 fumble forced. I'm not sure what else he can do for an encore this season, or next even, but I'm excited to see him improve. He's got a chance to work himself into a sure fire first round draft choice in a year or two.
Ryan Marando 6'2" 251 DE from Lakewood, OH.
If Greg's production was the most unexpected, then Ryan's had to be 2nd among the DEs. Ryan had bounced around from TE to DE looking for a position for a couple of season, and then all of sudden, when IU needed another rush DE on 3rd and long situations with Middleton moving inside, up stepped Ryan to fill the spot and boy did he ever produce. Ryan saw action in all 13 games last season and recoreded 20 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 1 QB hurry, and 1 forced fumble. Ryan will have some competition this spring and fall for that rush specialist spot in the form of Fred Jones, but you can be sure that Ryan will still see action on a rotation basis as yet another rush end.
Eric Thomas 6'4" 265 DT from Cleveland, OH.
Eric came to IU as a 250 DE, but moved inside as was expected. He needs more weight, but he's quick for 265 and in another year or so, he'll contribute. Also, with Mack out, he'll see a lot of time this spring, so we'll see what he's able to do.
Terrance Thomas 6'1" 256 DE Sophmore from Detroit
Terrance came to IU as a walk-on after a short stint in the military. He was an All City pick his senior year of HS and last season posted 5 tackles playing in 11 games via punt and kickoff teams. Will again be looked upon as a special teams demon.
Arik Wolf 6'3" 235 DE RS SR from Bright, IN (East Central HS) walk-on
Arik appears to be the only kid that lost weight from last season. He saw action in 1 game last season (Indiana State) and didn't post any tackles or sacks. He'll again provide depth this season.
Coming this fall:
Larry Black 6'3" 290 DE from Wyoming, OH
Kyle Kozak 6'5" 240 DE from Chatham, Virginia
Mick Mentzer 6'3" 280 DT from Fort Wayne, IN
Nick Sliger 6'3" 290 DT from Cicero, IN
As I mentioned, it appears that Emile Bass, a 6'3" 297 RS JR has switched from DT to OG, and this was just recently, but that is what he was listed at for the spring. With that happening, I expect all the incoming Frosh to be kept on the defensive side of the ball. Last season, Emile posted 3 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 sack in 8 games. Will be interesting to see how he does this spring.
Since Austin Starr is a Senior, and IU only has walk-ons Nick Ford (5'9" 203 from LaPorte, IN) and Charlie Klingensmith (6' 170 from Carmel, IN) as his back ups, smart money says that IU will bring in a kicker this season.
On the 28th of this month, Ryan Stokes from Merrellville, IN will be tripping to IU for an unofficial visit. Ryan is 5'8" but don't let the height scare you. This kid has a big time leg. Ray Guy's website rates him as the #6 kicker in the country this coming season and his averages are as follows: 63 yards per kickoff, 3.26 second hang time on kickoffs (Starr is around 3.5), 90% FG average. IU hasn't offered Ryan, but they are recruiting him, and getting him down for the spring will be great for both sides. Ryan has kicked a total of 23 FGs in his career and kicked a 56 yarder at Ohio State's camp last season, so he's got a serious leg. Furthermore, he's kicking in the not so best of conditions, as Merrellville is very close to Chicago, and we all know how bad the weather and footing can be for a kicker in that city. He's a big time prospect and I hope that he can get that offer from IU, and he will come. While I like Nick Ford from LaPorte, Ryan is a step above and has as what appears to be a more accurate leg.
Just ahead of Ryan is Logan Powell a 5'10" 140, from Northrup HS in Fort Wayne. Logan is the #5 ranked kicker according to prokicker.com and lists Notre Dame as his #1 choice, but no offer from them or anyone yet. He doesn't get the distance that Ryan gets on kickoffs, but he has almost 4 second hang time which is very, very good. I don't have any stats on him, but he's also suppose to have an accurate leg as well.
Those appear to be the top 2 prospects in Indiana this season along with a kid from Fishers HS near Carmel, IN, but he doesn't appear to be D1 material at this point. IU did offer Cody Kemps and Nick Freeland as preferred walkons for this coming fall, but Kemps chose to go to Purdue with the same opportunity and Freeland is going D 1AA I believe.
Thought it would be fun to look at kickers, as they are rarely mentioned, but as we know with Austin, they can make or break your season.
Also, just a quick blurb on KL. He is getting treatment and if he can stay clean, he'll be back by Fall practice. Of course, it's all up to him, so we'll see what happens.
Next time, I'll dig into the LBs.
God Bless!!!
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Ben Chappell and the Offense
Well, it certainly has been interesting the past couple of days around the football program for IU fans. However, the players are doing their best to move forward and thanks to the total collapse of the basketball team, the football team has been able to move forward fairly well without much fanfare.
Thought tonight I'd type a little bit about our new starting QB, Ben Chappell, what he brings to the table, where IU will go, and what they will need to do to be successful, which in this writer's opinion, they can still be.
I've gotten a lot of emails since the last blog and some think this could really destroy the program, and we'll be lucky to be .500, but I hope that we as fans can take a second look and maybe see some advantages that IU has while looking toward the future. While Kellen Lewis was a big part of the offense last season, we need to remember that the offense was basically geared toward him being that big part of it. While we had a very good WR, the rest of the Offense was fairly mediocre, so KL was asked to do an awful lot. If you look at the numbers only, yes, KL made up an awful lot, but that doesn't mean that others can not step up on both sides of the ball and IU still can not be competitive and win games.
First off, the schedule is pretty favorable with 8 home games. For a first time QB, this is a very good thing, so here's one positive. Remember, IU went to a bowl game this season and the TEAM believes they can do it again with players that are 100% committed to being a part of it.
Next, let's see what Ben Chappell brings to the table compared to KL. First off, Ben is a lot bigger. KL was listed at 6'1" 175 pounds which is pretty generous height wise. He ran in the 4.5 range, and while he could throw the ball pretty far, his accuracy was a large issue. He also didn't make very good decisions with the ball in his hands, as was evident at the end of last season.
Now Ben Chappell is 6'3" and 230. He can run a little bit, I think he's a 4.8 guy, but what he lacks in speed, he makes up for in accuracy. Don't let the interception vs Northwestern fool you, Chappell can play, he's just green in terms of experience, but he can make all the throws as scouts would say. He's got very good arm strength and puts zip on the ball.
The great thing about running the "spread" offense is it's really pretty adaptable to the type of QB you have. KL was a running type/zone spread type of QB, so the staff adapted the spread to fit his strengths. The problem I thought, especially with Coach Canada was Matt was a like Ben Chappell in college, more a thrower than a runner, so I'm going to really be interested to see what the offense becomes under Canada now that he has a QB that more mirrors him when he was at Northern Illinois. Now, I'm not knocking Canada's coaching ability, he did a very good job with KL, but KL struggled a lot this season with decision making, but I thought Coach Canada put KL in a position to succeed, but it was hard for the offense to succeed all the time when the OL and running game was mediocre. For IU's offense to succeed this fall, it is going to rest heavily upon the coaches to put in systems to take advantage of Chappell's strengths. By running more a spread/no huddle offense, I think IU will really take advantage of their receivers more. Also, the OL is really intrical in the continued success of this offense. The OL will be MUCH bigger than last season, but believe it or not, I believe they will be much more athletic, but we are still going to have to run the ball and take some pressure off of Chappell. In other words, others are going to have to raise the level of their play for IU to be successful, but you know, I think they will. I think you will see more TE catches, more RB catches out of the backfield, and more 4 WR sets. Really spread the ball around, spread the field, and become more a tradition throwing spread offense, than a running/zone spread. We'll still run some, and I'd expect Chappel might even pitch the ball some, but ulitmately, the OL is going to have to pass block and allow Ben to read the defense and know where to throw the ball. The hardest thing with game experience isn't really the speed of the game, after about a quarter or so, you are used to that. However, it's reading defenses at game speed, learning how defenses will trick you into seeing one scheme and playing another. That's where Ben will lack early. I expect to see some forced throws, some INTs, some poor decisions, especially in conference play, but he's going to have to overcome that, work through it, and learn.
Also, if something like KL's situation is going to happen, I'd much rather it happen before the start of spring practice, than right before the season opener. With Schell being out with injuries, Chappell is really going to get a TON of work, which is exactally what he needs. He needs reps in this offense and now, he's going to get it. Most people that saw him in high school remember he really was a good, passing QB and all he's done is gotten bigger and stronger, and he's really got some ability. I liken him to a poor man's Ben Rothlisberger, because he really puts the same kind of zip on the ball. In all honesty, it's always been my thought, in the back of my mind that as Chappell matured, it was conceivable that IU would put him at QB and move Kellen to WR. I will tell you this, the staff has complete confidence in Ben and they believe he'll bring a lot to the table and allow IU to win ball games, but it will be up to the coaches as well to scheme the offense to fit his strengths, so this spring and summer is going to mean an awful lot of hard work for both Ben and the coaches, as they prepare for the upcoming season.
I hope fans will be patient, though the past few weeks with basketball, has probably burned any chance of fans being patient and understanding while a young QB works through the transition of back up to starter. There's a lot to like in Ben and what he'll bring to the table. There's also a lot to like in what the improved OL will bring to the table, and when the freshmen arrive this fall, and Darius Willis begins his career, they'll be a whole lot to get excited about. I'm also pretty excited about what this team can do, but we are at the bottom of the stairs now, and it's a long climb until November. A lot can happen between now and then, as well as a lot of improvement can take place. Personally, I believe in Coach Lynch, his staff, and his schemes to put the players in the position to succeed. Now, it will be up to the players to learn the schemes and take advantage of what is there for them.
Now, a little bit more on Kellen Lewis and what is going on with him. Kellen has had this problem for a while and was given every opportunity to correct it. He always said he would, but never followed through with those promises. Now, we'll see if he can, on his own. I personally want to thank those that have emailed me with ideas and testimonials about their own struggles in the past. It's certainly not out of the relm of possibility that KL can beat this addiction and improve his life and be a member of the IU football team, but he's got a long road until that happens.
For now, KL is still enrolled at IU. He's talking about entering a program this summer, as to stay eligible to play, he'll have to stay eligible in the classroom and complete the semester. However, I hope that this isn't just words, that he really stays clean, and gets help. I don't care at this point about football, this is about life and KL's ability to live life to the fullest. He's a very good kid, smart, and funny, but he's just made some bad decisions, so now it's up to him. I'm still a big Kellen Lewis fan, always have been, and I'm pulling really hard for him to succeed in getting through all this, again, not for football, but because life can be so short and opportunities like he has don't come around very often. Let's go #15, show everyone just what you are truly made of!!
Also want to congratulate Chris Hagerup for all his hard work and I'm glad he's got the opportunity to show the staff what he can do at QB this spring. Even if it's short-lived, he'll have a shot. Chris has worked extremely hard on his punting and his consistency and fans should not let 1 single worry cross their minds abou the the punting job this fall, Chris will have it well under control!
God Bless and next time, we'll dig into the defensive line!
Thought tonight I'd type a little bit about our new starting QB, Ben Chappell, what he brings to the table, where IU will go, and what they will need to do to be successful, which in this writer's opinion, they can still be.
I've gotten a lot of emails since the last blog and some think this could really destroy the program, and we'll be lucky to be .500, but I hope that we as fans can take a second look and maybe see some advantages that IU has while looking toward the future. While Kellen Lewis was a big part of the offense last season, we need to remember that the offense was basically geared toward him being that big part of it. While we had a very good WR, the rest of the Offense was fairly mediocre, so KL was asked to do an awful lot. If you look at the numbers only, yes, KL made up an awful lot, but that doesn't mean that others can not step up on both sides of the ball and IU still can not be competitive and win games.
First off, the schedule is pretty favorable with 8 home games. For a first time QB, this is a very good thing, so here's one positive. Remember, IU went to a bowl game this season and the TEAM believes they can do it again with players that are 100% committed to being a part of it.
Next, let's see what Ben Chappell brings to the table compared to KL. First off, Ben is a lot bigger. KL was listed at 6'1" 175 pounds which is pretty generous height wise. He ran in the 4.5 range, and while he could throw the ball pretty far, his accuracy was a large issue. He also didn't make very good decisions with the ball in his hands, as was evident at the end of last season.
Now Ben Chappell is 6'3" and 230. He can run a little bit, I think he's a 4.8 guy, but what he lacks in speed, he makes up for in accuracy. Don't let the interception vs Northwestern fool you, Chappell can play, he's just green in terms of experience, but he can make all the throws as scouts would say. He's got very good arm strength and puts zip on the ball.
The great thing about running the "spread" offense is it's really pretty adaptable to the type of QB you have. KL was a running type/zone spread type of QB, so the staff adapted the spread to fit his strengths. The problem I thought, especially with Coach Canada was Matt was a like Ben Chappell in college, more a thrower than a runner, so I'm going to really be interested to see what the offense becomes under Canada now that he has a QB that more mirrors him when he was at Northern Illinois. Now, I'm not knocking Canada's coaching ability, he did a very good job with KL, but KL struggled a lot this season with decision making, but I thought Coach Canada put KL in a position to succeed, but it was hard for the offense to succeed all the time when the OL and running game was mediocre. For IU's offense to succeed this fall, it is going to rest heavily upon the coaches to put in systems to take advantage of Chappell's strengths. By running more a spread/no huddle offense, I think IU will really take advantage of their receivers more. Also, the OL is really intrical in the continued success of this offense. The OL will be MUCH bigger than last season, but believe it or not, I believe they will be much more athletic, but we are still going to have to run the ball and take some pressure off of Chappell. In other words, others are going to have to raise the level of their play for IU to be successful, but you know, I think they will. I think you will see more TE catches, more RB catches out of the backfield, and more 4 WR sets. Really spread the ball around, spread the field, and become more a tradition throwing spread offense, than a running/zone spread. We'll still run some, and I'd expect Chappel might even pitch the ball some, but ulitmately, the OL is going to have to pass block and allow Ben to read the defense and know where to throw the ball. The hardest thing with game experience isn't really the speed of the game, after about a quarter or so, you are used to that. However, it's reading defenses at game speed, learning how defenses will trick you into seeing one scheme and playing another. That's where Ben will lack early. I expect to see some forced throws, some INTs, some poor decisions, especially in conference play, but he's going to have to overcome that, work through it, and learn.
Also, if something like KL's situation is going to happen, I'd much rather it happen before the start of spring practice, than right before the season opener. With Schell being out with injuries, Chappell is really going to get a TON of work, which is exactally what he needs. He needs reps in this offense and now, he's going to get it. Most people that saw him in high school remember he really was a good, passing QB and all he's done is gotten bigger and stronger, and he's really got some ability. I liken him to a poor man's Ben Rothlisberger, because he really puts the same kind of zip on the ball. In all honesty, it's always been my thought, in the back of my mind that as Chappell matured, it was conceivable that IU would put him at QB and move Kellen to WR. I will tell you this, the staff has complete confidence in Ben and they believe he'll bring a lot to the table and allow IU to win ball games, but it will be up to the coaches as well to scheme the offense to fit his strengths, so this spring and summer is going to mean an awful lot of hard work for both Ben and the coaches, as they prepare for the upcoming season.
I hope fans will be patient, though the past few weeks with basketball, has probably burned any chance of fans being patient and understanding while a young QB works through the transition of back up to starter. There's a lot to like in Ben and what he'll bring to the table. There's also a lot to like in what the improved OL will bring to the table, and when the freshmen arrive this fall, and Darius Willis begins his career, they'll be a whole lot to get excited about. I'm also pretty excited about what this team can do, but we are at the bottom of the stairs now, and it's a long climb until November. A lot can happen between now and then, as well as a lot of improvement can take place. Personally, I believe in Coach Lynch, his staff, and his schemes to put the players in the position to succeed. Now, it will be up to the players to learn the schemes and take advantage of what is there for them.
Now, a little bit more on Kellen Lewis and what is going on with him. Kellen has had this problem for a while and was given every opportunity to correct it. He always said he would, but never followed through with those promises. Now, we'll see if he can, on his own. I personally want to thank those that have emailed me with ideas and testimonials about their own struggles in the past. It's certainly not out of the relm of possibility that KL can beat this addiction and improve his life and be a member of the IU football team, but he's got a long road until that happens.
For now, KL is still enrolled at IU. He's talking about entering a program this summer, as to stay eligible to play, he'll have to stay eligible in the classroom and complete the semester. However, I hope that this isn't just words, that he really stays clean, and gets help. I don't care at this point about football, this is about life and KL's ability to live life to the fullest. He's a very good kid, smart, and funny, but he's just made some bad decisions, so now it's up to him. I'm still a big Kellen Lewis fan, always have been, and I'm pulling really hard for him to succeed in getting through all this, again, not for football, but because life can be so short and opportunities like he has don't come around very often. Let's go #15, show everyone just what you are truly made of!!
Also want to congratulate Chris Hagerup for all his hard work and I'm glad he's got the opportunity to show the staff what he can do at QB this spring. Even if it's short-lived, he'll have a shot. Chris has worked extremely hard on his punting and his consistency and fans should not let 1 single worry cross their minds abou the the punting job this fall, Chris will have it well under control!
God Bless and next time, we'll dig into the defensive line!
Friday, March 7, 2008
Kellen Lews, QBs, pro days, and other tidbits
Well, it's never a dull moment at Indiana University these days, as it seems we just can't buy a break. With all the bball stuff going on, the football team made some headlines across the country yesterday with the indefinite suspension of the face the program and starting QB, Kellen Lewis. This blog is going to contain a lot of information on different things, but I'm going to try and be as "PC" as possible with Kellen. I have very credible sources on him and I'm going to be very honest about some stuff, but I want to protect him as well, because this is a personal matter in some respects.
Yesterday, I received the word about Kellen around midmorning that he was indefinitely suspended due to school and practice issues. While I was surprised to hear the news, the picture painted at the time to me was it was fairly minor and KL could work his way back into the good graces of the staff maybe even by the end of spring practice, so I tried to convey that in my email messages and posts on Peegs. This morning, I received more information from 3 very credible sources saying the exact same thing that the news is A LOT worse than just minior stuff. I am now at the point in believing that Kellen Lewis will NEVER play another down of football for this university and he has major issues that he needs to take care of, or his future will be ruined forever.
It always disappoints me when I hear about kids throwing away opportunities, but sometimes kids try new things and before they know it, it's a habit, or addiction, and that becomes the most important thing in their lives, besides school and the sport they are playing. Basically, KL needs to stay clean, get help, and move forward. Can he return? Yes, there's a slim chance that he could, but he's going to have to put a tremendous amount of effort into this, far more effort than he's put into anything in his whole life. For those that read this blog and have overcome addictions of any kind, know how hard it is.
Now, before Moyeswatsboozer begins to throw Coach Lynch under the bus, let me assure you that KL has had chances to get straight, but you can only violate team rules so many times before you get the ax. This suspension should also not be compared to Bassett or Crawford, the issues that KL faces are much, much more serious and the term indefinite will probably be just that.
Now, with KL not around, the QB situation becomes very interesting, especially since Teddy Schell is out this spring following Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow and a hernia operation. That leaves Ben Chappell as the starter and Dustin Haas (walk-on) as his back up. For now, the only move to bolster the depth at QB, has been to move Chris Hagerup to QB. He'll still punt, but he's going to do both, for now. At this point, Evans hasn't switched to QB yet, or at least he's not been going to the QB meetings yet. Evans is being rumored, but it's just a rumor right now. So, for spring practice, as of now, it will be Chappell, Hagerup, and Haas. Teddy is expected to be ready to go by fall ball, and the staff has been pleased with his progress. This fall, we welcome Follett, and I suspect Hagerup and/or Evans or both will go back to their regular positions. At this point, Chappell will start game one, with Schell as his back up, and Haas and Follett will battle it out 3rd string. Also, it will be very important for Follett to get down to IU early this summer and participate in 7 on 7 drills and get ready. He'll be a couple injuries away from playing next year that's for sure.
As for IU's Pro Day that was held this week, once again, Porter and Hardy impressed those in attendance. So far, accoring to nfl draft scout, Porter has ran the fastest pro day time at 4.30. He's also ran the fastest 10-yard time at 1.46. The knock on Porter heading into the Senior Bowl and Combine was that he wasn't very physical and not very strong. Yet, he still cranked out 18 reps on the bench at 225 pounds, so that was very good. Also, this season Tracy seemed tentative to tackle head on, probably due to the broken collarbone he suffered at the end of his junior season. However, he was fearless at the Senior Bowl, and his workouts have put in solidly into the upper portion of the 2nd round.
As for Hardy, his combine and subsequent pro day workouts have put in solidly into the lower portion of the 1st round. At 6'6" 220 with a 37.5" vertical and long arms, soft hands, and oh by the way, a 4.4 time, makes him a freak of nature at WR. He needs to improve his routes and his blocking, but he's been mentioned prominetly between picks 20 and 30 for about a week now. A darkhorse team could be the Cowboys with one of their 2 picks in the first round.
For a kid that walked on at IU at 6' 220 pounds that was too slow for every position he was big enough to play, certainly has changed things around for himself. Currently he's the #1 rated LS in the draft and is being told he will get his name called somewhere during the late 6th or anytime during the 7th round.
Other IU prospects that participated in drills but will more than likely be free agent signings are: Leslie Majors, Josiah Sears, Blake Powers, Charlie Emerson, and John Sandberg. Out of this group, Josiah was the most impressive running a 4.7 40 time and showing good hands at catching the ball and blocking and running. He could make a club via special teams as a situational blocker.
After my last blog, I was informed that Jeff Sanders was going to move back to TE, due to blocking concerns. I have checked into this further and that is the case. Jeff has a good pair of hands and will compete for PT with the rest of the TEs this spring.
Also, wanted to do a quick update on my friend from Rose Hulman that was in the car accident. He is still in a coma, but yawning and moving around a little bit. The accident was 2 weeks ago today. He's being weened off the ventilator and there's talk of him being moved to another facility for acute medical care and rehab. Please keep him and your family in your prayers. You can also track his progress at caringbridge.org (at prompt type in drewchristy). It's an amazing site that will bless your socks off each time you visit.
Hopefully, next time, I'll have more positive news! GOD Bless!!
John
Yesterday, I received the word about Kellen around midmorning that he was indefinitely suspended due to school and practice issues. While I was surprised to hear the news, the picture painted at the time to me was it was fairly minor and KL could work his way back into the good graces of the staff maybe even by the end of spring practice, so I tried to convey that in my email messages and posts on Peegs. This morning, I received more information from 3 very credible sources saying the exact same thing that the news is A LOT worse than just minior stuff. I am now at the point in believing that Kellen Lewis will NEVER play another down of football for this university and he has major issues that he needs to take care of, or his future will be ruined forever.
It always disappoints me when I hear about kids throwing away opportunities, but sometimes kids try new things and before they know it, it's a habit, or addiction, and that becomes the most important thing in their lives, besides school and the sport they are playing. Basically, KL needs to stay clean, get help, and move forward. Can he return? Yes, there's a slim chance that he could, but he's going to have to put a tremendous amount of effort into this, far more effort than he's put into anything in his whole life. For those that read this blog and have overcome addictions of any kind, know how hard it is.
Now, before Moyeswatsboozer begins to throw Coach Lynch under the bus, let me assure you that KL has had chances to get straight, but you can only violate team rules so many times before you get the ax. This suspension should also not be compared to Bassett or Crawford, the issues that KL faces are much, much more serious and the term indefinite will probably be just that.
Now, with KL not around, the QB situation becomes very interesting, especially since Teddy Schell is out this spring following Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow and a hernia operation. That leaves Ben Chappell as the starter and Dustin Haas (walk-on) as his back up. For now, the only move to bolster the depth at QB, has been to move Chris Hagerup to QB. He'll still punt, but he's going to do both, for now. At this point, Evans hasn't switched to QB yet, or at least he's not been going to the QB meetings yet. Evans is being rumored, but it's just a rumor right now. So, for spring practice, as of now, it will be Chappell, Hagerup, and Haas. Teddy is expected to be ready to go by fall ball, and the staff has been pleased with his progress. This fall, we welcome Follett, and I suspect Hagerup and/or Evans or both will go back to their regular positions. At this point, Chappell will start game one, with Schell as his back up, and Haas and Follett will battle it out 3rd string. Also, it will be very important for Follett to get down to IU early this summer and participate in 7 on 7 drills and get ready. He'll be a couple injuries away from playing next year that's for sure.
As for IU's Pro Day that was held this week, once again, Porter and Hardy impressed those in attendance. So far, accoring to nfl draft scout, Porter has ran the fastest pro day time at 4.30. He's also ran the fastest 10-yard time at 1.46. The knock on Porter heading into the Senior Bowl and Combine was that he wasn't very physical and not very strong. Yet, he still cranked out 18 reps on the bench at 225 pounds, so that was very good. Also, this season Tracy seemed tentative to tackle head on, probably due to the broken collarbone he suffered at the end of his junior season. However, he was fearless at the Senior Bowl, and his workouts have put in solidly into the upper portion of the 2nd round.
As for Hardy, his combine and subsequent pro day workouts have put in solidly into the lower portion of the 1st round. At 6'6" 220 with a 37.5" vertical and long arms, soft hands, and oh by the way, a 4.4 time, makes him a freak of nature at WR. He needs to improve his routes and his blocking, but he's been mentioned prominetly between picks 20 and 30 for about a week now. A darkhorse team could be the Cowboys with one of their 2 picks in the first round.
For a kid that walked on at IU at 6' 220 pounds that was too slow for every position he was big enough to play, certainly has changed things around for himself. Currently he's the #1 rated LS in the draft and is being told he will get his name called somewhere during the late 6th or anytime during the 7th round.
Other IU prospects that participated in drills but will more than likely be free agent signings are: Leslie Majors, Josiah Sears, Blake Powers, Charlie Emerson, and John Sandberg. Out of this group, Josiah was the most impressive running a 4.7 40 time and showing good hands at catching the ball and blocking and running. He could make a club via special teams as a situational blocker.
After my last blog, I was informed that Jeff Sanders was going to move back to TE, due to blocking concerns. I have checked into this further and that is the case. Jeff has a good pair of hands and will compete for PT with the rest of the TEs this spring.
Also, wanted to do a quick update on my friend from Rose Hulman that was in the car accident. He is still in a coma, but yawning and moving around a little bit. The accident was 2 weeks ago today. He's being weened off the ventilator and there's talk of him being moved to another facility for acute medical care and rehab. Please keep him and your family in your prayers. You can also track his progress at caringbridge.org (at prompt type in drewchristy). It's an amazing site that will bless your socks off each time you visit.
Hopefully, next time, I'll have more positive news! GOD Bless!!
John
Sunday, March 2, 2008
TEs and OL
WOW! Need to dust out this blog site and get back at it. Been a crazy few weeks, but before I get started with the TEs and OL, I would like to ask that you remember a friend that was involved in an auto accident about 10 days ago. His name is Drew Christy and he is currently in Methodist Hospital in Indy in the Nero-critical care unit. He's been in a coma since the accident, but he's improving. If you'd like to read more about him and his family, please visit www.caringbridge.org (not a link). At the prompt, type in drewchristy and you can access his family's journal. Drew plays fball at Rose Hulman and is truely one of the coolest guys I've ever met.
Okay, now for the TEs. When Coach Hep first took over the IU football program, it appeared in the first season that the TE might be a position that would prosper. M. O'Neil, a TE that had walked on at IU and caught a couple of TD passes his junior season. However, after that, the TE position became a blocking position, rather than an option in the passing game. There are a few reasons for this, but one of the biggest was the condition of the OL and the need to have more blockers, since the spread doesn't employ a fullback on a regular basis. Also, IU really didn't have a pass catching TE, and Coach Hep had stated that a TE was more of a condition, not a position, thus the TEs became pretty much glorified blockers.
Last season, was pretty much the same, as the TEs barely caught passes, but at least they were used a tad bit more than they were the previous year. Coach Lynch has demonstrated in the past that he'll use a TE as a pass catcher a little more, and I know the staff is pretty high on a redshirt frosh that may very well start. Let's take a look at what we have here.
Max Dedmond, 6'5" 245 RS FR
The staff hopes that Matt will come to camp around 250 and ready to compete for the starting job. Max can block pretty well and he has pretty solid hands. He's the best TE that IU has had for years, so I expect him to catch around 15 to 20 balls this coming season, as he'll be used underneath a little more, especially if the OL improves as is expected.
Taylor Donnell 6'3" 225 Junior walk-on
Taylor is a walk-on from Roncalli HS in Indy. While he's never caught a pass, he did play in every game last season on special teams.
Brad Martin 6'4" 230 RS Sophmore
Brad needs weight and the staff wanted to get him into that 245 to 250 slot by spring ball. At last report, he was in the 240 range and working hard to gain weight. If he can get more weight, he'll be another guy that they look to as a pass catcher. He's not much of a blocker at this point, but they are working hard to get to be one. At this point, he's 2nd/3rd string, behind Dedmond and Troy Wagner, but mainly he is Dedmond's back up.
Troy Wagner 6'5" 255 RS Junior
Troy saw action in 9 games last season and did catch 2 passes for 7 yards. Troy is pretty much a blocker, but he can, in a pinch, especially on goalline situations, sneak out and catch a pass. The staff will continue to use him as a blocker first, so in 2 TE situations, he'll be on the field with Dedmond, or Zemetis.
Brian Zematis 6'5" 255 RS Junior
Brian needs to find a position and stick with it, as the staff has moved him from TE to DE and now back to TE as depth concerns trigger the moves. He's strickly a blocker and backs up Wagner as the main blocking TE. The staff wants him to add more weight and try and get into the 265 range. He's actually fairly quick and a pretty good run stuffing DE, but with the emergence of the younger DEs, he's back on this side of the ball. I doubt we'll see him catching passes anytime soon, but we will see him on special teams for sure.
Nick Sexton 6'5" 260 graduated
Nick was the primary TE last season, along with Wagner. Nick was also moved around his entire career, but settled in at TE his last couple of seasons and started every game last year. He did manage to catch 3 passes for 31 yards, but dropped a few when he was wide open. He's truly a blocking TE and wasn't a bad one and was pretty effective in helping the OL compensate for their lack of good run blocking skills.
Since the TE position is so small, I thought I'd include the OL as well.
Brandon Bugg 6' 240 Junior
Brandon will be IU's long snapper this coming season and boy does he have HUGE shoes to fill. Brandon's brother Tim was IU's LS for 3 years and leaves IU as the #1 rated LS in the country and likely will be the only LS drafted this season. As for Brandon, he's had an awesome mentor, so we'll see. The best way to tell if he's effective or not is if we never hear about him. He will need to add a little more musclue to his frame, but I expect him to be just as effective as Tim.
Cody Faulkner 6'5" 300 RS Junior
Cody came to IU as the highest rated OL recruit in his class. He was recruited by many in SEC and his father played at Florida, so fans naturally assumed that since we didn't see him on the field much the past couple of years, he's been a bust. However Cody came to IU as a mauler type of OL that had MUCH to learn about pass blocking. In the 2 years+ that he's been here, he's improved probably the most of anyone in the area of pass blocking. He's expected to start at RG this season and add much needed bulk and agility to that position.
Josh Hager 6'7" 280 RS FR
Josh redshirted this season but he's got a lot of potential at the Tackle position. He came in at 260, so weight was his biggest need. As of last report, he was up to around 280 and staff would love to put 10 more pounds on him to be effective. His position for now is RT, so we'll see what he looks like come spring ball.
Sean Edmundson 6'4" 285 RS Senior
Sean is pretty buried on the depth chart and has been his whole career. This season he'll more than likely be a 2nd string Guard, especially with Kenny Love and Matt Moses having moved on and graduated early. Last season, Sean's biggest pub was a run-in with the law that also involved Adam McClurg and a couple of other individuals. Sean will add depth this season.
Andrew McDonald 6'5" 285 RS FR
Andrew came to IU from a running, option, spread offense that was never really asked to pass block, so this season, as he's added some muscle, he's had to learn all about pass blocking. He is being groomed to replace Saffold at LT. Andy is pretty athletic for a big guy and has caught on to pass blocking pretty well. He'll be 2nd string heading into spring ball, and it will be interesting to see how he does.
Milton Owens 6'2" 280 RS FR walk-on
Milton walked on last season from a small high school in Gary, IN. He's being asked to gain weight in hopes that he'll provide depth at guard.
Alex Perry 6'7" 290 RS Sophmore
Alex came to IU as a 6'7" 250 tackle prospect from Morris, Illinois. After redshirting and gaining close to 25 pounds, he was moved to Center because of depth issues. This spring, he'll enter camp as the #1 center and it should be very interesting to see how he progresses. He's pretty athletic, and the hardest thing for him has been the mental side of the Center position. Since the center makes all the OL blocking scheme calls, it's a huge adjustment having played on the island to come in and play in the middle, but Alex's progression has been greatly enhanced by the pressence of Coach Johnson. Hopefully, this spring will bring Alex the confidence he needs to excell at this position.
Mike Reiter 6'2" 300 RS Junior walk-on
Mike is a walk-on from Chesterfield, MO, and he saw action in all games last season on special teams. Mike is currently 3rd string entering spring ball.
Dan Rutigliano 6'3" 285 RS FR walk-on
Dan came to IU from Cathedral HS in Indianapolis a school known for its winning traditions. Dan has a chance to be more than practice depth as the staff would like to bulk him up a little more and give him a chance at Guard. He's a mauler, so the more he learns and improves in the pass blocking area, the better his chance will be to play. Probably not a guy that will see this season, but by the time he's an upperclassman, he'll have a chance.
Rodger Saffold 6'5" 290 Junior
Rodger has pretty much started at LT since the very beginning of his freshman year. Though he really needed to RS, out of necessity, he's started and Coach Johnson has made him into one of the best LTs in the conference. He's very athletic and as he's gotten stronger, he's become a better run blocker. The staff has had to use a TE on his side a lot to help in run blocking, but toward the end of last season, he really seemed to "get it" in terms of being that up echelon LT. He comes to camp as a guy the staff is really looking to to cement the Line of Scrimmage and be that leader. He's got a chance to really be a top tackle by the time he's done at Indiana, and I'm hoping we really see the full package of Rodger this spring.
Jeff Sanders 6'4" 270 RS Sophmore
Jeff came to IU as a 240 pound TE and stayed there through a redshirt season. However, due to extreme lack of depth at the Center position, he was moved there and at one time backed up Matt Moses as 2nd string last fall and was still only about 260. Obviously, he needs weight, but he's 2nd string at this point and time. He's pretty athletic, but he needs that weight before I'd feel any comfort level about him playing on a regular basis. There's a real chance that Will Matte will come in and be that 2nd string Center by the middle of the season. I would still expect to see Jeff in goalline blocking schemes.
Pete Saxon 6'6" 315 Junior
Pete, much like Rodger, has pretty much been a starter at LG from the beginning of his career. He came to IU as a mauler, run-blocking Guard, so he's had to really learn pass blocking on the fly, and again, I credit Coach Johnson in getting him ready to play. By far, the biggest on the OL the last couple of years, Pete has steadily improved every season and the staff is looking to he and Rodger to really lead the OL this season.
Jarrod Smith 6'4" 300 RS Sophmore
Jarrod came to IU as a Center and one of the better centers recruited out of the midwest. However, during his redshirt season, he was really lost, so the staff moved him to Guard. Slowly but surely, he's beginning to get it, and he's moved up the depth chart ever since. He'll come to camp as a 3rd string guard, but as he progresses, I think he'll be up to 2nd string by the fall.
Mike Stark 6'7" 290 RS Sophmore
Mike will come to camp as the starter at RT. He played some last season, when Emerson went down with an injury and though he was outmatch early on, he really improved and was pretty steady throughout his time. He's a pretty good pass blocker, who has really had to be taught run blocking techniques. Mike offers a lot more as a RT than Emerson, but few will ever have the heart that Charlie showed.
Dennis Ziegler 6'7" 330 RS FR
Dennis is HUGE, in fact, he needs to slim down to play in IU's zone blocking system. If he can get down to 320 or so, he really could challenge Stark on the Right side. For his side, he's really athletic and has good feet, but his conditioning isn't where it needs to be for him to be really effective over sustained drives. He's shown so far in winter conditioning that he's getting better, and I'm anxious to see him in pads to see how he does.
James Brewer 6'8" 350 RS Sophmore
James is even bigger than Dennis, and to play, he's got to get his weight down. Like Dennis, he's athletic for his size, but his conditioning is not good at all. In fact, he was hurt a lot last season with a foot injury and it took forever to heal, in fact, he's still not at 100% and he will be limited this spring as a result. If he could somehow get down to about 315 to 320, he's probably start, but he's got to get the weight down. In fact, at one point last season, I was told he was a lot heavier than 350, though I was never told just how much he weighted. Hopefully, James can find a diet plan that works for him and he can heal up and get that weight down. He's very raw, but he could be the best out of any of these kids, he's got that much ability to work with.
Now, the following people have either left the program:
Tim Bugg-graduation
Charles Emerson-graduation
Kenny Love-early graduation
Matt Moses-early graduation
John Sandberg-graduation
Ben Wyss-graduation
Kyle Thomas-early graduation and he has gotten on with the Bloomington Police Department as a full time street officer. Congrats Kyle, I know I would never mess with you!!!
Okay, next time, I'll dive into the DL.
Okay, now for the TEs. When Coach Hep first took over the IU football program, it appeared in the first season that the TE might be a position that would prosper. M. O'Neil, a TE that had walked on at IU and caught a couple of TD passes his junior season. However, after that, the TE position became a blocking position, rather than an option in the passing game. There are a few reasons for this, but one of the biggest was the condition of the OL and the need to have more blockers, since the spread doesn't employ a fullback on a regular basis. Also, IU really didn't have a pass catching TE, and Coach Hep had stated that a TE was more of a condition, not a position, thus the TEs became pretty much glorified blockers.
Last season, was pretty much the same, as the TEs barely caught passes, but at least they were used a tad bit more than they were the previous year. Coach Lynch has demonstrated in the past that he'll use a TE as a pass catcher a little more, and I know the staff is pretty high on a redshirt frosh that may very well start. Let's take a look at what we have here.
Max Dedmond, 6'5" 245 RS FR
The staff hopes that Matt will come to camp around 250 and ready to compete for the starting job. Max can block pretty well and he has pretty solid hands. He's the best TE that IU has had for years, so I expect him to catch around 15 to 20 balls this coming season, as he'll be used underneath a little more, especially if the OL improves as is expected.
Taylor Donnell 6'3" 225 Junior walk-on
Taylor is a walk-on from Roncalli HS in Indy. While he's never caught a pass, he did play in every game last season on special teams.
Brad Martin 6'4" 230 RS Sophmore
Brad needs weight and the staff wanted to get him into that 245 to 250 slot by spring ball. At last report, he was in the 240 range and working hard to gain weight. If he can get more weight, he'll be another guy that they look to as a pass catcher. He's not much of a blocker at this point, but they are working hard to get to be one. At this point, he's 2nd/3rd string, behind Dedmond and Troy Wagner, but mainly he is Dedmond's back up.
Troy Wagner 6'5" 255 RS Junior
Troy saw action in 9 games last season and did catch 2 passes for 7 yards. Troy is pretty much a blocker, but he can, in a pinch, especially on goalline situations, sneak out and catch a pass. The staff will continue to use him as a blocker first, so in 2 TE situations, he'll be on the field with Dedmond, or Zemetis.
Brian Zematis 6'5" 255 RS Junior
Brian needs to find a position and stick with it, as the staff has moved him from TE to DE and now back to TE as depth concerns trigger the moves. He's strickly a blocker and backs up Wagner as the main blocking TE. The staff wants him to add more weight and try and get into the 265 range. He's actually fairly quick and a pretty good run stuffing DE, but with the emergence of the younger DEs, he's back on this side of the ball. I doubt we'll see him catching passes anytime soon, but we will see him on special teams for sure.
Nick Sexton 6'5" 260 graduated
Nick was the primary TE last season, along with Wagner. Nick was also moved around his entire career, but settled in at TE his last couple of seasons and started every game last year. He did manage to catch 3 passes for 31 yards, but dropped a few when he was wide open. He's truly a blocking TE and wasn't a bad one and was pretty effective in helping the OL compensate for their lack of good run blocking skills.
Since the TE position is so small, I thought I'd include the OL as well.
Brandon Bugg 6' 240 Junior
Brandon will be IU's long snapper this coming season and boy does he have HUGE shoes to fill. Brandon's brother Tim was IU's LS for 3 years and leaves IU as the #1 rated LS in the country and likely will be the only LS drafted this season. As for Brandon, he's had an awesome mentor, so we'll see. The best way to tell if he's effective or not is if we never hear about him. He will need to add a little more musclue to his frame, but I expect him to be just as effective as Tim.
Cody Faulkner 6'5" 300 RS Junior
Cody came to IU as the highest rated OL recruit in his class. He was recruited by many in SEC and his father played at Florida, so fans naturally assumed that since we didn't see him on the field much the past couple of years, he's been a bust. However Cody came to IU as a mauler type of OL that had MUCH to learn about pass blocking. In the 2 years+ that he's been here, he's improved probably the most of anyone in the area of pass blocking. He's expected to start at RG this season and add much needed bulk and agility to that position.
Josh Hager 6'7" 280 RS FR
Josh redshirted this season but he's got a lot of potential at the Tackle position. He came in at 260, so weight was his biggest need. As of last report, he was up to around 280 and staff would love to put 10 more pounds on him to be effective. His position for now is RT, so we'll see what he looks like come spring ball.
Sean Edmundson 6'4" 285 RS Senior
Sean is pretty buried on the depth chart and has been his whole career. This season he'll more than likely be a 2nd string Guard, especially with Kenny Love and Matt Moses having moved on and graduated early. Last season, Sean's biggest pub was a run-in with the law that also involved Adam McClurg and a couple of other individuals. Sean will add depth this season.
Andrew McDonald 6'5" 285 RS FR
Andrew came to IU from a running, option, spread offense that was never really asked to pass block, so this season, as he's added some muscle, he's had to learn all about pass blocking. He is being groomed to replace Saffold at LT. Andy is pretty athletic for a big guy and has caught on to pass blocking pretty well. He'll be 2nd string heading into spring ball, and it will be interesting to see how he does.
Milton Owens 6'2" 280 RS FR walk-on
Milton walked on last season from a small high school in Gary, IN. He's being asked to gain weight in hopes that he'll provide depth at guard.
Alex Perry 6'7" 290 RS Sophmore
Alex came to IU as a 6'7" 250 tackle prospect from Morris, Illinois. After redshirting and gaining close to 25 pounds, he was moved to Center because of depth issues. This spring, he'll enter camp as the #1 center and it should be very interesting to see how he progresses. He's pretty athletic, and the hardest thing for him has been the mental side of the Center position. Since the center makes all the OL blocking scheme calls, it's a huge adjustment having played on the island to come in and play in the middle, but Alex's progression has been greatly enhanced by the pressence of Coach Johnson. Hopefully, this spring will bring Alex the confidence he needs to excell at this position.
Mike Reiter 6'2" 300 RS Junior walk-on
Mike is a walk-on from Chesterfield, MO, and he saw action in all games last season on special teams. Mike is currently 3rd string entering spring ball.
Dan Rutigliano 6'3" 285 RS FR walk-on
Dan came to IU from Cathedral HS in Indianapolis a school known for its winning traditions. Dan has a chance to be more than practice depth as the staff would like to bulk him up a little more and give him a chance at Guard. He's a mauler, so the more he learns and improves in the pass blocking area, the better his chance will be to play. Probably not a guy that will see this season, but by the time he's an upperclassman, he'll have a chance.
Rodger Saffold 6'5" 290 Junior
Rodger has pretty much started at LT since the very beginning of his freshman year. Though he really needed to RS, out of necessity, he's started and Coach Johnson has made him into one of the best LTs in the conference. He's very athletic and as he's gotten stronger, he's become a better run blocker. The staff has had to use a TE on his side a lot to help in run blocking, but toward the end of last season, he really seemed to "get it" in terms of being that up echelon LT. He comes to camp as a guy the staff is really looking to to cement the Line of Scrimmage and be that leader. He's got a chance to really be a top tackle by the time he's done at Indiana, and I'm hoping we really see the full package of Rodger this spring.
Jeff Sanders 6'4" 270 RS Sophmore
Jeff came to IU as a 240 pound TE and stayed there through a redshirt season. However, due to extreme lack of depth at the Center position, he was moved there and at one time backed up Matt Moses as 2nd string last fall and was still only about 260. Obviously, he needs weight, but he's 2nd string at this point and time. He's pretty athletic, but he needs that weight before I'd feel any comfort level about him playing on a regular basis. There's a real chance that Will Matte will come in and be that 2nd string Center by the middle of the season. I would still expect to see Jeff in goalline blocking schemes.
Pete Saxon 6'6" 315 Junior
Pete, much like Rodger, has pretty much been a starter at LG from the beginning of his career. He came to IU as a mauler, run-blocking Guard, so he's had to really learn pass blocking on the fly, and again, I credit Coach Johnson in getting him ready to play. By far, the biggest on the OL the last couple of years, Pete has steadily improved every season and the staff is looking to he and Rodger to really lead the OL this season.
Jarrod Smith 6'4" 300 RS Sophmore
Jarrod came to IU as a Center and one of the better centers recruited out of the midwest. However, during his redshirt season, he was really lost, so the staff moved him to Guard. Slowly but surely, he's beginning to get it, and he's moved up the depth chart ever since. He'll come to camp as a 3rd string guard, but as he progresses, I think he'll be up to 2nd string by the fall.
Mike Stark 6'7" 290 RS Sophmore
Mike will come to camp as the starter at RT. He played some last season, when Emerson went down with an injury and though he was outmatch early on, he really improved and was pretty steady throughout his time. He's a pretty good pass blocker, who has really had to be taught run blocking techniques. Mike offers a lot more as a RT than Emerson, but few will ever have the heart that Charlie showed.
Dennis Ziegler 6'7" 330 RS FR
Dennis is HUGE, in fact, he needs to slim down to play in IU's zone blocking system. If he can get down to 320 or so, he really could challenge Stark on the Right side. For his side, he's really athletic and has good feet, but his conditioning isn't where it needs to be for him to be really effective over sustained drives. He's shown so far in winter conditioning that he's getting better, and I'm anxious to see him in pads to see how he does.
James Brewer 6'8" 350 RS Sophmore
James is even bigger than Dennis, and to play, he's got to get his weight down. Like Dennis, he's athletic for his size, but his conditioning is not good at all. In fact, he was hurt a lot last season with a foot injury and it took forever to heal, in fact, he's still not at 100% and he will be limited this spring as a result. If he could somehow get down to about 315 to 320, he's probably start, but he's got to get the weight down. In fact, at one point last season, I was told he was a lot heavier than 350, though I was never told just how much he weighted. Hopefully, James can find a diet plan that works for him and he can heal up and get that weight down. He's very raw, but he could be the best out of any of these kids, he's got that much ability to work with.
Now, the following people have either left the program:
Tim Bugg-graduation
Charles Emerson-graduation
Kenny Love-early graduation
Matt Moses-early graduation
John Sandberg-graduation
Ben Wyss-graduation
Kyle Thomas-early graduation and he has gotten on with the Bloomington Police Department as a full time street officer. Congrats Kyle, I know I would never mess with you!!!
Okay, next time, I'll dive into the DL.
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