February 23, 2018

Spring Practice 2018 Position Battle: Kick Returner

February 23, 2018/ Hoosier Huddle

Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Our next installment of the Spring Practice Preview is the position battle at kick returner. While some may scoff at this and say that kick return is just not that important or we are reaching here, there is immense value in these “hidden” yards. According to Bill Connelly’s book Study Hall which chronicled the 2012 college football season teams that held a significant starting field position advantage tended to win the game more often than not.

February 21, 2018

Spring Practice 2018 Position Battle: Running Back

February 21, 2018/ Hoosier Huddle

Written BY Nathan Comp

After a disappointing rushing attack that finished 12th in the Big Ten in yardage (130 ypg) and scored the fewest touchdowns (11) in 2017, the Hoosiers will attempt to get back on track in the 2018 season. Whether these poor statistics can be blamed on the running backs or the blocking is up for debate, but what is certain is that with a depth chart that possesses more talent heading into the 2018 season, the Hoosiers are primed for steady success. Running backs coach Mike Hart has difficult lineup decisions ahead of him; the running backs boast arguably Indiana’s greatest depth, in a mixture of talented underclassmen and experienced upperclassmen. It is key for Indiana running backs, along with the offensive line, to establish a strong running game to take pressure off the inexperienced quarterback likely to line up alongside them in the backfield. Here’s how I see the depth chart working itself out come September 1st

February 20, 2018

Spring Practice 2018 Position Preview: Running Backs

February 20, 2018/ Hoosier Huddle

Written By Nathan Comp

After losing NFL talent and a couple of the all-time greats in Devine Redding, Tevin Coleman, and Jordan Howard, the running back position was certainly a question mark entering the 2017 season. Unfortunately, the results of the rushing game did not live up to the standards of previous seasons. However, even with three transfers at the position, as Tom Allen pears into the cupboard of running back talent this year, he should see that it is stocked for success. It will be important for Indiana to establish a running game this season, even more than last, simply because (unless there is a late grad transfer addition at quarterback) these running backs will be joined in the backfield by the likes of an underclassmen quarterback.

February 19, 2018

Spring Practice 2018 Position Battle: Quarterback

February 19, 2018/ Hoosier Huddle

Written by: Lauralys Shallow (@ShallowLauralys)

The heart of any offense is the quarterback. For the past two seasons, Richard Lagow has been the pulse of the IU offense. Lagow threw for a total of 4,400 yards and an average of 220 YDS/G during his time at IU. The 6’6 240 pound quarterback played in ten games last season, only missing action against Charleston Southern. In his 2017 campaign, Lagow threw 15 TD and 8 INT. Lagow graduated, but the Hoosiers have a plethora of talent coming in, and Peyton Ramsey saw a good amount of playing time last season.

IU finished sixth in scoring offense in the B1G, scoring 26.8 PPG. IU was also sixth in total offense with 3188 pass yards 25 pass TD and 1561 rush yards. Most impressively, IU was third in pass offense, completing 306/502 passes. The Hoosiers struggled with turnovers. IU’s 13 interceptions was the fourth most in the conference. With two true freshmen and a redshirt freshman likely assuming the role of quarterback, they will have to mature quickly and adjust to the system to limit turnovers.

February 18, 2018

Spring Practice 2018 Position Preview: Quarterback

February 18, 2018/ Hoosier Huddle

Written By Alex Compton (@alexncompton)

After an up and down two seasons, Richard Lagow is gone, and IU has some serious questions at quarterback for this year. The Hoosiers finished third in the Big Ten in passing yards a year ago, despite some grumblings from the fans on not being effective through the air. Mike DeBord’s offense is predicated on safe throws with a few bombs mixed in, and that was unlike the offense IU fans had come to know over the last four or five years. This season’s quarterback room is incredibly young, and really up for grabs. There are a handful of walk-ons that are working hard in the QB room, but for the sake of this preview I’ll only focus on the top three guys for 2018.

IU may also still be looking to bring in a grad transfer at quarterback, but for now these are the guys the Hoosiers are working with for 2018. Young, but exciting overall.

February 15, 2018

Spring Practice 2018 Position Battle: Linebacker

February 15, 2018/ Hoosier Huddle

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

As I wrote in my position preview, after a few seasons of certainty at the linebacker spot, the Indiana Hoosiers are presented with a massive question mark and none of the candidates have more than minimal experience at the FBS-level. While IU has some talented options to fill the voids left by Tegray Scales and Chris Covington, there is little doubt the Hoosiers will have some growing pains in the middle of their defense. There is at least a chance that linebacker could turn into a weakness that forces some regression in IU’s defense. However, there is also a real chance young players step up and grow into their roles and Indiana finds a solid nucleus of players that can star for the next few seasons. It’s a position of great intrigue and great opportunity and one we’ll be watching closely all offseason.

February 14, 2018

Spring Practice 2018 Position Preview: Linebackers

February 14, 2018/ Hoosier Huddle

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

After a few seasons of absolute certainty at linebacker, the Indiana Hoosiers are mostly starting over at the position. One of the best defensive players to ever play in Bloomington, Tegray Scales, will be playing on Sundays and the athletic Chris Covington will likely be joining him. The Hoosiers are not without talent but experience will be in short supply and questions abound. There’s no doubt this is one of the more intriguing positions entering the offseason.

In an effort to be completely transparent, I will let you know that I wanted to have a projection but there’s just no sense in making a wild guess based on no information. I’ll make a projection on how I believe the depth chart will look at kick off of the first game during the “position battle” article but for now, we’ll just take a look at each player in the group. There is going to be whole lot of fluidity and there are way more questions than answers at this position.

We’ll begin this preview by taking a look at the returning “veterans”. No one on the depth chart has much actual playing experience but these players have at least been through the program and know what to expect from a Big Ten schedule.

February 13, 2018

Spring Practice 2018 Position Preview: Defensive Line

February 13, 2018/ Hoosier Huddle

Written By: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

Our next position preview as look ahead to the 2018 season focuses on the defensive line. Position coach and co-defensive coordinator Mark Hagen is a wizard and a real asset to the program and it’s hard to imagine the Hoosiers having anything other than a solid line with Hagen in charge. This personnel group has the chance to be more than just solid but there are certainly some question marks as IU must replace steady Nate Hoff and a pair vastly improved players in Greg Gooch and Robert McCray. We’ll split this into four different sections: tackle starters, tackle contributors/rising talent, defensive end starters, defensive end contributors.

February 12, 2018

Spring Practice 2018 Position Preview: Safeties

February 12, 2018/ Hoosier Huddle

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

The Indiana Hoosiers lost a pair of safeties that played a lot of football in Chase Dutra and Tony Fields so there is a bit of re-tooling at the back end of the defense. However, there’s plenty of talent and a returning star to anchor things.

February 11, 2018

Spring Practice 2018 Position Breakdown: Husky

February 11, 2018/ Hoosier Huddle

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

The Indiana Hoosiers run a 4-2-5 base defense and one of the key positions to make this a potent system is the “Husky”. This player is a hybrid linebacker/safety that must be stout and physical against the run while also being capable of aiding in coverage. The Hoosiers brought in Marcelino Ball and immediately plugged him into the starting Husky position during the 2016 season and the sophomore was having a strong 2017 season before suffering a season-ending knee injury in the third game of the season. IU turned to Tony Fields and others to plug the hole but his absence was noticeable and his physical presence was sorely missed. Ball will return to the lineup in 2018 and he is expected to win back his starting role at Husky. He’s far from alone at the position as the Hoosiers have recruited well here.

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