Countdown to IUFB Kickoff: 56 Days (Grayson Stover)
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Written by David Sugarman (@David_Sugarman2)
#56
It’s nearly the halfway point of our countdown and if you’re like us you’re itching for college football to be back. A month from now season previews that aren’t months too soon from opening day to mean anything will begin to pour out and then there will only be weeks between finding out if those previews will come true or not. In the meantime let’s take a look at the next guy in our countdown, Grayson Stover.
Grayson Stover (Redshirt Freshman)
Height: 6’6’’
Weight: 300 pounds
Hometown: Spring Hill, Florida
Position: Offensive line
This may sound like a cop out, but you can never have enough depth. That’s not to say Grayson Stover won’t be able to compete for a starting spot, but the Hoosiers have a number of talented young prospects waiting in the wings. There’s no doubt that’s a good problem to have. In our Spring Preview we had Stover as the second right tackle on the depth chart. The good offensive line play was a staple of the Kevin Wilson offense and that trend will need to carry over into the Tom Allen era as well.
Grayson Stover redshirted his freshman year and made the most of it. He was named scout team player of the week twice, the weeks leading up to the Northwestern and Penn State games. He also made some history and maybe paved the way for others in the future at Hudson High School. After graduating in 2015 and leaving for Bloomington, he became the first player ever from Hudson to go on to play in the Big Ten. A two-time first team all-conference selection, he was voted his team’s top lineman both his junior and senior year. The Florida native, an area where Indiana has had success recruiting recently, was rated the 41st best offensive tackle in the nation by ESPN in high school.
It’s difficult to say if Stover will get much time this season in a crowded offensive line room, but there are a number of unproven assets that we have projected as starters right now. Brandon Knight, our projected starting right tackle, is returning from an injury that cost him the last five games of the 2016 campaign. When Knight was getting significant time it was after Dimitric Camiel needed season ending back surgery. It’s proof of two things. One, injuries happen and you need to be prepared to step in at any time. Two, there are question marks surrounding Knight which could open up time for Stover. Stover will be competing for time with with a few other newcomers and players coming off of redshirt years in Mackenzie Nworah and Tyler Knight.