Countdown to IUFB Kickoff: 85 Days (Ryan Watercutter)

Written By Alex Compton (@Alexncompton)

#85

The Hoosier Huddle Countdown to Kick-off has begun! There are now 85 days until the Indiana Hoosiers kick-off the 2017 season against the Ohio State Buckeyes. The summer is flying by and we are already two weeks into our countdown. Today’s countdown takes a look at #85 Ryan Watercutter.

Ryan Watercutter (Redshirt Junior)

-Height: 6’2”
-Weight: 230 pounds
-Hometown: Fort Wayne, Indiana
-Position: Tight End

New offensive coordinator Mike DeBord has made it clear on multiple occasions since his hiring that he is going to make the tight end a real focal point of Indiana Football moving forward. Ian Thomas and Danny Friend should be ready to play big roles, but there is not a lot of proven depth behind them. Watercutter walked on to IU in 2014 and redshirted, and enters the season as a redshirt junior who is still listed at tight end after switching positions last year from bandit.

His high school stats from Bishop Dwegener are impressive to say the least. Here is an excerpt from his bio on IUHoosiers.com: “Played for head coach Chris Svarczkopf at Bishop Dwenger High School ... Indiana Associated Press All-State as a junior and senior ... Indiana Football Coaches Association Top 50 and All-State as a junior and senior ... three-time all-conference and 2013 first team All-Northeast Indiana selection ... two-time team MVP led Bishop Dwenger to the 2013 state championship game ... posted 93 tackles and seven interceptions ... caught 71 passes for 1,191 yards and totaled 11 touchdowns ... holds school records for most receptions and most receiving yards ... ranks second all-time with 17 INTs ... three-year football and two-year basketball letterwinner.” He has also been the scout team player of the week five times in the last two seasons, which shows how a guy with one lifetime appearance (Foster Farms Bowl) can be valuable to a team.

It will be interesting to see if Watercutter actually gets some more game action this year. The aforementioned Friend and Thomas will be the top two guys, while Austin Dorris seems ready to make a big jump and true freshman Peyton Hendershot should come in and earn some snaps as well. If the position will really be as important as Coach DeBord says it will be, then maybe IU will need 5-6 tight ends this year. If guys stay healthy however, it will be tough for Watercutter to see the field on offense, so he will have to make his impact on special teams and the practice field. That’s not a bad thing at all- guys like Watercutter are invaluable to teams chasing big dreams.

We continue our countdown at HoosierHuddle.com tomorrow, be sure to check back daily for the best coverage of Indiana Football as we get closer to the 2017 season opener.