Indiana Football's New Year's Resolutions for 2022

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Happy New Year! This is a time where many people and organizations set goals for themselves for the upcoming year. We have decided to write the Hoosiers New Year’s resolutions for them after a 2-10 (0-9) season. Feel free to add any that you may have in the comments section below.

1. Be Humble – Maybe this is just me, but the Hoosiers downfall in 2021 started with the nonsense the night before the Outback Bowl when it was leaked that bowl patch was purposefully placed over the Big Ten logo on IU’s uniform. The Hoosiers, and their fans, had every right to be upset over the rule changes that occurred in the middle of the season to get Ohio State into the Big Ten title game. However, this was a hubristic move for IU and maybe they got served their slice of humble pie this past season.

In 2022 IU cannot just show up and expect to win the game. They have to prepare to win football games and that starts as soon as winter conditioning starts. Late in the season IU linebacker Micah McFadden said something that raised a lot of red flags with me.

He said, “I think obviously injuries have affected this team in a way and I think guys could have prepared a little bit harder. I think there could have been a little more effort throughout our fall camp preparation to really get everybody's minds ready for this season and this schedule and opponents that we played.”

With McFadden off to the NFL, IU will need to find a new leader on the defense and hopefully the mindset changes as well because IU cannot afford to take winning games for granted.

2. Get Healthy – This is an absolute must for IU. 2021 was frustrating in large part due to the countless injuries to major contributors on both sides of the ball. The Hoosiers need to use the offseason to recover and figure out a way to prevent major injuries better without putting everyone in bubble wrap. Injuries happen in a collision sport like football, but teams figure out ways to deal with it. The Hoosiers cannot sacrifice physicality in practice for health, because that does not work either in a sport where IU has to be tougher than most.

3. Find an Identity on Offense – IU was lost on offense from the get go in 2021. Literally two plays in and people were saying ‘oh no’. IU had no offensive identity last season and one could argue that after the Maryland game, they basically packed it in after the first possession. IU addressed this problem by firing offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan hours after the Bucket Game and hiring Walt Bell.

Bell and Allen know what they want to be on offense. The Hoosiers will want to run the ball effectively and throw to create explosive plays. Bell likes to run an up-tempo offense and we shall see if Allen lets him do it the way Bell wants to.

IU has revamped the offensive skill positions and as of now will rely on Jack Tuttle or Donaven McCulley to run the show. IU is still in the market for a veteran transfer, but nothing has been announced as of publishing. The Hoosiers added a lot of speed this offseason and should be able to create a real identity on offense.

4. Have a Full Spring Practice with a Spring Game – Nobody cares about spring ball, I get it. However, this season spring practice and holding a spring game are vital for the development of the 2022 Hoosiers. McCulley and Tuttle both need reps in the new offensive scheme and the younger offensive linemen need as much work as possible.

While a spring game is nothing more than a public scrimmage, it is another chance for players to work through things as a group and hopefully get a physical test. Still, one of the main goals of spring practice is to stay healthy.

5. Get More Physical on the Offensive Line – The Hoosier offensive line has to get more physical on the field. There is no good reason that these players should have performed the way they did last season. These were not no named recruits that nobody wanted. They’re big, strong and have talent. That talent needs to be developed and refined so they can be a functional offensive line. The first step is to be more physical and that starts in practice.

6. Find the Passion and Joy of 2019 and 2020 – The 2019 and 2020 IU football seasons were fun and you could see the passion and joy that IU had playing football clearly on the field. The fan base also shared those feelings for the most part. That was not apparent in 2021. Yes, losing and injuries had a lot to do with it, but even from the get go there seemed to be something off. As the season went on the passion was not existent and it looked as if the team just wanted to run out the clock and move on. In 2022 the Hoosiers will have to recapture the passion that brought them 14 wins in 21 games.