IU's Defense Should Be Solid, But Details Need To Be Ironed Out In Fall Camp

Written By Alex Compton

The Spring Game came and went. Then it went some more then it ended. A 42-36 win for Team Crimson over Team Cream in overtime, it was full of ups and downs for both teams, but as is the case with both the philosophy remains that it is a glorified scrimmage that you can’t get too high or low about. Stats weren’t even kept and we didn’t go to the effort to keep track too much because that’s not what this game was about. It was about seeing where a team stood still over three months away from opening night kickoff when they take on Ohio State. With multiple key defensive players sitting out, it was hardly a true barometer of what IU will be in the fall, but there were some things worth taking note of. Just remember, Ohio State is still three months away. Indiana didn’t do anything tonight to take a lead or put themselves in a hole against the Buckeyes. With that said, let’s take a look at how the defense fared. 

The Good

D-Line: Juan Harris is a massive human. Massive humans are hard to move. Juan Harris is hard to move. The early-enrollee freshman looked good in his first game action on Thursday night wearing #90 for the Cream Team. He demanded double teams the entire game, and had his nose around the ball night on running plays. He showed how valuable he will be for IU this year, and that was encouraging. His partner in crime on the inside this year could very well be Jerome Johnson, and the redshirt freshman looked solid as well. Those two guys inside should be very formidable for IU for years to come, but showed early signs of being ready to play major roles in 2017. Nile Sykes also looked very good coming off the edge, and racked up a few “non-contact sacks” by my unofficial count. Redshirt freshman Allen Stallings showed flashes as well, and his athleticism was on display all night. Those four really stood out to me on Thursday night, but guys like Ja’merez Bowen and Gavin Everett played well also. 

A’Shon Riggins: The true sophomore gave Simmie Cobbs fits in the first half. While Cobbs did catch one touchdown on him, Riggins really impressed the whole game with his physicality on Cobbs. He looks to have added some strength, weight and toughness, and all of those things should help the Ohio native build on a very impressive 2016.

Concerns

Linebackers:  Tegray Scales was Tegray Scales on Thursday, so don’t worry about him. I was hoping to come away from the Spring Game with a good idea of who would flank him as a starter next year, but that was not the case at all. Chris Covington and Mike McGinnis are the two most likely starters alongside Scales in 2017, but Covington didn’t dress, and McGinnis didn’t play a whole bunch, and was not overly impressive when he did. It’s early, and the team still has all of summer to figure this out, so I’ll pump the brakes and becoming too nervous about this for now, and you should too. 

Missed Tackles: I know it’s early, and I know it’s probably one of the first times that the guys have been really trying to tackle one another this spring, but the tackling in space was horrible. When ball carriers got past the D-Line, the linebackers and secondary members had a really tough time making tackles on the initial contact. Peyton Ramsey had a handful of long runs, receivers like Jonah Morris and Isaac James turned short catches in to chunk plays, and the running backs were able to get to the second level with ease for both sides. Again, it’s really early and I shouldn’t take much from this game, but the Hoosiers struggled with this last year, and I know it has to drive Tom Allen up a wall. Let’s hope the emergence of a consistent linebacker pairing helps turn this around a bit. 

Everything Else

Let’s hope Rashard Fant is okay. He went in low to try and tackle Ricky Brookins late in the 4th Quarter, and got ran over. He appeared to hit his head while going in for the tackle and stayed down for a few minutes until he was able to walk off the field under close watch of the training staff. He had a good game until that point, posting an interception and about five tackles unofficially. 

This defense is deep. Every position on the field will be able to rotate in second stringers without having too much of a talent drop off in 2017. That shows the growth in this program over the last five to six years, and what we can expect for the future. Indiana won’t be totally outmatched talent-wise in a single game next season, so saying the Thursday night opener against Ohio State is a big one is an understatement.