Key Questions IU Has To Answer as They Start Fall Camp Friday
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The Indiana Hoosiers open Fall Camp Friday in Bloomington. Image: Sammy Jacobs Hoosier Huddle
Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
The Indiana Hoosiers open their 2018 fall camp on Friday. The Hoosiers are coming off a disappointing 2017 season that saw them go 5-7 and lose possession of both the Old Oaken Bucket and the Old Brass Spittoon. Heading into camp there are many questions that need to be answered if the Hoosiers want to head back to the postseason. Here are my list of questions on topics I'll be focusing as practice ramps up.
1. Will IU be able to run the ball?
IU’s biggest issue on offense last season was the lack of a consistent quality rushing attack. That lack of success started up front with an offensive lane that dealt with injury and sub-par play. Running the ball well is vital if the Hoosiers want to get back to the offensive success they enjoyed under former head coach Kevin Wilson and could help them close games out better. With the entire offensive line back, plus the addition of grad transfer Nick Linder, that unit should be solid.
The running backs don’t lack talent either as Morgan Ellison and Cole Gest had promising freshman years. However, both will need to stay healthy. There is depth at that position as well as Ricky Brookins and Mike Majette bring a veteran presence to the room and true freshmen Ronnie Walker, a former four-star recruit, and Stevie Scott, a much needed big-bodied back, inject youth.
2. Quarterback battle
The most talked about battle in fall camp will be about who starts behind center for the Hoosiers at quarterback. According to head coach Tom Allen, it is an open competition. That’s how it should be, as that job has to be earned and not just given to Brandon Dawkins, a grad transfer from Arizona. Dawkins was not in for spring practice and coaches have not seen him throw live, so it’s hard to judge just how good he is. Peyton Ramsey wrestled the job away from Richard Lagow last season and looks good at times but needed to improve his arm strength and durability in the offseason. If in fact he has accomplished these two goals, he could very well make this a close competition and may even win it. Ramsey has really good open field speed and showed it during a long touchdown run in the spring game.
3. How will players returning from injury look?
The Hoosiers will be returning several key pieces that missed significant time due to injury in 2017. Most notably are husky Marcelino Ball who played in just three games and wide receiver Nick Westbrook who was hurt on the first kickoff of the season. Both will be back in 2018. Ball participated fully in spring practice while Westbrook was limited, but both look to be back to 100-percent. A’Shon Riggins will be back after missing a lot of the season and that will help the depth and talent at DB.
4. Can Charles Campbell win the kicking duties?
One of the biggest concerns IU will be facing this season is replacing two-time Big Ten Kicker of the Year Griffin Oakes. Outside of 2016, Oakes was an excellent weapon with a strong leg on kickoffs and field goals. IU thought enough of incoming freshman Charles Campbell to give him a scholarship. He was a U.S. Army All-American but there are concerns about his accuracy and leg strength. If IU wants to start finishing games, they will need to not take too big of a step back in the kicking game.
5. Will all the off-season weight room work pay off?
Most of the off-season talk has been about the work that the Hoosiers have done in the weight room with the new strength coach David Ballou and Dr. Matt Rhea. Finishing games and seasons on a strong note has been a trouble spot for the Hoosiers and the hope is that this program gets IU over the hump.
6. Can IU create the takeaways needed on defense?
IU only took the ball away from opponents 13 times in 2017 and ended the season with a minus-seven turnover margin. Tom Allen and the defensive staff wants three takeaways a game and getting 13 in 12 games falls way short of that expectation. In order for IU to be successful this season they will need to push that number closer to three per game and get the turnover margin into the positive numbers.
7. How will IU create more explosive plays on offense?
Last season the Indiana offense finished 104th in the nation with only 48 offensive plays that went for more than 20 yards, 12 of these plays went for touchdowns. To put things in perspective Oklahoma led the nation with 117 plays from scrimmage that gained at least 20 yards. The bottom line is IU needs to find a way to be more explosive on offense because of how difficult it is to put together long drives against most of the Big Ten teams. IU has brought in Brandon Dawkins from Arizona who could light the big play fuse at quarterback and getting Westbrook back from injury will certainly help, but the wild card here is incoming freshman Reese Taylor, who was an extremely dynamic player at Ben Davis (Ind.) and could help this offense get chunk plays.
8. How will the young defenders develop?
There should be questions on defense about experience. The Hoosiers have the depth on defense, it’s just young and inexperienced. Tom Allen wants more contributors on this side of the ball and it’ll be interesting to see how he attacks camp. Will he start with a large rotation and over time narrow it down or will he give his first-team line most of the reps?
There are certainly more questions about the Hoosiers heading into Fall Camp, but these are the eight that I am personally focusing on. A clear answer to all of these questions could mean a special season for the Hoosiers, however, if there are questions left open-ended it could have an effect early in the season.
