Regular Season Grades For Indiana Football

Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

The 2016 Hoosiers came into the season with high expectations and a lot of questions to answer. While there was a ton of returning talent for Indiana, they were replacing their starting quarterback, left tackle, and running back, all of which are now on NFL rosters. The defense, coming off an abysmal year was breaking in a new coordinator. With the regular season over for the Hoosiers now for a few days it is time to grade how the Hoosiers (6-6) stacked up in 2016.

Overall Offense: C

The Hoosiers finished second in the Big Ten in passing offense with 3,335 yards (277.9 ypg) with 19 touchdowns. They finished third in total offense with 433.1 yards per game. So why did the Hoosiers only earn a ‘C’ in our grade book?

The answer is fairly easy. Indiana turned the ball over way too much, losing the ball 26 times for a minus-seven turnover margin, which was second worst in the conference. The Hoosiers also were terrible in converting their red zone chances ranking 126th out of 128 as they came away with points just 71.1 percent of the time on 45 trips inside the opponent’s 20 (22 touchdowns and 10 field goals). So while the offense racked up the yards, they could not turn it into points as IU averaged 25.9 points per game, 87th best in the nation.

Running Backs: C+

The Hoosiers have prided themselves as having one of the better rushing attacks in the Big Ten and it had been since 2013 as the Hoosiers had guys like Stephen Houston, Tevin Coleman, and Jordan Howard running the ball behind a stout offensive line. Between 2013 and 2015, IU finished with the fourth, third, and second best yard per game average in the Big Ten. This season the Hoosiers fell to 10th in the conference with a pedestrian 155.1 yards per game average and 3.75 yards per carry.

Indiana replace Jordan Howard with junior Devine Redding who had a solid season as he ran for 1,050 yards becoming the first IU running back to have back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons since Vaughn Dunbar in 1990-91. He had a decent average of 4.45 yards per carry and scored eight total touchdowns. As solid as Redding was he once again lacked the explosiveness to hit the short-lived holes created by the line and when he did he was more often than not caught from behind after seven or eight yards when a quicker back probably gets 15 or more. Don’t get me wrong, Redding was very good this season, but there were flaws in his game.

Behind Redding we saw a lot of different looks for the Hoosiers in 2016, including the Bacon-n-Legs package, which provided the spark that probably saved Indiana’s season. The combination of Zander Diamont and Tyler Natee accounted for 99 carries, 478 yards and six touchdowns. This package, which debuted against Maryland, was an effective weapon for the Hoosiers.
The other story behind the 2016 Hoosier running game was health. IU lost Cole Gest for the season after an ankle injury against Wake Forest. Gest looked to be the most explosive IU back early in the season and probably would have established himself as a nice change of pace back. He finished the year with 10 carries for 47 yards. Sophomore Mike Majette and redshirt freshman Devonte Williams also provided some lift in the backfield before they went down with leg injuries as well. Majette was starting to become a weapon out of the backfield on screens catching seven balls for 87 yards, while Williams was averaging 4.1 yards per play from scrimmage and had a decent season returning kicks.

The Hoosiers also started to use Camion Patrick as well as reserves Alex Rodriguez and Ricky Brookins late in the season. Patrick was slated to play running back until he suffered a knee injury in the spring. Those three combined for 22 carries for 80 yards and a touchdown.

Overall, 10th in the conference is just not up to the standards that Kevin Wilson and the offensive staff have created. Hopefully with a month to get healthier and develop the young lineman some more, IU’s rushing attack will have a rebirth in the bowl game.

Quarterbacks: C

We knew that replacing Nate Sudfeld would be no easy task for the Hoosiers. When IU brought in junior college transfer Richard Lagow, it looked as if they had their guy and wouldn’t really skip a beat. Lagow has a big arm, can throw a good deep ball and is athletic enough to move in the pocket.

Lagow’s first year in Bloomington was a roller coaster ride that could be summed up with his performance against Wake Forest. In the 33-28 loss to the Demon Deacons, Lagow threw for a school record 496 yards, however he also threw five costly interceptions. That is how 2016 went for the Texas native. His 3,174 yards was the third best season total for a Hoosier QB ever, his 18 touchdowns were good for sixth on the single season list, but he threw 16 interceptions and completed just 59.9 percent of his passes. The talent and tools are there, Lagow just needs to hone his skills and take care of the ball.

Zander Diamont, as we said in the running back’s section, was a good change of pace as the ‘wildcat’. However, he just couldn’t be consistent enough in the throwing game to challenge Lagow for the starting spot. Diamont threw the ball 14 times and completed eight passes for 158 yards with no touchdowns and a pick. He excelled when he would throw in the pocket off of play action as he hit a couple 20-plus yard throws over the middle.

Offensive Line: C

The Hoosiers had high expectations for their offensive line coming into 2016, even though they lost Jason Spriggs and Jake Reed to the NFL and graduation.  However, injuries plagued the offensive line as fifth-year senior tackle Dimitric Camiel was lost for the season after game two, All-American guard Dan Feeney missed four full games with a concussion. The Hoosiers also lost tackle Brandon Knight to a leg injury in the eighth game of the year.

The inability to stay healthy destroyed the Hoosier offense, which went from averaging 4.62 yards per carry in 2015 to just 3.75 ypc this season. When Feeney was out the line just could not block their bread-and-butter run plays. In the four games Feeney missed, IU ran for an anemic 3.24 ypc average and scored just twice on the ground. Even, when he was healthy it was tough sledding for the offense.

Fans should not over look the play of tight end Danny Friend as well as he regularly destroyed defenders with his blocking and became a red zone target for Lagow, even if the tight end group was not targeted enough. Ian Thomas and Austin Dorris also played a lot in 2016 and hopefully become more of a weapon in the offensive game plan. 

The good news for the Hoosiers, is that due to the injuries may of the younger reserves received meaningful game reps. Players like Delroy Baker, Simon Stepaniak, and Coy Cronk will all get better due to this experience. 

Wide Receivers: B+

The best and most consistent producers on this offense were the wide receivers.  Even with IU’s best receiver Simmie Cobbs playing one play this season the Hoosiers still have the second best passing offense in the Big Ten.

2016 saw the continued solid play from seniors Mitchell Paige (54 rec. 604 yards 3 TDs) and Ricky Jones (50 rec. 783 yards 3 TDs) and the emergence of a new top target Nick Westbrook (49 rec. 915 yards 5 TDs) after he showed promise at the end of 2015.

The Hoosiers also built some depth outside of their top three receivers with the development of Luke Timian (19 rec. 277 yards 1 TD), who made some of IU’s most important catches of the season this year. Donavan Hale (13 rec. 210 yards 1 TD) has become more than just a talented athlete as he became a nice deep target for Lagow.  Finally, Camion Patrick (6 rec. 154 yards 1 TD) showed off his set of skills as a home run threat as he started playing more.

There is a lot to love about this group as they made most of the competitive plays all year and have picked up the slack that was left by the decimated rushing attack. With another game to play, the Hoosiers could have their second 1,000-yard receiver in as many years. 

Overall Defense: A-

The job that Tom Allen has done in just one season with Indiana is no short of amazing. He took a defense that was dead last in the Big Ten in scoring defense (37.6 ppg), 13th in rush defense (195.7 ypg), last in passing defense (313.8 ypg), and last in total defense (509.5ypg) and began to turn it around in 2016. This season the Hoosiers improved to ninth in scoring defense (27.3 ppg), eighth in rushing defense (152.4 ypg), 12th in pass defense (220.2 ypg), and ninth in total defense (372.6 ypg). Indiana also had a school record six defensive players recognized by the Big Ten as all-conference. 

Defensive Line: B+

Coming into the season the defensive line was looked to be the weak line on that side of the ball as the unit lost four starters from a season ago. However, in his second stint with Indiana line coach Mark Hagen has gotten more production and effort out of these players than most could have hoped for. The scary thing for the rest of the Big Ten is that this unit could be better next year, as the only senior is Ralph Green. 

In order to have a successful year, we said the Hoosiers needed Green and defensive tackle Nate Hoff get back to their performances they showed during their freshman seasons when they earned conference awards before having disappointing 2015 campaigns. This season Green and Hoff were the two wrecking balls that IU needed as they combined 63 total tackle (Hoff 34 Green 29), 13.5 tackles for loss (Hoff 6 Green 7.5), and 3.5 sacks (Hoff 2.5 Green 1).  Green earned an All-Big Ten honorable mention for his efforts.

The line went deeper than just Green and Hoff as unproven reserves stepped up in a big way. Greg Gooch transitioned from bandit to post 25 tackles and 5.5 TFLs. Mike Barwick Jr. and Patrick Dougherty were two guys that if Indiana could get anything from it would be a bonus. They combined for 37 tackles, 7.5 TFLs, and 4.5 sacks in a giant effort to bolster depth. Dougherty also blocked a kick and recovered a fumble. Jacob Robinson built upon his freshman season with a solid year playing in 10 games and posting 14 tackles and two tackles for loss. Finally, Nile Sykes has emerged as a pass rush threat with six TFLs and  four sacks and Robert McCray returned from injury to impact eight games with eight tackles and two TFLs.

However, what was lost in all of this was the disappearance of Derrian Meminger (six games, two tackles), Jamerez Bowen (five games, two tackles), and Brandon Wilson (5 games, two tackles). Whether they missed games due to injury or just because they had gotten beat out is unknown, but coming into the year the expectations for these three was much higher than their results.

Linebackers: A

Indiana had arguably the best linebacking duo in the conference. Tegray Scales played the best football of his career leading the Big Ten with 116 tackles and 20.5 TFL’s. Some of that is due to the new scheme where he and Oliver were both allowed to just make plays and some of it was because he was 100-percent healthy. Scales earned second-team All-Big Ten honors from the media. Oliver, coming off a 100-plus tackle season in 2015, had another remarkable year with 96 tackles, 15.5 TFL’s and five forced fumbles. Oliver in the active leader in the NCAA for career forced fumbles with 12. Credit both Allen’s scheme and the coaching from linebacker coach William Inge as well as the player’s willingness to buy in for Scales and Oliver’s success in 2016.

In addition to Oliver and Scales the Hoosiers received boosts from solid play from reserves Dawson Fletcher and Chris Covington. Fletcher and Covington may not have put up the gaudy numbers that Oliver and Scales did, but they made the most of their playing time as Covington finished the regular season with 25 tackles and two TFL’s while Fletcher made 18 tackles including 1.5 TFLs. These are the pieces that are necessary to build quality depth on a defense that has lacked that quality for a long, long time.

Defensive Backs: B

Writer’s Note: We are including the Husky position in the secondary.

Indiana’s pass defense was abysmal last season as they allowed a mind boggling 313.8 yards per game, and it came into 2016 with nowhere else to go but up. With much of the same cast of characters returning, improvement was to be expected as players who struggled as freshman would develop and mature. And improvement is exactly what the Hoosier secondary did in 2016 when they allowed a much better 220.2 yards per game.

The headliner of the group is redshirt junior Rashard Fant who started playing much better in the second half of 2015 and carried it over to this season where he became one of the better corners in the Big Ten. Fant led the conference in passes defended with 19 (2 interceptions and 17 pass breakups) while routinely being asked to cover the opponent’s best receiver. Fant also improved his tackling ability and posted 30 stops. His performance earned him second-team All-Big Ten honors as well.

On the side opposite Fant, the Hoosiers received stellar play from true freshman A’shon Riggins who appeared in all 12 games and started the last eight. Riggins held his own accounting for 37 tackles, two TFLs, and a pick. However, late in the season you saw teams try and pick on him with deep throws and he got burnt a few times. Still, Riggins is only a freshman and will only get better as time goes on.

Depth at corner was a bit of an issue for IU as they did have many bodies there. Tyler Green playing well in spurts for 10 games and Ben Bach was used on special teams and to try and get guys a breather before he went down with an injury in the Michigan game. Wesley Green, who came to IU from South Carolina with some decent expectations, only appeared in two games.

At the safety position, sophomore Jonathan Crawford and junior Tony Fields quietly had very good years. Crawford finished with 65 tackles with three picks and three fumble recoveries as he continues to have a nose for the football. Fields was right behind Crawford in tackles with 62 and had two interceptions of his own, while both players broke up seven passes. In a back up role Chase Dutra appeared in only nine games recording 41 tackles and a fumble recovery.

The safety depth was hindered by Jameel Cook missing 11 of 12 games for undisclosed reasons and Chase Dutra only playing in nine games. 

The Husky position was one of the more exciting innovations brought in by Tom Allen when he was hired. The hybrid safety/linebacker position was manned mostly by true freshman Marcelino Ball and Zeke Walker while Chris Covington and other appeared when the personnel packages called for it. 

Ball, who quickly became a fan favorite, had a tremendous rookie season finishing third on the team in tackles with 73 and in a tie for second on the team with two interceptions. Ball did make some freshman mistakes, but usually those were corrected quickly and would be recognized the second time around. As the season went on we saw opponents try and beat Ball deep and were successful a lot of the time.

Zeke Walker played in all 12 games after missing half of the year in 2015 with a lisfranc injury. When he was in the game he usually played well making 10 total tackles, but was beat on some deeper passing routes.

Overall Special Teams: D

I was hard pressed not to give this unit a full-blown ‘F’ due to their lack of execution and critical errors, which likely cost IU a win or two. As bad as this unit was, there were a few brighter spots, which brought the grade up.

Kicker: D-

For much of the year kicker Griffin Oakes was awful before hitting his final four field goals of the regular season, Oakes was 11-for-20 with two missed extra points. He finished the season going 15-for-24 (62.5%) and three missed extra points. In addition to his lack of success place kicking, Oakes was less than stellar on kickoffs. Whether or not he was dealing with a leg injury, Oakes was deemed healthy enough to kick off for most of the year. On his 57 kickoffs, Oakes only produced 22 touchbacks and kicked four balls out of bounds. Backup kicker Aaron Del Grosso was a non-factor all year, accounting for just seven kickoffs after a preseason incident.

Punter: C-

Joseph Gedeon is on of the best athletes on this Indiana team, and he showed flashes of being a great punter as well. However, those flashes became few and far between as the season went on. He started 2016 with a bang as his first punt landed at the one-yard line and resulted in a safety for the defense. He punted 55 times in 2016 for an average of 40 yards, but only a net average of 35.4 yards. The most concerning aspect of his game is the propensity to have punts blocked. IU allowed three punt block this season, two of them very well might have cost them the game at Michigan. While Gedeon does have a big leg, he needs to be more consistent and a bit faster with his punts.

Kick Return: F

The kickoff return game for the Hoosiers has been an issue over the last two years. They have gotten nothing out of it as IU ranked 92nd nationally with a 19.11-yard per return average and it was I considered it a good return if IU either got a touchback or didn’t fumble the ball. Until his injury, Devonte Williams looked like he could be a playmaker, but too many times he was indecisive fielding the ball and danced around before he could hit the hole at full speed. With an offense that struggled cashing in on points, it received no help from a dormant return game.

Kickoff Coverage: C

Indiana’s kickoff coverage wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t good either as IU ranked 56th nationally allowing 20.27 yards per return including a killer return against Ohio State right before half time and a 55-yarder to Purdue that led to a score as well. The coverage team was not helped out much by Griffin Oakes who only accounted for 22 touchbacks and had four kicks go out of bounds. Outstanding kicking last season covered up many of the ills that plagued the coverage unit.

Punt Return: B-

This was probably the best unit of special teams this season. While the Hoosiers did not get the big touchdown returns they received last year from Mitchell Paige, Paige did a solid job with a 7.3-yard per return average and Rashard Fant handled four punts for 10.2-yards per return. The Hoosiers also blocked three punts. Even, with those positives there were some bad plays as well highlighted by Isaac James getting hit by a punt to set up a touchdown for Penn State.

Coaching: B-

The overall grade for coaching is raised up by the play of the defense and how Tom Allen has changed the culture on the side of the ball. Kevin Johns and Kevin Wilson need credit for the birth of the Bacon-n-Legs package, which sparked an offense that was stuck in the mud and the fact that this team has now made it to back-to-back bowls for the first time since 1990-91. Kevin Wilson gets bonus points for the safety call against Purdue, a play that one writer basically called cowardly. It was the right call and maybe the best call of his career in Bloomington. Fans and people around Indiana who may not pay that close of attention to this program have to realize the progress this regime has made in Bloomington. Indiana has will be heading to its 11th bowl all-time, two of them have been under Kevin Wilson.

However, there is plenty to be concerned or critical about with the coaching decisions on the field. Most glaringly is Indiana’s ineptitude in the red zone where they ranked 126th out of 128 in scoring percentage. A little bit of that was due to the fact Griffin Oakes missed three field goals in the red zone, which shook the trust the staff had in him. But the biggest issue with the Hoosiers’ lack of success probably comes down to play calling, which I believe was heavily influenced by the first interception thrown by Lagow against Wake Forest. The Hoosiers just were different after that play inside the opponent’s 20-yard line as they went to the same running play far too often and looked as if the coaches were overthinking things. The second thing that concerns the fans and myself is the lack of execution on special teams. It has become a black hole for IU, where if nothing disastrous happens, it’s considered a success. The staff needs to look at both strategy and personnel on these units and find something that will create big play for the Hoosiers and not leave either the offense or defense out to dry.