Spring Practice 2018 Position Preview: Quarterback

Peyton Ramsey (3) will be trying to solidify his starting position in spring practice Image: Sammy Jacobs Hoosier Huddle

Written By Alex Compton (@alexncompton)

After an up and down two seasons, Richard Lagow is gone, and IU has some serious questions at quarterback for this year. The Hoosiers finished third in the Big Ten in passing yards a year ago, despite some grumblings from the fans on not being effective through the air. Mike DeBord’s offense is predicated on safe throws with a few bombs mixed in, and that was unlike the offense IU fans had come to know over the last four or five years. This season’s quarterback room is incredibly young, and really up for grabs. There are a handful of walk-ons that are working hard in the QB room, but for the sake of this preview I’ll only focus on the top three guys for 2018.

IU may also still be looking to bring in a grad transfer at quarterback, but for now these are the guys the Hoosiers are working with for 2018. Young, but exciting overall.

- PEYTON RAMSEY – 6’2”/210 – RS-SO –

Winning games at quarterback in the Big Ten East is no easy task, but Peyton Ramsey showed some flashes last season. He came into the season as the #2 guy, but stayed patient, worked hard, and was ready when his number was called. He ended up starting four games in the middle of the year before losing the job back to red-hot Richard Lagow at the end of the year. Overall, Ramsey appeared in nine games, and did some things pretty well. You love his mobility as a pocket passer, using his legs to extend plays in the passing game while also forcing defenses to respect his ability to move the chains on the ground.

Overall, he played very conservatively in his first season of snaps, and that limited our ability to see what he really has in the tank. He made some big time throws, most notably a strike over the middle to Luke Timian on the road against Maryland for a score. 10 touchdowns to 5 interceptions is a solid ratio for a freshman that started just four games, but some of his turnovers were just really careless. He ended the season with a 65.4 completion percentage, which was second in the B1G and first all-time for a single season in IU history. Many of these completions were of the short to intermediate variety, so his ability to stretch the field in 2018 will be crucial. His final year stats were as follows: 134-205 for 1252 yards, 10 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, and 226 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground.

Ramsey’s offseason will be spent on strengthening his arm to open up the playbook more. If he can show he is ready to do just that, he will likely be the starter this year. Regardless, I do imagine he will play a solid amount, as a QB by committee approach seems probable this year.

- NICK TRONTI – 6’2”/205 – RS-FR –

The Mr. Football from Florida in the 2017 class chose IU after a late surging recruiting battle, and redshirted all of last season. I was extremely high on him when he signed with IU, and tabbed him as the starter beginning this season. I still believe he can win the job, but he is going to have to show a clear grasp of the playbook and an improved body to win in the Big Ten. He has some of the similar strengths and weaknesses that Ramsey does, but his biggest weakness is his lack of game experience. He was a four-time scout team player of the week, and his overall season-long performance led to him being names offensive scout team player of the year. His high school numbers were insane, as many of his career stats are second in the state to only Tim Tebow. For Tronti to win the job, he will have to showcase his ability to make more throws than Ramsey while also making sound decisions. Playing as a freshman is tough, as we saw last year, but Tronti may be up to the task.

For reference, here as his high schools stats per IUHoosiers.com: “Quarterback for head coach Matt Toblin at Ponte Vedra High School ... 2016 Florida Mr. Football ... just the sixth Mr. Football winner from the Jacksonville area ... Class 5A Player of the Year ... Times-Union Offensive Player of the Year and a Super 24 selection ... two-time county player of the year went 510-of-808 (63.1 percent) with 7,443 passing yards, 72 passing touchdowns and 20 rushing TDs ... his 72 passing scores are second only to Tim Tebow (95) in St. Johns County history ... passed for 3,328 yards and 34 scores as a senior ... rushed for 650 yards and 20 touchdowns ... led his team to a Class 5A state runner-up finish ... passed for three TDs and ran for a pair in the title game ... Ponte Vedra captured back-to-back district titles ... ranked the No. 32 dual-threat quarterback nationally by ESPN ... also played basketball and baseball as a freshman and sophomore

-MICHAEL PENIX JR. – 6’3”/205 – FR –

It’s possible IU’s biggest commit came on signing day for the early period. Penix Jr. was a one-time Tennessee pledge that reopened his recruitment once they changed coaches. Luckily for IU, Tom Allen was tracking Penix Jr. and this situation closely, and moved effectively and extremely quickly once it was seen as possible to get him to Bloomington. He ultimately chose the Hoosiers over Florida State, and it was a massive win on an already great day for Coach Allen and his staff.

Penix Jr. is a four-star QB by most recruiting services, and the lefty does possess the talent to start as a true freshman. He is wiry at 6’3”, but does have the arm strength to really stretch the ball down the field. His ability to space the field vertically may be the biggest advantage he has over Ramsey and Tronti at this point, so the big things with him are really to get the playbook down, get timings right, and to get his body ready to play quarterback in the Big Ten. He’s a very good athlete as well, which will be big for running read options and run pass options, as well as just extending plays and moving the chains with his feet. It is huge that he’s in here early for spring ball, as asking a guy to have summer camp and then start in the Big Ten is extremely unfair.

If I had to wager a guess, I would say that the plan is to redshirt Penix Jr. this year and rely on Ramsey and Tronti to get the job done. Unless he really showcases his readiness in camp and the spring game, I would think throwing him in too early would have many more consequences than benefits. At some point this is IU’s starting quarterback, but I think he needs a year before he starts blowing people out of the water. Either way, Penix Jr. is a huge part of this quarterback room for 2018.

NOTE

I chose to not include Reese Taylor in this preview, because he will not be a quarterback full-time for this year at least. He will primarily play defensive back, but it is extremely likely that Taylor will have some packages on offense to get him the ball. With that being said, it wouldn’t shock me to see Taylor throwing passes on offense or even running a few drives in lopsided games to get him some experience. I like the thought of bringing him in when the offense has stalled out to change up the look for a defense, but he won’t be competing for the starting job like these other three guys. The biggest question I have is whether or not Taylor would switch to QB full-time if Ramsey or Tronti were to be hit with an injury. I don’t know the answer, but it’s certainly nice to know you could bring in the Indiana Mr. Football at QB if you were ever in a pinch. 

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