Success Along the Defensive Line Will Again Be a Group Effort in 2017

By David Sugarman (@David_Sugarman2)

As Indiana has geared up for its first full season under Tom Allen, there have been a number of coaching changes, but the core of the defensive staff has stayed intact. Back for his second year as the defensive line coach, Mark Hagen will look to continue the progress his group made in 2016.

Last season Indiana gave up 35 less yards per game on the ground than they did in 2015. The team’s crowning achievement may have been when they held likely the Big Ten’s and nation’s best running back in Penn State’s Saquon Barkley to 58 yards on 33 carries, less than two yards per touch.

Now headed into year two with Hagen, Indiana will look to replace Ralph Green III due to graduation and Nile Sykes, undisclosed season ending injury. Those two combined for nearly 50 tackles and six sacks in 2016. If Indiana wants to take another step in the right direction and achieve their goal of becoming a top 25 defense, it starts with the big boys in the trenches.

Potential Starters

Defensive end: Robert McCray III

One thing Indiana touts along the defensive line, at least in their starting group, is experience. Three of the four projected starters are seniors including Robert McCray. McCray has played in at least nine games every season and has shown flashes as a key backup over the last couple of seasons. In 2016 he played in nine games after missing the first four due to injury. He collected eight tackles, a sack and a pass breakup.

This will be the first time that McCray is in a starting role so he’ll have to get his body used to playing more snaps. Getting pressure on the QB was a big part of Indiana’s success last year, they finished fifth in the Big Ten with 33 sacks. Setting the edge with good pass rushing on either side is important, especially after losing two of their top three leaders in sacks in Marcus Oliver and Nile Sykes, so Indiana will need McCray to prove he can handle the workload early.

Defensive tackle: Jacob Robinson

The only junior projected to nab a spot starting along the defensive line is Jacob Robinson. Robinson has flexed versatility along the line starting at defensive end and tackle. With some unproven faces along the line and the constant threat of injury, that ability to fill in the gaps wherever they may be will come in handy at some point this season.

As a sophomore in 2016 Robinson played in 11 games, starting seven. Some of the Westfield, Indiana native’s highlights included a sack against Penn State and a career best four tackles against Maryland. At 6-4 and 285 pounds Robinson has the strength to bang with the Big ten’s best and should be a key part of an Indiana run defense that looks to make some strides this season after finishing 10th in the Big Ten last year. The Hoosiers surrendered a shade over 160 yards on the ground per game in 2016. With a strong secondary that’s only getting better, a slight improvement in the run defense could go a long way.

Defensive tackle: Nate Hoff

We’ve talked about a couple of key contributor’s from last year’s team, but now we’re talking about one of the players that the Hoosiers’ defense couldn’t have lived without a season ago. Nate Hoff led the defensive line in total tackles with 38 and 23 solo tackles. Hoff was all over the place with two and a half sacks, six tackles for loss, a forced fumble and just for good measure a blocked extra point in the win against Purdue.

His good play hasn’t gone unnoticed either. He was named the defensive player of the week for the game against Michigan and earned the Hoosier Iron Award, the award given out for Outstanding Weight Room Performance. Hoff will be Indiana’s anchor along the defensive line this season. After a big leap in production last season, the Hoosiers will need Hoff to build on that in 2017 if they’re going to be successful.

Defensive End: Greg Gooch

Another seasoned veteran along the line is the linebacker turned defensive end, Greg Gooch. Gooch played linebacker his first two seasons and while he played in 24 games, his impact was minimal. In Tom Allen’s 4-2-5 defense there isn’t as much room for linebackers, but rather than just relegate Gooch to the bench, he found a spot for a talented player somewhere else. After a combined 23 tackles in 2014 and 2015, Gooch made the move to defensive end and had 26 tackles including 5.5 for loss, a sack and a forced fumble in 2016. Now with a year at the position under his belt, expect Gooch’s numbers to be even better this season.

Key Depth

Mike Barwick Jr.

A weak point of the Hoosiers line this year is admittedly depth. After the starting group there isn’t much experience being touted by the reserves, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t talent. One reserve who boasts both skill and experience is Mike Barwick Jr. After not seeing the field at all in 2015 Barwick played in every game last season making 22 tackles and picking up a pair of sacks. The smart money says at one point or another the Hoosiers will need to lean on their depth. They don’t have a ton with experience which amplifies Barwick’s role even more.

Ja’merez Bowen

A transfer from the University of Cincinnati, Bowen saw his first game action in over two years last season. Bowen redshirted his 2014 season at Cincinnati then sat out in 2015 due to transfer rules. Bowen appeared in six games last season and will likely be used in sparingly again this year. There are a lot of reserves battling for snaps and to be the guy called upon in the event of an injury to the starting front. Bowen should be in the mix should an opportunity arise.

Allen Stallings IV

We always put a lot of stock in players who prove useful on the scout team and Allen Stallings is one of them. As a freshman Stallings earned scout team player of the week twice and made his way into one game in 2016, the opener against Florida International. At 6-2 and 240 pounds, he’s a little undersized for the position, but Stallings could prove useful if he gets more time and should continue to be a useful body in practice.

Jerome Johnson

After redshirting in 2016 Jerome Johnson will have his first crack at real game action this season. At 6-3 and 295 pounds Johnson provides good size for IU. A former 3-star prospect, Johnson was a three-time first team all-state selection and was named the 2015 Region 7-2A Most Valuable Player. Johnson should get an opportunity this season and will hopefully be able to capitalize as the Hoosiers look to work out the back half of their rotation.

LeShaun Minor Jr.

We’ve touched on Indiana’s lack of experience in certain positions, but that certainly doesn’t mean a lack of talent. LeShaun Minor Jr. is a big time talent and maybe even more important than that, a big time in state talent. Minor played at Ben Davis High in Indianapolis, a former stop along the way for Tom Allen. Allen was a defensive coordinator at Ben Davis for six years and a head coach for three.

While at Ben Davis, Minor was named an Indiana Football Coaches Association Top 50 Player and earned all-state honors as a senior. At 6-3 and 300 pounds, Minor is another player with good size for IU. If Minor can play well it won’t just help the Hoosiers today, but it will go a long way in keeping the best players in Indiana, in Indiana.

Sleeper

Juan Harris

At this position, at this level, it’s safe to say they’re all big boys. Then there’s Juan Harris. Harris stands at 6-3 and weighs in at a whopping 360 pounds. Just a true freshman, Harris enrolled into Spring classes in Bloomington in the Spring, which makes him ahead of the game since he got to participate in Spring practice. With his sheer size alone Harris would be a space eater and there’s no running back that wants to run up the middle and see Harris waiting to greet them. When asked about him defensive line coach Mark Hagen said, “I think if you were to poll the linebackers they’d tell you they love having him in their because he demands a double team, even more than Nate Hoff.” Given his age and the fact that he’s 360 pounds it’s difficult to say how many plays at a time he could be out there for, but with depth on this Indiana defensive line being an issue, expect to see Harris utilized some this season. Hagen also commended Harris for getting into better shape. He’s lost about 60 pounds since getting to Bloomington last January, coming down from over 400 pounds. That work ethic won’t go unnoticed or unrewarded.

Outlook

One of the biggest issues going into 2017 along the defensive line is the lack of pass rushing ability. The Hoosiers don’t return anybody on the line who had more more than two and a half sacks last season. Indiana’s secondary is set to be good, but we saw last year they were no stranger to getting lost in coverage and giving up the big play now and again. The more time the quarterback has and the longer the Hoosiers’ defensive backs are asked to cover, the more often that’s going to happen. Indiana has to find a way to get after the quarterback.

The other issue which could prove troublesome is the lack of depth. Right now there are number twos on the depth chart in Brandon Wilson and Ja’merez Bowen who are unproven. They’ve played in a combined 11 games making just four tackles. It doesn’t mean there futures aren’t bright. It just means that if and when it’s next man up time, Indiana will have to rely on some unknown commodities.

Indiana’s biggest strength is their experience in their starting group though. Nobody is younger than a junior and they’ve all been key contributors in the past in one form or another. If Indiana can get a legitimate pass rusher out of this group in 2017, we’ll see this defense continue to improve, but that will be the biggest deciding factor. Signs point to that guy being Robert McCray who Mark Hagen had high praise for saying, “If he stays healthy he’s a guy that can certainly get to the quarterback.” If somebody emerges out of the pack as consistent harasser of the quarterback, Indiana will continue to makes strides defensively this season.