Indiana’s Top Five Redshirt Freshman for 2020 Spring Football

Indiana’s Top Five Redshirt Freshman for 2020 Spring Football

Written by Amanda Pavelka (@amandapavelka3)

Spring football is right around the corner, which begs the question— who fill the gap left by last year’s seniors in each position? Between the Class of 2020 signees and last year’s freshman who took advantage of the redshirt rule, the 2020 IU football season looks bright.

Of the 21 freshman penned to Indiana’s 2019 recruiting class, 12 played in four games or fewer, and return to Bloomington a year bigger and stronger as they compete for field time beginning March 7.

Here are five redshirt freshman to watch in Spring 2020, considering the most recent injury update.

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IU Football Redshirt Update: October 29, 2019

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Written by Amanda Pavelka (@amandapavelka3)

The redshirt rule adopted in 2018 allows NCAA football players to play in up to four games in a season without using a year of eligibility. Twelve of 19 true freshman have seen field time for Indiana so far this season. Seven of the 12 have exhausted their four game allowance, burning their redshirts. Here are how many games each of Indiana’s true freshman have played. 

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As of October 26th, D.K. Bonhomme, David Ellis, Sampson James, Tiawan Mullen, Sean Wracher, Matthew Bedford, and Sio Nofoagatoto’a have all burned their redshirts. Bedford has started in the absence of senior captain and left tackle Coy Cronk, who is also eligible to redshirt, being that his season-ending ankle injury occured in game four against Connecticut. 

So with four games remaining in the regular season, who will Allen redshirt this season? 

“Gary Cooper kind of comes to mind for me,” Allen said in Monday’s press conference, “He's a guy that had an early injury in fall camp, so would love to get him here and use his four games during the last part of the season. So he's one that kind of jumps out. I would say that for several of the guys too.”

Along with Cooper, Larry Tracy III, Beau Robbins and C.J. Person have only seen play time a single game each this season. Josh Sanguinetti played in two games early on at safety. 

“The ones that haven't played, at this stage of the game, it's kind of pretty clear who we just said, hey, these guys aren't playing. They've already played their four. But those who haven't used their four yet, you wouldn't want to burn anybody's redshirt with more than four if something happens we don't expect,” Allen said.

With the talented depth at wide receiver, Jordan Jakes has yet to step foot on the field. Same with offensive linemen Mike Katic and Tim Weaver. Beau Robbins and Jeramy Passmore join Antoine Whitner Jr. as defensive linemen in the 2019 signing class. 

“If guy has not played his four up to this point, we're going to strategically make sure we balance it out the rest of the year between these last few games and the bowl game to maximize their experience as freshmen. So that's kind of how we're going to approach that,” Allen said.

Cronk, Cooper, Tracy III, Robbins, Person, Sanguinetti, Jakes, Weaver, Katic, Williams, Brown, Passmore and Whitner Jr. are the possible candidates as of now to take advantage of the redshirt rule.

2019 Indiana Football Positional Preview: Wide Receivers

2019 Indiana Football Positional Preview: Wide Receivers

Written by Evan McShane (@veryreasonable)

The wide receiver position is one of the deepest and most talented groups Indiana will field in 2019. Led by seniors Donavan Hale and Nick Westbrook, the sky truly is the limit with this year’s Hoosiers’ receiving corps. Of course, not without mention is the addition of Kalen DeBoer as IU’s new offensive coordinator. While Indiana’s alignment and formations may not change much, DeBoer’s desire to throw the deep ball and stretch the defense vertically should add a new dynamic to the Hoosier offense. Behind Hale and Westbrook are a stable of young wide outs ready to step into bigger roles. Whoever wins the quarterback battle will have plenty of weapons at his disposal.

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2018 Early Signing Period Signee Profile: WR Jordan Jakes

2018 Early Signing Period Signee Profile: WR Jordan Jakes

Written by Nate Comp

Jordan Jakes, 6’5”, 195 pounds, McDonough, GA (St. Frances Academy, MD), RB, 247Sports Composite Ranking: 3-star (84.72)

Sometimes in the passing game, you just need a guy that can go up and get the ball over smaller cornerbacks. The Hoosiers have signed just that in big-bodied receiver Jordan Jakes. Jakes played his senior season in Baltimore, Maryland at St. Frances Academy. Jakes held 18 offers but chose the Hoosiers in August over the likes of Virginia, Michigan, and Michigan State. Despite his size, Jakes has proven he can move around at the receiver position and catch balls both on the outside and in the slot: versatility which will come in handy at the next level.

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Hoosiers Land Three-Star Wide Out Jordan Jakes Over Virginia and Michigan

Hoosiers Land Three-Star Wide Out Jordan Jakes Over Virginia and Michigan

Written By Evan McShane (@veryreasonable)

The Indiana Hoosiers earned the commitment of Jordan Jakes late Thursday night. The talented wide receiver is originally from McDonough, Georgia where he played for Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy. Jakes then moved for his senior year to Baltimore where he played for St. Francis Academy. “I know at St. Francis I’m going to have competition week in and week out,” Jakes said as he explained why he changed schools. Rated as a three-star recruit, Jakes stands 6-foot-4 and weighs in just a shade under 200 pounds. The big bodied, athletic wide out is poised for a promising career in Bloomington. Jakes is the first wide receiver to commit to IU this year, strengthening an already impressive 2019 recruiting class.

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