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Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)
Hoosier Huddle is breaking down each position group prior to the 2020 season. Today, we look at one of the deepest and most talented groups on the roster: the defensive backs. We’ve lumped cornerbacks, safeties and the Husky position together so this preview is lengthy and there is a whole lot to cover.
Read MoreWritten by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)
Indiana University cornerbacks coach Brandon Shelby spoke to the media this week via Zoom as the Indiana Hoosiers staff continues to work with players remotely and prepare for the upcoming season. Shelby is entering his 10th season with the program and he loves where his position group is at heading into the summer.
“We surely have a great foundation,” Shelby said of the cornerback group. “I’m very, very satisfied with where we are going to start come the fall.”
Read MoreWritten by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)
Hoosier Huddle is breaking down each position group prior spring ball and today, we look at a deep position group with a star in the making leading the way: defensive back.
“Defensive back” is a catch-all term that applies to multiple positions on the field: cornerback, safety and in IU’s case, Husky. As a result, going into detail on every player would be information overload. We’ll go position by position and dive into detailed descriptions on where things stand heading into spring.
Read MoreWritten 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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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.
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.
Written by Amanda Pavelka (@amandapavelka3)
COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF: 13 DAYS (#13 Larry Tracy III)
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 175 pounds
Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana (Decatur Central)
Year: Freshman
Position: Defensive Back
Only 13 days remain until the long-awaited 2019 Indiana football season. The Hoosiers will make their season debut at Lucas Oil Stadium where they will take on the Ball State Cardinals on August 31st in a noon game. Today we will introduce a freshman cornerback who will wear the No. 13 jersey— Larry Tracy III.
Read MoreWritten by Evan McShane (@veryreasonable)
While the efficiency numbers were not great, the Indiana defense boasted a respectable secondary in 2019. The Hoosiers thrived off of creating turnovers. Indiana tied for 33rd in the country with 13 team interceptions and they tied for fifth in the country in fumble recoveries with 13. With the departure of Hoosier safety Jonathan Crawford, Indiana has big shoes to fill. Luckily, there are a number of players capable of stepping up to the plate. IU's secondary will still be young next fall, but they will have the luxury of depth. Heading into spring, the IU defensive backs appears to be one of the most talented position groups on the roster. Indiana will return several starters from last year, and Tom Allen and his staff have recruited cornerbacks and safeties very well the past few years. While it is yet to be seen which individuals will produce most, the secondary will be among Indiana's strongest units in 2019.
Read MoreWritten by Evan McShane (@veryreasonable)
Larry Tracy, from Indianapolis Decatur Central High School, was a priority target for Indiana head coach Tom Allen and his staff. The electric cornerback committed to the Hoosiers over offers from Iowa, Purdue, Cincinnati, Minnesota and others. As a senior in high school, the 5-foot-10, 175lb Tracy logged 64 tackles, 14 passes defended, nine tackles for loss, six fumble recoveries, three sacks, three forced fumbles, one interception and a blocked field goal. Tracy’s stellar performance garnered him a three-star grade. He was ranked as the 12th best player in the state of Indiana and the 78th best cornerback in the country, per 247Sports.
Read MoreWritten by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
The Indiana Hoosiers will open their 2019 spring practice session on March 2nd and wrap up with their annual Cream and Crimson game on Friday April 12th. IU is coming off of frustrating back-to-back 5-7 seasons. Tom Allen is entering his third spring as Indiana’s head coach after taking over the helm prior to the Foster Farms Bowl in 2016. His record sits at 10-15 and 4-14 in conference.
The Hoosiers enter spring practice with some recruiting momentum as Allen and his staff inked one of the best classes, if not the best, in school history. However, the Hoosiers also come with plenty of uncertainty.
Over the next couple of weeks HoosierHuddle.com will preview positions, players who may fly under the radar and much more from spring practice, but for right now here are the items surrounding spring ball to watch.
Read MoreRunning back Sampson James, offensive linemen Michael Katic and Matthew Bedford as well as defensive back Larry Tracy discuss enrolling at Indiana early and how their transition from high school is going. Credit to Matt Weaver of Peegs.com for obtaining the video and a big thank you for letting us use it. Click ‘Read More’ to view videos.
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