The Indiana Offensive Line Has Some Parts to Replace, But it Can Be the Engine That Drives the Offense
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The Indiana offensive line has their work cut out for them. Image: Sammy Jacobs HoosierHuddle.com
Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)
The 2017 season is almost here! Hoosier Huddle’s extensive season preview continues today as we take a look at one of the most important units on a football team: the offensive line. The Hoosiers have to replace a couple of starters, including All-American guard Dan Feeney, along with position coach Greg Frey. However, there are a lot of young and talented options ready to step up and become starting lineup fixtures and new line coach Darren Hiller has put nearly two dozen players into the NFL. The offense has lots of potential answers to many questions but the fate of the attack, and possibly the season, may just come down to how well this unit gels. The line had to work through injuries in the spring, something Darren Hiller wasn’t thrilled about but he still had a good look at several of his new players, “there’s never a blessing in disguise when a guy gets banged up a little bit. But at the same time, we had good competition in the spring between Delroy (Baker), Coy (Cronk) and Brandon (Knight). Ideally, you’d like to say you have ten guys. Realistically, I’d say that we have eight guys. That’s the starting five, you got another tackle that can go in there, a swing guy, you got another guard and another center. We got to put the best five out there and after that we got to find a sixth guy, we got to find a seventh guy and we got to find an eighth guy. Doesn’t matter what position you play.”
The Expected Starters
Left Tackle – Coy Cronk
The sophomore is a no-doubt lock to start at left tackle and he appears to be on-track to be the next great IU offensive lineman. He had a terrific true freshman season as he started all 13 games at left tackle and was named a true freshman All-American by multiple publications. The sophomore from Lafayette will be the starter here as long as he is healthy and in Bloomington.
Right Guard – Simon Stepaniak
The Hoosiers have to replace a starter at this position and Simon Stepaniak has the inside track on the job. The 6’4” redshirt sophomore looks the part and he played in all 12 games, starting two, a season ago. Stepaniak is very strong and has the ideal build for a guard but his lack of experience is a bit of a concern. He was a well-regarded recruit coming from Ohio and the Hoosiers need that pedigree to shine through.
Center – Harry Crider
I’m going out on a limb here but I’ve been a big fan of Crider’s since he committed and I see no reason to back away now. The injury to Brandon Knight (he is expected to be back in action sometime around the season opener and I do think Knight will be a starter at a position on the line before too long into the season) opened up the center position as it was expected that Darren Hiller would try the versatile Knight there. However, Harry Crider is no emergency option, he’s a ready-made center that was listed as the number two ranked center prospect in the Midwest by Scout and he had a stellar career at Columbus East High School, drawing rave reviews from their coaching staff and from IU’s offensive staff in summer and fall practices. Darren Hiller spoke highly of the newcomer, “the great thing about Harry is he played center in high school. It’s not like taking a guard and moving him. Harry is going to be a guy we throw in there and see if he can go.”
Finding a freshman that is an experienced center is a rarity but I think Crider has what it takes to be an All-Big Ten center before his IU career is over.
Left Guard – Wes Martin
The redshirt junior from Ohio is an under-appreciated returning piece in my opinion. He was not a standout name in either of the previous two seasons but he was a steady and valuable contributor that has now appeared in 26 games, starting 19 of them. Martin was the full-time starter at right guard a season ago and he started six games at left guard in 2015 so it’s very possible he and Stepaniak could start on either side. I believe those will be the two starting guards but I’m guessing on which side they’ll line up. Either way, Martin is a rock-solid guard that can help be a veteran anchor on an otherwise young line.
Right Tackle – Delroy Baker
Baker looks the part. He’s got long arms, stands 6’6” and weighs more than 300 pounds. He moves his feet well and appears to have the athleticism necessary to be a good tackle in the Big Ten. However, he has only appeared in nine games thus far so while he is listed as a redshirt junior, he is inexperienced and raw in terms of gameplay. There’s no doubt he has a lot of talent and the physical tools to get it done though and I think he’ll get his shot to make the right tackle position his.
Key Depth
IU’s new offensive coordinator Mike DeBord spoke briefly about the offensive line depth and how important it was to develop more than just five or six guys: “I thought that we really had about six guys that we can count on after the Spring. What we’ve got to do is build depth at number seven, eight and nine. That’s the biggest thing because I don’t know who those guys will be. You just got to continue to build depth there because as you well know that’s a physical position that gets banged up a little bit during the season so we got to get guys ready to play.”
Brandon Knight- I’m including the junior from Noblesville here because it is very possible he misses the first game (or games) of the season with his foot injury. It is also possible that foot injury keeps him from being in the physical shape he’d have otherwise been in. That’s guesswork though because we don’t really have any clue how much physical work he’s able to do with an injury we know very little about. Knight is a valuable member of the line and I think he could play center, guard or tackle. While I have no clue where he’ll line up once he gets healthy, I am quite confident he’ll be getting plenty of time on the field.
Hunter Littlejohn- The Hoosiers have recruited the state of Ohio quite well along the offensive line and Hunter Littlejohn is another Ohio product. The redshirt sophomore was a well-regarded offensive guard prospect and he made his lone appearance last season in the win at Rutgers. Littlejohn is 6’3” and 305 pounds and he can line up at either guard position. He has worked at center for most of fall camp, but the competition there is fierce. He could be a swing guy on the interior if Crider does win that battle.
Mackenzie Nworah- The big redshirt freshman Texan from Houston redshirted the 2016 season. He has a ton of potential and is one of the stronger guys on the team and I think he currently projects as the second backup for the guard position. Hiller has seen Nworah grow more comfortable with each passing day. “Mackenzie was a guy that wouldn’t say a word when I first got here, now I can see him coming out of his shell a little bit. He sounds like he’s eager and wants to try and earn a job. It’s going to be fun.”
While he has yet to appear in a game for the Hoosiers, he certainly has a bright future and is a name to keep an eye on.
DaVondre Love- Love is a big, big man. He’s 6’7” and weighs more than 300 pounds and he’s certainly an intriguing player because of that size. He’s a redshirt sophomore from Missouri and he appeared in three games in 2016 after redshirting the 2015 season. Darren Hiller shed some light on what Love needs to do, “The wild card in the whole thing that I didn’t get to see in the Spring is DaVondre Love. DaVondre had the injury from last season before I got here. He was very limited in the Spring, didn’t do a whole bunch, but I think the challenge was we ended Spring before they embarked on the Summer training program, he was 332 pounds. He weighed in this morning at 307 pounds. So he’s lost a bunch of weight. He looks good, he feels good, now the question is the mental roadblock. He’s got to go out there and say, “hey, I’m fine, I’m going to get after it.””
The Hoosiers are not exceptionally deep at tackle, particularly if you are looking for experienced options (very few college teams are) and I think Love likely starts the season as the fourth option at either tackle.
Grayson Stover- Stover came to Indiana after a very successful high school career in Florida. He redshirted last season and was a two-time scout team player of the week. Stover is 6’6” and he’s definitely more of a tackle than a guard. Where he fits on the depth chart in relation to DaVondre Love or others in the eyes of Darren Hiller and Mike DeBord is anyone’s guess but he was a standout on the scout team in 2016 and Hiller was impressed with his work in the Spring.
“Grayson Stover was a guy that as we went through Spring ball, to me he was probably the most improved during Spring from day one to day 15.”
Jack Trainor- Trainor is a walk-on that joined the program during the 2015 season and did not see any action during the 2016 campaign. He is now a redshirt sophomore. While the Georgia native was the scout team player of the week once in 2016, him seeing significant snaps at his projected position of guard during the 2017 season means the Hoosiers have suffered multiple injuries. He’ll continue to be an important member of the scout team.
Nick Ramacca- The redshirt sophomore from Bohemia, New York, was the scout team player of the week once and made his collegiate debut against Rutgers. That was the only time he saw game action but it was still impressive for a walk-on redshirt freshman to get on the field in a Big Ten game and it speaks well to how Kevin Wilson and Greg Frey thought about him. He is 6’2” so center or guard seem like more likely positions for him than tackle but the Hoosiers could turn to him in a pinch and he will continue to be an important member of the scout team.
Players Likely to Redshirt
Tyler Knight- The first player to commit in the class of 2017, Tyler Knight is a 6’4” projected tackle that played on both sides of the line in high school in Clearwater, Florida. He was also a successful basketball player which shows his athleticism. Knight has quite a bit of potential but he’s got some work to do to fill out his frame and ideally, he won’t be needed to see game action for a couple of seasons.
Caleb Jones- This is a mountain of a man. Jones attended the high school I graduated from (Lawrence North High School) and still live close to so I was able to see him up close a number of times. He’s listed at 6’8” and 370 pounds and I do not feel those numbers are at all embellished or exaggerated. In a sport filled with big guys, Jones will still stand out as being especially large. So, can he play? The answer, in time, I believe will be yes. He moves his feet surprisingly well and he doesn’t look awkward in his frame. I also don’t think his conditioning will be a major problem once he is in the IU training program as he is a very hard worker, by all accounts. Jones played in a system in high school that rarely threw the ball so his pass blocking is a bit of mystery but he has the potential to be a real road-grater in the running game and if he can learn the intricacies of pass blocking, he could be a stud at either tackle position in the future.
Ryan Smith- Another Ohio-native, Ryan Smith played both football and basketball for powerhouse Moeller High School. He was an offensive and defensive lineman and he stands at 6’5” and 290 pounds. Smith is a very good athlete and I’ve seen some comparisons to former IU left tackle and current Green Bay Packer Jason Spriggs due to his athleticism and the way he’s built. In Knight, Jones and Smith, the Hoosiers have three tackle prospects that look good for the future but should not have to be relied upon at all in 2017.
If Indiana can stay relatively healthy along the line, I feel pretty good about their chances to have a good offensive line. IU doesn’t have any seniors on the line so this group could be elite in 2018 if a few key guys develop well. However, a few injuries could quickly turn this into a giant question mark that could derail the offense.
Stay tuned to Hoosier Huddle for more coverage as we gear up for the 2017 season!