Which Indiana Football Accomplishments that Equate to an Eclipse

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle) 

It is “Eclipse Day” here in Indiana and we hope the clouds stay away so that the Hoosier State can enjoy one of nature’s most rare occurrences. To celebrate today, we look at some of the accomplishments of IU football players that occur at an eclipse level of rarity. This is not to be disparaging to IU football, but a look back at some of the great, rare accomplishments from program greats.

1. The 3,000-yard Passer

The Hoosiers have had four quarterbacks throw for 3,000 or more yards in a single season in their history. All four of them came from 2007 and on. While it’s understandable why this bench mark was rare early in the history of IU football, it should be more attainable with the present day rules. The last 3,000 yard passer for IU was Richard Lagow (3,362 yards) in 2016. With a new offensive scheme and talent at the quarterback and receiver positions, the next 3,000 yard passer can’t be that far off.

2. The 1,000-yard Rusher

IU has had 19 1,000-yard rushers since 1941. Names on that list include John Isenbarger, Anthony Thompson, Vaughn Dunbar, Antwaan Randle El and Tevin Coleman among others. The last Hoosier runner to gain over 1,000 yards on the ground was Stevie Scott (1,137) in 2018. This mark is increasingly difficult to hit since the days of handing the ball off to a single running back 30 times a game are over. However, it is not impossible. IU has several backs who have the potential to be 1,000 yard runners in 2024, if given enough carries.

3. The 100-Tackle Defender

Having a defender making 100 tackles a year used to be a regular occurrence for the Hoosiers and the rest of college football. However, with fewer plays being run and a bigger rotation on defense the occurrence has become an eclipse level event. IU has not had a 100 tackle defender since Tegray Scales (126) in 2016 and it really has not been close since. Currently, the Hoosiers linebacker Aiden Fisher has the best chance of reaching that mark again. He did so at James Madison in 2023.

4. School Career Records

With the transfer portal school records, outside of single season records, are going to be largely unreachable. It is rare that a player will stay long enough to hit these school records. The Hoosier currently closest to setting a career record at IU is punter James Evans for average punt distance. Here’s to hoping that school records become attainable again for the majority of statistics.

5. The Big Ten MVP

IU has had six Big Ten MVP winners, won by five individuals. The last to win was Antwaan Randle-El in 2001. As the conference expands the odds of a Hoosier winning the award naturally dwindles. However, there have been some close-ish calls in the last couple of decades with James Hardy’s 2007 performance and Michael Penix in 2020. IU not only has to have a player perform at an MVP level, they will also have to win a popularity contest over players from Ohio State, Michigan and Southern California.