Youth is Finally Served for the Hoosiers in 2022

Written by Zach Greene

The loss to Ohio State was expected and by a big margin. The Hoosiers young offensive players offered glimpses of hope for the future. Quarterback Dexter Williams, Wide Receiver Donaven McCulley, Running Back Jaylin Lucas, Tight End AJ Barner, and offensive lineman Carter Smith all played during the loss.

"I'm so proud of Dex(ter Williams) . I put him in there in the first half and he took us down the field and scored. I kept going with him.”  Tom Allen said to Don Fischer after the game. “Give him a chance to grow. He made some good throws and made some good runs, extended plays with his legs. He made some bad decisions and bad throws as well, but that's part of the growth process. He was one of the bright spots."

Dexter Williams once again did not start at quarterback for the Hoosiers, but he did enter the game during the first quarter and led the Hoosiers to their two touchdowns.

“The plan was to definitely play Dex and just see how things went with him. As far as how he was doing, I felt like he was doing a lot of good things. Felt like we needed to keep him in the game. It was dependent upon how Dexter responded. I thought he was moving to football, and he drove the football. He gave us a chance to make some plays with his legs and in the passing game. I thought he got some really good experience today.” Allen said when asked about his plan to play Williams.

When Williams took over, he led the Hoosiers down the field capped off by a great throw to tight end AJ Barner, who talked about how meaning full the touchdown was for him after the game.

“Dexter threw a great ball. It was very meaningful for me. I had a bunch of family in the stands and was committed to Ohio University in high school.”

Williams also targeted former Quarterback and now wideout Donaven McCulley. He caught the first touchdown of his college career during the game.

“I saw some good things from Dex. He was letting it rip. I told him to go out there and be you. The touchdown felt good, and I want another one.” Said McCulley after the game.

Freshman Jaylin Lucas was another player who stood out on the offense side of the ball. Lucas finished with 8 carries for 20 yards. We all know what he can do when he gets open space. He also received kick returns.

There are a couple younger players that played and got great experience. These include Carter Smith, Kaiden Turner, and Philip Dunham.

Freshman Carter Smith had a reasonable game and held his own at Right Tackle. This was what we wanted to see from the young man.

"He got a lot of reps in the heat of it at offensive tackle," Allen told Fischer. "That's hard to do as a true freshman. He got beat on some things, but that's a tough situation to be put in. He did some good things."

"We got some young bucks in there with a chance to get some good experience," Allen told Fischer when referring to Dunham.

This program is no longer bowl-eligible and going forward we will continue to see a youth movement that will guide the future of the program.

Whether it’s Williams, Lucas, Barner, McCulley and Carter Smith on the offense or Philip Dunham and Kaiden Turner on defense.

I speak to these players directly to stick together and be leaders the rest of the way and throughout their careers in Bloomington. If they can stick together there is hope for the future.

For us fans, it is hard seeing how much we have regressed as a program but if the young players can stick together and become leaders in the Hoosiers offense the program will be better in the perceivable future.