I believe the collective lines (OL + DL) will go down as the best collective ever in program history. We've had great OLmen before, even a fantastic full line of 5 guys who all went to the NFL. But during that time period, the DL was not great.
There aren't many instances of the opposite being true - I can't remember IU ever having a true game breaker NFL talent on the defensive line. Darius Latham was amazing, CJ West was as well, not taking that away, but you get my point.
This year however, I believe, has potential to be the best collective. Meaning, we have NFL talent on both sides of the line AND both lines have potential to be top 25 in the country at the same time. I don't think IU can ever say that's occurred in football history. This year could be different.
What do you think?
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Agree Evan, by far the best offensive & defensive front as long as injuries stay away. Hearing a lot of positives regarding Kellan Wyatt, Edge transfer from MD along with Hosea Wheeler, K. Benson & Pat Coogan. And it's nice to have Drew Evans back, strong & healthy.
Agree Evan, by far the best offensive & defensive front as long as injuries stay away. Hearing a lot of positives regarding Kellan Wyatt, Edge transfer from MD along with Hosea Wheeler, K. Benson & Pat Coogan. And it's nice to have Drew Evans back, strong & healthy.
Agreed, I am very encouraged by our defensive line. To your point, we have some big and strong guys who can plug holes and make plays.
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Was good to see Evans doing contact practice in the Coogan miced up video
On paper, this team has more talent at just about every position group than in the past. I dont think pre-70 teams really count just due to the size differences - you didnt have 320lb linemen then. Our trademark for decades has been being undersized on both sides of the ball in the trenches
OL - B1G sized OL, 5 guys who have all started at least 1 season at the P4 level, another who was the swing tackle for OSU. I think Smith, Coogan and Evans all have NFL futures. Really talented squad
DL - Not quite as big as I would like on the interior, but like the OL is just stacked with starters. Being slightly undersized is OK if you can keep rotating and keeping guys fresh. We will be able to rotate interior and on the edge, which is awesome. Starting talent to me is pretty similar to last year's squad, but its deeper
CB - Ponds and Sharpe both run 4.3 40 yards, Knighten was re-rated as a 4* as a transfer, and Gandy was a quality starter for Pitt last year. Arguably the most loaded position group on the team along with WR
WR - We've got 5 guys who are proven, and I like our depth out to 7 with Becker and Bond. Sarratt/Cooper is a top 5 duo in CFB this season, being able to rotate EJ on the outside while Jackson/Brady work the slot is just unfair
QB - We've had some really good QB play despite our history, so Im not going to get ahead of myself declaring it the GOAT. I will say that I think Mendoza has the highest ceiling of any QB we have had
RB - Not the best we've had, definitely not the worst. We dont need a flashy RB room in the offense Cig/Shanahan run, just a deep one, and this room has 4 guys I would feel comfortable getting multi touches a game. I dont see any single player getting over 1,000 rushing yards, but I think the team will have another 2k+ rush season
Safety - Not sure what to think about this group other than not liking the depth we have, especially if Moore gets denied by the NCAA. The ceiling is high, but the floor is as low as it gets if we take injuries here. With how deep this team is across the board, I dont get how we ended up in a spot where realistically freshmen will play snaps in big games due to lack of depth
TE - Dont think we have any all conference caliber players at tight end this year, but I would be satisfied with any of the top 3 on the depth chart starting, which is good enough with me
LB - Fisher/Hardy is a awesome duo and Im good with Jones as the rotational guy or our 3rd LB when the package calls for it. I do wish we grabbed a LB in the portal for depth, I had hoped we would grab Toure from Rutgers, but that would be a luxury roster move
Special Teams - Dont know enough about the guys we grabbed in the portal. I dont think we will be needing to punt or kick much other than XPs though
The DL will still have to prove themselves. I have a lot of hope for them but they really need to prove they can even be as good as last year.
Heard that clown DiTardo on BTN banging on the DL as the weakest unit from his practice day visit.
Shoving it up his ass by the play of the Hoosier DL is what I want to see this season.
i never considered that combo. But the more I ponder your thought the more I agree with your statement.I believe the collective lines (OL + DL) will go down as the best collective ever in program history. We've had great OLmen before, even a fantastic full line of 5 guys who all went to the NFL. But during that time period, the DL was not great.
There aren't many instances of the opposite being true - I can't remember IU ever having a true game breaker NFL talent on the defensive line. Darius Latham was amazing, CJ West was as well, not taking that away, but you get my point.
This year however, I believe, has potential to be the best collective. Meaning, we have NFL talent on both sides of the line AND both lines have potential to be top 25 in the country at the same time. I don't think IU can ever say that's occurred in football history. This year could be different.
What do you think?
BEAT PURDUE
Heard that clown DiTardo on BTN banging on the DL as the weakest unit from his practice day visit.
Shoving it up his ass by the play of the Hoosier DL is what I want to see this season.
DiTardo? Are you 10?
Was good to see Evans doing contact practice in the Coogan miced up video
On paper, this team has more talent at just about every position group than in the past. I dont think pre-70 teams really count just due to the size differences - you didnt have 320lb linemen then. Our trademark for decades has been being undersized on both sides of the ball in the trenches
OL - B1G sized OL, 5 guys who have all started at least 1 season at the P4 level, another who was the swing tackle for OSU. I think Smith, Coogan and Evans all have NFL futures. Really talented squad
DL - Not quite as big as I would like on the interior, but like the OL is just stacked with starters. Being slightly undersized is OK if you can keep rotating and keeping guys fresh. We will be able to rotate interior and on the edge, which is awesome. Starting talent to me is pretty similar to last year's squad, but its deeper
CB - Ponds and Sharpe both run 4.3 40 yards, Knighten was re-rated as a 4* as a transfer, and Gandy was a quality starter for Pitt last year. Arguably the most loaded position group on the team along with WR
WR - We've got 5 guys who are proven, and I like our depth out to 7 with Becker and Bond. Sarratt/Cooper is a top 5 duo in CFB this season, being able to rotate EJ on the outside while Jackson/Brady work the slot is just unfair
QB - We've had some really good QB play despite our history, so Im not going to get ahead of myself declaring it the GOAT. I will say that I think Mendoza has the highest ceiling of any QB we have had
RB - Not the best we've had, definitely not the worst. We dont need a flashy RB room in the offense Cig/Shanahan run, just a deep one, and this room has 4 guys I would feel comfortable getting multi touches a game. I dont see any single player getting over 1,000 rushing yards, but I think the team will have another 2k+ rush season
Safety - Not sure what to think about this group other than not liking the depth we have, especially if Moore gets denied by the NCAA. The ceiling is high, but the floor is as low as it gets if we take injuries here. With how deep this team is across the board, I dont get how we ended up in a spot where realistically freshmen will play snaps in big games due to lack of depth
TE - Dont think we have any all conference caliber players at tight end this year, but I would be satisfied with any of the top 3 on the depth chart starting, which is good enough with me
LB - Fisher/Hardy is a awesome duo and Im good with Jones as the rotational guy or our 3rd LB when the package calls for it. I do wish we grabbed a LB in the portal for depth, I had hoped we would grab Toure from Rutgers, but that would be a luxury roster move
Special Teams - Dont know enough about the guys we grabbed in the portal. I dont think we will be needing to punt or kick much other than XPs though
Agreed with your analysis. On the ST front, Cig is extremely high on our players. He called our Long Snapper the best in the country, and Radicic was money last year on kicks. Curious to see how punter goes after losing James Evans
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i never considered that combo. But the more I ponder your thought the more I agree with your statement.I believe the collective lines (OL + DL) will go down as the best collective ever in program history. We've had great OLmen before, even a fantastic full line of 5 guys who all went to the NFL. But during that time period, the DL was not great.
There aren't many instances of the opposite being true - I can't remember IU ever having a true game breaker NFL talent on the defensive line. Darius Latham was amazing, CJ West was as well, not taking that away, but you get my point.
This year however, I believe, has potential to be the best collective. Meaning, we have NFL talent on both sides of the line AND both lines have potential to be top 25 in the country at the same time. I don't think IU can ever say that's occurred in football history. This year could be different.
What do you think?
It's interesting right? IU has likely never had two elite lines at the same time on the same team. This year could be different. And is maybe the #1 difference maker in big ten play
Check out my latest at Hoosier Huddle here
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