An Open Week IUFB Mailbag
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Answers from Sammy Jacobs and David Sugarman
With the unscheduled open week coming this weekend, we decided to reach out to Hoosier Nation to give us questions for our mailbag. We want to thank every one who submitted a question and hope we gave you the answer you were looking for. So sit back and enjoy while watching some afternoon games.
1. Current Assessment of the OL? Any glaring changes to the OL you think need to be made or hope/expect steady progress? –Eric on Twitter
My current assessment of the IU offensive line is incomplete and in need of improvement. It’s incomplete because one of your best players, Brandon Knight, is still on the side line. He dressed for the Virginia game and with this week being open, one would think that he’d be back for Georgia Southern. So just plugging him in at right tackle and moving Baker somewhere else is going to give you some more depth and a chance to put your five best guys on the field.
The other change I would make is giving freshman Harry Crider a shot at starting at the center position. Hunter Littlejohn has struggled there the first two games and when Crider has played, he’s been solid. They’ve had an open week to get him ready and face off against lowly Georgia Southern next week. This is a great chance to get him some quality work and work in Littlejohn later in the game to get him right.
2. How long is Lagow’s leash? If Ramsey is the starter, what in his game makes you think he is or isn’t the long-term solution? – Eric on Twitter
Well Eric, Peyton Ramsey showed me a lot on Saturday in Virginia. However, I think Lagow’s leash is pretty long. I don’t think Allen will pull him at the first sign of trouble, however the plan is to play both quarterbacks and ride the hot hand. We saw that in the opener and at Virginia.
Ramsey’s game is much different than Lagow’s and it really could be great to play both. Lagow has the bigger arm and body, but with the lack of a running game early Ramsey’s legs bring another dimension to the offense. The biggest question now is how are defenses going to adjust to Ramsey now that they have tape on him and can Ramsey re-adjust to that.
3. Do you think we’ll see the return of bacon and legs soon? --John Edmund
The short answer is no. Tyler Natee is still working his way back from an injury and it’s unclear when he’ll be back and how much he’ll be used once he is. For now Lagow is still the starter and while Ramsey will be used some I don’t think it will be in long spurts unless Lagow is really struggling. Having said that if the run game doesn’t get it together and they have to get creative they may give it a try.
4. IU has not generated all that much that much pressure on the QB in the first two games. Is that because of the o-lines they faced and is it a concern for the rest of the season? --Kevin Teller
There’s no doubt the o-lines, particularly Ohio State’s, that IU has played so far have been good, but I do think this could be a season long issue. Nobody on this team along the defensive line was a big harasser of the quarterback the last few seasons. Right now Tegray Scales is their best pass rusher and you can’t just blitz a linebacker all the time especially in a scheme where you only play two. Somebody will have to emerge from that front four for IU because the competition isn’t getting any easier once they head back into Big Ten play.
5. Who haven’t we seen yet that could make a big impact? --Mary Kline
While you’ve seen him a little, I expect you’ll see him more soon, Taysir Mack. Mack is a redshirt freshman wide receiver who made a catch opening night against Ohio State. With Nick Westbrook gone for the season someone outside of the usual suspects will have to pick up the slack and Mack’s name has been tossed around by both Tom Allen and Richard Lagow.
6. What’s been the most surprising part of IU’s play through two games? -- David Stills
I’m not sure anything has really thrown me for a loop outside of the Ramsey-Lagow situation in the Virginia game. I will say while I had my doubts about the running game I didn’t think it would struggle this much through the first few games. Morgan Ellison played well against Virginia, 12 carries for 48 yards, so maybe he can emerge as a consistent threat, but right now IU doesn’t have a consistent threat in the backfield.
7. If you were building a team and had to pick between Tegray Scales and Simmie Cobbs as your star who would you pick? --Jerome Styles
Wow, good question. For my taste in football it’s easier for one player to make a big impact on the offensive side of the ball than defense so for that reason I’d probably go with Simmie. Couldn’t fault anyone who would go the other way though.