Countdown to Kickoff: 22 Days (Wesley Green)

Written By Nick Holmes (@HoosierHolmes)

#22

There are now 22 days remaining until the Indiana Hoosiers kick-off the 2016 season in Miami against the Florida International Golden Panthers. Join us each day for each part of our 100-day countdown to the opener! Today we look defensive back Wesley Green. 

Wesley Green (Redshirt Sophomore)

-    Height: 5’10”
-    Weight: 180 lbs. 
-    Position: Defensive Back
-    Hometown: Lithonia, Georgia

Wesley Green is participating in his third collegiate fall camp, but he has yet to actually play a snap at this level. The former four-star recruit started his career out at South Carolina, taking a redshirt season as a freshman. Prior to heading into his second year with the Gamecocks, Green decided that a change of  scenery was needed, he quickly made the decision to take his talents to Bloomington.
 
After the transfer was finalized, Coach Wilson had this to say about Green.
 
“We recruited Wesley; Coach Brandon Shelby has a strong relationship with him and he contacted us when he left South Carolina. We welcome him to our program. He's a talented young man and he will be a quality contributor."
 
After being forced to sit out last fall due to NCAA transfer rules, Green is now entering his second season with the Hoosiers. The Georgia native is hoping to have an impact on the field, one he had envisioned he would have when he entered college as one of the country’s top class of 2014 recruits. In fact, to go along with the national composite ranking of the country’s 160-best player, he had an offer list that included Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio State, and Tennessee among many others.
 
Still, having not played an actual college down, or really having seen the field in a live game in nearly three years, it’s truly hard to predict what type of player Green will be for the Hoosiers. We do know that the last couple of recruiting classes have been full of secondary players who are vying for playing time now. Specifically, opposite of starting cornerback Rashard Fant, there are no less than four or five probable contributors at the spot.
 
Each player brings their own strengths to the table, some more diverse than others. Whatever the case maybe, Indiana is no position to count anyone out at this point. Aside from Fant at corner, playmaking-sophomore Jon Crawford at safety, and JUCO-transfer Jayme Thompson at Husky, all other spots in the secondary’s two deep are wide open.
 
Green, like the rest of the candidates have a few more weeks to impress upon the coaches that they are deserving of an opportunity to prove themselves on the gridiron. Because of his high ranking coming out of high school, hopes were and remain high that he will make an impact on Saturdays this fall. At 5-foot-10, 180-pounds, Green is more in the mold of Fant than some of the other cornerbacks pushing for playing time. Because of this similarity, Green might be best served to be Fant’s backup as the field side cornerback.
 
With only 22 days until the Hoosiers take the field against FIU, we should not have to wait much longer to see what kind of player Green will be for the Cream and Crimson.

Share any memories or recollections you have of Wesley Green as a player in the comments section (or on the message boards) and be sure to come back to Hoosier Huddle each day during our countdown!