Countdown to Kickoff: 6 Days (Camion Patrick and Zeke Walker)

Written By: Nick Holmes (@HoosierHolmes)

#6

Camion Patrick (REDSHIRT JUNIOR)

-Height: 6’2”
-Weight: 225 pounds
-Hometown: Knoxville, TN
-Position: Running Back

We are now under a week away from the college football season “truly” getting underway. Tonight’s matchup between Hawaii and California serves as an appetizer, but this will be the last weekend you will be without college football until mid-January.

However, back to the task at hand, continuing our Countdown to Kickoff, now just six days away from Indiana taking on the Panthers of Florida International. Today we take a look at two Hoosiers who are coming off of injuries but are certainly going to be in the mix for playing time, one much sooner than the other.

Starting on the offensive side of the ball is player many diehard fans are eagerly waiting to see take the field, running back Camion Patrick. The versatile athlete was a member of the team’s 2015 class, but was ruled ineligible before the start of last season.

However, as reports began to surface that Patrick was dominating in practice as part of the scout team, Hoosiers fans’ ears began to perk up. Further fueling the Patrick hype train was a comment made by Coach Wilson after the team’s Old Oaken Bucket.

“The best player on the football team is Camion Patrick,” Wilson said. “You haven’t seen him yet. He’s really good. We got some guys coming.”

That’s saying a lot, especially considering the team had two All American offensive linemen, a running back who eclipsed the 1,500-yard mark in just eight games, and a quarterback who broke all kinds of school passing records.

Fair or unfair, expectations for Patrick were absolutely sky high entering spring practice. With some professing he was a blend of former Hoosiers Jordan Howard and Tevin Coleman, it’s clear why I included him on my players to watch in the spring. In fact, I even went as far to call him the “next great tailback” at Indiana and put the rest of the Big Ten defenses on notice that Patrick would be making their lives miserable this fall.

I still stand by those words, but his debut and opportunity to make an impact has been setback by a few weeks after suffering a knee injury back in April that required surgery and forced him out of the rest of spring practice.

Fortunately, it sounds as if Patrick is recovering well and should get an opportunity to see the field by mid-season, if not sooner. Although, when dealing with knee injuries, it’s not always easy to forecast how quickly players get back to 100-percent. Not just physically, but mentally as well.  

The 6-foot-2, 225-pound redshirt junior is just as eager to see the field, as it has been quite a while since he’s played in a game. In fact, it’s been over 20 months since he laced them up for East Mississippi Community College.

It is important to point out that Camion first came to Bloomington with the idea of playing outside wide receiver for the Hoosiers, but after losing eligibility last fall and showcasing his running back skills on the scout team, there was no way Running Backs Coach McCullough was letting him go back to wide receiver.

The most exciting part of putting a player like Patrick on the field is his versatility. Even if he starts out lined up in the backfield, the team could very easily bring him into motion and match him up against a safety or linebacker out wide. The possibilities are nearly endless when you combine a talent like Patrick with the offensive genius of Coach Wilson and his staff. 

Zeke Walker (REDSHIRT SOPHOMORE)

-Height: 6’2”
-Weight: 215 pounds
-Hometown: Columbia, S.C.
-Position: Defensive Back

When the announcement was made that Coach Allen would be hired as Indiana’s new defensive coordinator last winter and he would be bringing along his 4-2-5 defense, one of the first questions that was asked was, “who would takeover that fifth defensive back spot, or the husky position?”

Before reports began surfacing about who the team was looking at for the position, one player immediately jumped to the front of my mind, Zeke Walker. The native of South Carolina was a member of Indiana’s 2014 class and was recruited as a defensive back, namely safety.

However, as he continued to grow and add some muscle to his frame, the coaching staff determined that a move was necessary and he landed at linebacker, a common move for many growing safeties.

With his combination of size, 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, and ability to defend against the pass, Walker looked like an ideal candidate for the job. In fact, according to the weight change on the roster, he has shed at least six pounds in the last 12 months, potentially in preparation for his new role on defense.

Walker finds himself in a heated battle with a couple of first year Hoosiers for playing time at the hybrid position, junior college transfer Jayme Thompson and true freshman Marcelino Ball. Thompson is dealing with turf toe and while Ball has been quite impressive according to reports coming out of practice, he is still only 17 years old. And asking Ball to take a lion’s share of the snaps early on might be a little ambitious.

Another player who was slated to see action at Husky this season who we recently learned had been moved to boundary cornerback is Ben Bach

With all this in mind, Walker is very likely to see the field on both defense and special teams this season. He’s ability to impress the staff early on should bode well for him continuing to see the field as the season progresses.